chapter 2
1027 Words
Warm sunlight streamed through the window, washing over my face with a familiar dustiness.
I jolted awake, gasping for breath instinctively reaching for my chest!
There was no wound, my skin was smooth and whole.
Hadn't l died?
“Elara! Get up! It's your coming-of-age ceremony, and you can't be late!A sharp voice called from outside the door.
That was the voice of another woman from the pack who managed the omegas.
Coming-of-age ceremony?
Panic surged through me as l leaped from the rickety bed and rushed to a grimy mirror!
Staring back at me was a thin girl with messy brown hair and terrified gray eyes!
Her face still bore traces of youth her body frail yet bursting with the vitality of adolescence.
This was me at eighteen.
I had been reborn!
Back to the day when my fate turned upside down!
Tonight, it would be the full moon night, the night of the pack's coming-of-age ceremony!
The night l would meet Alpha Karen and be ruthlessly rejected by him.
NO.
I couldn't let that happen again.
“Lyra?"l called out to my wolf in my mind.
“I'm here, Elara." Lyra's voice was laced with the crispness of a young wolf, but she could sense my fear,“What's wrong? l can feel you shaking.What are you afraid of?”
“Lyra, listen to me. No matter what happens tonight, you must stay silent.Especially when you smell a... a mixture of storm and pine; you have to keep quiet, okay?”
“Why? That scent smells so enticing.” Lyra asked, puzzled.
“Trust me, Lyra. Behind that scent Jies endless pain and death. We have to escape from here. Now,immediately!”
Memories from my past life crashed into me like relentless waves: the agony of being rejected, the despair of humiliation!
The coldness of being shot... it was all too real!
The Moon Goddess had granted me a second chance, and I couldn't waste it!
I didn't want revenge, l just wanted to survive, far away from the manna med Karen!
Far away from Blackrock Pack.
My plan was simple: run. Become a rogue.
I knew it was dangerous!
Rogues were seen as threats by other packs, and without the protection of a pack, it was easy to perish in the wild!
But any danger was better than facing Karen's rejection again.l would rather die than feel that ripping sensation of my soul being torn apart.
I quickly put on the sturdiest clothes I had and stuffed my few meager supplies into my pockets!
I knew the pack's defenses. The eastern fence near Crescent Creek had guards that switched shifts around dusk, leaving about a ten-minute gap. That was my only chance.
I had to leave before the ceremony began!
Once it started, all the adult werewolves would congregate at the sacred site, and the Alpha's perception would envelop the entire area!
There would be nowhere to hide.
"Where are we going?" Lyra asked uneasily.
“To a place without him,"I answered resolutely.
I took a deep breath and quietly pushed the door open!
The hallway was empty; most people were busy preparing for the evening ceremony!
I moved like a shadow along the wall, heading for the eastern fence
My heart raced wildly in my chest.Every step was fraught with risk. My heightened senses were a torment,making me flinch at every little sound. l could hear soldiers talking in the distance and smell the scent of roasting meat wafting from the kitchen.
Everything was just like it had been in my past life.
I successfully crept near the eastern fence, hiding behind a dense thicket, 1timed my breaths, waiting for the shift change.
Five minutes.. three minutes.. one minute...
Here they came! l saw two guards hand off their duties and head in opposite directions. This was my chance!
I shot out like an arrow, using every bit of strength to scale that three-meter wooden fence, My nails scraped against the rough wood, drawing blood, but i didn't care.
The moment my feet hit the ground after climbing ever the fence, a deep growl echoed from not far away
"step! who's there?!
oh no! I had been spotted!
i didn't look back; i dashed deeper into the forest!
The footsteps behind me grew closer; it was a pack soldier, and he was much faster than l was.
"Lyra, help me!" i shouted in my mind.
"What should i do?"
"Power! i need speed and strength!
A surge of wild power erupted within me, my legs strengthened, and my speed increased in an instant!
But it wasn't enough-he was still closing the gap.
Just as he was about to catch me,ls lipped and tumbled down a steep slope!
I crashed into a tree. Pain shot through my ankle, rendering me immobile.
The pack soldier quickly caught u to me. He was a tall Gamma, wearing a wary expression.
“An omega? Why are you running?”he frowned, questioning me.
I closed my eyes in despair. l had failed, i would be caught and forced to face my terrible fate.
But then i heard another pair of footsteps approaching, carrying an undeniable weight. The air around me seemed to solidify.
The Gamma soldier immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head respectfully.
“Alpha!”
My blood ran cold in an instant.
No, it couldn't be him. He should be preparing for the ceremony in the main house.
Trembling, l dared to look up and found the one person l wished never to see again,
Alpha Karen.
He stood there, younger and more intimidating than i remembered!
The setting sun outlined his strong figure, and his ice-blue eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, locking onto me with unwavering intensity.
Then, his expression shifted.
His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath, His ice-blue eyes instantly transformed into brilliant gold-the color of a wolf's eyes. The shock,elation, and possessiveness in his gaze were unmistakable.
A smell | knew all too well-a mix of storm and pine-invaded my nostrils.
My wolf, Lyra, screamed in my soul.“MATE! MATE! Elara! It's Our MATE!”
- Writer
