Prologue
"Punch harder!" Sapphire yelled at the females in training. The women shivered in fear, each increasing the intensity of their punches, putting in more effort as they tried to avoid the wrath of their alpha.
She looked towards the mountain and could clearly hear the chirping of the birds as they begin to sing. She could feel the early morning air as it swept across her face, filling her nostrils as she breathed in the fresh smell - the smell of nature. Her brown hair — which she usually set in a bun— came loose. She moved her hands almost immediately to tuck the stray hair back into its usual form.
Sapphire looked up to the pale blue sky and wondered if anyone else had noticed how pretty it was today, how the clouds were both bright and puffy. She also wondered if they imagined the clouds as a cute little girl who was between her parents: singing, laughing, and skipping with them, holding her tiny hands in their large ones. If they did, she hoped they also felt a calming warmth as they watched the little girl above play. For Sapphire believed the imaginary girl was lucky to be in the arms of those she loved.
"Useless," she sneered, pushing all the females to their very limit as each tried to be the better fighter, each throwing a punch harder than the last. All the females in training were trying their best to prove their worth to the alpha, but their efforts were fruitless. She still looked at them with an unimpressed expression.
Ever since an attack on the pack had caused the death of her parents, who were the former Alpha and Luna, Sapphire had been forced to take on the responsibilities of caring for her pack members and her younger sister at the tender age of seventeen.
She became the Alpha since her father had not had a male heir. Sapphire was no longer the free-spirited young girl who had loved adventures. Instead, she had become a cold alpha who distanced herself from everyone, even her sister.
She had trained every day for the past five years, teaching every male and female in her pack to be prepared to defend themselves against the world because she would not have a female who was weak, fragile, and defenseless. She killed anyone who posed a threat to her sister or her pack.
She didn't mind being called cold, heartless, dark, and evil if it meant protecting her pack and family.
Stories of how she tried to get rid of the evil in her traveled across packs. Parents told their children tales of how she had succumbed to darkness and tried to no avail to rid herself of it. What they didn't know was that she never tried to overthrow the darkness within. She embraced it, allowing it to consume her. She let it take over. If it meant the safety of her pack and loved ones was ensured, she would accept it.
What people thought about her didn't really matter. She was who she was and she wasn't going to change herself for anyone in the world, for she was the Alpha.
She was Sapphire Williams of the Blood Moon pack.
"Alpha," Ryan Mason, her beta and best friend called to her.
Immediately she turned and waved a hand, signaling dismissal. In response, all the males and females on the training ground scurried off, eager to escape the intense training she put them through every day. She laughed at the thought of them dreading their sessions with her as she turned and faced her best friend. He was the only one who understood her. He had stood by her these past few years when all others had turned from her in fear.
He and her sister Claire were the only ones who called her by her name in private; others were not permitted to and didn't dare to call her by her name in fear of her reaction.
"Ryan," She ordered.
"Yes, Sapphire." He replied.
"Have you taken care of the rogues we found at the border?"
"They still refused to divulge anything as to why they were on our lands, but they have been taken to the silver prison for questioning."
Ah, silver. One of the most deadly weapons for werewolves, just as the sunlight was for vampires. Werewolves could be seriously wounded and even killed by silver.
Sapphire looked into her beta's bright emerald eyes, taking in his deep brown hair slicked back as he furrowed his neatly shaped eyebrows. She wondered if perhaps she had told Ryan of the little crush she once had on him when they were back in high school. They might've been dating by now or perhaps marked werewolves, if not for her position.
At one point, she even thought they were mates, but it turned out to be a false assumption. When they shifted into their wolves, neither felt any bond whatsoever towards the other. She had to admit that the thought of Ryan not being her mate had hurt her, but she had been quick to push the thought of ever having a mate away. She knew that even if they had been mates, he would never want to love a cold and heartless monster such as herself.
She could clearly remember how she had met Ryan— she had been a rebellious fifth-grader at the time. She could recall in vivid detail the fight she had with her parents about how she should be more responsible, but she had always been more on the adventurous side.
As a ten-year-old, she was always eager to learn about the world and the places she could go, but her parents were always against it. They believed that as the next alpha, she shouldn't be thinking about traveling. Rather, she should be engrossed in learning how to run the pack.
Being as she was, she had run deep into the woods, away from her controlling parents and away from their strict instruction, but now she realized they had only wanted what was best for her future.
She had been far into the woods when she noticed she was lost in a field of tall grass. She had collapsed to the ground and cried, wishing her parents would find her, wishing they would take her home. She had thought she would never disobey them again if only they would come to rescue her.
The sky had gotten darker and she had lost all hope of ever being found, until her eyes met a beautiful emerald pair belonging to a little boy who stood over her, his perfectly shaped brows furrowed. She had looked up to him and smiled, believing she had finally found her savior, a savior who had come to rescue her from being lost in the undergrowth forever.
He had reached out to pull her up, and despite being so little, he seemed very brave and confident as he took her little hands in his. He had led her out of the woods, and only when she was home did she realize he was the son of the pack's beta. Apparently he'd recently returned from boarding school, but she hadn't known that. Soon after, he had introduced himself as Ryan and they had been best friends ever since.
"Sapphire, have you ever wondered what it would feel like to have a mate?" Ryan asked, drawing her out of the trance she was in.
"Huh ......" She turned to him. "Why are you suddenly curious about mates? You practically have all the girls at your beck and call." She raised a cynical brow at him.
"Come on, Sapphire, be serious. We're both old enough to have mates. I mean, look at us. We're twenty-two-year-olds who were supposed to find our mates when we first shifted into wolves. Here we are, all alone," he said, sighing.
She patted his shoulder and said to him reassuringly, "Don't worry, you will find her. Soon." She stepped away, wanting to avoid a conversation about her absent mate.
She had taken a few steps towards the packhouse when Ryan's warm voice halted her. "You know, I'm not the only one who needs to find a mate. Even you need to find yours, to complete you and the pack."
She didn't look back, but resumed walking, continuing till she reached her bedroom inside the packhouse. The moment she was safely inside, she collapsed onto her bed, covering her face with her palms. The words Ryan had spoken echoed through her head.
"You need to find your mate, to complete you and the pack."
"Damn it, Ryan," she muttered. "I don't need anyone to complete me, I'm fine as I am."
Deep down, she knew no matter how many times she tried to deny it, what he was saying was the truth. She needed her mate. Over the past years, she had lost all hope of ever having her mate because she had believed she would never be blessed with a one, for her darkness was too great a burden for any male to withstand.
Clearly the moon goddess wouldn't be so cruel as to pair her with someone despite how heartless she was, she thought to herself as she ran her hands through her roughly twisted bun.
Believing she would never find her mate didn't mean she didn't want to find him. She still hoped she would meet him — someday.
She could still remember the day she had taken over the title of alpha. She could remember the looks on the people's faces as they had wondered how a female like herself could rule a pack as large as the Blood Moon. She had been criticized and looked down upon because she was only a seventeen-year-old female. That didn't stop her. Nothing could stop her from becoming the strong alpha she was now. She knew her parents had been preparing her to be the leader of the pack, but what she didn't expect was that she was going to be pressed into the role of an alpha so soon in her life.
And for the past five years, she had remained strong and proved to the people who criticized her that she was a force to be reckoned with. Strength was the only choice she had if she wanted to survive in a world where alpha males were considered superior.
She could remember the day they had forced her to fight other alphas for her right to the title; they had her forced her to fight for her freedom. They gave her an ultimatum: if she didn't win, she would be married to one of the unmated Alphas to be his Luna.
The male Alphas wanted to take over her pack. They wanted her to be no more than a mere Luna. A Luna who always obeyed their wishes and did as she was told without the slightest opposition. She could remember the way she slaughtered the alphas who tried to take over her title. The title her parents had left her. It meant the world to her and she was more than willing to fight anyone for it. She could still see the faces those alphas had when she had defeated every wolf they threw at her. When she had ripped out their hearts from their bodies while they screamed, begging for their lives. She hadn't stopped until those lives belonged to her.
Ever since that incident, no one even dared to challenge her. They feared her wrath.
She hadn't fought them just to get the power, she had fought them because she didn't want to let go of it. It was one of the things her parents had left to remind her of them and to keep their family lineage. She had also needed the title to protect herself and her sister.
Looking back at her past experience, she saw everything she had gone through. Each and every challenge she had faced had shaped and groomed her into the strong alpha female she was now.
