Luna of the Golden Moon

"Don't move; I'm almost done!" I stared at myself, turning nervously to look in the mirror inside my parents' small bedroom. I was standing on a wobbly old chair so my mother could put the finishing touches on a dress she’d found at half price at a local thrift shop. The blue dress, with its ruffles, looked like something meant for a six-year-old—not for me, someone who had just turned eighteen after finishing school. Most of my friends had left for college after the summer, but I stayed behind to care for my elderly parents. Mother hummed softly as she curled my blonde hair with the iron, her hands steady. She seemed happy, and that was why I let her do this. I wanted her to feel joy, especially since she still struggled to accept the past, even after so many years. I looked like a doll—only a lamb under my arm was missing. For reasons I’d never understand, I could have passed for a shepherdess, like the little figurines she collected on her bookshelf. Finally, my mother looked up and examined me from head to toe before picking up a pair of white low heels, much to my dismay. Not that I would protest; my mother wasn’t someone who cared if you tried to tell her she was wrong. She was an Alpha’s daughter and never felt the need to listen to my father or me, both of us lower in rank than she ever saw herself. "Do I really have to go, Mother?" I asked, staring at my reflection in agony. I didn’t want to show my face at the head Alpha’s headquarters, where we were headed for a wedding—whether my father and I wanted to go or not. "Yes, you have to go, Emilia Jackson," my mother replied without looking at me. I sighed again and spun around, embarrassed. Mother smiled, clearly pleased with the awful blue dress she’d spent the last few days working on. I froze when I saw her sly smile. I was about to be immortalized in this horrible blue creation, which had more ruffles than should be legal in our state. "Don't move. Just stand perfectly still…" she said, smiling as she picked up the old camera and snapped pictures she promised not to post online. Thank the goddess for that! "Smile, Emilia!" she ordered, frowning when I managed a bigger smile. I didn’t want to go to a wedding where I knew no one, and I certainly didn’t want to see my mother’s side of the family. "Roger! Tell your daughter she’ll look the most presentable of all the girls at the wedding!" she scolded my father, who didn’t answer. I sighed and gave her a weak, fake smile before stepping down from the tiny chair. I died inside, knowing I’d have to show myself in this dress—especially at my cousin’s wedding, where everyone would be. It was my mother’s younger brother’s daughter, Melody, who was getting married. I had never been to the mansion where my mother grew up; I only knew the stories she’d told from her childhood there. "Please, tell me you’re finally done?" I begged. She nodded and shouted for my father again, who entered the bedroom looking miserable in his suit, tugging at the collar every minute he wore it. I looked at my father, silently pleading for him to stay home, but it was useless. He couldn’t save me, even if he tried; my mother was a force to be reckoned with. "Roger, don’t forget the wedding gift!" Mother snapped. Father rolled his eyes behind her back, making me giggle helplessly as I followed along, saying nothing. "Yes, dear," my father replied, not bothering to hide his amusement. He was old, but even he could see how wrong this dress was on me. Before my first shift, I’d be the laughingstock of the whole pack. Fantastic. We said nothing as we got into the car. Mother chatted as usual about whatever was on her mind, then stopped and looked at me in the backseat. I was dying of boredom from her endless tutoring and reprimands, as if she’d always treated me this way. "Get yourself together, Emilia. We’re not just going to see your cousin marry her mate—we’re also going to find yours! The pack will be there; with a little luck, maybe one of those with a higher rank will be your other half!" I rolled my eyes when Mother wasn’t looking. This was ridiculous! She wanted to marry me off to a good family, as if we lived in another century. In her mind, we did. I huffed, showing my dislike, but she didn’t care. She never did. "Yes, Mother." I couldn’t say no to her, and honestly, in this dress, I wasn’t worried that any higher-ranked pack members would look at me twice. The lower ones might just stare at the ridiculous dress she’d chosen for me. "Let her be, dear. Hopefully, Emilia has time left before she goes through the shift; she’s still a child," my father said, trying to reassure me. I wasn’t, even if he called me a child! Mother sighed and looked as if he might be right, but she’d never admit it. She sat in her black dress, a stark contrast to our odd colors, as if she were attending a funeral rather than a wedding. "Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that he could be there, and if we can find her a good mate, we’re not getting any younger, Roger. And who will care for her when we’re gone?" My mother’s voice was stern and determined, as if we weren’t leaving this wedding without finding my mate. I was definitely going to hide the second we arrived. "You are right, my dear, as always…" Father said nothing more. I knew he’d tried to make her stop, and I was grateful, even if it was doomed from the start. The forest road ended at the vast estate where the head Alpha’s family lived, and my father grew more upset with every passing second. He didn’t want to be here, just like me, and it made me want to hide even more at this wedding. My mother had lived here once, before she met her mate and had to give up everything for him. The law was old and patriarchal, if you asked me—but nobody did. Mother looked at the massive yard with pride. She missed this place, just as my father did while searching for a parking spot. There wasn’t one, so we circled before finally stopping. This was going to be awful. Mother hadn’t lied when she said the whole pack would be here. I hesitantly got out of the car after sitting for too long and looked uncertainly at the mansion, which was packed with people celebrating my cousin Melody and her mate Brad. I swallowed hard, gazing at the sea of people scurrying around like ants, celebrating and drinking. I wasn’t the most social person. I liked people in general, but I was more used to humans. I was shy, unlike my mother, who was already charging through the crowd, her eyes set on the only man I didn’t want to see: the head Alpha…