Alpha's Untamed Mate

"Caleb!" she screamed her brother's name. She screamed it at the top of her lungs as she watched invisible forces drag him away. "Don't leave me!" she was hoarse, and her voice didn't sound like her own anymore as a familiar, cold darkness engulfed her. Her scream echoed off the walls of her cottage. Sweat covered her body as she woke from her nightmare. It was the same one she had been having for years. It had started when she turned sixteen and had her first vision. At first, no one paid her much attention. She had been just a minor figure in her pack's hierarchy. She and her brother were orphans; their parents had died before they were able to walk. Luna didn't remember them at all. Neither did Caleb. They were lucky that their pack had taken them in. The Beta's wife had raised them to be just and kind. But then she passed away. She was killed by a rogue wolf. That was the day Luna understood that her visions weren't just tricks of the mind; they became reality. She could see the future when she touched someone or something. It scared her so much that she started wearing gloves to avoid seeing such tragedy ever again. But the Alpha wouldn't let her. She used her powers to defeat any enemy. He called her powers a gift, and they did make his pack more powerful. With her and her brother, he could have conquered the world. Her brother's powers were of a different kind, not as fickle as mere visions. He had the powers of the mind. He could manipulate the thoughts of others and make them do his bidding. It was a dangerous kind of power that could easily be abused. Their adoptive mother had taught them to be good, to be aware of the powers they held and what it meant to have that kind of responsibility. For a while, they were happy. They were special, and their pack was one of the biggest in the state. That was until the council became aware of them, of Luna and Caleb. At first, they felt honored, but that feeling soon turned sour when their Alpha refused to hand them over. She never expected it. She couldn't see what the council was planning because they had misguided her. They had a way to make sure she wouldn't see them coming. At night, they came with their forces of magical beasts, witches, and powerful werewolves. There were no survivors, none except Caleb and her. Caleb made it so they could escape, manipulating the enemy so they wouldn't see them, wouldn't follow. But it was the first night Luna woke from nightmares of blood and death. It was the day Luna and her brother became rogue wolves, without a pack, without a family. Just them, two lone wolves trying to make it. Being a rogue was dangerous. Wolves weren't made to live on their own; they needed their pack. While she was getting used to the isolation, it started to get to Caleb's head. It drove him crazy. It drove him to leave her behind. She didn't know why, all she knew was that he left without saying goodbye. He left her a note, saying that he couldn't take it anymore. He blamed her for the way he felt, for being lonely, for being different. Maybe she should resent him for the way he left, but she couldn't. She still loved him. She still missed him. She watched as his depression became worse with each passing day. She understood that he needed something else. He needed to be in a pack. But Luna didn't. She was fine on her own. It gave her some peace of mind. There was nothing she could touch that would give her any mind-splitting visions of a gruesome future. It was safer on her own, for her or anyone around her. With a heavy sigh, she got out of her bed. Everything she owned was mostly crafted by herself since she didn't have any money or means to go into the city and purchase any fancy, modern items. Everything was a little crooked in her house, but she was proud of herself for building it after Caleb left her. They used to spend most of their time in a cave, and maybe that was exactly what drove him mad. They lived like animals, like stray dogs with nowhere to go or call home. She decided to change that, to make the best of her situation and spend the rest of her life alone in a place she built with her two hands, out in the woods that no pack had claimed, between the borders of wolf territory and the human world. She knew that there were risks of living there. She could be spotted by humans. She could be killed by wolves who saw her as a threat. But she had never met anyone out here. She knew how to navigate the woods without being spotted, without being killed. She became one with the trees that surrounded her, morphing into the soil under her feet. She was one with the forest, moving freely as the wind and as silently as a cat. This kind of freedom made her happy. She created her own pack, consisting of everything around her—the birds that lived in the trees, the rabbits that chased through the undergrowth. "Good morning, Blue," she greeted the Blue Jay that had been coming to her house for as long as she could remember. She started to lay out nuts for him, and every morning he came to collect. He was familiar with her, trusted her, and even ate out of her hand. Sometimes, when she felt lonely, he would drop by and spend a little time with her. She liked to think he did it because he was her friend, part of her pack. But she knew it was nothing like that. He was just a bird, and she was an easy food source. "How has your day been?" she asked as she opened her palm, offering him a few nuts she had collected. His little feet curled around her fingers as he picked at them. "I've been dreaming of him again," she sighed, and the bird c****d its little head, looking at her as if it understood what she was saying. "I still miss him, you know. I wish he would have stayed. This isn't such a bad life, is it?" The Blue Jay chirped a little, making a sound as if it agreed with her. "I guess we were just too different. He needed more than this. But I don't," she smiled, running her index finger over the bird's soft head. "I am good with where I am. It's better for everyone, isn't it?" With a ruffle of wings, her Blue Jay took off. "I think it is," she sighed to herself. It's not like she hadn't tried, but she was too scared to commit to a new pack. Too scared of what would happen to them once the council found out where she was hiding. A few times a wolf had found her, specifically looking for her, and it always ended in bloodshed. Her powers weren't a blessing anymore; they had turned into a curse. A deadly curse that other packs thought they could handle. But they couldn't. The future was fickle, and her visions only lasted a few seconds. She had tried to learn how to control it, but if a touch was unexpected, a vision would hit her like a freight train. If she was aware of a person around her, she could concentrate to keep the visions at bay. And sometimes, there was just nothing to tell. Nothing that whoever gave her these visions needed her to see. Luna often imagined it as if some celestial being was putting images in her head because, until this day, she didn't quite understand how it worked. Why she and her brother were the only wolves with such powers. With a little shake of her head, she brushed off her train of thought and decided to get to work. Keeping herself busy had always proven to keep dark thoughts at bay. She had to take care of her garden, collect berries and nuts from the woods, and get some water from the stream. Since it was late spring, she didn't have to bother collecting firewood anymore. Her blankets would keep her warm enough. Once a month, she would take a trip to the next village. It took her a day to get there, and she would stay for two before going back. People knew she was coming, and they sought her out to have their fortunes told. She hated the act, and usually, she made up stuff that was close enough to the truth or something she knew the person opposite her would want to hear. She didn't like taking these trips, but there were things that the forest didn't provide. She would earn some money to buy necessary items like hygiene products, wool for knitting, or ingredients she needed to bake bread. Once a year, she would spend a few dimes on a birthday present for herself—something she didn't need but wanted. Last year, she got a necklace a woman at a market made. It was a woven gold chain with a pretty crystal pendant. It was just pretty, and it matched the color of her jade-green eyes. Whenever she felt nervous, she would play with the smooth stone between her fingers, absorbing the cold from its surface until her fingers had warmed it. It helped her settle down and regain her calm. The more nervous she was, the more likely it was that she would have an unwelcome vision. Over time, her necklace had become more than just a pretty birthday present she gave herself. It had become a lucky charm, her way to ground herself when she felt all alone.