Chapter One : The Ravencroft Softy
971 Words
The Ravencroft family was known for two things.
Their loyalty.
And their fists.
For generations, the Ravencrofts had served in the military of the Blackwood Pack, protecting the borders, training warriors, and standing between their pack and anyone foolish enough to threaten it.
They were disciplined warriors.
Fearless soldiers.
A family that had never abandoned one of its own.
But there was one Ravencroft who didn't quite fit that image.
Seraphina Ravencroft.
"Softy!"
Seraphina turned at the familiar call.
A little boy came running across the training field, his dark hair bouncing wildly as he rushed toward her.
She barely had time to open her arms before he crashed into her.
"You're back!"
Seraphina laughed, catching him before he could fall.
"Slow down, Rowan."
Rowan Ravencroft grinned up at her.
"But you were gone for three hours!"
"Three hours?"
"Three hours and twelve minutes."
She blinked.
"You counted?"
"Of course."
Seraphina smiled and ruffled his hair.
Behind them, her father shook his head.
"That boy has been waiting by the gate since lunch."
"I was not!" Rowan protested.
"You were."
"I was waiting for Mother."
"Your mother is standing right there."
Rowan immediately turned and ran toward his mother.
Seraphina laughed softly.
This.
This was what she loved most.
Her family.
Her safe place.
The Ravencroft estate was rarely quiet. There was always someone arguing, laughing, training, cooking, or stealing food from someone else's plate.
At the center of it all stood her grandparents.
Alaric and Evelina Ravencroft.
Her grandfather had once been one of the most respected military commanders in the Blackwood Pack. Even now, with silver in his hair and age slowing his steps, nobody dared underestimate him.
Her grandmother, Evelina, was different.
She was gentle.
Warm.
And terrifying whenever someone threatened her family.
Seraphina had inherited that part from her.
Her parents, Cassian and Elara Ravencroft, were both military officers.
Cassian commanded one of the pack's border divisions.
Elara specialized in combat strategy and medical support for the warriors.
Then there was her father's younger brother, Lucian Ravencroft, and his wife, Mirelle.
Lucian was one of the pack's elite warriors.
Mirelle was the calmer half of the pair, though nobody believed her calmness meant weakness.
Their children, Dorian and Lyra, were Seraphina's cousins and, more importantly, her closest friends.
And then there were her brothers.
Kael and Rowan.
Kael was the eldest—serious, protective, and already following in their father's footsteps.
Rowan was the youngest.
And absolutely spoiled by everyone.
Especially Seraphina.
"You're doing it again."
Seraphina looked at Kael.
"Doing what?"
"Babying Rowan."
"He is a baby."
"I'm fourteen."
"Exactly."
Kael sighed.
"You do realize you're only three years older than him?"
"And therefore much wiser."
Dorian snorted.
Lyra covered her mouth to hide her laugh.
Their grandmother smiled from the porch.
This was the Ravencroft family.
Loud.
Warm.
Protective.
A little ridiculous.
And perfect.
At least, that was what Seraphina believed.
Outside the estate, people saw something different.
They saw the daughter of one of the pack's most respected military families.
They saw an Omega.
And they saw a soft girl.
The nickname had followed her for years.
Softy.
Seraphina didn't mind.
Let them think she was soft.
Because she was.
She loved fiercely.
She forgave easily.
She cried over injured animals.
She remembered everyone's favorite food.
She hugged her brothers when they were upset.
She fell asleep beside her grandmother during long evenings.
She was gentle with children and respectful toward elders.
But there was something the pack didn't understand.
Seraphina's softness had never meant weakness.
Her family knew that.
They had seen it countless times.
Like the time a group of older warriors had cornered Rowan during training.
Seraphina had been twelve.
She had walked onto the field, smiled sweetly, and asked them to leave her brother alone.
They had laughed.
Five minutes later, three boys were lying in the dirt.
Seraphina had gone home with bruised knuckles.
Her mother had sighed.
Her father had tried not to smile.
And her grandfather had simply said,
"Good stance."
That was Seraphina.
Soft until someone touched what belonged to her.
Then the softness disappeared.
Her wolf wasn't the strongest in the pack.
She wasn't the fastest.
She wasn't the most experienced warrior.
But there was something inside her that nobody could explain.
A fierce instinct.
Protect.
It had always been there.
The Ravencrofts had carried that instinct for generations.
Their family history spoke of an ancestor who had once stood beside a legendary Luna during the earliest days of the Blackwood Pack.
A Luna so powerful that stories claimed she could command wolves with nothing but her voice.
But generations had passed.
The stories became legends.
The legends became whispers.
And eventually, even the Ravencrofts forgot most of the truth.
Only one sentence remained in their family records:
**A Ravencroft will always protect what they love.**
Seraphina had never thought much about it.
To her, it was simply who they were.
"Seraphina."
Her mother's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She turned.
Elara was standing at the entrance.
"Come inside. Dinner is ready."
Seraphina smiled.
"Coming, Mom."
She took Rowan's hand.
Kael walked beside them.
Dorian and Lyra followed.
Their grandparents were already waiting.
For a moment, Seraphina looked at all of them.
Her entire world.
Her family.
Her home.
She didn't know that everything was about to change.
She didn't know that the Moon was already watching her.
She didn't know that somewhere beyond their territory, three wolves would soon feel something they had never felt before.
And she certainly didn't know that the girl everyone called Softy would one day make the entire werewolf world kneel.
Because Seraphina Ravencroft was not destined to remain an ordinary Omega.
She was about to become something the world had forgotten.
A Luna.
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