Chapter 1

Troy was sitting by the lake thinking about his mother, contemplating what his father had just told him and wondering what she would have thought of the situation, heaving a heavy sigh he lays on the grass next to the spot his mother was killed when he was twelve years old, it feels like a lifetime ago but in reality it has been eight years and yet he can still remember the event as though it were yesterday, remembering the feeling of helplessness and being terrified for his mother and siblings, As she fought to protect them, watching her get shot with silver bullets by hunters and remembering her last words to him “Always” before she drew her last breath. He will never forget the love she had in her eyes for her children before she died, and that leads him back to thinking about what his father told him only moments ago.

Troy POV

“Troy you’re turning twenty next month and you still haven’t found your Mate” my father Alpha Ray explains, “We have word the Blood moon pack is planning to attack eight moons from now, we need to align forces with the Crescent moon pack immediately to prepare for battle, without a Luna our pack just isn’t strong enough” he continues.

I sigh watching him pace the floor in front of me, I am painfully aware that I have not found my fated Mate yet, I have been searching every full moon since I turned eighteen and still nothing.

After my mother died not only did my father feel the loss of his Luna but our whole Pack did and we have not recovered from that pain, to gain that strength again I need to find my Mate and together we will become the new Alpha and Luna of the Oceania pack.

Most Alphas find their Mates pretty quickly after they turn eighteen but for reasons only the goddess knows why, I have not found mine yet and we are running out of time.

I turn to my father and ask, “what do you need me to do?”  He moves to sit behind his desk, takes a deep breath and says, “Son you are to marry the eldest daughter of the Crescent moon pack and make her your chosen Luna so we can unite our packs and become the biggest and strongest pack in Oceania, it’s the only way we all stand a chance against the Blood moon pack”.

Well fuck, I didn't see that coming.

I stare at my father speechless as if he has grown three heads surely he has lost his damn mind,  I try to form words to express how totally messed up this but it’s as if my body has a mind of its own because the next thing I know I’m running out the door and the second I get outside leap in the air shifting in to wolf form shredding my clothes and tear off through the forest to the one place I can think and be alone. The lake.

Now laying here amongst the flowers thinking about what I have to do I realize I know nothing about this daughter of Alpha Lucian, I know he is rumoured to be a ruthless leader that kills with no mercy, has a powerful aura that can make people wreath in pain with a single glare and is a descendant of the moon goddess Selene, but if that’s true then why would he agree to marry off his eldest daughter? Surely the blood moon pack wouldn’t stand a chance against his wrath... right? So, what’s the catch here.

With a sigh I decided I should head back I will need to apologies to my father, I didn’t exactly handle the situation very maturely.

When I arrive back at the Packhouse my father is arguing with someone on the phone, the door to his office is open so I pop my head in and knock on the wall, he looks up and waves me in. I sit back in my usual spot on the visitor’s couch and wait for him to finish up, but I couldn’t help overhearing the end of his conversation. “Two weeks is not enough time to prepare everything I have only just told him the news this morning... yes, yes alright I will see you then” my father hangs up the phone and looks up to see the shocked looked on my face.

 Two weeks he can’t be serious? My heart starts racing I don’t think I can do this.

 My father strolls over to sit next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder “Look son I know this has all come as a shock to you but it’s in the best safety of the pack, Alpha Lucian is sending his son Uhtred to accompany his daughter Octavia and her son here in a week to get settled in, they will be staying in the guest wing and you will have three months to get to know each other before you must complete the mating ceremony and become Alpha and Luna of the Southern alps pack which means we have a lot of work to do to get you up to speed with how I run this pack and what is expected of you as Alpha”.

“Dad you have been training me for this position my whole life I know how to run the pack what I don’t know is how you expect me to mark someone that isn’t my fated mate and  what’s this about her son? Is she already Mated?”

My father looks at me, I can see a hint of sadness in his eyes “You know you have your mothers eyes an ocean full of so passion” he sighs and continues “I am told Octavia has a bit of a rebellious nature she has no Mate but she had a child and when Lucian found out she was pregnant he killed the father out of rage, so she is now a solo mother with a eight month old pup.

“I think Lucian is hoping this arranged mating will straighten her out, but it will also make both our packs stronger, so I need you to make this work the last thing we need is to make an enemy of Alpha Lucian.”

I can sense the fear radiating off my father as he says the last part and I don’t blame him if the rumours are true and I’m pretty sure they are from the look on my father’s face, Alpha Lucian is not a man to mess with.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath I can do this I’ve been with wild she-wolves before and I’ve got younger siblings it can’t be that hard... right?

I turn to my father and with a serious face I say, “Ok dad I will do this, but I just have one question... do I get to keep my bike?”

My father looks at me and burst out laughing, I guess he thought I wasn’t being serious.

He finally stops laughing and says, “Just like your mother always know how to lighten the mood” with a chuckle he pats me on the shoulder and gets up to walk away “Yes son you can keep the bike.”

Huh finally some good news.

“Oh, and one more thing” My father says over his shoulder “Octavia will be turning eighteen in Two weeks and Alpha Lucian has requested we throw her a grand ball and invite both our packs for her birthday so it must be spectacular, best you get your sister to help you organize everything.”

"No pressure" I mumble with an eye roll. “I heard that” my father yells from somewhere in the hall.

Great looks like I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me.

Octavia’s POV

“WHAT, mum please don’t make me do this, I’m not even eighteen yet why must I Mate this Alpha? Can’t someone else, do it? Haven’t I suffered enough?”

“Octavia sweetheart, your father has made up his mind there is no changing it I’m sorry but it’s out of my hands” my mother tells me in her calm voice, I know she's trying to keep me calm so I don’t lose control again but how can she expect me to be ok with this, I can feel the energy surging through me knowing all too well my powers are surfacing I take a few deep breaths and count to ten and look at my reflection, my eyes are dark blue but they seem to be going back to their normal hazel colour, phew.

The last time I lost control was when my father found out I was pregnant, he killed my boyfriend out of rage, and I almost drowned my older brother Uhtred in a sphere of my tears.

I should explain, so all Lunas possess one of the five elements that hold special abilities, once they are marked by an Alpha one of the elements starts to manifest and you must go to the Packs mentors for training to control said ability.

They are gifts given to Lunas by the goddess Selene to not only aid them in battle alongside their Alpha but to protect their pack in some way. In some rare cases there has been Lunas that developed more than one of these elements (Direct descendants of the goddess) but not often and never to my knowledge has any one person possessed all five elements and survived to tell the tale except for the goddess herself of course.

There is also a catch, hunters are immune to these special abilities, as they were created by Selene’s ex-lover Endymion because she chose to never have a Mate of her own as she feared abandonment, so her children became her true love.

It is said that she drives the chariot that carries the moon across the universe and occasionally visits her children/ direct descendants and Endymion spends his nights mapping out the stars trying to find her, he created hunters out of jealousy to hunt down her children (werewolves) that roam the night under her light (the moon) to get revenge and make her pay for choosing them over him.

My mother possesses Earth, it is one of the rarest elements as you can control nature and have super healing abilities, depending on how powerful you are in your element your hair will change colour to show your strength as does your eyes when you use your power, my mother has completely mastered hers, so her hair is fully white, while mine is purple, blue, and green.

Because my father is a direct descendant of Selene I am a Luna by birth so I started developing my gifts when my wolf manifested at age fifteen, Metal was my first element (Purple), with every birthday I have develop a new element, Water was next (Blue) at sixteen then Wood (Green) at seventeen, I am not expecting to get anymore because I am yet to find my Mate and even though I have mastered Metal I am still learning to control Water and Wood.

Five Elements:

Water (Blue)- control of liquids, weather

Wood (Green)- communicate/ control of all animals/ creatures

Earth (White)- control of nature and super healing

Fire (Crimson)- control of fire and the ability to see visions past, present, future

Metal (Purple)- mind control (compulsion, levitation, read minds, dream walk)

Anyway, where were we... oh yes, my father the great Alpha Lucian of the Crescent moon Pack has decided I am to leave our home in a week to live with the Southern Alps pack and Mate their next Alpha in line, in two months’ time to become their Luna.

As if turning eighteen in a couple of weeks wasn’t scary enough, I am being married off before I even get the chance to find my fated Mate let alone learn to control my powers.

Oh, goddess what have I done to deserve this kind of punishment?

I sigh slumping back on my bed, my beloved mother Luna Silvia comes to sit next to me with a small smile “You never know sweetheart, Troy might actually be your fated Mate and you two could fall madly in love and with that love you might find your powers become easier to control and master.” She says as if guessing my thoughts.

At least Uhtred will be coming with me, and Niklaus I won’t be completely alone. Of course, Uhtred never goes anywhere without Little Nicky, They have bonded on a deeper level than I ever could I guess my brother feels somewhat responsible and obligated to step in as a father figure since Klaus was his best friend.

I know it is forbidden to Mate and have pups with anyone that isn’t your marked Mate, but I grew up with Klaus, with him always around hanging out with my brother in the Packhouse we grew to like each other and eventually started dating... in secret of course and one full moon when our pack was on a run, we snuck off to be alone and well one thing lead to another.

You see she-wolves only ovulate on a full moon it’s the only time we can find our fated Mates because our pheromones are so strong it makes it easier for them to sniff us out and once, we find each other the bond snaps into place then it becomes almost impossible to resist marking each other and finish the mating process.  

My mother still sitting next to me perks up and swats my thigh I sit up abruptly looking at her “What was that for” I say rubbing my thigh, “It’s your birthday in two weeks and Alpha Ray has promised to throw you a grand ball with both our packs to celebrate so let’s get your sisters and go shopping, we must find you the perfect gown to impress the young Alpha” she says with a wink.

I flop back on my bed with a groan “Mum you know I hate shopping and I especially hate wearing dresses, can’t we just get pizza and watch a movie instead?” she gets up and calls for my younger sisters “Quinn, Mira, come get your sister we are going dress shopping for the ball.”

I hear screams from down the hall then next thing I know they are body slamming me, gasping for air I manage to push them off looking at their excited faces how could I say no I might not get the chance to do this with them again.

With an over exaggerated sigh I say, “Fine let’s get this over with.”

After checking in with Uhtred and Nicklaus we head into the mall the girls are so excited it is making me dizzy.

I’m not what you would call a typical female, I wear mostly black and white clothes, with the exception of my elemental colours purple, blue, green I have tattoos and piercings, I wear a lot of jewellery (rings, chocker necklaces, chunky bangles) I guess you could say I have a punk gothic style but I don’t care I do what I want and I like being a little different, being normal is boring and there’s no fun in being normal.

After three agonizing hours of trying on hideous dress after dress I told the girls to try on their own outfits and went to my local tattoo parlour for a break, knowing the girls will take another hour, I got a small crescent moon tattooed on the inside of my left wrist to represent my pack, so when I’m stuck in the Southern Alps and get home sick I can look at it and remember my home and family.

Looking at it smiling, I was about to leave when I looked up and spotted it displayed near the back of the store, the most beautiful ball dress I have ever seen without trying it on I walked up to the counter and asked the clerk to wrap it up for me, Now to find the girls and get the hell out of here.

I’ve been missing my baby so I head to the nursery and no surprise he’s cuddled up to Uhtred on the sofa, both fast asleep snoring, they looked so cute I had to snap a picture. I will probably get a growling from him later but I couldn’t resist. picture aqua man snuggling a little baby boy on his chest with mickey mouse pjs on, so adorable I almost didn’t want to disturb them but I needed to talk to my brother and have cuddles with my baby.

As soon as I picked little Nicklaus up, he snuggles right into me making me gush, he looks so much like his father it makes my heart melt, I put Nicklaus in his crib and wake my big bro up for some advice on what is to come.