first chapter

POV Lily

"I love you, Lily Brooks," he said, looking into my eyes while caressing my face.

 

For the first time, my dream was coming true; Ethan's words were sweet to my ears, and I could feel my heart beating strongly with each touch of his hands on my body. He drew closer, wrapping his arms around my waist and closing the small gap between us.

"Do you love me?" he asked curiously, making my cheeks blush with embarrassment.

"My feelings don't matter; I am just a useless Omega," I said with tears welling up in my eyes.

 

"The Crescent Moon celebration is approaching, and I am certain that the moon goddess will reveal to me that you are my predestined mate," he said with hope in his eyes.

 

"I am the weakest in our pack. How could a simple Omega like me be the mate of our future Alpha?" I turned away sadly, looking up at the starry sky.

 

"I am not interested in any other female, except for you," he said, pulling my face closer to his and sealing our lips in an intense kiss. "Will you marry me?" he asked, still out of breath, looking into my blue eyes.

"My parents will never accept our relationship," I said, fearful that they would separate me from him.

"I am the future Alpha of this pack, and tomorrow, I intend to claim you as my mate. I won't let anyone stop me from doing that," he said firmly, with great authority.

"What is this?" I asked confusedly.

"Just a gift; I want you to have this," he pulled out a shiny ring from his pocket and put it on my finger.

"Ethan... is this..." I couldn't pronounce the words; I was completely amazed.

"A promise that one day you will be mine, as we always dreamed," he said with a smile on his face, placing a kiss on the top of my forehead while playing with my hair.

"I don't know what to say," I stammered nervously.

"Don't say anything more. Tomorrow, I will go to your house to talk to your parents," he said.

I didn't let Ethan finish his sentence; I jumped into his arms, euphorically. I thought I would die alone, and that no one would be interested in me, but that engagement ring meant something serious. I never imagined that Ethan would reciprocate the feelings I had for him for years, ever since we first saw each other at the pack gatherings.

"I need to go now; my parents are waiting for me at home to talk," I said nervously, seeing that the sun was setting.

"But already? Stay a little longer. I missed hearing your voice for days," he asked with a sad look.

"My parents want to talk to me about my purpose in serving the pack, now that I've turned eighteen. I'm sure it won't be anything compared to Emily's," I replied apprehensively, and Ethan comforted me.

He held me by the nape of my neck, getting closer to me slowly, and pressed his lips against mine in a serene and romantic kiss that chased away all my worries.

"I will be waiting for you tomorrow; I hope you give me your answer," he said, saying goodbye with a smile on his lips.

 

I ran towards my house; it was almost nighttime, and I couldn't be late for my birthday. On the way, I couldn't stop thinking about Ethan's words; that ring represented a promise that, perhaps, I could be happy after years of being despised by everyone, including my parents.

I arrived home and opened the door slowly, so as not to make any noise. When I turned around, my mother was standing, staring at me, along with my father at the table.

 

"Sit down!" she ordered.

I swallowed hard and joined them at the table; the atmosphere didn't seem friendly, and there was no cake or balloons to celebrate my birthday.

"Eighteen years... Lily, you and your twin sister are turning eighteen together," he said seriously.

"Yes..." I shrugged, disheartened.

I knew that all the attention would be on my twin sister, Emily. Perhaps they only wanted to wish me a happy birthday without giving me any presents, as they always did, unlike Emily, who received several expensive gifts.

"The time has come; the right time for you to show your worth," my father continued, looking at me coldly with a distant look in his eyes.

I closed my eyes tightly, praying that they would say that I was free to be with whoever I wanted after discovering this ridiculous purpose they had been talking about for years!

"I will tell you a story," my father said, firmly holding my mother's hand. "When your mother and I got married, we wanted very much to build a family. In a few days, we found out that your mother was pregnant with twins, two beautiful girls, you and your older sister," he looked at me apprehensively.

 

"Everything was perfect; everyone was happy since the birth of twins is rare and represents luck, but with you came hunger, unemployment, and diseases, it was like a curse..." he shook his head as if he were recalling those painful memories.

"I know it was difficult for you to raise us, Father," I smiled weakly, thanking them for everything they did for us.

"You will hate me after hearing what I have to say," my father said seriously, "the people of the pack turned their backs on us, and we were left helpless. They thought you two were the cause of all the bad things happening, and that perhaps you and your sister were cursed. Your mother and I fought hard to protect you until a proposal appeared, but it had a very high price!" he pointed at me.

At that moment, my nails were dragging across the table, my wolf inside screaming for me to run, but I refused to believe that my parents had done something wrong to me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, frightened.

"I made a deal, Lily. We would live well until you and your sister turned eighteen, but after that, I would have to offer one of you as a sacrifice."

"And you chose me instead of Emily?" I asked in a panic, tears welling up in my eyes. "Mom, say something, please tell me that Dad is lying and that this is a sick joke!"

The woman in front of me remained silent and dared not look into my eyes, increasing the fear within me even more.

"Tomorrow morning, they will take you to the forest. You must be strong, Lily, there will be a beast, a wild animal thirsting for blood, and you will be the prey," he said without remorse.

 

"How could you do this to me? I am your daughter too, you always preferred Emily over me, always favored and showered her with gifts, while I got the leftovers..." I said, crying.

 

"We had no choices. If we didn't make that deal, both of you would have starved to death. One of you had to be sacrificed for the good of the pack. After we made the deal, our pack prospered again, and people stopped blaming us for what was happening. We were able to raise you until you turned eighteen and became strong she-wolves," my mother replied.

 

"Why me? Why did you choose me?" I said sadly.