Prologue
My father’s best friend and closest neighbor, Alpha Anthony of the NewMoon Pack, discovered them at the edge of his pack's territory. Tiny four-year-old Samara and her mother, Anna, were cornered and surrounded by several rogues. They were barely holding on when he and his warriors arrived just in time to save them.
They had been on the run and were completely drained when they entered onto NewMoon territory. It took months for them to recover, both mentally and physically. Although they didn't smell like rogues, they were very closed off about their past. Anna always kept Samara close to her side. With time and patience, the two gradually relaxed their guards. Alpha Anthony and his pack welcomed them with open arms.
Later that year, I lost my precious mother and a baby sister I would never get to know. I was just eight years old at the time. My father, Thomas, the Alpha of CrescentLight, went half-crazed from the loss of my mother, his fated mate. She died after a terrible fall while trying to deliver my premature sister, bleeding out in the process. With no other choice, my pack locked him away in a cell. They kept him chained in silver and dosed with wolfsbane to prevent him from going fully feral. We hoped for a miracle and prayed to the goddess that his human side could recover enough to control his beast.
He suffered for so long before Anna learned about my father. She confided her secret to Alpha Anthony and offered to help. In desperation and fear for his childhood friend, Alpha Anthony shared Anna’s secret with a very stressed Beta James and Elder Nicholas, my father’s most trusted elder. They were able to formulate a plan, allowing Anna to try to help my father. Within a week, she had calmed him down enough to stop him from injuring himself. By the end of the month, they released my father into Anna’s care. She became our new Luna and my new mother. By the day’s end, I met my new little sister, Samara.
It was love at first sight for me. I was very protective of her and allowed no one, except her mother, close to her. Over the years, a fall that caused a serious head injury and societal expectation taught me to mistake that love of my mate for family love. However, years later, one kiss led to more. She became the reason I lived.
Tragically, both of our parents were brutally murdered ten years later, just a few months after my first shift. Poor Sam was only fourteen at the time, but she rose through her grief to help me pick up the shattered pieces of our pack. I left Alpha training early to take over Alpha duties. While Sam hadn’t been old enough to attend Luna training yet, as my sister Luna, she exceeded everyone’s expectations. Together, we learned and grew our pack into the strongest pack found on US soil.
The women saw her as a role model, and the men were very protective of her. That didn’t mean she couldn’t protect herself. Like her mother before her, Sam ensured that women and children were equally valued. We were one of very few packs that allowed rogues a fair chance at a pack life. Everyone was given the opportunity for a decent education and fair-paying jobs. Our rules were strict, but we hoped, fair for all. We were also one of the few packs that had female warriors and required all members to train from a young age. This increased our fighting numbers and improved our chances of defense and survival.
With her strength and care, no one could deny that she was born to lead, even when she did not shift at the normal age of eighteen. Most packs would have abandoned a wolf-less Luna by then, but Sam had already proven herself as a leader, and I loved my sister. That thought never even crossed our minds. Our pack loved and protected her. With Sam by my side holding down the Luna position, I was able to disregard the need for a chosen mate as I waited for my fated one. That is, until the last possible moment when the Alpha King demanded that I find a mate by the age of twenty-four.
The Alpha King’s relentless pursuit ultimately led me to my eternal mate and the fall of his ruling. This is our story of how I fell in love with my sister and our rise to leadership.
