THE BOY THEY MADE ME

Mate? Not Again

Lyra's POV

Just how cruel is the moon goddess?

How much more did she want to take from me?

First, she took my parents. Then forced me into a life of servitude I never asked for. And now… she was making me live through every heartbreak I thought I'd left behind.

I was forced to reject my mate for a favour I didn't even understand. I was forced to become someone I wasn't.

And yet, here I was, staring at him—the man I once loved, the one I had hoped would choose me… but my aunt was just there to ruin things.

And even after I rejected him, saying I could feel the bond, he wasted no time in marking the next available… My cousin.

"Lucian," he called out again.

I stared blankly into his face, not knowing what to say. His grey orbs stared back into my blue ones—something I and Lucian shared. He was about to say something when a loud growl shook the air.

"Quit talking, and start moving."

A lump fell in my throat as I swallowed hard. My legs felt heavy, as if they didn't belong to me anymore. The other wolves moved in such practiced precision, their armor clinking softly… I managed to scramble out of my row, my heart racing.

Lucian was Prince Karl's friend and no matter how much I tried—I knew we still had to talk.

I was the first to exit the tables after dinner, asking the warder for my room, and he directed me, saying there was a name tag on each door.

"Just stick to the red lines, and don't go finding trouble."

I nodded, following the red tracks right into my room, collapsing onto the bed. And after some few hours of sleep… I woke up to see my room properly.

The only thing present there was a bed and a drawer which had a lock to it. There was another door leading somewhere—rising to check, it was a bathroom.

I couldn't be more grateful as I locked myself in, pulling off the armor, revealing my bandaged body, loosening the wraps and the few washable pads I had sneaked in.

For a moment, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

At the girl no one was supposed to see.

And if anyone here discovers the truth… that would be the end of me.

I let the water fall onto my skin until it suddenly stopped flowing, and that was how I didn’t get a proper bath.

Of course. Even the pipes hated me.

After trying to turn it on for some minutes, I gave up and returned to the room, wrapping my body again, wearing my armor, and returning to the bed after hiding my pad.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, replaying dinner. Karl’s eyes… the bond I could feel pulsing between us… and the sight of Selene, so easily marked, so easily chosen. I hated that I couldn’t hate him. I hated that my heart still yearned for him.

‘Don’t be foolish, Lyra. You rejected him. He moved on.’ I reminded myself.

The bells rang before I could process another thought. It was so disturbing that I had to leave the room, meeting equally exhausted wolves exiting their rooms. We marched to the same floor as yesterday.

"Good morning, soldiers," the speaker called. "Today, you will meet the strongest teams: the Slayers of Crimson—" he was still speaking when a team of wolves with golden armors came into the room, and cheers filled the air.

"Look," whispered a wolf beside me, pointing towards someone. "That's Prince Dravin of Crimson Veil Pack. My sister's crushing on him."

I followed his finger toward the direction of the wolf he was referring to. He seemed to be an elite.

And did look the part—untouchable, leader material—but I couldn’t make out his features perfectly. His armor though was unique among all, having white stripes at the sides.

"Get seated, Slayers. We have a lot to cover today," the speaker spoke, and the golden-armored boy with golden locks smiled, taking his seat in the front row of their section.

"A number tag will be given to each of you. And your room identification will now match your tags.” The speaker continued. "We don't care who you are... in here! We will only address you with your numbers. Here are the rules:"

"You are not to engage in a fight with the other Packs."

"Report to the head of your packs if you have a problem."

"You are to be respectful always… Sleep and wake when you are told to."

“Lies and disloyalty has its punishment.”

"That's all for now. Maintain silence as we pass around the badges," he ended.

After a while of sharing and yawning, I finally saw those handing out the badges.

"What the f**k!" someone cursed. "If he’s 829, then I would be 840," the wolf who seemed to have been keeping tabs on the sharing—said quickly.

A little smile escaped my lips. I was beside him so I would definitely be 839 if his assumptions were right.

‘839… what an unfortunate number. For my ill-lucked self,’ I thought.

I caught him smiling my way, and reciprocated. He stretched forth his right hand.

"I'm Kelvin, son of Beta Lucas of Bloodmoon Pack," he introduced.

Oh—now I know why he looked familiar.

"Lyr…" I skipped.

"I am Lucian, an omega of Bloodmoon Pack."

He grinned. "I know. Your sister, Selene… quite the beauty. But that cousin of yours… weird."

I said nothing, relieved he didn’t see me in her likeness.

"I guess we would be a room apart, then," he added, his honey brown eyes glowing.

"Yes," I admitted. My voice irking me.

***

"Hey Karl," Kelvin greeted casually.

I was so carried away that I didn’t see Karl approaching.

"Kelvin," Karl smiled, his eyes on me, and my pulse stuttered.

"Hey, you got number one," Kelvin pouted.

"Yeah… I guess that comes with being a prince," Karl joked.

"Lucian! Everything alright?" he asked, stepping closer, taking a seat beside me.

I forced a nod, turning toward the direction of the golden team.

"You seemed off yesterday," he said, bringing me to face him.

"I'm fine. Just… a little sick," I lied, hoping my voice was hard enough. But that didn’t do the trick, and I had to back it up. "Sore throat. It messed with my voice."

He nodded, but I could tell he had his doubts.

"Give us a minute, Kelvin," he said, turning to Kelvin—who nodded and walked to the other wolves.

"So tell me, Lucian. Why are you here?"

My eyes widened.

What does he mean? Does he already know of Lucian’s plans?

"Same as you," I forced out, turning my face away.

"You know what I'm talking about, Lucian. You told me you weren’t coming unless your mother’s plans worked."

I choked.

Karl leaned closer, his grey orbs unnerving. "So tell me… seeing you here means her plan did work, right?"

I choked again.

"I… I don't know what you are talking about."

"Drop it, Lucian," he snapped, his voice laced with annoyance. "Since when did we start hiding things from each other? You also mentioned something about Lyra the last time we spoke, but we were interrupted before you could tell me anything… Is she alright?"

"I—I—" before I could answer, the warder’s call interrupted.

"Soldier R1 and R839 to the dining hall! Now! Unless you want to forfeit today's meal!"

I rushed forward, following behind the warder.

Grateful for his timely intervention, yet again.

***

I have never seen wolves eat ravenously like today—each stuffing their face with meat like it was their last meal.

Most of the seats were now empty as I was almost done. The packs mixed together, making and catching up with friends, but Karl was still seated, his gaze never leaving mine.

Then suddenly, wolves around me started to straighten, whispering even before he stepped in.

"Greetings, Prince Karl of Bloodmoon Pack. I thought I would introduce myself to all the princes, since we are here as one and not enemies," the golden-haired boy from the golden team spoke.

Karl smiled. "You did the right thing. And I'm honored."

"Who's that?" the golden-haired boy asked, turning to me.

I had heard tales of the mighty prince, but never had I dreamt of sharing the same air as him.

"839," I interrupted before Karl could say a word. "We are meant to be addressed by our tags as the rules state… so as the heads of your pack, please don't go breaking the rules," I blurted before I could stop myself.

"I'm so sorry, Prince Dravin, he's my friend. He's been acting off lately," Karl intervened. "Trust me, he's not like this."

"No, he is right though," Dravin’s lips curled into a smile. "I guess I would now address you as R1, right?"

Karl gave a weak smile. "Sure. G1 for you then."

"Yes, sure," Dravin turned away from Karl, his gaze locking onto me again — and then something strange happened as I picked up the scent of lavender and honey.

"Mate." He said, his eyes bulged out.

My heart crashed into my ribs.

Oh, no. This has got to be a sick joke.