Chapter 3: Fooled and mocked

It's almost the end of the week, and I've finally made my own decision. I'm going to the party, but I don't have the confidence to become Gray's mate and succeed Luna with just a sudden request from Gray.

I haven't seen Blake, Erina, or Alfine all day today. Little did I know that they were busy preparing for Gray's party. And Erina always aspires to be Gray's mate; she leaves home early and goes to get a full-body beauty.

Waiting until the party started, I changed my clothes and walked there.

I was overwhelmed away by the splendor and magnificence of this place. I cautiously stepped inside; I saw the highly prominent Gray standing in the middle of his group of friends. In that group were both Alfine and Erina; they were talking to each other quite comfortably. And now Erina was like a koala bear clutching Gray's arm, and he didn't intend to let go, his expression a little bit of enjoyment.

Struggling for a while, I found an empty seat to sit down and avoid everyone's eyes; I was afraid that anyone would see me. Especially Blake; if he saw me here, I'd be beaten badly. The thought of him made me shiver; I rolled my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see him there.

When I looked up again, Gray and his friends were gone. I turned my head to look when suddenly a hand was placed on my shoulder.

Gray's clear eyes were looking at me again, not a warm look but a mocking face.

Suddenly I felt goosebumps from his gaze; I hurriedly dodged instead of looking straight.

At this moment, I heard Gray's voice. "Am I right? She'll come." Then he turned to his group of friends, a satisfied expression on his face. "I won the bet."

His friends burst into laughter, and Erina raised her eyebrows at me pitifully. “Let's see, do you think you can become Gray's mate? Stupid."

I shook my head, wanting to explain, but the words stuck in my throat.

Gray grins; he lifts my chin, so I'm facing him. “A werewolf without a wolf dreams of becoming the new Luna of the pack? Are you overconfident or delusional?”

Erina put her hand on Gray's shoulder and rested her chin on it, speaking in a seductive voice. “I told you my cousin is a lovely little girl. I told you not to fool her; you make her daydream and fall painfully; now what to do? My poor sister will cry.”

A burst of mocking laughter rang out again, and somehow I found it to be much more exaggerated than the throbbing music.

Alfine looked at me with a stern, grumpy look. "Don't you find it humiliating? Why don't you get out of here right now?"

My limbs froze, and now I realized it was all a joke, and now I was everyone's joke. It's funny how I'm like a dumb person who doesn't know how to explain a sentence to myself, but the truth is that right now, I don't know what I should say.

Shame enveloped me; I stood up and ran into the woods. No matter how far I ran, the laughter and mockery always followed me like a ghost.

I closed my eyes and ran for a long time, so long that I didn't know where I was going.

Then I stopped, at last, a fear taking over my heart. I took a few steps back and confirmed that no werewolves were guarding this place. My nerves and body were taut; it took me a long time to feel a little relieved because I was still alive.

"So lucky!" I whispered.

I made a stupid mistake. I went beyond the boundaries of my pack and stepped into someone else's pack. That place is the territory of Black Moon, the giant pack of all the packs in existence. My pack is also a pack that has existed for a long time and has a large territory but compared to Black Moon; we are small.

I feel fortunate because I was able to stop in time. I will be killed immediately if they find out who is trespassing on their territory. Black Moon's Alpha Ryan is the most brutal and belligerent in history. He does not allow even a bird of another flock to enter his territory.

Thinking of Alpha Ryan makes me tremble. An invisible fear formed in my heart. I've heard rumors that Black Moon has everything but lacks the female wolf. They often fall into the situation of not being able to find a life partner. So our pack, Alpha Nathan, sends at least ten wolves there yearly to please Ryan, hoping he doesn't invade us. Because if Black Moon started a war now, we wouldn't be able to resist.

And I heard Alpha Ryan is 20 years old; he's been two years past the age of finding a mate. He has not seen his mate, which makes his wolf even more impatient. The more he views war as exciting, the more worries our Alpha. And he's looking for the prettiest werewolves to send over there for Alpha Ryan.

My heart flutters; I calculate that in a few days, I will turn 18, and it's time to find my mate. But I quickly dismissed that thought; I don't think Alpha Nathan is stupid enough to send me to Ryan and anger him. I can't imagine Ryan's anger. If he knew I didn't have a wolf, he would have gone mad and leveled our pack in one night.

"Um, he wouldn't do that." I console myself.

I was a little more relieved by that thought. I stayed at the edge of the forest for a while, lying on the rock and comfortably gazing at the starry sky overhead. As I was feeling the cool breeze blowing through, I suddenly heard the growl of a wolf nearby. I sat up, and on high alert, my suspicion was highly unsettling. I'm worried it's Black Moon's wolf. I jumped off the cliff and quickly ran home.

I didn't know that a pair of eyes were still watching me in the dark; it seemed to sink into the night and only flashed when it saw me.

I came home and was glad Erina and Alfine hadn't returned yet; they were probably still enjoying the party.