Prologue - Call Of Duty

I gazed all around me from my vantage point atop the rugged peaks of Mount Astral. The sun was setting, casting a dull glow all around the bare trees and snow-capped mountains beyond. I sucked in a deep breath as I moved farther. Snow crunched beneath my feet as I continued my inspection. I didn’t know what I was looking for. 

Maybe for invisible foes! It was my duty as the future Luna of the Luceres Pack. 

Through a gap in the trees, I could see our pack members huddled around a bonfire on the premises of the sprawling clubhouse. 

“Lena, what do you see?” The voice of Alpha Atticus brought my attention back to him. 

“Nothing unusual, Alpha.” He looked grim, his instincts had never betrayed him. However, with his old age, and poor eyesight, I knew he depended on my instincts solely. The knowledge didn’t give me any satisfaction. I wanted to be free! I have always felt a powerful urge to escape this life and go somewhere far away! A strange force beckoned me all the time, urging me to escape. My wolf, Xara, battled with my mind! She, too, wanted the same. Freedom! 

"Look properly, Lena. The future of the Luceres Pack is in your hands.” I noted the urgency in his tone as I inspected the surrounding vista. I knew every nook and corner of Mount Astral, having lived here all my twenty years of life. Our village, Lucania, was cradled at the foot of this majestic mountain range of the Northern Territories, far away from human settlements. It was a place where no human ever set foot on! My eyes scanned the surrounding peaks, too. Nothing! 

“I don’t see a thing, Alpha. Maybe Ajax can locate the enemy better.” Ajax was Alpha Atticus’s son and the future Alpha of the pack. I hated the man with a vengeance, but I couldn’t defy Alpha Atticus’s wish. He had the key to all the secrets of my past. He was the only one who knew about my parents, and my family. I never saw my family! I heard that Alpha Atticus rescued a newborn pup when the Luceres Pack was attacked by his brother, Alpha Achilles. 

That newborn pup was me. 

Alpha Achilles died in the battle and Atticus became the new alpha of our pack. He lost his mate, Vera, too, in the battle and never moved on. For years he sent me away to train to be the future Luna to his two-year-old son, Ajax.

The academy, on the far eastern corridor of Lucania, was my home for twenty years. I trained there with no respite, living a tough warrior’s life! Fighting came naturally to me! It was the only thing I knew.

However, Alpha Atticus summoned me a week ago to fulfill my duties towards him and my pack. 

“I trust your vision more than his. Let’s go.” He whirled around and limped down to the pack house, where the members were waiting for his instructions. I followed closely, a strange restlessness spreading all over me. I should be the happiest female here in the Luceres Pack. Alpha Atticus had chosen me to lead the pack alongside his son, but I felt disturbed. I knew the price I was paying for the information I wanted. 

Tomorrow was an auspicious day when Alpha Atticus would step down and hand over his responsibilities to his son. Ajax would be the new Alpha of our pack and I, his Luna, at the Bonding Ceremony. It would seal our fates together forever. Only then Alpha Atticus would spill all the dark secrets of my past. He would tell me about my parents! This was the moment I had been waiting for. To know my identity! 

The pack house was full, as everyone knew of the danger looming over our heads. I was the only one kept in the dark. In the last seven days, I was too busy settling down to discuss the imminent threat. There was a pin-dropped silence as the entire pack stared at their alpha expectantly. 

In a minute, Ajax rushed in, followed by Hector, the Beta of our pack. After giving me a hateful glare, he settled down beside his father. 

Alpha Atticus stood up, clearing his throat to address the pack. A sense of dread washed over me as I watched the grim look on his face. 

“Wolves of Lucania! I am sure you have heard of the imminent threat looming over the heads of every member of our pack! Yes, Zephyrus is back for revenge! He has attacked the territories on the southern corridor, plundering his way to ours. It is time to rise to the occasion and fight the enemy united. Let us all save our village, our motherland, our pack from the enemy!” 

They cheered their leader with renewed vigor, ready to lay their lives down for the pack. I waited for more information on the enemy. If I were to lead the pack alongside the Alpha, shouldn’t I know more about him? 

I glanced at our pack members gathered here. I know none of them well! A week’s time wasn’t enough to get acquainted with the entire pack. I could feel Ajax give me angry looks frequently, but I ignored him. He was a coward who preferred to remain under his father’s shadow. It shocked me to think how he would lead a vast pack like ours after Alpha Atticus stepped down.

“Tomorrow is an auspicious day! We will gather here at the break of dawn to appoint Ajax as the Alpha of our pack. It will be followed by the Bonding Ceremony of Ajax and his soon-to-be Luna, Lena Warrick!” 

There were hushed whispers at the announcement of my name. I could feel all eyes assessing me from every angle. Did they know my identity? 

“What if they attack us in the night, Alpha?” asked Clarion, the Beta’s wife. 

“We will keep constant vigil all along our territorial borders. Don’t worry, I will ensure that no Lucerian is harmed.” 

They cheered the Alpha and dispersed, leaving us at the pack house to discuss our strategy. 

“Lena, I want to have a word with you,” said Ajax while the others were busy with their discussion. 

“I have nothing to say to you, Ajax.” I knew him well since we had spent a month with one another at our training academy when I was ten before he escaped. Ever since Alpha Atticus trained him at home while I slogged at the academy, all on my own, with no one to love and care for me. It hardened me! Having never experienced love and affection since the day I was born, those feelings were uncharted territories for me. But I was happy with the way I was. I didn’t need them in my life. 

Ajax could never be my fated mate! I didn’t believe in mates! I was destined to fight, not to be mated! 

Therefore, I avoided Ajax like a plague since the day I returned to the pack. I had one mission before me. To know my identity! To escape from here one day and gain total freedom. 

“I insist, Lena. This is important.” He stood in front of me with a brooding look on his face.

I sighed and walked on. “Follow me then.” He followed, like a lost pup. I led him outside to the porch and whirled around to face him. 

“It better be important, Ajax! I don’t have time to waste. Every second is crucial for the safety of the pack.” 

Ajax laughed as he focused his dark eyes on me. There was no fire in them. They hardly affected me. “Do you really think you can defeat Zephyrus? Have you ever seen him? I have Lena. He’s a savage beast, three times the size of an alpha. His bite and touch are fatal.” 

I frowned at the coward. I wasn’t afraid of the enemy. 

“I am ready to fight him, Ajax. Is that all you have to say?”

I could see the hesitation in his eyes as he glanced around him before turning his attention back to me. 

“Call off the Bonding Ceremony, Lena. I can’t claim you as my Luna anymore. I’ve found my mate.” Anger coursed through me, and I gaped at him in shock. I wasn’t in this for fun. How could he back off at the last minute?

“Why didn’t you speak to your father, Ajax? I’m not in a position to call it off.” 

My heart sank with dread, knowing the outcome of this. I would never know my family! 

“He will never understand me. He respects you. If you cancel it, he will consider it.” I turned my back to him, my heart sinking with disappointment. 

“No, Ajax. He has saved my life. I can’t disobey him. If you want to claim your mate, you have to do the needful. I’m sorry. I can’t help you.” 

“You’re awful, Lena. I knew you wouldn’t help me. You’re stone-hearted, cold, and ugly. I would rather die than claim you as my Luna.” He ran out of the pack house gates while I gave him a look of pity. 

Yes, I was everything he called me. I was just a warrior and nothing else. 

A strange scent hit my nostrils. It sent a tingle down my spine. I inspected the snow-covered, rugged terrain all around me. The air was frosty, and invigorating. It urged me to run like a free wolf. Freedom! The word urged Xara to break free, but I restrained her. 

There was no one around, yet I had the strange feeling of being watched.

------------------------------------------------

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. 

Copyright © Rituparna Darolia. 

All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.