prologue

Pls do read the authors note at the end.

▪️

Her brows furrowed together as she stared down at the flashing screen of her mobile phone. 'Unknown Caller', the name kept staring back at her. Serenity wasn't one to answer calls from strangers, but this time she felt like answering the call, which was a first on her part.

Serenity had been working, going through her boss' schedule for the day when her phone had started ringing. The person on the other end was persistent, that she was quite sure of since this wasn't the first time they were calling her, the last three times she had managed to ignore it, but now annoyance and curiosity were getting the best of her. There was a reason why she didn't like answering phone calls from an unknown number, she feared that the things she had left behind in her past would catch up to her someday, and in her mind avoiding such phone calls would help her dodge the inevitable.

Deciding to just get it over with, she answers the phone.

"Hello?" she questions the person on the other end.

She was met with silence on the other end. The only thing thanks to her enhanced hearing, she could hear was the soft breathing of the person.

"Hell-" she tries once again to get the person to speak but gets cut off when they answer.

"Serenity?" a soft familiar voice on the other end speaks up. Hearing the voice, she felt herself getting emotional. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, her hands tightening their grip on the phone.

"Courtney?" she says back, "Is that you?" her voice thick with emotion. God, how long has it been since she last heard her best friend's voice? five years? no, it's been eight years and eight years was a long time,' she thought to herself.

She could hear sniffling sounds from the other end, and she couldn't help but feel guilty knowing that she was the reason behind her best friend's tears. Serenity also felt dread encase her as she thought about the reason behind the sudden phone call...did something happen to her family? did something happen to him? She pushed the last thought away from her mind, she didn't care what happened to him anymore.

"Courtney, did something bad happen?" her voice small, fear evident in her voice.

"No" her best friend immediately answers, causing Serenity to release a sigh of relief. Thank God, she thought.

"Will you-" Courtney starts to say but pauses as if thinking about what she wanted to say, "Can you come back?" sadness lacing her voice. "Alex and I are getting married in three months, and I need my best friend by my side as I step into a new phase in my life." Courtney's words cause her to close her eyes. Alex was her older brother, he and Courtney both found out they were soul mates when Courtney turned eighteen. They both loved each other from the moment they found out. Serenity had thought they both would've tied the knot much earlier, but that wasn't the case.

Now her mind comes back to Courtney's initial words. She wanted to say no, a part of her not wanting to go back. She was happy where she was in her life now. But she always knew in the back of her mind that one day she would've to go back. She couldn't live among humans her whole life. Werewolves lived with their pack, one straying too far from their pack was unheard of in the supernatural world. But could she deny her best friend this? Serenity knew that later on, she would regret it, either way, no matter if she said yes or no.

"Yes." She answers. "I will talk with Matt and let you know when we will be leaving the city."

"I- uh, you will?" Courtney sounded shocked with her reply. Obviously with what had happened and caused her to leave the pack all those years ago, even she had thought that when the time came when she was required to go back, she wouldn't agree to, without putting up a fight, but here she was doing the complete opposite.

"Yes, Court. How can I miss your wedding of all things?" her voice light.

"I just didn't expect you to say yes so easily. I was half expecting you to scream and put up a fight." Serenity could hear the happiness in Courtney's voice.

"Well, I thought so too." She said with a smile on her face. There was silence for a few moments.

"I missed you" Courtney speaks up, melancholy lacing her voice.

Serenity sighs, "I missed you too. I missed everyone. I miss living in the pack."

"How is-" Courtney starts to speak but cuts off as Serenity hears voices talking in the background and Courtney replying to them.

"Hey, I'm so sorry, have to go, there is a meeting happening-" Courtney starts to ramble but Serenity cuts her off, understanding that she had pressing matters to attend to.

"Courtney, It's okay. I understand," she says causing Courtney to sigh.

"I love you, I'll be waiting for your call."

"bye Court, I love you too." She hangs up.

Serenity sighs after she hangs up, her body leaning forward to place her head on the office desk.

▪

Her car came to a stop as the traffic lights turned red, she watched as people crossed the street. The city was still bustling, with tourists visiting from all over the world and New Yorkers mixed together. Her mind goes back to the phone call she had received in the morning, causing her mind to unintentionally revert back to the events of her past.

She was a werewolf, a pack member of The Midnight Moon Pack. It was the strongest pack in the whole of America. She loved the life she had in her pack, loving family and friends. The only thing missing in her life was her mate. Serenity didn't care if her mate was from a lower ranking, or a warrior but never did she expect it to be him.

An Alpha to be her mate nonetheless...

Emily, Courtney, and Serenity had been best friends since they were fourteen and they were all inseparable ever since. Emily was loved by everyone and was what you called 'A Social Butterfly'. She was in a relationship with Damien Blackwood, which made her even more popular among the pack members. Damien was the future Alpha of Midnight Moon Pack and Serenity's long-time crush and her mate.

Although Serenity had a huge crush on Damien, cue word 'had', at least that's what she liked to tell herself, but she knew she was lying to herself. It's been eight years since she left and the last time she saw him, she would've liked to think that she had moved on in life, but who was she kidding, there was still a part of her that felt the void her mate was supposed to fill, she tried to make herself feel full by dating guys over the years, but none had managed to capture her heart quite like him. If she ever happened to see him again...all those bottled up feelings are ought to come out once again, all those feelings she tried to bury deep down inside of her would stir back up, and that thought alone made her want to not go back but now she didn't have the heart to break Courtney's heart. She just had to suck it up.

She had never acted upon her feelings for him because he was their future Alpha, he was scary and intimidating, and he was dating her best friend Emily, she couldn't go against the girl code.

'Even if he turns out to be your mate' Serenity's wolf, Selene speaks up, causing her to scoff at her line of thoughts.

Serenity was sure that someone like Damien would never even notice someone like her, there wasn't anything about her that made her stand out, instead, she was the quiet one among the trio, with Emily being the extrovert, and Courtney being the loud one. Her pecan brown hair and warm chocolate brown eyes helped her blend in. It didn't come across as a surprise to her when Damien started courting Emily, both of them grew up together and were extremely close. Emily with her golden blonde hair and blue eyes was gorgeous.

Serenity was self-conscious about herself back then and used to hide herself in baggy clothes because they made her feel comfortable. She had grown out of her shyness since then. Besides she didn't want to ruin their perfect relationship. Furthermore, she had admired their relationship for a while too, even envied it.

Damien was quiet and cold most of the time. While Emily was an angel. They were polar opposites. Maybe that was the reason they got together in the first place. As the saying goes, 'opposites attract'.

Emily Christy was a human among the pack of werewolves. She was the product of one of the male pack members getting involved with a human in a drunken stupor, nine months later a baby was found abandoned in a small basket near the pack border by some patrol guards, along with a note. She was technically supposed to be a half breed since Emily didn't show signs of any enhanced abilities even some half breeds possessed. Thus ruling her out as a human.

The only family she had left was her father, who had passed away when she was five in a rogue attack. The Alpha and Luna, being the kind people that they were, took her in instantly after her father's death. They made her a part of their family, not caring that she was a human, and Serenity respected them for taking her in when no one was there for her. It was uncommon to find humans among werewolves since they are super naturals and like their peace. Humans in between them meant trouble, for the most part. You never know who would snitch about their existence. The Alpha and Luna had made sure to protect her from the ones in the pack that was against making her a member of the pack.

Serenity had been there to see it all and endure the pain of seeing her mate getting married to her best friend. She was angry and sad for the most part, but she couldn't blame Emily. She was oblivious to the fact that he was Serenity's mate and since she is a human, she will never have a mate of her own.

The worst feeling was when she had to give up on her mate even though she didn't want to, but she had to.

She left soon after they announced their wedding. She could not handle the pain of seeing them both together. She had not been in touch with the pack ever since, and it's been eight years since then.

She pushes all the past memories away and saw that the lights had turned green causing her to continue on her journey.

▪

As she entered her penthouse, carrying her handbag in one hand while the other held a bunch of files, she was met with the mouth-watering aroma of spaghetti and meatballs being cooked.

Dumping her belonging on the sofa, she moved towards the kitchen where she was met with the muscled back of her best friend, walking past him to sit on the chair placed along the kitchen island, she let out a tired groan, watching as he cooked.

"Rough day?" he asks not moving his head from the pan in front of him.

"You have no idea" she replies back, After a pause, she continues "I have news."

She watched as her last words made Matthew pause, turning the stove on low so that the food wouldn't burn, he turned to face her, wordlessly asking her to continue speaking as he leaned back against the counter.

"Courtney called. It's her wedding in three months." she said staring off into the distance, "I just felt so guilty after hearing from her after so long, she asked me if I would be able to make it for her wedding, and I said yes." turning to face him, she asks, "Do you think I made the right choice?"

"Do you really want to go or did you say yes because you felt guilty?" Matthew asks as he pushed himself off the counter, moving towards her seated position. As he reached her, he pulls her up into his arms, encasing her in one of his bear hugs. She closes her eyes as she leans her head on his shoulders.

"Yes," she says, after thinking about it for a moment. She really did want to be there for her best friend.

"Well then, you have nothing to worry about. I'll be there for you," he says. Matthew's words calmed her senses. He just knew what to say to her whenever she was confused about anything, he just knew her too well.

"I'm counting on it" she replies.