Ch 1 - HappyBirthdaylittle Moon
Chapter One
Happy Birthday, Little Moon
Lura Night turned nineteen in a guest house that had never been intended to become anyone’s home.
The morning light crept through thin curtains and settled across the few belongings she had left: three shelves of worn books, a narrow wardrobe, her father’s old leather traveling bag, and a wooden wolf resting beside her bed. The wolf had been painted black on one side and white on the other, though the colors had chipped around its ears and paws over the years.
Just like her hair.
Lura reached for it and ran her thumb over the rough wood. Her father had carved it for her seventh birthday after spending three months pretending he had forgotten what she wanted.
He had been terrible at keeping secrets.
Rowan’s Memory: “Happy birthday, Little Moon.”
Lura closed her eyes.
For one dangerous moment, she could almost hear him standing behind her.
Warm voice.
Deep laugh.
Safe arms.
Then the memory disappeared, and the guest house became quiet again.
Lura: “Happy birthday to me.”
Her wolf shifted somewhere inside her mind but offered no response.
Lura placed the carving back beside her bed and climbed to her feet. The floor was cold beneath her bare toes, and the small building carried the early-morning chill much longer than the main house ever had.
The main house stood across the lawn, large and glowing beneath the sunrise. Its stone walls, tall windows, and silver crescent crest marked it as the home of the former Beta family of Citrus Moon Pack.
Her family.
At least, it had been once.
Lura’s old bedroom was on the second floor, facing the eastern woods. Her father had painted stars across its ceiling and black-and-white wolves along the walls. He had built the shelves himself, badly, and spent almost an entire week fixing the same one after it collapsed twice.
Now the room belonged to Tina.
After Rowan died, Marissa had decided her daughter needed more space. Lura’s belongings had been carried across the property while she stood silently in the hall and watched strangers remove the last pieces of the childhood her father had made for her.
Three years later, she still looked toward that window every morning.
She wasn’t sure why.
Lura brushed her teeth, washed her face, and dressed in black trousers, a loose black shirt, and worn boots. Her split black-and-white hair fell naturally down her back, too stubborn to remain tied for long.
Before leaving, she picked up her father’s old bag and checked the broken buckle.
Tomorrow, she would take it with her to the Mating Gathering.
Today, apparently, she had to shop.
Lura crossed the lawn toward the main house. The kitchen entrance was already open, allowing the smell of fresh bread and coffee to drift into the cool air.
Inside, servants moved between counters while breakfast was carried toward the dining room. Several greeted her warmly. Others lowered their voices when Marissa passed nearby.
Lura had noticed people did that often.
She entered the dining room and found Tina sitting across from her usual place, talking before Lura had even reached the table.
Tina: “I heard the Northern males are enormous.”
Lura sat down and looked at the bowl of oatmeal waiting for her.
Lura: “Congratulations to them.”
Tina paused, then continued as though Lura had given a useful answer.
Tina: “And someone said there are more ranked males attending this year than usual. Betas, Deltas, Gammas, maybe even Alphas.”
Lura moved her spoon through the oatmeal.
Lura: “Sounds crowded.”
Tina: “That’s all you have to say?”
Lura: “I haven’t finished waking up.”
Tina leaned closer.
Her golden-brown hair had been curled around her shoulders, and the pale blue dress she wore looked new. Everything about her suggested she had been preparing for the Gathering since before sunrise.
Tina: “Aren’t you excited at all?”
Lura: “No.”
Tina: “Not even a little?”
Lura: “Still no.”
Tina: “Why?”
Lura lifted a spoonful of oatmeal and watched it slide back into the bowl.
Lura: “Wanting someone to choose you seems exhausting.”
Tina stared at her.
Tina: “That’s the entire purpose of the Gathering.”
Lura: “I’m aware.”
Tina: “Every unmated female dreams about it.”
Lura: “Then I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful time.”
Tina sat back with a sigh.
She and Lura were not enemies.
They weren’t friends either.
They had simply spent twelve years beneath the same roof, sharing meals, family ceremonies, and the complicated affection of the same man.
Rowan Night had adopted Tina after choosing Marissa as his second mate. Tina had been six. Lura had been seven.
Before then, Lura had spent one full year alone with her father.
One year she could remember clearly.
Her mother, Sora, existed only through stories and one small portrait Rowan kept locked inside his study. She had been his fated mate. The woman he loved completely. The woman who died bringing Lura into the world.
Rowan never stopped loving her.
Lura had always known that, just as she had known Marissa was never expected to replace her.
Her father had simply believed his daughter needed a mother.
Rowan’s Memory: “Every little girl deserves someone who understands girl things.”
Young Lura’s Memory: “You understand girl things.”
Rowan’s Memory: “Little Moon, I understand swords, pack finances, and how to burn dinner.”
Young Lura’s Memory: “You burn dinner very well.”
Lura could still remember how hard he laughed.
The memory tightened something inside her chest.
She pushed it away.
Tina was still talking.
Tina: “Do you think the rumors about the Alphas are true?”
Lura: “Which rumors?”
Tina: “That two unmated Alphas are attending.”
Lura: “Maybe.”
Tina: “That would be incredibly rare.”
Lura: “So I’ve been told.”
Tina: “Imagine being chosen by one.”
Lura looked at her.
Lura: “You seem to be imagining enough for both of us.”
Tina rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her mouth.
Tina: “You’re impossible.”
Lura: “Father used to say that.”
The smile disappeared.
Silence settled between them.
Tina looked down at the table.
Tina: “I didn’t mean to—”
Lura: “It’s fine.”
Tina: “Lura—”
Lura: “I said it’s fine.”
It wasn’t Tina’s fault that speaking about Rowan still felt like pressing against a wound that refused to close.
Three years had passed since he walked into the Citrus Moon woods and never returned alive.
The pack called it a rogue ambush.
Wrong place.
Wrong time.
A tragedy.
Lura called it the day the world stopped sounding real.
Footsteps entered the dining room before Tina could respond.
Marissa Night crossed the room wearing a dark green dress without a single wrinkle. Her blonde hair was pinned neatly away from her face, and her expression looked as carefully arranged as everything else about her.
She took the chair at the head of the table.
Rowan’s chair.
Lura looked down immediately.
Three years later, she still couldn’t watch anyone sit there.
Marissa: “Have you eaten?”
Tina: “I’m too excited.”
Lura: “I’m considering it.”
Marissa looked at Lura’s untouched oatmeal.
Marissa: “The carriage leaves in twenty minutes.”
Tina: “Can we visit Bellamy’s first?”
Marissa: “Yes.”
Tina: “And Marlowe House?”
Marissa: “If there’s time.”
Tina: “What about the new boutique beside the jewelers?”
Marissa: “Tina.”
Tina: “Sorry.”
Lura moved her spoon through the oatmeal again.
Marissa: “You’ll both need enough clothing for thirty days. There will be ceremonies, formal meals, activities, parties, and the final Choosing.”
Lura: “I have clothing.”
Marissa looked at her black outfit.
Marissa: “Not appropriate clothing.”
Lura: “It covers everything.”
Marissa: “That is not the only purpose of clothing.”
Lura: “It should be.”
Tina hid a smile behind her cup.
Marissa noticed.
Marissa: “Something amusing?”
Tina: “Wrong pipe.”
Lura looked at her untouched drink.
Lura: “Tragic.”
Marissa: “Lura.”
Lura: “Yes?”
Marissa: “Your attitude will not serve you well at the Gathering.”
Lura: “I wasn’t aware I was bringing it.”
Tina coughed again.
Marissa’s mouth tightened.
Marissa: “You are nineteen years old. A year older than the other first-time females attending.”
There it was.
Lura placed her spoon down.
Lura: “I know how old I am.”
Marissa: “Then you understand how fortunate you are that the Gathering Council accepted your application after last year.”
Lura: “After the payment wasn’t sent?”
Marissa: “It was an unfortunate mistake.”
Lura: “And the application disappearing?”
Marissa: “Another mistake.”
Lura: “And the replacement payment?”
Marissa: “Lura.”
Tina shifted uncomfortably.
Tina: “Could we not do this today?”
Lura looked at her stepsister.
There was no cruelty in Tina’s expression. Only embarrassment and the desperate wish for the morning to remain pleasant.
Lura picked up her spoon again.
Lura: “Fine.”
Marissa relaxed slightly.
Marissa: “You should be grateful you’re attending at all.”
Lura: “Grateful to whom?”
Marissa: “To me.”
A quiet laugh escaped Lura before she could stop it.
It wasn’t warm.
It barely sounded like laughter.
Still, everyone heard it.
Marissa’s expression hardened.
Marissa: “Is something amusing?”
Lura: “Apparently.”
Marissa: “Your father would be ashamed of how you behave.”
The spoon stopped.
The room became still.
Lura’s wolf rose inside her mind, no longer sleeping.
She placed the spoon beside the bowl with deliberate care.
Lura: “Don’t.”
Marissa leaned back.
Marissa: “Excuse me?”
Lura: “Use him to win an argument.”
Marissa: “I was his mate.”
Lura: “And I was his daughter.”
Her voice remained quiet, but something beneath it made Tina lower her eyes.
For one moment, fear moved across Marissa’s face.
It vanished quickly.
Lura still saw it.
Marissa: “Go change into something appropriate. We’re leaving.”
Lura stood.
Lura: “I am wearing something appropriate.”
Marissa: “You look like you’re attending a funeral.”
The words landed harder than either of them expected.
Marissa’s expression shifted as if she realized what she had said.
Too late.
Lura turned toward the doorway.
Marissa: “Lura.”
She stopped but did not look back.
Lura: “Twenty minutes. I heard you.”
She left the dining room before the pressure inside her chest became something she could no longer ignore.
Shopping, Lura decided several hours later, was a special form of torture.
Not the dramatic kind.
There was no blood, screaming, or silver chains.
Only bright lights, crowded stores, strangers judging the size of her waist, and someone repeatedly asking if she wanted to try the same ugly dress in a different color.
She did not.
She wanted to go home.
Unfortunately, Tina was holding three dresses while staring at a fourth.
Tina: “What do you think?”
Lura looked at the dresses.
Lura: “About?”
Tina: “The dresses.”
Lura: “There are four.”
Tina: “I know.”
Lura: “You only have one body.”
Tina: “Help me choose.”
One was blue.
One was pink.
One was green.
The fourth looked like someone had attacked it with crystals.
Lura: “Blue.”
Tina: “You didn’t even think.”
Lura: “You asked me to choose. I chose.”
Tina: “Why blue?”
Lura: “It was closest.”
Tina stared at her.
Tina: “You’re terrible at this.”
Lura: “So I’ve been told.”
She disappeared into the changing room while Lura leaned against the wall and looked toward the bags at her feet.
Tina had twelve dresses, six pairs of shoes, three coats, jewelry, nightwear, and enough lace to frighten Lura away from an entire section of the store.
Lura had two bags.
Three plain shirts.
Two pairs of trousers.
A sweater.
One pair of boots.
And several simple dresses found on a clearance rack.
She didn’t care about the price or the lack of variety. The clothes fit, covered her body, and did not require her to stand beneath bright lights any longer than necessary.
The curtain opened, and Tina stepped out wearing the blue dress.
She turned slowly.
Tina: “Well?”
Lura: “You’re wearing it.”
Tina: “I know.”
Lura: “Then we agree.”
Tina closed her eyes.
Tina: “Do I look good?”
Lura studied the soft blue fabric and the way it complemented Tina’s warm complexion.
Lura: “Yes.”
Tina opened her eyes.
Tina: “Really?”
Lura: “You should buy it.”
A genuine smile crossed Tina’s face.
Tina: “Thank you.”
Lura nodded.
Tina returned to change, and Marissa approached carrying several more boxes.
Marissa: “Have you found everything?”
Lura gestured toward her two bags.
Lura: “Yes.”
Marissa: “That isn’t enough for thirty days.”
Lura: “I can wash things.”
Marissa stared as though Lura had suggested attending the Gathering naked.
Marissa: “You need formal dresses.”
Lura: “I have one at home.”
Marissa: “You wore it to your father’s funeral.”
Lura went still.
Marissa looked away.
Marissa: “Find another.”
Lura: “I don’t need one.”
Marissa: “The final Choosing requires formal attire.”
Lura: “I don’t plan on being chosen.”
Marissa: “That isn’t entirely your decision.”
Something in the way she said it made Lura’s wolf stir.
Before Lura could ask what she meant, a deep male voice came from behind them.
Alpha Aldric: “Beta Night?”
Marissa froze.
The entire store seemed to shift around the man standing several feet away. Employees lowered their heads. Shifters stepped aside. Conversations softened.
Alpha Aldric of Citrus Moon Pack was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair beginning to gray near his temples. His presence filled the room without effort.
Marissa’s expression transformed.
Her smile became warm.
Her posture softened.
Marissa: “Alpha Aldric. What a wonderful surprise.”
He greeted her politely, but his attention had already moved past her.
Toward Lura.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Alpha Aldric: “Lura?”
She shifted beneath his gaze.
Lura: “Hello, Alpha.”
He stepped closer, studying her split hair and face as if searching for something familiar.
His expression softened.
Alpha Aldric: “Look at you.”
Lura didn’t know what to say.
So she said nothing.
Alpha Aldric: “You look more like him every year.”
Her chest tightened.
Lura: “My father?”
A sad smile touched his face.
Alpha Aldric: “Who else?”
Three years.
She had avoided him for three years.
Not because Alpha Aldric had been cruel.
Because he had carried Rowan’s body out of the woods.
Every time she saw him, she remembered mud, blood, and her father’s lifeless hand hanging at his side.
Alpha Aldric: “How have you been?”
Lura: “Fine.”
He studied her more carefully.
Lura hated when people did that.
Alpha Aldric: “You’re attending the Gathering tomorrow?”
Lura: “Yes.”
Tina emerged from the changing room and straightened immediately.
Tina: “Good afternoon, Alpha.”
Alpha Aldric: “Good afternoon, Tina.”
His eyes traveled toward the mountain of boxes stacked around Marissa.
Then toward Lura’s two bags.
Something changed in his expression.
Alpha Aldric: “Preparing for the month?”
Marissa: “The girls have been shopping all day.”
Alpha Aldric: “It appears Tina has been successful.”
Tina smiled.
He looked at Lura.
Alpha Aldric: “And you?”
Lura: “I found what I need.”
Alpha Aldric: “Only two bags?”
Lura: “I travel lightly.”
Marissa laughed too quickly.
Marissa: “Lura is incredibly difficult to shop for.”
Lura looked at her.
Lura: “Am I?”
Marissa’s smile tightened.
Alpha Aldric’s mouth twitched.
Alpha Aldric: “Rowan said the same thing.”
Lura’s attention returned to him.
Lura: “He did?”
Alpha Aldric: “He once spent three months searching for the right birthday gift.”
She frowned.
Lura: “Which gift?”
Alpha Aldric: “The wooden wolf.”
Her breath caught.
Lura: “He told you?”
Alpha Aldric laughed softly.
Alpha Aldric: “He asked half the pack what colors he should paint it.”
A small smile escaped her before she could stop it.
Lura: “Black and white.”
Alpha Aldric: “Like your hair.”
Lura: “Exactly.”
For one brief moment, Lura saw her father in the Alpha’s expression.
Not his face.
The warmth.
The memory.
Then Alpha Aldric looked again at the bags around them.
Alpha Aldric: “Surely Rowan’s daughter deserves more than two bags for her first Gathering.”
Silence.
Lura slowly turned toward Marissa.
Her stepmother smiled.
Marissa: “Of course she does.”
Lura nearly laughed again.
Alpha Aldric: “I’d like to see what you’ve selected.”
Lura: “That seems unnecessary.”
Marissa: “It would be wonderful.”
Lura looked at her.
Lura: “Who are you?”
Tina coughed to hide a laugh.
Alpha Aldric did not hide his.
Marissa’s eyes narrowed.
Marissa: “Why don’t we find you something special?”
Lura understood immediately.
Marissa had no desire to buy her anything expensive.
But Alpha Aldric was watching.
Appearances mattered more than money when the Alpha of the pack stood beside them.
Lura: “Of course, Mother.”
Marissa’s face twitched.
The next store contained no clearance racks.
Lura checked twice.
Every dress looked expensive enough to require its own guard.
She was preparing to find somewhere quiet to wait when one caught her attention.
It hung alone near the back of the store.
Black.
At least, she thought it was black.
When the fabric shifted beneath the lights, silver moved across it. Beneath the silver shimmered the faintest traces of violet.
Lura stopped.
Her wolf stirred.
She reached out and touched the fabric.
Something pulled inside her chest.
She released it immediately.
Alpha Aldric: “That one.”
Lura turned.
Lura: “What?”
Alpha Aldric: “Try it.”
Lura: “No.”
His eyebrows rose.
Lura remembered who she was speaking to.
Lura: “Respectfully.”
He laughed.
Alpha Aldric: “You definitely inherited Rowan’s stubbornness.”
Lura: “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Alpha Aldric: “You should.”
Marissa approached with Tina.
Marissa: “Try the dress, Lura.”
Lura stared at her.
Marissa stared back.
Alpha Aldric waited nearby.
Lura understood.
Lura: “Fine.”
Several minutes later, she stood before the changing-room mirror and barely recognized herself.
The fabric fit as though it had been made for her. Black and silver wrapped around her body before falling softly to the floor. Violet shimmered with every small movement.
Her split black-and-white hair fell over her shoulders.
For one strange second, her blue-gray eyes appeared purple.
Lura blinked.
Normal.
Tina: “Lura?”
Lura: “I’m coming.”
She opened the curtain.
The store became quiet.
Tina stared.
Marissa stared.
Alpha Aldric went completely still.
Lura shifted uncomfortably.
Lura: “What?”
His expression carried sadness, surprise, and something she couldn’t identify.
Alpha Aldric: “You look beautiful.”
Lura glanced down at the dress.
Lura: “Thank you.”
He looked toward Marissa.
Alpha Aldric: “Rowan would have emptied his pockets for it.”
Marissa: “Yes.”
Alpha Aldric: “He always spoiled her.”
Marissa: “He loved her very much.”
Lura looked at Marissa.
Her stepmother refused to meet her eyes.
Alpha Aldric smiled, but something cold entered his expression.
Alpha Aldric: “Then I suppose it’s fortunate Rowan left more than enough funds to continue doing so.”
Marissa’s smile froze.
Lura lifted her head.
Alpha Aldric held her stepmother’s gaze.
Alpha Aldric: “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Marissa: “Of course.”
Alpha Aldric: “Wonderful.”
He turned toward Lura.
Alpha Aldric: “Enjoy the dress.”
And just like that, Marissa had no choice but to buy it.
They returned to the Night estate after darkness had settled over Citrus Moon territory.
Tina hurried upstairs with her bags while servants followed with the rest.
Lura carried her own purchases toward the stairs.
Marissa: “Lura.”
She stopped.
Lura: “Yes?”
Marissa: “The kitchen needs help preparing dinner.”
Lura looked toward the stairs.
Then toward her stepmother.
Lura: “We have staff.”
Marissa: “They’re behind.”
Lura: “And?”
Marissa: “You will help them.”
The pleasant smile Marissa had worn near Alpha Aldric was gone.
Apparently, it had remained behind at the store.
Lura: “I need to pack.”
Marissa: “You have all night.”
Lura: “Tina is packing.”
Marissa: “Tina has more to organize.”
Lura looked toward the parade of boxes traveling upstairs.
Lura: “That tends to happen when someone buys the entire town.”
Marissa’s eyes hardened.
Marissa: “Kitchen. Now.”
Lura’s wolf stirred, but she was too tired to argue.
Lura: “Fine.”
Two hours later, her hands smelled like onions.
Lura hated onions.
She hated potatoes.
She especially hated the mountain of dirty dishes beside the sink.
One of the older kitchen workers approached and gently took the towel from her hands.
Kitchen Worker: “Go on, child.”
Lura: “Marissa said—”
Kitchen Worker: “I know what she said.”
Lura raised an eyebrow.
The woman lowered her voice.
Kitchen Worker: “And I remember what your father would have said.”
Lura looked down.
That was different.
Kitchen Worker: “You leave tomorrow. We can finish.”
Lura dried her hands.
Lura: “Thank you.”
She left through the kitchen door and stepped into the cold night.
The main house glowed behind her. Warm lights filled the windows, and laughter drifted from somewhere inside.
Lura crossed the lawn alone.
The guest house waited at the far end of the property.
Dark.
Small.
Separate.
She stopped halfway across the grass and looked up at the second floor.
The light in her old bedroom was still on.
Tina’s room now.
For a moment, Lura was seven again.
Her father stood on a ladder beneath a ceiling covered in stars, white paint streaked across his cheek.
Young Lura’s Memory: “Papa, the moon is crooked.”
Rowan’s Memory: “It is not.”
Young Lura’s Memory: “It is.”
Rowan’s Memory: “Art isn’t supposed to be perfect, Little Moon.”
Young Lura’s Memory: “You painted a moon.”
Rowan’s Memory: “Exactly. Art.”
She wondered if Tina knew Rowan had spent three nights painting that room.
If she knew he had fallen asleep on the floor after finishing the moon.
If she knew the wolves on the walls had been painted black and white because of Lura’s hair.
Probably not.
Lura turned away.
It didn’t matter.
At least, she had become very good at pretending it didn’t.
She unlocked the guest house and carried her bags inside.
One bedroom.
One bathroom.
One tiny sitting area.
Silence.
Lots of silence.
Lura liked silence.
She had taught herself to.
She placed her shopping bags beside the bed and set the black dress box on top.
Alpha Aldric’s words returned to her.
Rowan would have emptied his pockets for that dress.
Lura: “Yes.”
She opened the box and touched the shimmering fabric.
Lura: “He would have.”
Her father would have complained loudly about the price.
Then bought matching shoes.
Probably jewelry too.
Her chest began to hurt.
Lura closed the box.
Three years.
She should have been better at ignoring grief by now.
She packed the plain dresses first, then her shirts, trousers, sweater, and boots. The black box went in last.
Finally, she placed the wooden wolf on top.
Black on one side.
White on the other.
Just like her.
Lura: “Thirty days.”
Her wolf shifted.
Lura: “We attend.”
Silence.
Lura: “We survive.”
Nothing.
Lura: “We come home.”
Her wolf became restless.
Lura frowned.
Lura: “What?”
No answer.
Lura: “Helpful.”
She changed into comfortable pajamas and climbed into bed.
Outside, the lights in the main house disappeared one by one.
Lura watched through the window until only one remained.
Her old bedroom.
Tina’s room.
Then that light disappeared too.
Darkness covered the estate.
Tomorrow, Lura would leave for the Mating Gathering.
Tomorrow, she would spend thirty days surrounded by unmated shifters searching for the people fate had made for them.
Tomorrow, according to everyone else, her real life would begin.
Lura pulled the blanket higher.
Lura: “Sounds exhausting.”
Eventually, sleep claimed her.
Morning arrived with the sound of an engine.
Lura opened her eyes.
Her wolf was already awake.
Completely still.
Listening.
Lura: “What?”
No answer.
The engine sounded again.
Lura pushed back the blankets and crossed the cold floor. She pulled the curtain aside.
A long, polished black car waited outside the main house.
The silver crescent crest of Citrus Moon Pack gleamed across its hood.
Lura stared.
Yesterday, Alpha Aldric had spoken to her properly for the first time in three years.
Today, his personal car was outside her home.
The driver’s door opened, and a man dressed in a dark suit stepped onto the gravel.
Then the rear door opened.
Alpha Aldric emerged.
He looked toward the main house before slowly turning his head.
His eyes traveled across the lawn.
Toward the small guest house.
Toward Lura’s window.
Toward her.
Their gazes met.
His expression changed.
First confusion.
Then disbelief.
Then something Lura had never expected to see on the face of the Alpha of Citrus Moon.
Fury.
He looked from Lura to the guest house behind her, and the fury disappeared beneath a calm expression so controlled it became frightening.
Lura’s wolf stood inside her mind.
Completely alert.
Alpha Aldric turned toward the main house.
Lura watched him walk to the front door.
And suddenly, she had the uncomfortable feeling that Marissa Night’s morning was about to become very unpleasant.
