Chapter 1

Layla

I watched from a distance as they interacted in their wolf forms. My five brothers are strong and fearless. However, they lacked something that only an exceptionally powerful alpha could possess. As I observed them hidden behind the bushes while they bathed in the waterfall, I realized how much I wished I had been born like them, so I could enjoy these brotherly moments. The males usually bathe together while discussing their hunts and, of course, their conquests involving virgin women from other places. Preferably human, to avoid mixing the wolf bloodlines.

“What are you doing?” my mother asked sternly.

I didn’t know where to hide my face after being discovered.

“Mom, I... I wasn’t…”

I was about to turn away out of respect for the matriarch, but she gripped the sides of my head tightly and whispered, forcing me to keep looking at them, holding my face in that manner.

“Take a good look at my five boys; they are the future of this pack, even if I have to marry one of them to the closest alpha of our pack since the she-wolf you were born to be will not be revealed.”

Her voice sounded chillingly cold, showing that she didn’t care about me.

I tried to appeal to her maternal mercy to let me go, but nothing made her relent.

“Mom, it hurts.”

Even though I tried to hold her hands, my sovereign would not release me. She was the strongest of the lunar women tribe, although our ancient clan had lost its magic over the centuries. An exceptional gift that had been shared across many generations. However, at some point in the lineage, it had apparently been silenced among us. Only the blood of Lort Ur could possess that power, that gift. But that changed after an ancestor fled with an evil being. We were punished for his choice.

“Stop thinking so much, girl; you will never reach their level! You will never be one of us!”

She pushed my body with such force that if it hadn’t been for a gentle, friendly hand, I would have suffered a serious cut on my forehead.

“There’s no need to be so cruel to Layla, Aunt. It’s not her fault she was born defective.”

My cousin commented, looking furiously at her.

“Hmm, you can take care of your little puppy, dear nephew. By the way, do you want her back as your wife?”

She offered me as if I were worthless, as if I were scraps from her lavish table.

Ariel tried to smooth my skin, as if we were close enough for him to do so, but I pushed him away, disgusted that he had considered my mother’s offer.

“Look, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

He looked at me with hunger and simply decided to attack. However, my brothers appeared, causing the wolf inside him to retreat. By that time, the woman who brought me into the world had already left. Why do you hate me so much, mother?

“What is our Luna doing alone out here?”

“Isn’t it enough that she was born crippled? Now she wants to join us on our journey?”

Two of them asked, crossing their muscular arms over their bare chests. The nudity was still present, and freshly wet from the cold water of the waterfall. I looked at them for the first time in a way that made them all take two steps back, including the foolish cousin.

“I will no longer allow you to speak about me like that!”

They looked at each other while I felt a different charge within me, so much so that I had difficulty inhaling the air around me. Soon after, they laughed together, mocking how I was born broken. Ariel joined them in their teasing.

Indignant at never being taken seriously, I ran, holding back the tears that occasionally wanted to spill from my face. The vision blurred by the moisture blinded me for a moment, so much that I fell onto the short grass. There, I let out a scream that seemed endless, and I decided that I would leave this family. Perhaps that’s what my ancestor had to do to rid himself of something much worse than following a cursed creature.

When I finally recovered, it was already night, so I tried to reach the tent unnoticed, but everyone seemed to be waiting for me.

“Layla, I need to give you a warning,” my father said seriously.

“I still think our eldest son should marry him and…”

“What a crazy woman! The Alpha needs a woman who can produce heirs! Not a toy,” he refuted, very angry with his mate, who, unable to contain herself, decided to leave the tent.

My mother stormed past me, almost dragging me along. She bumped into my shoulder with such force that if it hadn’t been for one of my brothers, I would have fallen to my knees in the middle of the room.

“Sit down, sister, Dad wants to have a very awkward conversation and…”

“Baha, don’t interrupt our negotiation, your dear sister needs to be aware of her mission.”

“Sorry,” he responded after bowing his head in reverence to the elder.

I looked at everyone with immense fear, even though my father used such an affectionate term in relation to his daughter. “Dear,” he said.

“Father,” I spoke with a trembling voice.

“Our existence is in serious danger, my beloved Luna. We need your surrender to calm the Alpha who has taken refuge in the North Pole.”

“What?”

I bumped into the most expensive vase in the house, and he still didn’t care. He just looked at me sadly, with tears in his eyes. As if, only now, at this moment, he had created an importance within that dry heart. The leader never loved me, but now I could see that love so clearly that it ached in my chest.

I settled myself better, apologizing for the accident, even though my brothers picked up the pieces of that valuable object, saying they would glue it piece by piece.

“Our family and everyone in this pack are in serious danger. This being has destroyed many of us in other lands. Even one who was about to be attacked proposed something to our leader. However, I believe that this wish cannot be granted.”

“What do you mean? What monster is this? Who is decimating our lineage?”

“We still don’t know, but…” said the youngest wolf.

“Your brothers cannot contain him; only our Alpha can fight this evil.”

He sighed wearily.

“Lucien, you will have a new wife,” he said as if speaking directly to the being before his eyes. “Fortunately, he will help us in this war,” my father said.

“So, sister, what do you decide? Or do you want me to sacrifice myself in your place?” said the eldest brother, containing colossal rage.

Baha did not determine to whom his anger was directed, whether it was towards me or his hidden feelings.

As I looked at them, I thought about how distant I was from their everyday lives, far from their struggles and victories. This was very frustrating for a she-wolf to endure.

“We need to be quick; Lucien is eagerly waiting for your answer.”

“He agreed to this? I thought he liked solitude,” I asked indignantly. I had always admired him for being faithful to his beloved wife, Lia.

“He will only accept if you accept; that was his condition. Perhaps because he thought our Luna wouldn’t agree to such an arrangement. Lucien thinks she a coward,” said the middle one, with fire in his eyes.

“I want to speak with Lucien before accepting.”

Everyone looked at me in surprise. I really didn’t recognize myself.

“We’ll do it your way. I’ll send you to the North Pole today.”

My brothers laughed quietly, whispering something that seemed interesting among themselves.

“Prepare yourself, the journey is long. We cannot waste time. After the wedding, Lucien will come here to protect us,” he clarified, and I agreed.

Soon I returned to my tent, isolated from my family because I was born a defective female, a she-wolf who didn’t know how to transform.

Yet, the family and everyone in that pack depended on me, on my acceptance. I am destined to be Lucien’s, the solitary Alpha. Will I really be able to fulfill my role well? Will I be able to replace his beloved and unforgettable Lia?