The Original Alpha and His Luna

Aveline Valerian

The night my life fell apart, the moon was brighter than I'd ever seen it.

I was sitting on the grass beside the lake, letting the cool breeze brush against my skin. For once, I was at peace.

Everything was perfect.

Or so I thought.

My wolf, whom I called Betty, was my best friend. I talked to her almost all day long. When I-

'You should care more about finding your mate than listening to everyone else's love stories.' Betty's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I scoffed. "Can't you shut up for a while?"

'Yes, I can. But I won't. And you can't do anything about it.'

I swear, if she were a person, she would be the most irritating person I'd ever met.

"I'm just trying to..." I trailed off.

Honestly, sometimes even I didn't know what I wanted.

'Just say it. You don't want to find your mate because you're afraid he might take advantage of your power, am I right?'

She was right.

And the problem was, she was always right. About everything.

I think that was why wolves were so important to us. They could sense danger before we could. They could feel when something was wrong, when we were in trouble, when we needed them.

I ignored her and breathed in the fresh night air instead.

Around me, I could hear the voices of other wolves. Some were excited because tonight was the full moon,the night many of them had been waiting for.

Their voices overlapped until they became nothing but noise. It irritated me.

I lay down on the grass and closed my eyes, blocking out their voices as much as I could. I didn't even realize when I fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes, everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

A strange feeling crawled down my spine.

I shook it off, stood up, and started walking back toward my house.

My father was the chief commander of our pack. As his only child, everyone knew me. They respected me, cared for me, and treated me like one of their own.

I should have known something was wrong when the wolves went silent.

Because the sight in front of me was something I had never expected to see.

Not even in my worst nightmare.

Blood.

Lots of blood.

Everywhere.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, my eyes widening as I stared at the body lying on the ground.

I took a hesitant step closer. I didn't recognize him. I looked around.

There was no one.

Who could have done this?

How could someone kill him so brutally?

His face was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were missing. His head wasn't attached to his body. There were bruises and bites all over his body.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to hear the voices of the other wolves.

I tried.

I tried so hard.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Nothing.

No voices.

No howling.

Nothing.

No. No, no, no, no, no. No!

Someone had attacked the pack.

Oh God.

Where are Mom and Dad?

I ran inside the house and searched every single room.

Empty.

I didn't know what to do.

My throat began to ache as I desperately tried not to make a sound. I had no idea if someone was hiding inside the house.

I couldn't stay there.

I ran back outside.

Slowly, cautiously, I made my way toward the main area of the pack.

And the sight in front of me made my entire body tremble.

Warriors were rushing through the village. People were transforming. My father's soldiers were fighting desperately to defend everyone. Mothers were crying and begging for their lives. Children were screaming. Wolves were howling. Chaos had swallowed everything.

Then I saw them.

The soldiers who had attacked us were throwing girls into a large cart.

Four girls had already been taken. Another was being dragged toward it. They were taking girls under twenty-five-the ones who hadn't transformed yet.

I assumed they didn't know that people from our pack could transform whenever they wanted.

Then it hit me.

I was twenty-two. They would think I was one of the youngest.

Before I could turn away, someone suddenly dragged me into an alley and covered my mouth.

I froze.

It was my mother.

"Listen carefully," she whispered, her eyes filled with fear. "Don't turn back. Leave from here."

"Mom-"

She didn't even give me a chance to say anything. She pushed me toward the exit. "Go!"

I ran.

I didn't know what else I could do.

I just ran.

"Aveline!" I stopped.

Someone was trying to reach me through their wolf.

I knew that voice.

It was...

My father's wolf.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the voice.

Then I heard him again.

"Run, Aveline. Hide. And don't reveal your identity."

"But Dad, where are you? Are you alright?"

"I don't have time to answer your questions. Just promise me that you won't reveal your identity. His voice sounded desperate. "Promise me!"

"I-I promise."

"Dad?" I waited. "D-Dad?"

No response.

My knees gave out.

I broke down.

No.

No, no, no.

I tried to keep my sobs quiet, but my whole body was shaking from the effort of staying silent.

I fell to the ground, scraping my knees against the rough earth. They started bleeding. I didn't care. I was still crying.

My life had turned upside down in a matter of seconds.

I hated him.

I hated him.

I knew they were the king's soldiers. I could smell it. They were his.

Why did he do this?

We had never hurt anyone. My pack had always helped others whenever we could.

The rumors about him were true.

He was ruthless.

He was a monster.

I screamed.

My voice echoed through the quiet night. I stayed there for what felt like an eternity.

Then someone stopped in front of me. I slowly raised my gaze.

One of the soldiers was standing there.

"Pretty little thing, aren't you?" His lips lifted into a disgusting smirk.

He bent down, pretending to look concerned. "Tsk, tsk. Let me help you, my lady."

I stared deeply into his eyes. I focused on him until I could see my own reflection in his eyes.

Then I reached for his mind. I hypnotized him. For a few seconds, I could feel his thoughts slipping beneath my control. But before I could do anything else, another soldier approached.

The connection broke. I immediately looked away. He wouldn't remember what I'd done. At least, I hoped he wouldn't. But I couldn't risk him recognizing me.

"We couldn't find the chief commander's daughter," the other soldier said.

My heart stopped. Just as I thought. They were looking for me.

That's why Father had told me to hide my identity. And I had come this close to revealing it.

The first soldier stood up and looked me over. I quickly lowered my gaze. I didn't know how to control my powers. It would be better if I didn't look at him. I didn't know what might happen if I did.

"Throw her in the cart with the other girls and take them to the palace," he ordered. "I'll be back after finding the commander's daughter."

My heart sank.

The palace.

I was being taken to the palace.

To him.

The king.

The monster who had just destroyed my home.

How was the first chapter? Please let me know in the comments if you have any confusion.