CHAPTER1
The air seemed to cackle with pressure, thick with the scent of desperation and the raw fear that radiated from Becky. Her small frame quivered, the moonlight casting long and confusing shadows that stretched across the forest floor. Her face, typically bright and lively, was etched with despair, a clear contrast to the calm and unyielding eyes of the council members gathered around her.
"It is not happening?" Becky's voice was laced with fear, her words tumbling out in a hopeless rush. "Why is it not happening?!" She asked frantically.
Sebastian, the eldest member of the council, looked upon her with a heavy heart, his weathered face a testament to times spent battling the wild and the unknown. He shook his head sorely, a gesture that spoke volumes of his deep-confirmed pity for the young woman. The rest of the council stood silent, their faces expressionless, like strictly sculpted gravestone statues, their expressions unchanging, undecipherable.
Becky's knees buckled, threatening to give way under her own weight. A cold sweat broke out on her skin, trickling down her back, leaving a trail of moistness against the rough bark of the ancient oak tree she leaned against. "Will someone tell me what's happening?!" She cried out, her voice raw with fear.
Sebastian, the only one who seemed to retain the courage to shatter the heavy silence, spoke. "You're still without a wolf, Becky." He said, his voice a low grumble, carrying the weight of centuries of wisdom. His words struck Becky like a physical blow, a harsh reality that slammed into her with unsupportable force. "I am sure you'll never be a werewolf," Sebastian said.
The words hung heavy in the air, like a cloak of despair, suffocating her. Why was this happening? What had she done to earn this? This day was supposed to be her day, her triumph. The day she'd eventually embrace her wolf, the day she'd awaken to her true nature, the day she'd become one with the ancient magic that coursed through her veins. But instead, she was left with a painful void, a cruel twist of fate that had stolen her joy and replaced it with bitter disappointment.
The night of her 20th birthday, a night she had dreamed of since her 18th, a night that had held so much promise, had turned into an agony. Every night, she’d imagined the thrilling rush of transformation, the fierce power that would launch through her, the bond she'd forge with her wolf.
"Why?" She whispered, the word lost in the rustling leaves. Why has the moon goddess refused to bless her? Why had she been chosen to this cruel fate? Why did the moon goddess, that lamp of hope, seem to abandon her every time she needed help most?
A thousand questions danced in her mind, their answers fugitive, their weight crushing. The realization that she wasn't like her peers, that she was always different, a broken piece in a perfect puzzle, transferred a surge of icy dread coursing through her.
"Is... Is there anything that can be done?" She stammered, her voice shaking uncontrollably. Her hope, though rough at the edges, refused to die. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope, a hint of light among the inching darkness.
Becky's heart shattered into a million fractions. Sebastian's words resounded like a mournful dirge, each syllable a sharp dagger piercing her soul.
"There is nothing we can do, Becky." He said, his voice heavy with remorse. "The moon goddess gives when she wants to. I believe you will in no way be a werewolf, Becky."
The words echoed in her ears, distant and surreal, as if spoken from a distant realm. Her eyes flitted to Alpha Karl, her mate, her childhood companion. He stood motionless, his piercing blue eyes fixed on her, yet she could see no emotion flicker across his enigmatic features. Only upon near examination did she discern the subtle clenching of his jaw, a testament to the distress concealed beneath his Stoic facade.
Their union, a bond forged in the gauntlet of childhood fellowship, was now teetering on the cliff of dissolution. The marriage that was to have been carried out upon Becky's transformation had become a cruel mirage, a bittersweet dream ever beyond her grasp.
"Karl." she whispered, her voice pulsing, a hopeless plea etched into every syllable. "Karl, please."
"You are without a wolf, Becky." Karl replied bluntly, his expression unwavering. "You aren't fit to be Luna and I can't take you in without a wolf." Karl said.
"Yes, but..." Becky's voice faltered, her words tumbling forth in a wave of despair. "I am a late bloomer. I still have hope, right?" She asked.
She cleaved to the faintest hint of possibility, a drowning soul grasping at straws in the hugeness of an enduring ocean. Yet her delicate attempt at hope was ruthlessly extinguished by Karl's solemn reply.
"This was your final chance, Becky. Your time has passed. Late bloomers turn by twenty." He explained, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your wolf will no way come."
Becky's last beacons of hope were sniffed out, leaving her adrift in an ocean of despair. She had always pictured being a werewolf, embracing the power and freedom of her wolf form. Now, that dream lay shattered at her feet.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, glistening in the moonlight that illuminated her anguish. She pleaded with Karl to rethink his decision, to give her more time. She reminded him of their shared childhood, their laughs and adventures, their unvarying bond. But Karl remained bent, his face coldly set.
"As Alpha, I can not allow emotions to pall my judgment." He said. "You're wolfless, and that makes you unfit to be Luna. I hereby release you from your obligation to me." He declared.
Becky's world tilted around her. The future she had always imagined and the life she had looked forward to, was slipping through her fingers like grains of cereal. She pleaded with Karl again, but her pleas fell on deaf eyes.
"Our paths must divert Becky." Karl said eventually, his voice a cold echo in the silence of the woods. "You're free to choose your own path now."
With a heavy heart, the Alpha leaves the woods with the members of the council, leaving Becky to carry the weight of their shattered dreams. Becky wandered through the woods, her steps heavy, her mind numb with grief. The trees seemed to mock her with their branches reaching out like criminating fingers.
She had lost everything, her mate, her future, her very identity. Her future was shattered as well and at the moment, Becky was hopeless.
