PROLOGUE

[Thirteen years ago]

Lightning struck continuously over the hill, lightening up the forest constantly, and making the scary shadows the canopy of the trees formed visible to the eye. The sky was pitch black as the moon and stars had been covered by the thick clouds that were to bring about the threatening rain.

It was the perfect night to perpetrate evil, as the moon wasn’t there to bear witness, neither were the stars there to peek at the perpetrator and sure enough, there was someone to take advantage of the situation, as under the dark starless night and whirling wind, a woman dressed in black held an oil lamp in one hand and pulled a girl child of about seven with her other hand.

 The little child looked up at the sky as it lightened occasionally causing the hood she wore over her head to fall back making her face visible, her body shook in fear as the thunder rumbled on the horizon and she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers of her bed and have a good night sleep, blocking out the sound of the scary thunder but then she couldn’t,  not when her mother was dragging actively up the footpath of the sloppy hill into the dark forest that she had never been to before.

 The little girl looked up at the path ahead and saw there was nothing to see there, ahead of them, just like it was behind them was a bunch of tall trees that formed a scary canopy over them, her grip on her mother’s arm tightened as she looked at the various images that canopy formed before the lightning shown and dispersed it, she couldn’t help but wonder where they were going that was so important.

 Where could be so important to her mother that they had to go that night and brave all these scary things, or was she the only one scared, was her mother not seeing the shapes these scary trees were forming, almost as if they were warning them not to go any further. While thinking of that, she turned to look at her mother, whose face she couldn't see clearly as she was wearing a pure black hood over her face.

 "Where are we going, mama?" The girl finally spoke up as she could not hold the question in her heart anymore, her voice that came out amid the loud rumble was like the squeaking of a mouse on a silent night, barely audible.

 As if on cue, the moment she asked the question the cloud opened its eyes and a drizzling rain began to pour down, dropping on them and wetting the girl’s fair face, her honey brown shoulder length hair, and cloak.

 "Sierra's place." Her mother, who had heard the small voice of her daughter despite the rumble, answered with one word before cursing under her breath as the rain had already started as she wondered if the day could get any worse.

 Although she wanted to get up the mountain before the rain started, she couldn’t. It was almost as If the moon goddess was making sure they suffer in advance for the abomination she was set in her heart to commit, but she didn’t care, even if the clouds spat fire, she would still go there tonight and do what she had to do.

The only thing she worried about was the oil lamp in her hand, if the rain switches off the lamp, they would have to go there blindly, unable to see the path ahead of them.

 Her thoughts were disrupted by her daughter’s sudden reluctance, as she noticed she was about to pull her hand out of her grip and run back the way they had come, she turned to her in surprise as the girl refused to follow her, she tightened her grip on the girl's arm and frowned at her.

 "What are you doing?" She asked but the girl shook her head, her face filled with fear.

 "I don't want to go mama. I don't want to go. She is a witch." She cried but her mother scoffed, bent down on one knee, placing the oil lamp on the ground, and pulling her hood over her head again.

 "So you are afraid to see the witch," She asked again and her daughter nodded, both of them not minding the light shower that fell over them, "Then how do you hope to have your dream come true?" She asked and her daughter frowned in confusion.

“Do I need a witch to make my dreams come true?” She squeaked again.

"Do you not want to be Luna of this pack anymore?" Her mother asked instead of replying to her question directly, she blinked twice, then bowed her head.

 "I want to be, mama."

 "Then how can you be one without the witch’s help?" The woman asked her daughter again but the little girl was more confused.

 "Does the Alpha choose his Luna according to the witch’s orders? I thought the goddess chooses his mate?" She asked but her mother only stared at her.

 "And how are you so sure that you have been chosen by the goddess to be the mate of the next alpha."

 "But..."

 "If the goddess doesn't choose you, can you bear it?" The woman asked again, interrupting her, and the girl shook her head bowing it in the process.

 "Then we must go to the witch, she would make sure the goddess chooses you when the time is right" The woman persuaded her and at this time thunder rumbled, a sign that the rain was about to get heavier.

“The witch can speak to the goddess?” The girl asked, looking at her mother with wide eyes and the woman nodded with a smile.

“Yes, she can.” She said then looked up the path they were on, not minding the sky, they had to get up the mountain before the heavy downpour began.

“We must hurry before the rain gets heavier.” She said and with this, she dragged the child who didn't even bother to struggle anymore, and hurried up the mountain.

 Soon lightning struck again, and they saw a wooden shack ahead. The woman sighed with relief and hurried towards it, pulling her daughter along as the rain had begun to pour heavily and their lamp was long dead. The girl followed despite the fear in their heart. The two people walked into the wooden shack away from the heavy rain and were surprised to see that it was a little warm but scary inside.

 The inside of the house was filled with all kinds of voodoo dolls and dark globes neatly arranged on the shelves, it had the thick smell of herbs and potions that made their nose sting but the woman ignored it, while the girl sneezed a couple of times, not daring to speak for she feared she might be eaten by the witch.

 "What brings you to my humble abode?" They heard a voice, almost like the hiss of a snake, asking them and they looked around but found no one.

“I asked, what do you seek?” They heard the voice again and then looked closely at the rocking chair in front of them, only then did they see that the one who had spoken had been seated in a rocking chair opposite them all along.

 The witch was so thin, her presence was so negligible one could assume she was not there at all as even her head was covered with a black cloak.

 "You know best why we have come." The woman responded and the witch gave a burst of scary laughter in response, making the girl shake with fear and hide behind her mother. 

The witch then pulled her hood backward, revealing an extremely old and wrinkled face, with flattened eyes, that seem to have been seared out with a hot thong.

 "Indeed. I know why you have come. Have you not come to satiate your greed, she-wolf?" She asked and the woman felt a little embarrassed.

 "What do you mean greed? Everyone has a dream, this is my daughter’s dream, it is only right that I do this."

 "I cannot change something that has been predestined." The witch deadpanned.

 "So you cannot help us? I know how powerful you are, Sierra, do not turn us back." The woman cajoled her.

 "But I can put a cloak over it, creating an illusion as if that which is destined does not exist. Do you understand what I mean?" The witch continued to speak as if the woman hadn't interrupted her.

 "As long as it makes her Luna. I would agree to anything." She said,

 "But it is only an illusion and it is not without consequence. True love can see through any illusion, as can true mates, as they see each other with the eyes of their mind." The witch said and the woman frowned, while her daughter who had been hiding behind her peeked at the witch, but couldn't understand a word of what the woman spoke.

 "What do you mean?”

“I mean, the goddess does not like people messing with her work,  if the true mate comes along, my spell can keep them from recognizing each other, but the moment they fall in love, true love would see through the illusion spell and your daughter shall bear the consequence." She said and the woman’s eyes widened.

“What consequences? I would bear it for her.” She said but the witch shook her head.

“Is it not her dream? She must carry her cross herself.”

The woman glanced at her daughter who looked at her with scared eyes, even though she did not understand what the woman spoke about, she sighed.

 “What consequence is there then?” She asked solemnly not willing to let go of the dream.

For it was not just her daughter’s but hers as well.

“A fate worse than death. The moment the spell is cast, she can never have a mate in the world, not even a second chance mate, and if the spell is broken, she would suffer a pain ten times worse than the pain of a dead mate. She might lose her mind or worse still, die! Can she bear this?” The witch asked with a haughty smile and the woman frowned again.

“The next Alpha would never find his true mate, as they would be mated at the age of eighteen. There is no need to worry about the consequences, just do it.” The woman said and the witch laughed.

“Are you sure?”

 "Why would the mate still have to come along when there is already one around? Do it, there is nothing to fear." She said and the witch laughed a little.

 "You fool. Even you children of the goddess underestimate her powers over her creations."

 "Do it!" The woman stated firmly again.

 "Then you must bring a strand of the hair of the ones you wish to mate before the night of the next full moon, and I shall perform the required ritual on the  night of the full moon as the fate of a wolf can only be changed on the night that the moon bears witness."

 "The hair of the proposed mate?” The woman asked and thought of it for some time then nodded, “Of course, I would bring it." The woman said with a smile, "Thank you, Sierra." She said and then turned to leave, but the witch gave no response.

 She only looked at the foolish woman who was blinded by greed, for fates cannot be changed, but she had sealed her daughter’s fate forever.

 "Mama, what did she say? What do we do?" The little girl asked as they stepped out of the shack standing on the veranda away from the heavy rain.

 "There is nothing to worry about my child. It is done." She said proudly with glitter in her eyes.

"Really? I can become Luna when I grow up?" The girl asked with excitement too and her mother could not conceal her smile any longer.

"Yes, you will be Luna when you grow up."