Chapter one

My heart pounded as I stood on the mountain top, the cool breeze ruffling my hair. I watched as my sister, Joan, demonstrated the art of harnessing one's inner power. Joan, with her fiery determination and unwavering spirit, had been training me for as long as I could remember but still I was not able to find and use my power as a wolf and I could not help but doubt that I was even one anymore.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue across the landscape. The forest below seemed to come alive, whispering secrets that danced on the wind. I had always felt a deep connection to nature, as if the very essence of the earth pulsed through my veins but since my powers, my wolf, had been elusive, refusing to reveal itself fully, I had started despising coming out for training at the mountain top

For years, I had trained tirelessly, practicing under the watchful eye of Joan. I had poured my heart and soul into mastering the art of transformation, of tapping into my true potential. Yet, time and again, my efforts fell short. Doubt began to cloud my mind, and frustration gnawed at my determination.

" I'm tired Joan, we should go home" I tell my sister as I find a place to sit on the floor. I had always known that I was different because Joan and I were abandoned when I was still a baby, with no trace of our parents or any explanation for why we were cast aside. We had each other, though, and that was enough. We formed an unbreakable bond, facing the world together, as sisters.

As the years passed, it became apparent that there was something extraordinary within me, something waiting to be unleashed. But my powers remained dormant, frustratingly out of reach. Joan , took it upon herself to train me, to guide me on the path towards harnessing my true potential.

Day after day, we came to the mountaintop to practice. Its rugged terrain became our sanctuary, a place where we could shed the weight of the world and focus solely on our abilities. Joan pushed me relentlessly, her unwavering determination serving as a constant reminder of the strength I had yet to tap into but it was just not working.

"It's too early to go home now Lizzy" Joan came to sit beside me

"So where should we go?" I inquired from her

"Well I'm hungry so we should go get some food" she smiled wickedly and I returned the smile because I knew what she was saying. We usually had two spots where we stole food from at the mountain top, the mysterious hut and a hut that was full of provision that belonged to the Mayflower pack.

It was only a year ago that Joan had found herself rummaging through the provisions store of the Mayflower pack. Hunger had driven her to desperation, she said but her actions had consequences. She was caught in the act by none other than Alpha Gerald himself, his piercing blue eyes locking onto her's with a mix of anger and amusement and he had growled at her just for the fun of it and Joan had been so scared until she realized he was just jesting with her. The narration of her encounter left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I despised him because of what he did to her. She had come home and told me of her experience and since then, we had gone back a couple of times because we were both stubborn and we loved the thrill of trying not to get caught and so far we had never been caught again

"I'm down but which one should we go to?" I asked with a wide grin and she gave me a nod in the direction of the Mayflower pack's hut and my smile widened because they always had something sweet there and I was craving something sweet.

"Okay!" I jumped up gladly "let's make things snappy" I said and Joan laughed as she got up from the floor and we started walking towards the provision hut. We were almost there when Joan held my hand and told me to stop walking, I looked at her skeptically because I didn't understand why we had to stop and as I was about to ask she shouted

"Run! They're coming" and without any other warning she sprang off in the opposite direction and I had to follow suit although I was not as fast as her and I started panicking when I heard the sound coming from behind us and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was the Mayflower pack that was chasing us. We were about to be caught for trespassing and I could not let that happen because now it was a full pack and the mercy Joan had from the Alpha when she was caught was not going to be extended to us anymore. I felt my legs getting weak as I continued to run and I could hear them catching up with me from behind and I knew we were doomed when Joan stopped in her tracks ahead of me and I saw some members of the pack in front of her and I looked around to see that we were surrounded and there was no escape anymore. Joan ran back, met me where I was and held on to my hands as we both tried to catch our breath

"What should we do now" I asked her telepathically and she shrugged her shoulders. I watched as one of the members of the pack stepped forward and immediately he removed his shield and looked at me and our gaze met, an inexplicable pull tugged at my soul. The realization hit me like a lightning strike—Alpha Gerald, the next of kin of the Mayflower pack was my mate, the one I was destined to be bound to for eternity.

My emotions churned within me, a tumultuous storm of conflicting feelings. How could this be? How could my mate be the very person I despised? I glanced at Joan, searching for support and understanding, and found her gaze filled with surprise and concern. I could see that she knew what had just happened and before I could say anything she screamed,

"Jump!" And I was confused at first until she held unto my hands and jumped off the mountain and I felt my heart fly out of my chest as we floated on the air for a flew minutes and just as we were about to land on the ground, I felt myself on transforming into something fluffy and fangs grew out of my mouth. I was q Lycan. Joan had turned into her wolf form and immediately and hit the ground she did not stop running until we ran into a cave.

When we finally settled down and made sure that the pack was not on our heel, Joan turned to me and studied me for awhile

"So that was all we needed all these while for you to turn, you needed to find your damn mate" she said while thinking deeply

"And you are a Lycan, not a wolf Lizzy" she said while looking me up and down

"It's that a bad thing" I asked cause I did not understand what was going on. Joan was quiet for awhile before enveloping me in a hug

"No baby, it's not a bad thing alright, you'll be fine okay?" she said and although I found it hard to believe that I nodded my head in affirmation.