Chapter One

“I bet you won’t beat me now Sazia!”

Lucian proudly said to me. I had earlier challenged him to a running competition again, after losing five times to him.

“you bet! You may be the son of the alpha but I am much of a werewolf than you are Lucian”

Lucian laughed out loud, he was trying to mock me.

“then explain having lost five times to me Shazia! Just admit it… I’m better than you at everything”

“Never! I was just getting you started, that’s all.”

Lucian laughed, then did my exact impression, 

“I was just getting you started.”

“Okay, let’s race now. I am so going to win you”

“Okay Sazia, the usual location right?”

“obviously”

At the count of five, we turned into wolves and entered the forest, trying to reach the usual location first. Lucian and I have been friends for a very long time since my parents died when I was five. He was the son of the Alpha, the head of the pack.

Since we were always together, it was easy to fall in love with him; though he was not my mate.

I wasn’t sure he felt the same way with me though, he always treated me like a sister and only that.

We always had fun playing together when we were little, but now we could barely meet – his father was training him to become the next Alpha, which was a big responsibility. Therefore, any little time I had, I would often use it to be with him.

Everyone knew of our closeness; all the pack knew of our closeness.

There was one thing I was worried about though – he was going to be crowned the new Alpha king the next day, and he would have to pick a mate.

Though we were not mates, I truly hoped he would choose me; he was the only one I wanted to be with. Since he was given a day off by his father: Xavier, the current Alpha, I had to use it to get his attention, one way or another. I thought of different ways to get Lucian’s attention, there was only one thing he loved doing.

I decided to challenge Lucian in a race. I knew he would always win; I just wanted to spend some time with him.

My thoughts were interrupted by Lucian, he seemed to be warning me of something I could not understand.

“Watch out Sazia! You’ll hit the tree!!” His voice was filled with panic. 

The place became dark almost immediately and I could feel the wolf shifting back to human form as I passed out. 

Lucian’s POV

I was the son of the Alpha and the next in line. My whole life had been filled with men training me and telling me what to do and what not to do, not until the day I met Sazia.

Sazia was an orphan given to my father to keep after a war between my pack: El Atunia and the pack she came from. She lost her parents in the war and was given to my father to take care of - we became friends ever since then.

During the race, I had gotten to a far height and I was about to turn and mock her for being too slow; however, as I turned to check where she was, I saw her unknowingly running toward a tree.

What was that girl thinking about?

“Watch out Sazia! You’ll hit the tree!!!”

I tried communicating with the mind link but it was already too late, he bumped her head into the tree and fainted immediately.

“Sazia!”

I turned back to my human body and instantly reached out to her – her body had already moved back to her human state to indicate her state of unconsciousness.

I picked her up and shifted into a werewolf, taking her to a safer place outside the forest, on top of a hill.

It was the secret place we usually went to when we were children, you could see the moon and the stars from there.

I laid her down and then transformed into a human, waiting patiently for her to wake up.

It did not take too long though, she was up soon.

Sazia’s POV

The place was blurry at first, but then I regained my sight fully. Lucian was standing right in front, carrying a worried expression on his face. 

“What happened?” I asked with a croaky voice, feeling a bit dizzy, I then remembered that I had hit my head on a tree mistakenly.

Oh no. 

“What do you think? You are so weak, Sazia! Just one hit and you fell on the floor.” He snapped at me and I felt hurt for being called 'weak'. 

“Rude…I’m recovering here Lucian, be nicer.” I waved his words off like they didn't matter despite it stung. 

“What were you even thinking of? Why be so clumsy and hit yourself so badly? You know that wolves like us have a hard time stopping when we start running, could you not be so careless?” I was already irritated by how he kept pursuing the issue further. 

I got annoyed with all his scoldings. 

“That happened like an hour ago and you’re still scolding me… I’ll be more careful ‘dad’,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘dad’ to annoy him.

"I was just worried about you, that’s all." His voice softened as he raked his hand through his shiny curls. 

“Because you love me so much?” I ask jokingly but I wanted to hear a reply. 

He stood up and turned his head, I wanted to see his reaction but he did not show it

“Tomorrow’s my Alpha naming ceremony, I want my best friend to be there with me, not a dead friend.”

I walked to him and whispered in his ears,

“You won’t get rid of me that easily Lucian.”

He turned back and faced me, we were now a breath away from each other. It felt like my heart was racing blindly down my stomach as we locked eyes, and my eyes as hard as I tried, kept trailing his features down to his lips. 

I resisted the urge to just say 'fuck it' and kiss him, but I couldn't take that risk when I knew he didn't feel the same way about me. 

“What if I find a mate tomorrow and choose to be with that person?”