Promise, part 1.

Dictionary:

☾- Genuine lunam: Genuine moon, the genuine alpha's mate. Second in command.

☾- Velut luna: The alpha's mate.

☾- Lunae: Crescent moon, the beta's mate. Her womb is only fertile in the absence of the genuine or velut couple.

☾- Luna cimex: Moon error or moon's insect, the omega's mate. The lowest among the females with no noble value of any kind.

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A BABY INSTEAD OF A CUB

"How lucky you are, sister," Ruby said, looking up at the sky.

Emerald said nothing. Really she was very lucky. Born and destined to become a velut luna while her younger sister is just a cimex luna. Even if she found a mate, her sister wouldn't have any noble value within the pack.

"I hope you have many puppies, it will certainly not take long," her voice sounds calm and a simple smile adorns her red lips.

Ruby loves her sister. Among all the wolves of her pack, Emerald's the only one who never treated her badly. However, Emerald had no power to rid her younger sister of all the evil that happens to her inside the pack. An example of that were the bruises on her sister's arms. About three days ago, some of the females hit Ruby as a way to get rid of their anger.

Among their kin, there are lone wolves, and the vast majority of them are omegas and lunas cimexs. Life is much harder when they are on their own. Almost every one of them dies when they leave the pack because they're too fragile.

However, when the omega couple decides to abandon their pack and live on their own, the luna cimex's womb becomes fertile. But the parents cannot protect their offspring properly and end up dying, being attacked by other wolves or starving. None of them can hunt their prey because of their condolence nature. And so they're forced to endure the humiliation caused by their brothers and sisters.

Suddenly a loud howl fills the ears of the females sitting on the fluffy snow-covered ground in front of the frozen lake. Emerald knew the alpha was calling for her. They were going to mate once more.

"Better not to keep him waiting," Ruby said and hugged her knees.

Emerald sighs and transforms. Comparing her lupine form with that of her younger sister, she is three times bigger, her dominance is three hundred times stronger, she's ten times stronger, and she is seven times faster.

Emerald approached Ruby, putting her large furry head over the little one's in a form of a hug.

She stayed like that for a few seconds, but withdrew when she heard her mate's second call.

Ten moons later...

The full moon shines brightly in the sky giving the feeling that even the goddess herself was waiting for the birth of Emerald's first cubs.

What the goddess was really doing was putting into place the warning she gave them years ago and they refused to listen.

That night the stars looked even brighter as the whole pack heard the howl of their alpha announcing the birth of his child after long ten months of waiting. The goddess saw everything and smiled.

Her surprise would surely be shocking for them.

The other members of the pack howl at the moon, the icy winter wind carrying the sounds of their howls throughout the region, being able to be heard even by the other packs. All the members of the pack wished to be born a genuine lunam. Having a genuine birth within the pack would be the greatest honor of all, and finally the Rising pack would have an advantage over the others. The hope was even greater because the present genuine lunam was pregnant and by fate or not, the velut luna was also pregnant.

Emerald had a huge belly, could barely stand and spent all her time lying in her lair, in the great room of the Nascent Pack's castle. No one went inside, not even her younger sister because the alpha could see her as a danger to his cub and kill her without any remorse. The only one who could stay close to the velut was him, her alpha, her protector, her mate.

The pack bet that a litter of ten or more cubs would come this time. This was the first pregnancy since the velut luna was introduced a year and a half ago.

When the alpha couple finally manage to have their cubs, it's customary for them to remain in their lupine forms until their offspring reach six months of life. Puppies are born as small wolves, and when they're six months old, the first signs of lycanthropy begin to appear. Their furs begin to fall and their claws give way to fingers, their eyes cease to be black and then they take on their complete human forms.

It was a beautiful night, but the blood flooding the ground makes the alpha sweat cold even in his lupine form. That wasn't common, that wasn't normal and her moans of pain were piercing.

The velut luna was suffering, and so was the alpha.

Outside the room, Ruby hears her sister's groans of pain with a tight heart. It was taking too long for the cubs to be born, she knew that wasn't normal.

Back in the room, something strange happened. The birth forced the velut luna to return to her human form and her groans turned into screams, which took everyone by surprise.

"What's going on?" all the lycanthropes wondered, restless and their howls ceased.

With a final scream that practically tore her throat, only one cub was born without hair or claws.

In the eyes of the alpha, that was a humiliation.

Turning her fingers into claws, Emerald cut the umbilical cord, took the child in her lap and her eyes filled with tears. It was her son, a piece of her being. Love was evident in her eyes and gestures.

But that wasn't right.

When the cubs are born with defects, the mothers eat them and go in search of their partners to mate and generate another offspring, one healthy and strong.

But in Emerald's eyes, her son was healthy and perfect. She didn't smell any disease or deformity on him. He was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

“What did you do?” the alpha asks in a horrifying voice as he approaches his mate.

“I–I don't know, I–"

“You dared to betray me?!” he yelled. If she didn't eat the puppy, then he was born perfect. And if he was born perfect, if that was his true form, then that child was not his son.

“No! I would never do that! And even if I had, you would have smelled it on me and–"

"You sure talked to those witch trash!"

“No, I didn't! Don't disrespect me–"

"Shut up! Bitch! Adulter!" he shouted, making everyone outside fear of what could happen.

With her whole body trembling, Emerald finally noticed her mate's intent. He wanted to kill her cub.

The big wolf leaps towards her, but even though she is weak, she spins on the bed and runs towards the door, opening and leaving quickly. But not as fast as she wanted; her legs are weak and in her arms she carries a human baby who she only knows is alive because of the heat emanating from its little body.

The howling stops, all members of the pack transform and the hunt begins.

Emerald cannot transform to escape, she needs to save her child's life.

With her heart throbbing in her chest, she manages to get out of the castle through a secret passageway. The snow burns her bare feet, but that doesn't matter. Her son's life is more important.

"Ahhhh," she cries in pain.

Then she feels fangs on the skin of her shoulder, which makes her lose her balance and fall to the ground. Not even the impact of her fall on the icy snow makes the child cry and worry floods the mother's chest.

What happens if she's not able to save her cub?

Tears are already flooding her eyes.