Chapter 2
Ten years ago, a tragic event befell our werewolf pack.
Alpha Daniel’s father, the revered leader of our community, passed away, and Alpha Daniel ascended to the throne.
Soon after, a group of rebels launched a fierce attack, throwing our once – peaceful land into chaos.
Alpha Daniel, with unwavering courage, led his troops into battle to defend our pack. However, during the intense fight, he was surrounded by the enemy and sustained grievous injuries, which left him unconscious and on the brink of death.
At that time, a severe famine had also stricken our land. I, a young she – wolf from the Silvermoon Pack, was wandering the streets, begging for food to survive.
It was then that I encountered Alpha Daniel’s mother.
Her eyes widened in shock when she saw me, for I bore an uncanny resemblance to Snow, Alpha Daniel’s childhood sweetheart.
In a desperate bid to shield her son from further heartbreak upon his awakening, Laura proposed a contract to me.
With a promise of a sack of rice, she bought ten years of my life, asking me to play the role of Luna in Snow’s stead.
When Alpha Daniel finally regained consciousness, he learned that I, a stranger, was claiming the Luna position in return for saving his life.
To my surprise, he was not angry.
Instead, he treated me with kindness and courtesy.
I dedicated myself wholeheartedly to learning the intricate pack etiquette and customs. Day and night, I studied, determined not to embarrass him.
Every morning, before the first light of dawn, I would rise and stand vigil by the medicine cauldron.
Knowing that Alpha Daniel, still recovering from his severe injuries, needed to soak in warm medicinal baths and receive massages daily, I made sure the potion was at the perfect temperature when he awoke.
On one such occasion, he took my hand in his, a tender smile gracing his lips. “Thank goodness I have you,” he said, and in that moment, I truly believed I had found my destined mate.
However, all my illusions were shattered during the grand Luna ceremony.
In the midst of the celebration, with all the pack members gathered, Alpha Daniel openly flirted with the dancing girls.
He paid them no end of attention, leaving me, his supposed Luna, standing alone on the sidelines, ignored and humiliated.
In the dimly lit, moon – cast chamber, my body trembled with a mix of humiliation and despair.
I dropped to my knees before Alpha Daniel. “Please, I implore you, Alpha. Let me go. “
Alpha Daniel stood before me. A low growl rumbled from his chest as he sneered, “Let you go? You, who used your witchcraft to drive Snow from my side. “
As if to add to my torment, he flicked his wrist, and a parchment, sealed with Snow’s distinct mark, fluttered to my feet. “Read it,”
I picked it up with trembling hands. Every word on the page seemed to be written in blood, as Snow’s anguished accusations spilled forth.
“You, with your envious eyes and scheming ways, forced me to flee. You stole my rightful place by Alpha’s side,” .
From that fateful night, Alpha Daniel’s presence became a distant memory in my quarters.
Instead, day after day, women with the same delicate features as Snow, their scents carrying a hint of the forest where Snow once roamed, were carried into the manor. Each time he indulged in his carnal pleasures, he would summon me with a growl. “Come, sit by the bedside. Witness the love you denied me,”
I would sit there, my ears filled with the sounds of their passion, my soul shriveling a little more with each passing moment.
Over the course of ten long, moon – cycle – filled years, my heart, once a beacon of hope, had been shattered into countless fragments.
I clung to the hope that the end of the contract, that binding oath I had made with his mother in a moment of desperation, would set me free.
I counted the days, the moons, the seasons, longing for the sweet taste of freedom.
But then, a cruel twist of fate occurred.
I felt the subtle changes within my body, the quickening of a new life.
I was carrying Alpha Daniel’s child.
In a daze of fear and confusion, I awaited his reaction.
To my astonishment, instead of the expected rage, he sent the pack’s most trusted healers to my side.
“The child is innocent,” he said simply, his voice reaching me through the healer. “Protect it.”
For the first time in years, there was a glimmer of something other than hatred in his actions.
He ceased bringing concubines into the manor, and on rare, moon – drenched nights, he would come to the edge of my quarters.
“How fares the child?”
In those brief moments, I dared to hope that after a decade of suffering and waiting, there might finally be a glimmer of happiness on the horizon.
However, just when I thought the storm had passed and the sun might finally shine on my life, a howl in the night announced the arrival of a messenger.
A parchment, once again sealed with Snow’s mark, was placed in my hands.
