Chapter 1
I couldn’t believe my eyes as they traced the words on the page in my hands, over and over again. No matter how many times I read them, they still felt unreal.
But this was real.
An invitation that could change my life—change both our lives—for the better.
For a moment, I simply stood there, trying to let it sink in. Then a voice snapped me out of my trance.
“Elara, what’s that? Did you get a letter?”
I looked up. It was my mom. My sweet, kind, and currently very oblivious mom—oblivious to the fact that I had just received something that could alter everything. Something that might finally allow me to repay her for all she had done for me. For saving me. For taking me in. For raising me. For giving me a second chance at life.
My throat tightened, and no words came out.
“Honey, are you okay?”
I lifted my head, meeting her eyes. “I… I got the invitation,” I whispered, the words barely loud enough for her to hear.
“Invitation for what?”
“For Moonstone High.”
Saying it out loud felt surreal. Too good to be true.
I got invited to Moonstone High.
The shock on her face mirrored my own as she crossed the room in quick strides, gently but urgently taking the letter from my hands. I watched her eyes move across the page, her expression shifting in ways I couldn’t quite place. Sadness? Worry? Disappointment?
Then, just as quickly, it vanished—replaced by a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Congratulations,” she said softly.
The word that should have made me happy—but instead, it left me uneasy.
“What’s wrong, Mama?” I asked. “You don’t seem… well, happy about it. I thought you’d be excited. This could change everything for us. Are you worried about the money? Don’t worry, since it’s an invitation, it doesn’t cost us anything. I earned my place there and—”
“Oh, no, no, my child,” she cut in gently. “I am happy for you. Of course I am.”
She paused, then sighed. “It’s just… I know this means you’ll be away from home for a long time. I won’t get to see you every day anymore.”
Relief washed over me, though something about her hesitation lingered in the back of my mind. It felt like there was more she wasn’t saying.
“But I am very proud of you,” she continued. “This is an amazing achievement.”
I smiled and stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her. “Don’t worry. I know it seems like a long time right now, but I promise I’ll come home for every break, every holiday, and every other chance I get.”
She hugged me tighter before pulling back, cupping my face with one hand. “I know you will, darling. But I’ll miss you regardless.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
We stood there in each other’s arms for a moment longer, holding on to the comfort of something familiar.
Then Mom broke the comfortable silence. “Well then, I suppose you should start packing. It says they’ll come pick you up in two days, and it would be bad to wait until the very last minute now, wouldn’t it?”
She raised an eyebrow at me, clearly mocking my habit of always forgetting at least one thing whenever I went anywhere—sleepovers at Maddie’s, our trips to the coast, even simple grocery runs. She would never let me live down the time I forgot the money she left on the table and had to run back and forth two miles.
I chuckled at the memory and reassured her, “Don’t worry. This time, I’m bringing reinforcements.”
—
The next day, I invited my best friend Maddie over to share the good news. Ten minutes later, I was tackled to the ground with her on top of me, squealing like a little girl.
“Holy fuck! My best friend got invited to the royal academy! I can’t believe this, you lucky bastard! Do you know how many hot guys go there? How many hot royal guys go there? This is actually insane.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm, which showed far more excitement than my mom had the day before.
“I’m glad you’re happy for me, but could you please get off me before you crush me and I don’t even get the chance to see the academy?”
She pressed a finger to her chin, pretending to think.
“I guess I should… since I wouldn’t want to go there alone now, would I?”
She gave me a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes—then the realization hit me like a truck.
“Wait. What?”
“That’s right. I got invited too.”
She stood there with a proud look on her face, arms crossed. A second later, it was my turn to squeal like a child, and she joined in immediately.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe this is actually happening,” I said, the words sounding ridiculous even to my own ears.
“You better believe it. And since I had to come here to hear the good news when you could’ve just told me over the phone, I assume you also need my help packing. We better get started—because I still need to pack my own things too.”
She finally stood up and offered me her hand. I took it, smiling. “You know me too well.”
The next two hours flew by as we talked about what Moonstone High might be like while stuffing my suitcases to their limits. Just as we were about finished, she brought up the topic I usually tried to avoid—for obvious reasons, which she was painfully aware of.
“And who knows? Maybe we’ll finally find our mates there. Imagine if one of us got mated to a royal. Now that would be something.”
I stayed silent, unsure how to respond. My wolf, Selene, stirred inside me, clearly uncomfortable at the word mate.
Maddie gave me a sympathetic look. “I know you’ll have your doubts about this for… probably forever. But as long as I’m here, no guy is ever going to trick you like that again. I promise.”
My thoughts drifted back to two years ago—to the boy at our old school who had used a witch-brewed perfume to make himself smell like someone’s mate.
My mate.
All he needed was a strand of my hair—only Goddess herself knows how he got that—and the illusion was complete. The pull had been strong enough to drag me into his bed despite every protest of my mind. It was a simple trick with devastating consequences, and it had eventually gotten him expelled.
I shook the memory away and gave Maddie a tight smile.
The next few years were certainly going to be interesting.
