His Possessive Luna

Winter Is Coming!

Autumn has already started. Every morning the valley presents a picture of a bride wearing a golden and yellow veil. Many consider autumn to be the end of things, leaves dying and falling, trees drying up, but there is a strange beauty about it; a beauty nothing can match, a beauty of serene calmness and peace. I love autumn, but without exams.

I can't believe we're having our mids this week. It seems as if we just had our finals and now again mids. We are finally getting closer to our last semester in school and then it will be over. I'm excited and sad at the same time.

Looking at the corridors, classrooms, library and lawn fills me with nostalgia. All the memories from my first day till now come back to me. I never liked my school but leaving it feels so bad. I think I'm about to cry.

"Why do we always have exams when something special is happening?" says Ray after sipping her coffee. And what special is happening, I ask. "The Claiming Ceremony, is there anything more special than that?" Ray answers. Why are you so excited? You're marked.

"Well, maybe because I'll get to see so many Alphas and Betas."

As if it's gonna make our life any better.

"Whatever, I'm excited about the Blood Moon's Alpha. He's gonna choose a mate. Let's see who's the lucky girl."

Lucky girl? Seriously? Everyone knows how dangerous and ruthless he is. Whoever is gonna be his mate will be quite miserable for the rest of her life. I'm already feeling bad for her.

"Who cares about how dangerous or bad he is. He's f....g hot and the richest man alive. Don't you watch the news? His business empire is expanding every day."

I'm only concerned about my father's business, which unfortunately is not expanding every day because he doesn't have time for it. He's always busy with pack business, compromising on both his family and business.

"Your father owns a f......g billion dollar chain of luxury hotels and restaurants. What else do you want?"

"Well, he is not as rich as the Blood Moon's Alpha," I said jokingly.

"Good afternoon," Amelia and Jo join us with coffees in their hands. We all got so exhausted after the classes that only a strong coffee could help us.

"How's the preparation for exams?" asks Amelia.

"Don't even ask. I get a headache just by looking at the books."

"Me too," joins Ray.

Jo doesn't care about exams. She actually doesn't care about anything at all. Jo is probably the most indifferent person I've ever seen in my life.

She doesn't care about anything and she's not good at anything too. She does poorly at school and lacks all household skills.

The only thing she is good at is relationship advice. I'm damn sure she'll have a successful relationship because she knows all the subtleties of it. A perfect partner or the smartass one, whatever.

"Let's go for shopping. Winter collection is already in stores," suggests Ray.

"Yep! Let's do it. I'm done with studies for today." Amelia and Jo also agree. "But first we'll have lunch at the new Indian restaurant."

I love spicy South Asian and Middle Eastern food and I'm probably the only one in my friends and family circles who can eat that much spice.

"No way we are eating spicy Indian food, last time my palate got all burnt," says Ray.

"Yes, you're right, and it's not just the palate that gets burnt," jokes Amelia.

"Ah! Don't be so dramatic. We'll tell them not to put that much spice in it."

We all sit in my car and I start driving. Ray sits in the passenger seat and Jo and Amelia at the back. Jo is talking about someone she and Amelia know.

Jo is being Jo, commenting and discussing other people's relationships. "It was all Sarah's fault. She never gave time to her mate," Jo says.

It doesn't work like that. Relationships require a lot of time and effort. It's like a full-time job. Every time Jo talks about someone's failing relationship, the woman in the relationship is at fault. I sometimes wonder if Jo is a misogynist.

"You know what Jo, I'm surprised you're still single after all the relationship-knowledge you have. You are supposed to be mated with a kid, not a single lonely wolf. Maybe you'll get lucky this time and find a mate in the Claiming."

"Stop being sarcastic," snaps Jo.

"I was just saying the truth."

"Well, no one cares about truth anymore. And how long will it take to reach the restaurant?"

"Almost there, madam."

We arrive at the restaurant. It's a beautiful, cosy place. Mahogany is the dominant colour used for tables and drapes.

I don't know why but the place makes me a bit nostalgic. The menu is handed to us and a lot of the names I can't even pronounce.

There is a dish named Lahori Biryani. I ask about the dish and the waiter says that it's rice and chicken made with some special spices. Spices! Yummy, I'm ordering it.

We order the biryani, a bit less spicy for my friends, and we also find out that the restaurant is Pakistani not Indian. They are so similar that it's difficult to differentiate between the two countries.

The biryani is my new favourite food. It was nothing I had before and it tasted so amazing I can't even explain. Well, the spices did make my nose run but it was worth it. I'm definitely coming with my family here.

When we're done with lunch we start going to the mall. The biryani will be good for dinner. It wasn't a good idea for lunch, or maybe we overate because my friends also enjoyed it.

We arrive at the mall and start shopping. We all get 3 dresses each and a jacket, sweater and two pairs of shoes.

"I'm really tired. Let's go home," I said because I'm feeling like I'll pass out. I'm super tired and my friends are not done yet.

"Come on guys, enough shopping is done."

"I'm gonna get myself a beautiful dress for the ceremony, so I'm not leaving till I find it," says Jo.

"Same here," joins Ray.

Amelia is quiet nowadays and doesn't talk as much as she normally does. Maybe it's the exams and she's tired or it's because that after high school she has to marry her mate and have kids.

"Let's get a coffee," I ask her and we leave for cafeteria.

"Why is the ceremony always held in winter?" I ask.

"I don't know, maybe they can cuddle after finding their mates," answers Amelia with a wink.

"Still, it's so cold and everything is frozen or wet. It's terrible. I hate winters."

"But winter is coming dear, so be prepared. Well, I'm also not a fan of winters."

"You seem different. Is there a problem? You're not yourself for the past few days."

Amelia's face drops and I can see the sadness in her eyes. Is she sad about her marked mate? I know she never liked him and it was her family's decision, but she never openly opposed it.

Her mate is almost ten years older than her. Despite being a Beta, he has the shittiest personality. I never liked him.

Despite his physical strength, he is too impulsive and irrational, one of the easiest people to manipulate, which makes him dangerous because he is a powerful wolf with rank and impulsive to think before committing his actions.

He's one of those men who loves to impress women by cracking stupid jokes and making a fool of themselves in front of others. But I never said anything about him in front of Amelia.

She will think I don't like him because he's not rich, but that's not the case. He is just so weird. Well, if he was rich, his behaviour would have been a little bit bearable.

I don't know why people judge women because they want to marry rich men. What's wrong with that? Money is an important aspect of life. If you can marry a rich man, go for it. Don't feel guilty.

Men never feel guilty when they are looking for beautiful young girls with amazing bodies. So why should women sacrifice?

"Come on, tell me what's wrong," I ask again.

"I don't know. I'm just feeling restless for the past few days. I don't know what's wrong, but with every day as the ceremony is getting closer, I'm feeling more and more uneasy. There's a void inside me which is getting terrible with each passing day. Maybe it's because my fated ma..."

But before she could finish Jo and Ray join us and shortly after, our coffees also arrive.