One Month of Preparation
1474 Words
One month.
Thirty days.
Thirty sunrises.
Thirty sunsets.
That was all the time Astera had before leaving for the Royal Alpha University.
The Moon Challenge was still six months away, held during the academy's annual Moon Festival. That gave every participant half a year to train, grow stronger, and prove themselves before the greatest competition in the Wolf Realm began.
For most students, six months sounded like plenty of time.
For Astera...
It wasn't nearly enough.
She had no awakened wolf.
She didn't fully understand the mysterious powers sleeping inside her.
She carried secrets that could destroy the balance of the four packs if revealed too soon.
And somewhere beyond the borders of the Wolf Realm...
An unseen enemy was already beginning to move.
She couldn't afford to waste a single day.
---
Long before dawn painted the horizon, Astera was already awake.
The Ocean Tide Pack was still asleep, wrapped in the peaceful rhythm of crashing waves and whispering sea winds.
She quietly dressed in her training clothes.
A fitted black combat suit.
Light armor around her forearms.
Her silver bracelet securely fastened around her wrist.
The invisibility necklace hidden beneath her shirt.
Every gadget carefully checked.
The tiny dragon stretched lazily before climbing onto her shoulder.
Astera smiled faintly.
"Ready?"
The little creature chirped happily.
Together, they slipped out of the palace unnoticed.
---
Hidden behind the waterfall, the ancient training arena waited.
Commander Orion was already standing in the center, his wooden practice sword resting against his shoulder.
"You are two minutes late."
Astera looked toward the sky.
"The sun hasn't even risen."
Orion folded his arms.
"Exactly."
"If your enemy attacks before sunrise, do you intend to ask them to wait?"
Astera sighed.
"I'll remember that."
"Good."
"Now pick up your sword."
---
Training became her entire world.
Every morning began with endurance.
Running across steep cliffs overlooking the ocean.
Swimming against powerful tides.
Climbing smooth stone walls with nothing but her hands.
Crossing suspended rope bridges while carrying heavy weights.
Some days Orion deliberately destroyed the path before her.
"You don't always get a road."
"You make one."
Astera never argued.
She simply found another way.
---
After endurance came combat.
Swordsmanship.
Daggers.
Archery.
Hand-to-hand combat.
Defensive techniques.
Multiple-opponent battles.
Even fighting while blindfolded to sharpen her remaining senses.
She lost countless times.
Each defeat became another lesson.
Each mistake was written carefully inside a notebook she carried everywhere.
Weaknesses.
Corrections.
Possible improvements.
Nothing escaped her attention.
Commander Orion often shook his head.
"You don't train like a warrior."
Astera wiped sweat from her forehead.
"No."
"I train like an inventor solving a problem."
---
Afternoons belonged to something she loved even more.
Creating.
The Alpha had secretly arranged a private workshop beneath one of the palace towers.
To everyone else, it appeared to be an abandoned storage room.
To Astera...
It became paradise.
Tables overflowed with blueprints.
Mechanical parts.
Rare crystals.
Tiny gears.
Ancient metals.
Magical ores gifted by the Ocean Tide craftsmen.
Every evening, sparks filled the workshop.
Metal clinked against metal.
Strange devices slowly came to life beneath her careful hands.
She redesigned her grappling bracelet, making it faster and nearly impossible to detect.
She developed miniature smoke capsules capable of creating thick fog within seconds.
She built magnetic climbing boots that could grip almost any metallic surface.
She improved her communication device, allowing encrypted conversations over long distances.
She even created tiny mechanical birds that could scout dangerous areas before she entered them.
The palace inventors occasionally visited her workshop.
At first...
They came out of curiosity.
Soon...
They stayed out of admiration.
One elderly inventor stared at a device Astera had completed.
"You combined engineering..."
"...with magic."
Astera tightened the final screw.
"They don't have to compete."
"They can work together."
The old inventor smiled.
"Your mind is decades ahead of ours."
Word quietly spread throughout the Ocean Tide Pack.
The Alpha's adopted niece wasn't just talented.
She was extraordinary.
---
Every night, after everyone believed she had gone to bed, Astera climbed alone to the highest cliffs overlooking the endless sea.
Only there...
Far away from curious eyes...
Did she allow herself to practice with the mysterious wings.
At first, they refused to obey.
One wrong movement sent her spiraling into the ocean.
Another threw her against rocky cliffs.
More than once, she returned to the palace soaked from head to toe.
Fortunately...
No one asked questions.
The tiny dragon faithfully followed every practice session, cheering with excited chirps whenever she managed to stay airborne a little longer.
Night after night...
The falls became fewer.
The flights became smoother.
She learned that forcing the wings never worked.
She had to trust them.
Feel the wind.
Listen to it.
Move with it instead of against it.
By the end of the month...
She could soar above the ocean for several minutes before landing gracefully on the cliffs below.
She still kept the wings hidden from everyone.
Even the Alpha.
Even Commander Orion.
Some secrets were simply too dangerous.
---
Despite everything she accomplished...
There was one memory she couldn't escape.
One rainy evening, while organizing the few belongings she had rescued from her old home, a faded photograph slipped from between the pages of her invention journal.
She picked it up.
A younger Nerissa smiled warmly beside the ocean.
Little Astera sat beside her, happily drawing strange machines in the sand with a stick.
The memory returned with painful clarity.
---
"Mom..."
Eight-year-old Astera looked up curiously.
"Can I ask you something?"
Nerissa laughed softly.
"You've already asked three hundred questions today."
"This is number three hundred and one."
Astera grinned.
"Why do people get so excited about finding their mate?"
The smile slowly faded from Nerissa's face.
She looked toward the endless waves rolling onto the shore.
For a long moment...
She remained silent.
Finally...
She answered quietly.
"Because everyone believes the Moon Goddess chooses the person who will love you forever."
Astera frowned.
"Then why are we alone?"
The question pierced Nerissa's heart.
She gently wrapped an arm around her daughter.
"Sometimes..."
"Even destiny cannot force someone to stay."
Astera blinked.
"Did your mate leave?"
Nerissa nodded slowly.
"He rejected our bond."
"He chose another life."
Little Astera looked horrified.
"But..."
"I thought mates could never leave each other."
"They can."
"They simply shouldn't."
Nerissa smiled sadly.
"Being someone's mate doesn't automatically make them kind."
"It doesn't make them loyal."
"Love..."
"...is still a choice."
Silence settled between them.
Little Astera stared at the ocean.
Then quietly said,
"I hate the mate bond."
Nerissa looked at her in surprise.
"If it can hurt someone like you..."
"I don't want one."
"I'll choose my own future."
"I'll choose my own family."
"I'll never let destiny decide my happiness."
Nerissa gently touched her daughter's cheek.
"My little star..."
"I hope one day..."
"...someone gives you a reason to believe differently."
Astera stubbornly shook her head.
"Never."
"If mates can abandon people..."
"They're not worth believing in."
Nerissa hugged her tightly.
She didn't argue.
Deep inside...
She only prayed her daughter would never experience the same heartbreak.
---
The memory slowly faded.
Astera wiped away the single tear that had escaped before it could fall.
"So that's why..."
She whispered.
"You never spoke about him."
For years, she had believed her mother simply preferred living alone.
Now she understood.
Loneliness had been chosen for her.
Just as rejection had been chosen for Astera.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the photograph.
"No matter what the Moon Goddess has planned..."
She murmured.
"I won't let a bond decide my life."
---
The final week arrived.
Every corridor of the Crystal Heart Palace buzzed with excitement.
Students packed their belongings.
Uniforms were delivered.
Official documents were finalized.
Royal carriages prepared for departure.
The Royal Alpha University was ready to welcome a new generation.
Astera stood before the mirror inside her room.
The frightened girl who had been chained inside a volcano was gone.
Looking back at her was someone stronger.
Someone determined.
Someone carrying hope alongside countless scars.
She fastened her bracelet around her wrist.
Checked every hidden invention.
Placed her notebooks carefully inside her backpack.
The ancient book.
The family photographs.
The witch's potions.
Everything she needed for the journey.
The tiny dragon jumped onto her shoulder as if declaring itself ready as well.
Astera smiled faintly.
"We're really doing this."
Tomorrow...
She would leave the Ocean Tide Pack.
Ahead lay the Royal Alpha University.
Six months later...
The Moon Challenge would begin.
By then, she intended to be ready.
Ready to awaken her wolf.
Ready to uncover the truth about her mother.
Ready to face the four great packs.
And ready to prove to the Wolf Realm that the girl they had once condemned to die had only been waiting for the right moment to rise.
- Writer
