Emotionally Naive
Kaira's Perspective
~
“Reis… I told you I'm not ready”
When are you going to accept me? The question hung heavy in the air between us. Until after we complete the mating ritual before I can fully give myself to you.
The Alpha before me looked too excited, his eagerness bordering on manic. He shrugged into his grey jacket, adjusting it comfortably while sitting on a bench beside me. He was Reis, the only son of Alpha Moses of the Blue River Pack. He was supposed to have his official crowning ceremony when he turned twenty-four, but that would be another four years.
“It'll take time,” he said, his voice laced with a patience that felt fake. “Why do you always have to bring it up when I am in a good mood?”
His irritation with my question was evident, flashing in his eyes. But I needed to know if I was holding onto false hope, or if this was leading somewhere.
In this pack, omegas were at the bottom of the food chain. We weren't respected; we were treated as slaves, sometimes worse. Since my twin sister Kim and I arrived here four years ago… stripped of our original status and forced to hide our true identity, everyone has been horrible to us.
Until Reis.
I found a friend in him when he protected me and Kim from the clawing hands of stronger, full-blooded pack members. Despite being the Alpha's son, he connected well with me. Or so I thought. However, he always insisted we keep our friendship a secret. I wondered if it was because he was ashamed of me having no wolf, or that I was an ordinary, wolfless Omega. Like any other werewolf, I carried a certain aura and the ability to find a mate… if only I had one. Apart from that, I didn't possess the enhanced strength or senses of a fully transitioned werewolf.
Today was supposed to be our one-year anniversary, and the day I turned eighteen. February 8th.
“Reis…” I managed to say, even as his hands roamed over my thighs, lifting my knee-length skirt toward places that made me feel uncomfortable. “I'll be able to identify my mate soon. This could be the chance we both dreamed of.”
It felt wrong being touched like that in public, especially in this abandoned train station.
The once-buzzing hub, which thrived with pack members traveling between territories, had long been destroyed by pack wars and rivalry claims. Now, it was just a barren, empty land between the active territories of Blue River and Red Mane Packs. That was why Reis has brought me here. Nobody could see us here.
“Mhmm. We'll figure something out later.” He nuzzled into my neck, his breath hot against my ear, sending chills down my spine. “But for now… It's our anniversary, Kaira. And also your eighteenth birthday. You promised tonight would finally happen. Don't you want me? Don't you want to be mine?”
I did. Goddess, I did. He was the only
one who has ever respected me in this pack, treated me like I wasn't a broken empty girl.
“I love you, Reis, but… not here. Not like this,” I murmured, growing uneasy with his advances. He had started insisting on meeting in secluded places recently, where no one could spot us together. It hadn't always been like this. Before I turned seventeen, before my body started to change, he was gentle. But lately, he was more possessive, more physical. Then he proposed I be his girl.
When he asked me to lie to Kim and sneak out, pretending I was doing chores at the pack house, he had promised to celebrate my birthday with a cake.
That was a lie. There was no cake. Just his lust-filled gaze.
“No one comes here, Kaira! He grunted, lifting his head from my neck and cupping my face in his hands. “I want all of you tonight. I need to see how far you're willing to go… prove yourself to me that you're ready to be my mate, to be the Luna of this pack.”
His words felt heavy and suffocating. I had wanted his acceptance for so long. And despite not being able to find my fated mate, I wasn't entirely upset that Reis had promised to make me his chosen mate.
“I am…” Before I could respond, before I could articulate my hesitation, he grabbed my pendant.
It felt like he had snatched my heart from my chest.
“Take this off,” he whispered close to my ear, making me shiver. I quickly shook my head.
“Reis, I'm not supposed to,” I pleaded, but he shook his head in return. Then, in one swift motion, he yanked the pendant from my neck.
Seeing my pendant in his hand felt like staring at my own vulnerability reflected in a mirror. Swallowing hard, I whispered, “I should put it back on.”
But it was too late. My body had already started releasing pheromones almost instantly.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his body visibly trembling. “You called it a curse, but I call it a blessing,” Reis murmured before pressing his lips against mine with a passion that made my whole system shudder.
His words echoed in my mind as I remembered how others had described me. Growing up, I was kept isolated for this exact reason, until Mom gave me a pendant to control my condition. Being born into the Royal family, I was supposed to be like my sister… powerful. But when I turned thirteen and couldn't shift, I discovered that my body produced potent pheromones, attracting males around me uncontrollably. It never happened to anyone else. Sadly, I was deemed the first “cursed” she-wolf.
My body could go into heat quickly, and it was dangerous. The pendant has suppressed my pheromones, including my scent. Now, without it, I felt exposed… and in public, no less.
“Relax, Kaira. No one's going to pick up your pheromones here,” Reis reassured me as he pulled away.
He quickly discarded his jacket, ready to fulfill what he had always wanted. He had often expressed his desire to take my virginity when my body was in heat, the pheromones making him insatiable.
No.
I didn't see it as a blessing. It was most definitely a curse.
The realization hit me hard as he grabbed my wrists, pinning me against the cold concrete wall. He wasn't going to stop tonight.
“You're mine now,” he whispered in my ear, his hand slipping under my skirt, lifting it higher with each movement.
“Okay,” I finally agreed, just for tonight.
Reis's eyes darkened with hunger, I felt so naked in his lustful gaze. I didn't push him away; I couldn't. I was terrified he would leave if I said no again.
“There's no going back now, little wolf,” he murmured, lips against my neck.
When it was over, I lay half-dressed on the cold ground, feeling raw and hollow. This wasn't how I imagined my first time, but at least I was having it with the man I loved.
Reis stood up quickly, pulling on his clothes and checking his phone like nothing had happened. This was our special moment.
“I love you,” I whispered, but he didn't give me a glance.
“Now it's our turn.”
A sudden, familiar voice startled me, forcing Reis to finally look from his phone.
