The Luna's Conquest

The book before me was open, but I was barely soaking up the words. I stared glumly at the black letters on the book, wishing I was outside with my brothers, racing among the trees and howling to my heart's content. My parents would rather have given away their pack members as slaves than allowed me to run around with the boys. I glanced at my mother who was sitting in the corner of the room, a piece of embroidery in her hands. My father had told her to stay with me, groom me into becoming "Luna material," and apparently, that included teaching me how to read and sew and cook. What a joke. I blew carrot-red hair away from my eyes and sat up. "Isn't it time for my break yet?" My mother looked up, her brow furrowed in a frown. "Not if you don't finish that book on time." I raised an eyebrow and lifted up the large book I was supposed to be reading. "Mom, only a genius can finish this up in a day." I noted glumly. "I'm not a genius, just a simple werewolf girl who would like to act like a wolf for once in her life. Werewolves don't read!" "But Lunas do," my mom said, then dropped her embroidery and walked forward. She sat on the chair beside me and placed a hand on mine. "You are going to be a future Luna. Your place will be by your husband, the alpha, and you will rule a whole pack, and for this, you must be ready. You'll be eighteen in a week's time: Alphas will come calling soon." I scoffed. "Well, I'd like to see them try to woo me." My mother smiled widely. "One day you'll thank me for this." "Mom—" I started, but my mother was already walking back to her embroidery. She picked it up and headed towards the door. "You have ten minutes for your break, then you can start on your knitting. I have some patterns I would like to show you," she said, then walked out, leaving me alone in the room. I sighed and stared outside the window, where I could hear my brothers' laughter coming from the woods around. Ten minutes were enough to slip in and out of the forest before anyone noticed I was gone. I chewed my lip in thought for a minute. Then I stood up from my chair and walked towards the door, then turned the doorknob. It opened with a small creak, and I peered through it, pursing my lips in concentration. The corridor in front of my room was empty, and I tiptoed out of the room and through the corridor, heading outside. The safest way outside was through the back door in the kitchen, where no one except the kitchen maids could notice me going out. My father's study was at the far end of the corridor, and as I walked past, I could hear him whispering furiously to someone else. I stopped in front of the half-open door and crouched, pressing my ear to the cold, hard wood. I'd never heard him sound this agitated before. "—to the left of our border is a canal," he was saying. "It hasn't been in use for a while now, and it is very easy for those...nasty things to slip in and attack us. We need to close it off. Send some wolves there to build a wall and close it off completely. No one goes in or out." "Yes Alpha," the person replied. His voice was oddly familiar. "And..." He stopped, then continued again. "This news stays between us. Word of this mustn't get out. I don't want agitation or unrest among the pack." "Of course, Alpha. My mouth is sealed," the person replied. I recognized his voice now—it was my father's Beta. "Might I suggest an alliance, between our pack and perhaps a stronger pack? Something that could act as a deterrent to these attackers and protect us from their advances?" "I have also been thinking about that, but it is better no ear hears of this for now," my father murmured. "And the prophecy...that's why they want her, is it not? That's why the vampires—" "Oh, Goddess damn the prophecy!" I heard my father snap. "There is no such thing!" "But alpha—" "That's enough about that. We have other more pressing matters to discuss!" My father cut in, then I heard his rapid footsteps as he walked towards the door and closed it with a click. Then I heard no more of their discussion. I squeezed my eyes shut and stood up from my crouch slowly. My father had sounded worried, almost scared, and I was scared myself at the tone of his voice. I wished I'd arrived at his door sooner, wished I'd heard more of their conversation. What could make my father, a whole alpha, scared, was something worth being afraid of. And what was that about a prophecy? How much was my father hiding from me, from all of us? Suddenly, I heard a thundering of footsteps coming my way. I opened my eyes with a gasp to see about four men running towards my father's study. I stood with my back to the wall: they passed by me without sparing me so much as a glance and filed into the room. "What is it?" came my father's surprised voice. "Alpha..." someone started. There was a pause, and then he continued. "They're here." A sudden silence fell inside the room, and I felt fear in my heart resurrect again. What were they talking about? "The women? And children?" my father asked in a quiet voice. "We're trying to evacuate them to the bunkers, but the attackers are advancing, alpha," a voice explained. "They're too close, there's not much time." "They brought the attack to us, and we'll fight back. Assemble the warriors at the border. Make sure there's at least four men on every single yard of the perimeter," my father ordered. There was an urgency in his voice that made my heart shrivel in fear, and I stood glued to the spot as the men filed out again. My father and his beta followed them out, and he stopped short as he saw me. "Sekinah," he whispered in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?"