The Last Moonborn Wolf

Harper’s POV A pack is supposed to teach you strength and loyalty, but the only thing my pack ever teaches me is pain, loneliness, and a hatred that burns in my heart. The whip cracks again, and my knees hit the cold stone floor, but I refuse to cry. Not because I am brave, but because I know they want me to cry and shout out in pain. They want to see me break. They want proof that they are right. That I am nothing. The man holding the whip is Alpha Michael Carter. Hatred is burning in his eyes. He hates me because when I turned eighteen, he was my fated mate. His words that tore me apart and made me into this emotionless human still ring in my ears. "I, Alpha Michael Carter of the Silverline Pack, reject you, Harper Cole, as my mate and Luna. I refuse to take a human as my mate! You are useless and not worthy of being a Luna!" Something inside me shattered that day. Something I sometimes still feel a spark of pulled away from me forever. I knew I was worthless and would never have a wolf. Everyone got their wolf that day, except me. I remember the laughter of the rest of the pack. I remember Gretha smirking at me as she walked over to Michael and kissed him. Gretha was his chosen mate. An Alpha does not have to take his fated mate if he thinks she is too weak for him and his pack. He can take a stronger she-wolf as his mate and Luna, although their bond would not be as strong as that of his fated mate. “Still nothing?” Alpha Carter asks. His voice pulls me back to reality and the pain of the whip burning into my flesh. He sounds calm and almost bored, as if my pain means nothing to him. He steps closer, his boots echoing against the stone floor as he looks down at me. “Twenty-four years old, and you still cannot shift,” he says, disgust in his voice. “I told you,” I keep my head lowered, staring at the blood dripping from my fingers. “I don’t know why I can’t.” A hand grabs my hair and forces my head back. I look into his eyes. He shouts. “You expect us to believe that?” I swallow the pain. I lift my head, and I look back at him with as much disgust in my eyes as I see burning in his. I spit out the words. “I expect nothing from this pack.” The room goes silent. I know I have made a mistake. Alpha Carter does not like being challenged, especially not by me. The next strike comes faster and harder. My body hits the floor, but I refuse to beg. That is the one thing he will never take from me. He will never take my pride. He sits down in his chair and watches me. Alpha Carter watches me from his chair, looking bored. “The Moon Goddess gives every wolf a beast.” His eyes move over me. “Every warrior. Every hunter. Every leader. Everyone in this pack has a wolf, but you. Your parents had wolves, so what is wrong with you?” The words hurt more than the wounds because I have asked myself the same questions since I turned eighteen, and everyone else got their wolf but me. Why am I different? Why do I have no wolf? Why does something inside me feel missing? The truth is, I did feel something, a presence, but always just out of my reach. I hear a voice in my head sometimes calling my name, but after he rejected me, the voice stopped. I freeze. "Harper." My heart stops. I forget about the pain for a moment. For the first time in years, I hear the voice again. Is it my imagination? "Harper." I hear it again. It is but a whisper, but it is there. My breath catches, and I close my eyes. “What are you hiding?” Alpha Carter demands. I open my eyes and say between clenched teeth. “I’m not hiding anything.” His expression darkens. “Everyone has a wolf. Except you! You are an embarrassment to this pack! Not even the old Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack wanted you. You were supposed to impress him and let him take you to his pack. You were supposed to do something good for this pack and ensure an alliance with the Dark Moon Pack, but you could not even do that!” He steps closer. He leans down and says softly. “You are an embarrassment, useless, and a mere human.” Something inside me snaps. Maybe it is anger. Maybe it is exhaustion. Maybe I am just tired of being the thing everyone hates. “You are afraid of me0” I say. The room becomes silent. The Alpha laughs. “Afraid?” I get up, standing on wobbling legs in front of him, looking him in the eyes. “If I were truly nothing, you would not spend so much time trying to prove it. Do you regret rejecting me?” I ask. For a moment, he only stares at me. Then his smile turns cruel. He orders the warriors. “Take her outside.” My heart sinks. The warriors grab my arms and drag me through the packhouse. I do not fight. I know fighting only gives them another reason to hurt me. The courtyard is filled with the pack, waiting for my punishment for not impressing the old Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack. They always enjoy watching me fall. I stand in the center, barely able to stay upright. Alpha Carter raises his hand. “Tonight, we remind the pack what weakness costs. What happens to those who disobey me. Who think they can challenge me and insult their Luna.” The moon hangs above us. It is bright, beautiful, and a silent witness to my fate. I close my eyes. I wait for the pain. For the next punishment. For the cruelty I have known my entire life since my parents died. I open my eyes when I hear the sound of a horn. The entire courtyard freezes. The horn sounds again. Once. Twice. Three times. The guards on the walls suddenly shout. “ENEMIES AT THE GATE!” Everyone turns towards the gates. The sound of thousands of footsteps echoes through the forest. The gates shake. The pack warriors move into position. Fear spreads through the crowd because everyone knows who is coming. The banners appear between the trees in the bright moonlight, black and silver banners with a crowned wolf on them. It is the Northern army. Whispers move through the crowd. “The King…” “No…” “He came here?” The gates explode open, and at the front of the army stands the man everyone fears, King Mason Whitlock. The ruthless King of the North. The monster who has never shown mercy. His cold eyes scan the courtyard, then they land on me. For the first time in my life, someone looks at me like I am not broken, as if I am something worth finding. It scares me more than the pain ever does. Those cold eyes glaring at me scare me to death.