Delaying Destiny

Prologue

Orianna Reid

Orianna had been staying in a single bedroom apartment in the northeast section of Astral Twilight's territory for nearly three years since she was framed for the poisoning of Alpha Ivan and the grizzly murders of his family.  It was a lonely existence. It seemed the entire pack wanted to forget about the nasty month that had befell them years ago - where Orianna was at the heart of it all. Even though she had been exonerated, proven irrefutably innocent by Bianca Camden's confession, it seemed the pack was still uneasy around her. Wolves stared as she passed but never made eye contact. They whispered just out of earshot but never spoke to her directly. The friends she thought she had had all turned against her.

Many still held her affair with the late Luna Saravie against her - saying that her love for the Alpha's mate was still wrong, maybe even the reason why such a tragedy took place. Some even said she deserved to be banished as before. But Alpha Jasper and his mate Luciana were against such things. And though they did their best to keep her included, it was awkward for her to be around her own ex-mate and his new family.

Luna Luciana had given birth to a beautiful baby girl they had named Isabella and had gotten pregnant again not a year after. Their son, Damien, the future heir to Astral Twilight, was a boisterous little monster that took up nearly all of his parents' time and attention. The entire pack adored the family. And in turn, completely rejected Orianna.

She had even managed to escape The Claiming each year as they passed, though no one ever seemed to notice. Orianna was the sole un-mated she-wolf of her age, not just in her pack, but in all those surrounding as well. Often she wondered if being banished would have been a better fate than to be isolated and ostracized by everyone around her. 

Elder Elroy seemed to be the only person willing to listen to her. She visited him often, though she always had to skirt around his building. He happened to live in the same apartments as the previous Alpha, Ivan. Ivan had powered through the ranks of Fighters in the pack and had fought for his place to be respected once more. Orianna was often envious that he was able to remake his image. But every so often, she was unable to dodge him and faced his uninhibited rage at each passing.

"Ah, here sneaking around to f**k someone else's mate, Orianna?" He spat at her one day as they crossed paths in the apartment's entrance.

Orianna chose to ignore him, attempting to brush past.

His heavy build stood in front of the door, glaring down at the lithe woman, "Or finally found someone with low enough standards to actually give you the time of day?"

The she-wolf glared back, still as stubborn as ever, "Get out of my face, Ivan."

He sneered another insult before shoving her aside, "You should just leave. No one gives two shits if you were dead or alive. All you do is remind this pack of what you took away from them." Ivan shifted into his wolf form, taking off towards the pack house.

Orianna paused with her hand on the door, his last words breaking her already shattered heart. Fighting tears, she turned back around towards her own apartment. Maybe she didn't need to see Elder Elroy today. 

***

Anthony Mason Whittaker

On the very border of Whistling Wind's pack lands, a small assignment of Scouts patrolled the forest paths. A large gray male stood at the head, barking orders to the other two as they fanned out. They had been sent to investigate a reported rogue sighting there but had found nothing. Maybe it was just another paranoid Elder who had gotten spooked by another forest creature. It had happened more times than they would like to admit.

The male wolf lifted his snout, sniffing the air for any unfamiliar scents. But everything seemed normal. That was, until he caught scent of something peculiar in the most mouthwatering way. It smelled like lavender tea, with the slightest hint of citrus and bathed in honey. He had never smelled anything like it. It was so strong, so distinct. The more his wolf took in, the faster his paws began to take him. 

Roth, what's going on? Mason asked his wolf with a hint of urgency.

His wolf, Rothans, was beginning to salivate, heavy paws scattering leaves and causing the small creatures beneath to flee, It's her!

Her?

The wolf took a massive leap over a fallen oak, but before Roth could answer, he practically tripped over a lump of fur, curled tightly just on the other side. 

A frantic bark startled him further as he fell, barreling sideways and rolling along the forest floor like a pup. As he scrambled to his feet, he was confronted with a beautiful golden she-wolf, snarling menacingly in his face.

His wolf trembled visibly with excitement and anticipation as he barked in this stranger's furious face, Mate!