Chapter 1 001

Chapter One

Any child born under the full red moon is said to be cursed, and I was among the unlucky.

I was marked as an outcast before I could walk. My wolf was sealed before I could reach the awakening age. My mother, Nymera, known as the unwanted Luna after being accused of adultery, tried to protect me. But her protection wasn’t enough. They hated me. All of them.

Most especially my father, Alpha Adric.

Right now I stand in front of my father’s chamber, seething. Fist curled as I listen to my parents wrangling.

Mother’s voice comes as a desperate plea. "You cannot do this, Adric! She is your daughter too. This is so cruel! I was the one you hated, not her!"

"Stay out of this, you wh.o.re! Your daughter is of no use after all. Her life is pathetic. A curse and a disgrace to the family, whom I should have ended the moment she was born. This is the only value she has. We'll marry her off to him and save the pack from those ruthless rogue bandits.”

I freeze in place. What are they talking about? Marry me off to whom?

“How about you send a complaint to my father, the werewolf king! They'll send the army...”

“Don't you think I've done that?!” Alpha Aldric barked. “We've sent complaints many times and got nothing in return. You are worthless like your daughter. Our marriage should have brought the werewolf royal to my side as an ally. Instead, they abandoned you. Drogo wants her, there is no going back now.”

Drogo. As in Drogo the rogue Alpha? I don’t like where this is going.

“Please. Aldric. She cannot marry him. This is too cruel. Your mistress sealed my daughter’s wolf with dark magic. She won’t survive!”

I’m breathing way too hard. My veins are on fire, and the world around me has blurred into darkness. This can’t be right. There is no way my father will be this cruel to marry me off to the cruelest man in the country.

“Your daughter was six when she spread that nonsense. Miranda isn’t some w!tch. Your daughter was born under the red moon and doesn’t have a wolf because you slept with someone else. It’s probably a cûrse the moon goddess laid upon you.”

“You did not believe that nonsense, Aldric. Isolde is your pup. Flesh and blood”

“And this is a way for her to prove it. She will marry him, and we’ll save the pack!”

I want to storm and yell at my father. I want to let him know that I would rather be sold to the sickest whore house than to marry the cursed Drogo. But, knowing my father, it is impossible to change his decision.

“You shouldn't have made deals with Drogo in the first place!” Mother’s voice edges with anger. “You are the cause of this, Aldric! Why use my daughter to cover up your mistakes, you old fool! Come at me! My daughter has suffered enough!"

I don’t remember my mother cursing, especially with my father. She had always kept her head low, obedient as if immune to the jeers thrown at her. She forced me to do the same as an act of protection, since our pack is filled with people wanting me gone. It's a miracle I've spent twenty years living.

The silence that follows is deafening before my father’s voice comes deeply dangerous. "What did you just say to me?"

"Aldric I... I..."

CRASH!!!

I burst into the room before I could stop myself. It was forbidden to enter the Alpha’s chamber without a knock, but I don’t give a damn anymore.

My stomach turns at the sight. My father approaches my mother, whose back had cracked against the wall, a sword in his hand, eyes glowing with rage. In the next breath, he shoves the sword into her belly.

The walls shake at my scream. Tears blur my vision as my father whispers to her that he should have done this a long time ago.

I meet the eyes of my mother. Tears fill them as they begin to lose their light. Her blood pours, soaking her dress and pooling at her feet.

"Run... Run, my daughter," she rasps as he ruthlessly yanks the sword out and locks his thick heavy gaze with mine.

"I'd rather die than marry Drogo, you monster!!" I yell at my father for the first time and bolt out of the room.

He yells orders to the guards to catch me. Even though I have no wolf, I knew every nook and corner of the pack better than anyone else. And it was for this reason. To escape.

I manage to slip away. Barely. There is an arrow plunged at the side of my waist, soaking my cloth in blóod. I snap it off, leaving the head of the arrow in my flesh, and wrap a cloth around it.

I nudge my horse forward, riding through the dark forest. The hoof thudded against the grasses hastily; trees hung above, stretching like claws desperate to reach the dark sky.

There is only one place I can turn to.

The moonlight pack was a pack away. The Alpha son, Nathan, is my secret lover. He is my first friend, first crush, and first love.

His father and mine were allies, so he visits frequently. Unlike the others, he never treated me like a curse, and our relationship miraculously bloomed into love.

Nathan promised to end my misery once we got married. He’ll be mad to hear my father wants me off as the most ruthless man in the country. And hope to the moon, he’ll save my mother too.

Hang on, Mother. I’m going to save you.

Reaching the pack, I dismount my horse with a painful groan. My hand clutched the bleeding wound that had soaked my dress. It stings so much as I drag myself to the building before me. The Alpha’s house.

“Back off,” one of the guards barks, crossing my path. His gaze flicked to my wound and back to my face with a look of disapproval.

“Nathan… I need to see Nathan,” I say.

“Sire Nathan?” He gives me a snobby look. “How dare you call him by name. You got a déath wish.”

“I need to see him,” I say, staggering forward.

They all draw out their swords, pointing them at me.

“I’m the daughter of Alpha Aldric. Not an enemy.” I shake my head. “Tell Sire Nathan, Isolde is here to see him. He’ll understand.”

“You don’t look like an Alpha’s daughter. I can smell you, rot,” their leader snarled. “Go back unless you want to lose your head.”

This is bad. My father’s men must already be close to finding me, and they won’t let me see the only man who can save me. I’ve never visited Nathan in his pack; he asked me not to for his privacy. He had been visiting only once in a while, promising that once his father gives him the Alpha position, he will marry me.

“You don’t understand. I need to see him!” I surge forward, only to be shoved back.

I yelp loudly as my tailbone hits the floor with a thud; the pain pierces hard, sending my head spiraling.

“Arrest her!” the leader orders.

Just in time, the door creaks open. Nathan steps out, clad in a fine silk dress, with a frown. He asks what was going on as the guards explain. Nathan's eyes meet mine. His brows crease harder.

“Nathan, I need your help.” I scramble to my feet, ignoring the pain. “My father wants to kill my mother and marry me off to…”

"I don't care what you are about to say, woman. Get out," Nathan cut in, in a tone he had never used on me before.

“Nathan…”

"How dare you let a cursed woman cross the territory!" He snaps at the guards, voice colder than the night air.

What is he saying?

Cursed woman? Me?

The guard stiffens, mumbling apologies. One begins to explain, but Nathan raises a hand to silence him. Then his eyes meet mine again. Colder than ice and slicing through my guts most brutally.

No recognition. Just pure, undiluted hatred..

"Take her from here. Today of all days, I will not have her filth near my wedding."