Moonlit Waltz

Dark clouds shrouded the sky. The humid air was suffocating and hard to breathe in as if a large storm were brewing. Crouched in the darkness, Ria hid herself inside a cave, her hands interlocked in front of her chest in prayer. Even with a sharp dagger pressed against her neck, there was no panic in her eyes. Instead, it was as if she found comfort in possibly being freed of this existence. Three years ago, Ria was nothing more than an omega maid without status or dignity. In fact, she suffered much humiliation within her clan. Moreover, her birthday just happened to coincide with the wolves’ annual mega banquet. Whether it was a slip of the hand or a practical joke by the Moon Goddess resulting from drunken revelry, she had become the Luna of the three most powerful alpha kings in the world—Leo, August, and Nicholas—all at once. Thus began the longest, most brutal war among the wolves. The three wolf kings went all out over Ria. Blinded by rage and jealousy, they threw their clans into cruel war. Countless clansmen were killed because of her. Ria and her wolf were the catalysts of this event; the very core of it. She was powerless to resist her fate and had no choice but to be swept along by it. Forced to go along with the whims of the three wolf kings, she suffered alone in helplessness and despair as she witnessed her clansmen slaughter each other. The hilt of the dagger against her neck was in the hands of one beta, Regina. Regina was a female warrior of the Silver Moon Pack under Leo’s command. She was supposedly in charge of protecting Ria, yet it was Ria who was now on the receiving end of her blade. “Please forgive me, Ria. Too many have died because of you. Only when you are dead will peace return to the wolves.” Regina’s hands were trembling, but the look in her eyes was resolute. “I know, Regina. You’re right. What’s more, I too am tired of this. Please, just kill me now.” Ria slowly shut her eyes, her voice as calm as a still lake. There was neither fear nor unease in her heart at the thought of death. All she wanted was for this nightmare to end—for everything to end. “Frankly speaking, Ria, I like you very much as a person, and I sympathize. You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. If not for this war, perhaps we could’ve even been friends.” Regina’s tears rolled over her chin, dripping onto Ria’s shoulder. To kill a helpless and kind person was a horrible act that went against her principles. “But I have to do this. Although I’m going against King Leo’s orders, it wouldn’t matter even if the Silver Moon see me as a traitor. I have to put an end to this senseless slaughter!” Regina’s voice grew firm, almost in encouragement to herself. “Don’t waste any more time. You know how many people are looking for us. Please… kill me. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Thank you, Regina, my friend.” Ria slowly shut her eyes and said to the wolf inside her heart, “I’m sorry, Sherry, my wolf. I can’t hold on any longer.” “This isn’t your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s the Moon Goddess,” answered a sullen voice. “You’re strong. I do not regret becoming your wolf, Ria. I—” Sherry’s voice came to an abrupt end. Following a burst of pain, Ria could feel her throat being sliced open as red filled her vision. Was it… finally the end? There was a look of liberation on Ria’s face. She could finally rest easy. Before her death, Ria vaguely saw Regina raise her dagger again through blurry eyes, piercing it into her own heart… Silence returned to the cave. The only things left behind were the corpses of the two women. … Ria’s mind seemed to have been plunged into darkness as she slept. She had no idea how long passed. It may have been a mere instant, or it could have been countless years. It was a very long dream. She dreamed that she had become the Luna of the wolf kings and caused a bloody war between her clansmen before finally being killed by a Beta called Regina… When Ria finally opened her eyes, she had awoken from that dream. What a terrifying and vivid dream that was! But was it… really just a dream? Ria pondered the worrying question. The first thing she did was feel around her uninjured neck, then she sat up in bed and looked at her surroundings. The room was a familiar one to her. It was the place that she grew up in. To be precise, it was a narrow semi-basement. It was a dark, crude area where sunlight barely crept in through the small window above. This was all accompanied by damp and musty air that permeated the room, assaulting one's nose. Ria's head was spinning, probably still disoriented from that strangely vivid dream she was in. She could only describe the feeling as ethereal. Putting her pillow aside and grabbing her phone, she turned on the screen. The date was January 28, 2023. Time, 6:30 a.m. Ria paused in surprise for a moment. Today was her sixteenth birthday? The events of that dream were still clear in her mind. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, her world was plunged into pure chaos, like a nightmare within itself. In her dream, it was on this day that she suffered the greatest humiliation of her life. Her body was played with in all sorts of sick and perverted ways by McKenzie, the son of Gino, the Alpha. This caused her to become the laughingstock of the entire Thorn Pack. For a long time, she could not free herself from the trauma of that day. Many times, she even thought of ending her own life to stop the nightmare there, but she could never muster the courage to do it. After recovering from her confusion, Ria got out of bed so that she could prepare breakfast for her stepparents and their daughter, the fourteen-year-old Natalie. Then, under the sounds of their curses and abuse, she left the house and made her way to school. For the whole day, Ria’s mind was preoccupied with the dream she had this morning, still unable to shake it off as if it were an out-of-body experience in another world. Due to the misfortune that struck her on this day in her dreams, she even decided to skip her final exams and go straight home, where she would only be met with increased abuse and bullying from her stepparents, throwing her deeper into the despair that was her miserable life. After school, everyone walked together in pairs or groups. Only Ria walked alone. She had no money to participate in any of the school's after-school activities, so she was scorned by her snobbish peers. Words like "mutt" and "servant" were often spoken behind her back. Some would even make sure that they used those words within earshot of her. Ria continued walking as if she did not hear them. After all, this was nothing new. She was already used to being ostracized this way. As she was on her usual route home, a tall figure appeared in front of her just as she turned the corner. It was the son of the Thorn Pack's Alpha, McKenzie. He was one of the most popular hunks in school, however, he was also a known playboy. Countless girls dreamed of becoming his, and Ria was no exception. She also used to be one of his admirers, but due to her low self-esteem, she only dared to watch him from afar, never showing her adoration for him in front of anyone else. McKenzie took her hand and went down on one knee, looking up into Ria's eyes with deep affection. "Thank you, Moon Goddess, for granting me the pleasure of meeting my fated mate on my eighteenth birthday. Your smell intoxicates me, my mate. I would love to share my all with you in this life. Would you grant me that opportunity, Ria? It would be my honor to serve you." Ria was dumbfounded. Not at McKenzie's sudden confession, but at the fact that everything she was experiencing now was exactly the same as what happened in her dreams. The worst of it all? It was just a stupid prank meant to humiliate her. It was a bet that McKenzie made with his friends. They were betting on whether the "dumb b***h," Ria, would fall for McKenzie's confession and sleep with him after. Then, someone would film them in secret and spread the video around the school for everyone to see. Ria snapped to her senses. That was definitely not just a dream! The Moon Goddess had taken her five years back into the past, to the most miserable day of her life and the beginning of a living nightmare. Ria would never let herself suffer the same fate twice. All of a sudden, she had turned back to the same stone-cold Ria of her dreams, the Luna of the wolf kings, steeled through endless pressure and bloodshed, unflinching even in the face of death. The look in her eyes turned icy cold as she answered steadfastly, "Sorry, but I refuse.”