Chapter 0001

Tia.

I got to the Woodclaw pack party late, and everyone was in celebratory mode. Kirk motioned me to join him and Caleb in the VIP section, which I did. When I got there, I was heartbroken to see why Caleb couldn't pick me up. She was blonde and beautiful, and her name was Kimberly Miles. I knew she and Caleb were talking, but I did not think it would be serious since Caleb was the serious-minded type. I guess he developed a soft spot for her.

I sat down and hid my emotions.

"Sorry I couldn't come, Tia. Kimberly made us wait longer than necessary, so I could not come over. I will make it up to you, I promise," Caleb apologised innocently, but I noticed Kimberly wasn't happy about it, and I suspected she made him wait deliberately.

"No need to make it up to me, Caleb. I am not mad," I told my friend, and he thanked me. Caleb was also kind to me but as a friend. It hurt, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I had a crush on him ever since we were teenagers, but I guess he never noticed. He was all business.

Caleb had a lot of pressure on him growing up, and most of it was because his older brother was irresponsible, so he had to step up and train to take over from their father as Alpha. His mother made sure he did not disappoint his father. She was hard on him, and it had paid off. He did well in his Alpha exams, and his father had openly praised him for his efforts.

I wasn't interested in becoming a warrior until the day Caleb told me he would be going for the Alpha training. We were fifteen then. I immediately signed up and hoped to finish first place so that I could be his beta, and Caleb and I would finally have something in common. Fingers crossed, that would bring us together and he would eventually see me. If it weren't for Caleb, I would have trained as a medical doctor instead, but I wanted to spend time with him. That was four years ago. Four agonizing years of crushing on him and hoping he would see me one day. He never did, and here we are now, out of the academy, and soon we will be ready to take on our duties, and I was still in the friend's zone while another woman rested comfortably in his arms.

The party went with Kimberly taking up all of Caleb's attention. Kirk, the strongest wolf of our set at the academy and Caleb's beta, asked me to dance, and I obliged, but I had eyes only for Caleb. He had grown into a handsome man, but his looks weren't what drew me to him. He was caring, loving and honest. He was responsible and made selfless decisions. The pack will be in a great place with him as Alpha. I secretly believed I had fallen in love with him. Sure he did not know and would never know as things were because I wasn't the type to ask a guy out. I had thought that maybe when we start running the pack, he will appreciate me more and fall in love, but not anymore.

I wasn't stupid. If Caleb couldn't fall all these years, what would make him fall now. Unless the moon goddess grants me that wish, I guess I would keep pining for him. At this point, I just wanted to be over him and forget about my feelings for him, but it was too damn difficult. My heart wanted what it wanted, even though it might not be good for us.

Tired of dancing, Kirk and I returned to the VIP section, where Kimberly was trying her best to get intimate with Caleb by sticking her tongue in his ear, and he seemed to be making an effort to control the situation. Kirk cleared his throat to announce our presence, and she pulled away from Caleb. I saw her tongue go back into her mouth, and it disgusted me. I doubted it disgusted Caleb because there was lust in his eyes. I was mad at how easy it was for her to get his attention. Was it that men did not fancy strong women? I had heard some people talk about preferences, and it seemed like a girl had to pretend to be dumb and helpless to find a man. If that were the case, I would never be lucky because I was anything but that, and I was a bad pretender.

"So, what will you be doing in the next two years before we take over our positions?" Kirk asked Caleb, and Caleb looked at me. I knew if my skin were pale, they would have seen me blush at that moment, but my face just seemed expressionless. I couldn't say the same about my eyes, but he wasn't looking at me.

"I do not know, Kirk. Tia, you?" Caleb asked, and I loved how he called my name with so much gentleness. I looked away immediately, then shook my head. I honestly did not know what I would be doing before we take over our offices.

I looked at Kirk to return his question to him, and he smiled at me.

"Travelling. I need to travel a lot because once we take up those offices, freedom will become a thing of the past," he said, and it was such a brilliant idea. I wondered if I would be able to go with him.

"That is so cool, Kirk," I said wide-eyed.

" Do you mind if I come?" I asked, and Kirk looked at Caleb as if he needed his permission before he could answer me.

"If you go with him, who will be my friend and keep me company here?" Caleb asked me, and I thought of the obvious answer in my head, Kimberly, but if I said it, he would know I was jealous, and that would make our friendship awkward.

"I am sure you have other friends to keep you company," I managed, looking at Kimberly, " Better and more interesting company than I can be," I completed, and she smiled, knowing what I was implying.

"That is right, Caleb. I am all the company you will need," she said and licked his earlobe again. She wanted to be luna so bad. Most of the girls that threw themselves at Caleb wanted to be luna so badly. Not me. I will still feel the same for Caleb, even if he wasn't to be the next Alpha.

"I want to come with you, Kirk," I said, knowing that I needed time away from Caleb. Time to get over my pining for him. He will never see me, and he will never love me. I needed to accept it and move on. This trip with Kirk would do a lot of wonders for me. I needed to get over Caleb and focus on other things.

"Maybe I will come," Caleb said, looking at me and smiling, and I felt down because that would defeat the whole purpose. Spending time with him would not make him see me or develop any feelings for me. I have tried that already. I just ended up being his best buddy.

"You'll bring me along?" Kimberly asked, and I almost rolled my eyes. The last thing I wanted was to travel around with her sticking her tongue like a reptile in Caleb's ear at every given opportunity. This lizard will make me sick. I knew it. If he says yes, I would just think of an excuse that would help me chicken out of the trip.

"I will think about it," Caleb said to her, and she frowned and then looked at me as if it was my fault. She had it twisted because I did not want Caleb to come on the trip.

We had a couple of drinks and tried not to get drunk, then called it a night.

"Let's go hunting tomorrow in the morning," Caleb offered. I waited to hear what Kimberly had to say before agreeing.

"I want to come too," She said, and I rolled my eyes. Caleb saw me, and he laughed.

"I guess the three of you will have to go without me," I said, and Caleb frowned.

"Come on, Tia, we make a good team. You and I," he said, and how I wished that were true. Me and him a team, but it wasn't, so I just smiled.

"I am sure you, Kirk and Kimberly would be formidable," I said and did not bother to look at Kimberly's face. I knew she hated me at this point because it seemed Caleb's decision had a lot to do with me. I wouldn't like me if I were her, so I did not take offence.

Caleb told me to think about it, and I drove off. I wasn't going to think about it. I did not care. All I wanted to do was get over him.

I got home, and everyone was asleep, so I snuck up to my bedroom. I did not want to trouble anyone.

Morning came, and I contemplated going on the hunt with Caleb and Kirk. Hopefully, they wouldn't allow Kimberly to join in. I knew she spent the night with Caleb in the Moon mansion, so I doubted he would ditch her. I headed downstairs to eat. I dislike hunting in wolf form when I am hungry; it made me act crazy, and I do not want to seem mad.

To my surprise, my parents were waiting for me in the kitchen. They had this worried look in their eyes which got me nervous.

My mother was a nurse, and my father was a doctor. They worked in the medical department, so they were supposed to have gone to the hospital to resume their shift, but something was wrong.

"Tia, how was your night?" My mother asked me with a nervous smile, and I smiled at her.

"Great," I said, trying to ignore their mood, and she nodded.

"We need to speak to you about something important, darling." My father said, and my stomach churned. I doubt it was good news.

We left the kitchen and went to sit on the couch in the living room.

My mother looked at my father. It was clear they were communicating with themselves about something through the mind link. I wasn't privy to that conversation.

"Tia, you know how much we love you, right?" My father asked, and that didn't sound right. I know they love me, and starting the sentence with that made it obvious that they were about to say something that would make me mad.

"We want what is best for you, but we have duties to the pack, too. We should have told you this over a month ago, but we wanted you to go through your graduation before we break the news to you," My father said, and my mother began to shed tears. I started crying too out of fear. Whatever would make my mother cry was sad.

"Tia," My father said and sighed, "Alpha Aesop Moon has asked for you to be joined with Luke Moon, his first son. Seeing that you beat all the female wolves in your generation and finished second place, and the fact that you are a good young lady and properly brought up, he has chosen you for his son. Alpha Aesop Moon believes the union would help Luke become a better version of himself and help him mature to support his younger brother when Caleb finally takes over the pack. Alpha Aesop believes your friendship with Caleb will help both brothers settle their differences and support one another. It wasn't a request, it was an order, and we had to comply and accept." he said, and I screamed with all my might.