TWINS OF ZETA

CHAPTER TWO

The days that followed were a blur of frustration, confusion, and mounting desperation. Each night, as the full moon rose higher in the sky, Laina would sneak out of the cabin after her parents had gone to bed. Her feet would carry her to the clearing by the glowing waters,a place that was sacred to her pack, a place where the wolves would gather during the full moon to celebrate their shared bond with the goddess.

Laina didn’t feel that connection, not the way the others did. She watched them, shifting and running free, their howls echoing through the trees, as she stood on the edge of the water, watching the reflection of the moon in the ripples. The beauty of the scene only made her feel more alien, more out of place.

Tonight, like every other, she knelt at the edge of the water, clasping her hands together and closing her eyes. The moon hung heavy in the sky, a silver orb casting a pale light across the world below. She had prayed to the goddess for so long now. Every moon, every prayer, every silent plea. She had tried everything, but still nothing.

“Please,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. “Why won’t you choose me?”

Her heart thudded in her chest, the desperate ache growing stronger with every passing minute. She wanted to feel what the others felt, to know what it was like to shift and run with the wind, to be part of the pack. She wanted the strength, the speed, the power of the wolf. But most of all, she wanted to feel like she belonged.

Her desire pulsed through her like an endless beat, one that seemed to echo in her very bones. The moon hung heavy in the sky, a silent witness to her longing, as if it knew the struggle she faced. She watched the others with a mixture of awe and envy, their movements fluid and instinctual, so much a part of them that it was impossible to tell where they ended and the wolf began. They were a family, bound by something deeper than blood.

She reached out, not just with her hands, but with her heart, hoping for the same connection, the same wild freedom. But her skin remained stubbornly human, her senses still limited, her body locked in a form that could never be truly hers. She was on the outside, looking in, and the ache in her chest was a constant reminder of everything she didn’t have.

Would she ever be enough to shift? Or was she destined to watch from the sidelines, forever longing for something that could never be hers?

“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” she murmured, the words escaping her lips before she could stop them.

For a long moment, there was only silence.

And then, as if in response, she felt it a pull, soft at first, like a whisper of something just beyond her reach. It was warmth, a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time. She stood up, her breath catching in her throat. Something was different tonight. Something had changed.

Her heart raced, and for the first time in five years, Laina felt hope. It wasn’t a roar, nothing grand or immediate. It was simply a presence a presence that felt familiar and comforting, like the touch of an old friend.

Her breath quickened. She opened her eyes, the darkness of the night now filled with a soft glow. A figure stood at the edge of the clearing, just beyond the shadows. Laina’s breath hitched in her throat.

Zander.

The figure stepped into the moonlight, his broad shoulders casting a long shadow across the clearing. He was tall, with dark hair that hung loosely around his shoulders, his eyes gleaming like molten silver under the glow of the moon. Zander was the Zeta of the pack second in command, the son of Lord Darko, and the one boy Laina had secretly admired since they were children.

“Zander?” she whispered, her voice barely a breath. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, not since he’d taken on more duties within the pack, and her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of him.

He smiled at her, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. “You’re out here alone again, Laina?”

She straightened up, her pulse racing. “I... I needed some time to think.”

His gaze softened as he took a step closer, his presence filling the clearing like a magnetic force. “You’ve been thinking for five years now. Isn’t it time you stopped asking questions?”

Laina blinked at him, confused by the weight of his words. He wasn’t just speaking to her about the full moon he was speaking to her about her transformation, her waiting. It was a secret she hadn’t shared with anyone, not even her closest friends.

“I just want to understand,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zander’s eyes held hers for a moment, and Laina felt a warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with the moonlight. It was something in him, something that called to her, something undeniable.

He reached for her hand, pulling her gently towards him. “I know you do, Laina. But you need to stop hiding. You need to trust in the goddess.”

“Trust in the goddess?” she repeated softly, her heart beating fast.

Zander’s smile widened, and for a moment, Laina saw the boy she had known since childhood—the boy who had always been there, who had always taken care of her. He seemed different now, though, somehow older, more certain.

“Sometimes,” he said, his voice low, “the goddess doesn't choose us right away. She waits until we're ready to receive what we truly need.”

And just like that, something inside Laina shifted. It wasn’t a transformation not yet, at least but it was the beginning of something new. She looked up at Zander, her heart pounding in her chest.