CHAPTER ONE

~ HELEN ~

My heart thudded loudly against my ribcage, as I stood in front of the mirror, my brows creased into a frown, while staring at my reflection.

I wore a blue jumpsuit that hugged my body like a glove, with a blood jade that father gifted me on my last birthday. I had always felt pleased with my body but today, it marked an exception and I wondered what was wrong.

Knowing what I was planning to do when I visited Devin made my tummy rumble with both excitement and nerves. I couldn't wait to see the joy on his face when I showed him what I planned for him. Devin is the heir to the Crescent moon pack and we have been dating for two years now.

He and I had been great friends since our fathers were best friends, and two years later, our friendship turned to a relationship when we realized that we were very much in love with each other.

Although we were not mates, everyone agreed to our union, testifying to the chemistry we both shared and to them, we were perfect for one another and I couldn't agree more.

My name is Helen Hawkins, daughter of Alpha Kelvin of the Blood Moon Pack. Despite my royal blood, many pack members considered me strange simply because I held the title of Alpha, just like my older brother, Kane. However, I was determined to prove them wrong. Being an Alpha, just like my brother, was not something I should be blamed for.

But even with that, my life wasn't without its struggles. I had known from a young age that my mother didn't love me the same way she loved my two other siblings. It was an unspoken truth, evident in her actions and demeanor. I wasn't the only one who noticed it, but nobody dared to mention it in my presence, knowing that I carried the Alpha blood within me.

“We need to start going.“ Selena snapped me out of my thoughts, and I rolled my eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm down my racing nerves.

“Yeah, yeah.” I scoffed. I could hear her laughing in my head and I shook my head, a cute and happy smile making its way to my lips.

She was my mood lifter, well apart from Devin of course, and maybe my big brother who adores me more than every other person in his life.

“We need to get laid tonight. But goodness Helen, we are twenty years old already, yet you are still some f**king virgin.”

I glanced at my reflection once again in front of the mirror, turning my back so that I could confirm that my butt was really actually big. Many of our pack members had commented on it, some even suggesting it was as the result of Devin's influence. “I don't see why being untouched is such a bad thing now,” I pulled my lower lip in between my teeth, but that very act made the light matte I applied on my lips to wipe off a bit. I contemplated fixing it, but ultimately decided against it. It still looked good on me, and it couldn't hide the fact that I was a beautiful woman.

“Oh, spare me that. You seriously need to get some action. You're not a kid anymore; you're twenty,” Selena argued.

I was grateful that her rants remained inside my head. Imagining someone overhearing her would be embarrassing.

I picked up my black hand bag and looked down at myself, seeing everything was okay, I slammed the door shut as I left the room. “I am going to grant you that wish tonight Lena.” I finally replied to her. That was the nickname I picked for her because most times, I found it lazy calling her by her full name.

“Now I can't wait....” she said dreamily.

I shook my head, a smile playing on my lips. As I descended the stairs, I entered the kitchen to find my mother and Ava preparing lunch. Despite having numerous servants in the house, my mother always preferred to cook for her family, and Ava supported her in that decision. Ava never contradicted our mother, not even once. Perhaps it had to do with my Alpha blood, but that didn't mean I didn't respect her decisions. Unlike me, Ava was a shifter, and I suspected that my mother would have preferred me to be one as well. I didn't know if her bitterness towards me—whatever it was—stemmed from her fear that I would try to seize the throne from my older brother.

Even my brother knew I would never do such a thing. He trusted me completely, understanding that as an Alpha myself, I had no desire to take his place. And he was right. Besides, I had Devin. There was no way I could handle being Luna of his pack and Alpha of my own pack simultaneously.

I know you all must be thinking that I'm very stupid for bringing him up but I'm not, he's going to claim me as his Luna whether or not the moon goddess decides to mate us together.

“Good afternoon, Mom,” I greeted, glancing at her once before looking away. I didn't bother acknowledging my sister since we had never been on good terms. Not like we were completely strangers, we just didn't hit it off as siblings.

Mom smiled but that light that I always used to see in her eyes whenever she looked at Ava or Devin wasn't there, but instead of being hurt at that, I shrugged, without caring. Good afternoon, Mom," I greeted, glancing at her briefly before looking away.

****

I pulled up in front of an attractive mansion, then climbed down from my car before stretching my arms wide as a yawn escaped my lips.

I was exhausted, even though I practically spent the whole day sleeping in my room. That was rare, because I usually don't sleep for that long. But today, like I noticed already, has been marking an exception to every little thing.

Rounding up to the door, the guards bowed while mouthing greetings to me. I answered them before making my way upstairs. I could feel the excitement racing up my system, my wolf was dancing in my head and I couldn't help but giggle at her enthusiasm at what I was going to do.

I couldn't blame her because during these two years in our relationship, she had been yearning to be in his arms but I had always refused. I had always felt a need to keep myself for my mate, but suddenly I had been thinking that I shouldn't wait anymore. Whether or not I found my mate, I was in love with Devin and he was also into me. We already promised each other to reject our fated mates if ever it turned out that we were not meant to be.

Sighing, I knew I had to take him for his word because alphas mostly do not break their promises and it's always rare to find a wolf breaking a promise he made, especially an alpha.

As I neared his room, my ears perked on little moans of a woman. It was as though she was crying and I shook my head at that. Devin was always watching movies during his leisure and most of them included porns that he had always tried to hide from me, to which I caught him watching when he least expected me.

I chuckled, knowing history was about to repeat itself. Rolling the words I was going to lash on him with on my tongue, I rubbed my palm on my face while inhaling deeply.

By the time I finally stood before his room, the sounds became clearer and realization hit me like a block of ice. What I had heard a while ago didn't actually sound like a movie, rather, it sounded so real. How could I be so naïve that I wouldn't be able to differentiate between a real moaning and a fake one? Maybe that was the reason he chose to fuck a whore. Maybe because he knew I was so foolish and inexperienced.

I could feel my heart beat already picking up a race. While trying to convince myself that it wasn't what I was thinking, there was a doubt in my mind but I still managed to shrug it off.

I trusted Devin.

There was no way he could do this to me. No, what was I even thinking? Devin, cheating on me? Never! With a smile and a slight chuckle, I managed to convince myself and I finally opened the door...