Prologue
VALERIE
I have always wondered why I was different from the rest of my pack members and why I have to live in a cave, a distance away. During every festival in the pack, I was only allowed to stay by the pack's gate and watch them having fun. Despite being the Alpha's only daughter, I was treated with disdain. And being a wolfless pack member, I was considered the weakest of all the pack members. Even an omega is considered to be stronger than I am.
There had been no proof that I was weak because I have no wolf, they just never gave me the chance. My dad never gave me the chance to prove my worth either. Rumor had it that I am a cursed child, born not to have a wolf and also to be without a mate. According to them, on the day I was born, a red moon which is said to be a sign of a curse from the moon goddess appeared in the sky. This moon is said to only appear when the moon goodness is angry with the werewolves and thus, I was destined to be without a wolf and also a mate, which was according to prophecy that was claimed to be seen by a witch, so everyone considered me a plight.
At some point, I had wanted to believe that they had lied and that they had only told me this story because they wanted me to hate myself but when I couldn't shift into a wolf at fourteen or fifteen like the rest of the pack members, I knew immediately that something was wrong with me. And I began to live with the fact that I might be cursed as they said.
According to the story I heard from some of the pack members when I was ten, which was said to have happened on a faithful day during one of the summer months, just a few minutes past noon. It was said that the day had looked promising with everyone going about their business when there was a sudden pour of rain. It started as mild rain, driving everyone into their various houses. They had thought it was the usual rain that had just fallen in a summer month. To them, it could happen once in a hundred years and this could be one of them.
But when the rain became stronger than it should be and everywhere soon became dark, they began to worry that something might be wrong. The rain continued for two days with the darkness overshadowing the day. Everyone wondered what was going on and why the rain wouldn't stop. Soon, their plants and animals began to die and they couldn't do anything about it. They were strapped to their houses with little or no food.
Most of them fell sick and a few died in the process. Everyone began to ask the moon goddess for mercy and on the third day, the rain stopped. Though the rain stopped, a lot were afraid to step out. But as the sky became brighter with only a red light appearing in the sky, they thought it must be a sign that the moon goddess have heard their pleas and decided to go about their normal business.
Just a day after the rain stopped, the darkness returned and the red light ended up being a red moon. Everyone was afraid there might be doom looming around them since that was the first time they had ever seen a moon as red as that and also the darkness, taking over the day.
Curious to know what was going on, they asked for the help of a witch in a faraway country and she told them that they had angered the moon goddess, who in turn decided to curse them. She told them, there was a sacrifice that will lift the curse and return peace among them but any child that was born on that day before the curse is lifted will be cursed and will bring disaster to the pack. She advised that all pregnant women should be prevented from going into labor until the sacrifice is accepted but my mom could not hold on and fell into labor just a few minutes after. All efforts to stop her from giving birth to me proved abortive. I was born some minutes past noon that day and my mom died an hour later.
Though the sacrifice was accepted by the moon goddess, the pack members were still worried that since I was already cursed, my curse might not only affect me but might also bring disaster to them. They asked my dad to kill me and avert the curse completely. I was told my dad was furious and was bent on keeping me safe.
In the long run, I was asked to be taken away from the pack and to a faraway land. Worried that my life might be sought after if taken too far away, and I might end up being in danger, my dad took me away from the pack and took me to a cave just a few meters away from our territory, where he could always come to check on me. He also asked my mom's maid to take good care of me and also put some guards in charge of the cave for fear that angry pack members will hurt me. He visits me as often as he can and tries not to say anything about my mom.
He kept everything that could remind me of my mom away from me and the only thing that kept reminding me of her is her portrait. I did not know why he left that with me but every time he visits and I try to ask about her, he gets moody and will leave before I can even apologize. Sometimes I wondered if he also blame me for the death of his wife or if he considered me a cursed child like the rest of the pack members.
Although my dad showered me with lots of love, I still think he feels sorry for me. I felt he found it difficult staring at me in the face and I wondered if he had ever done something regretting to me. I sometimes see my mom in my dream and have always thought that was because she is the last person I talk to every day before I sleep. Looking at her portrait and talking to her as being my normal routine. She has been the only one I can talk to, aside from Bella my maid who has been treating me like her daughter.
To me, she is the only one who doesn't believe that I am cursed. She is the only one I can share my heart with and believe she hears and understands me. She's been the only friend I have and love. And although it's been fifteen years since I was born, the hatred of the pack members for me has not changed a bit. There are rumors that I might not be the real daughter of the moonlight's Alpha. Some said I was the one who killed my mom and that if I wasn't born that day, she would have lived. Some said I was cursed from the womb and will keep bringing disaster everywhere I go.
I have always thought everyone was right hating me. I thought I deserve being treated badly and though my dad kept telling me it wasn't my fault that my mom died, I can not help but blame myself.
