CHAPTER TWO
1354 Words
The Luna Pact Gathering
Alison arrived at the Luna Pact Gathering with her family, but after greeting a few relatives and family friends, she quietly slipped away from them. The gathering was crowded and noisy, filled with laughter, music, and the excited chatter of wolves from different packs.
She had never really enjoyed such gatherings.
Especially when everyone seemed to know who she was.
The Alpha's wolfless daughter.
Alison wandered farther from the celebration until she found a secluded spot away from the crowd. She had barely taken a breath when a familiar, mocking voice came from behind her.
“Well, well, well... who do we have here?”
Alison slowly turned around.
Calista stood there with her arms folded, a smug smile plastered across her face. She came from one of the wealthiest families in the pack and had always been spoiled, arrogant, and determined to make Alison's life miserable.
Beside her stood her three friends—Nicole, Sophie, and Vanessa. All four girls stared at Alison with amusement.
“If it isn't the Jacksons' wolfless baby girl,” Calista sneered.
Her friends immediately burst into laughter.
“I didn't know Alison Jackson had become mute overnight,” Nicole said mockingly.
“Who knows?” Vanessa replied with a shrug. “Maybe she finally ran out of excuses.”
They laughed again.
Alison clenched her fists but tried not to give them the satisfaction of seeing her upset.
“What do you really want from me?” she asked.
Calista's smile widened.
“Isn't it obvious?”
She stepped closer.
“To make your life a living hell.”
Nicole snickered. “So, our little princess isn't mute after all.”
Alison sighed.
“I'm not looking for trouble today. So, please, just leave me alone.”
She turned around and began walking away.
But Calista wasn't about to let her go that easily.
“Not so fast, b***h. Where do you think you're going?”
Calista grabbed Alison's hair and yanked her backward.
“Ah!”
Alison cried out in pain and immediately pushed Calista away.
Without waiting to see what they would do next, she ran.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, heading toward the woods.
Behind her, Sophie stared after her nervously.
“Should we go after her?”
Calista straightened her clothes and smirked.
“No. Don't you dare.”
She glanced toward the dark woods.
“She wouldn't last long in there. Not when she can't even shift.”
Her expression became colder.
“And no one”—she looked at each of her friends—“should say a word about what happened here.”
The girls nodded silently.
Calista smiled.
“Good.”
Alison kept running.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest. She didn't know whether Calista and her friends were following her, and she wasn't willing to find out.
Branches brushed against her arms as she pushed deeper into the forest. The sounds of the gathering slowly disappeared behind her until all she could hear was the rustling of leaves and her own breathing.
Eventually, she reached a small stream.
She stopped.
Breathing heavily, Alison placed her hands on her knees and tried to calm herself.
She looked around.
The forest was strangely peaceful here.
The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting silver reflections across the water.
Then she noticed someone.
A girl about her age was sitting quietly on a large rock beside the stream.
Alison hesitated before approaching.
“Um... sorry to interrupt you,” she said.
The girl turned toward her.
“No, don't be.”
Her voice was gentle.
Alison stared at her face.
Something about the girl felt strangely familiar.
Her eyes widened.
The girl had deep blue eyes—almost exactly like hers.
And her long, black, wavy hair looked remarkably similar to Alison's own.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The girl smiled.
“I'm Alicia, by the way. And you are?”
“Alison.”
She paused.
“Alison Jackson.”
The girl's eyes widened.
“Wait... the Alison Jackson?”
Alison nodded awkwardly.
“The only daughter of the Jackson family?”
“Uh... yeah.”
Alicia's face lit up.
“Gosh! It's so nice to finally meet you!”
Alison couldn't help but smile faintly.
“You know me?”
“Everyone knows you,” Alicia replied.
She tilted her head curiously.
“So, what brings you all the way out here, away from the gathering?”
Alison looked toward the stream.
“I don't know. Maybe the same reason you're here.”
Alicia raised an eyebrow.
“What reason is that?”
Alison hesitated.
“I can't shift.”
Alicia's expression changed.
“Oh.”
She looked away.
“Everyone in the clan knows about that.”
Alison looked at her curiously.
“And you?”
Alicia gave a small, almost embarrassed smile.
“Same reason as you.”
Alison stared at her.
“You can't shift either?”
Alicia shook her head.
“No.”
For the first time that evening, Alison felt as though she had finally found someone who understood her.
She sat beside Alicia on the rock and began telling her everything.
She told her how being unable to shift had changed the way people treated her. How some wolves whispered whenever she passed. How others avoided her. Even though her father was the Alpha, she still felt like an outsider in her own pack.
And most of all, she told Alicia about the constant bullying.
Alicia listened quietly.
When Alison finished, Alicia began telling her own story.
Unlike Alison, she wasn't simply ignored.
She had been completely cast out by many members of the clan.
The only people who truly stood by her were her parents.
Her family's poor status only made things worse.
Yet despite everything, Alicia spoke without bitterness.
Alison looked at her in admiration.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“You have a new friend now.”
Alicia blinked.
“Really? Who?”
Alison smiled and pointed at herself.
“Me.”
Alicia laughed softly.
“You?”
“Yes, me.”
Alison extended her hand.
“You can always rely on me. Anytime. Got it?”
Alicia looked at her hand for a moment before taking it.
“Got it.”
They both smiled.
For the first time in a long while, Alison didn't feel different.
She didn't feel like the Alpha's wolfless daughter.
She was simply Alison.
And beside her was someone who understood exactly what it felt like to be different.
The two girls continued talking, laughing, and sharing stories beneath the moonlight.
Neither noticed how quickly the hours passed.
The sounds of the gathering had completely faded by then, leaving only the gentle sound of the flowing stream and the whisper of the wind through the trees.
Suddenly, Alison looked up.
“Oh my gosh!”
“What?” Alicia asked.
“I have to go! My parents and my brother must be worried sick about me by now.”
Alicia quickly stood.
“Me too.”
Alison smiled.
“Wait.”
She reached toward her wrist and removed a simple bracelet she had been wearing.
She held Alicia's hand and gently placed it around her wrist.
“Here.”
Alicia looked at it.
“What is this?”
“A token of our friendship.”
Alicia smiled warmly.
“Thank you.”
“Keep it.”
“I will.”
They hugged briefly before stepping apart.
“Goodbye, Alicia.”
“Goodbye, Alison.”
Alison took a few steps away before turning back.
“I'll see you again, right?”
Alicia smiled.
“Definitely.”
Alison nodded and disappeared between the trees.
Alicia watched until she was completely out of sight.
Neither girl knew it yet, but the meeting beside that little stream would change both of their lives forever.
Because sometimes, fate has a strange way of bringing people together.
And sometimes...
the person standing right in front of you is the one you've been separated from all your life.
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