Ancient Luna

"650 years ago, before Alias became a king, he was a best friend. To Vanessa. They grew up as pups together. Vanessa was abandoned at birth, dropped on an old cottage doorstep, where Alpha Max and Luna Lila of The Crescent pack had taken her in as their own. Max and Lila, who had mated 4 years before, struggled to conceive due to an attack that had left her almost dead. They raised Vanessa, not telling a soul where she came from.

Found as an abandoned human, she lived in terror, surrounded by supernatural creatures. But 5 of the supernaturals used magic and gave half of themselves to Vanessa. She was to be their savior, preventer of all doom. She was immortal.

As Vanessa grew bigger, they noticed the changes in her development. She had fangs, she was able to do magic, her scream could dismantle her enemies. She was stronger than any that crossed her path. Back in those days, only men could rule a pack, as females were thought to be the weaker sex. All that changed in the Crescent Pack. Vanessa became the first female Alpha to rule the Crescent Pack. And her pack became notorious; no one ever tried to take them down.

2 years later, Vanessa searched for her destined mate, but at every Mating Festival, she seemed to come up short. She envied each couple that left, jealous that it wasn’t her. Until Beta Caleb showed up at the next festival. She had found her mate...

But he immediately and publicly rejected her. He did not believe he could find love in a human."

ALEC

(Present Day...)

"Mom, you tell this story every year. Why is it so important that we know about Queen Vanessa? I'm an adult, and it's my choice not to find my mate."

"Alec, what I'm saying is I don't think you should marry Gloria just so you can be Alpha." My mom didn't like the fact that I had decided not to go searching for my destined mate. I hated the thought of it. It was a distraction from real strength. Gloria wasn't my mate, but she was strong-willed. And she knew there was no room for love in ruling a pack. "Mom, Queen Vanessa got the worst of it all: King Alias killed her. He found his true mate, and the Goddess wouldn't allow the new mate bond to be broken."

"Son, it's Moon God. What if your destined mate comes? That bond is something that will haunt you forever. It's a pull like no other, and the more you are away from her, the weaker you'll become." She walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I knew that what she was telling me was the truth. My pack meant more to me than anything. 

"I know you want the best for me, but can you try to respect my choice? My ceremony is tonight, Mom."

She hated my choice, but she loved me more. "You're my son, I will respect your choice. But I don't have to be nice to her." She laughed, but deep down, she was telling the truth.

VANESSA

I'd been asleep for a long time. King Alpha Alias didn't want to wait to find his mate because he wanted to claim his rightful place on the throne... So he resorted to claiming a wolf who had been rejected by her mate. I still carried out my duties as queen, until I was brutally killed by King Alias.

Well, King Alias tried to kill me. But you can't kill a hybrid, you can only stall it, and only for so long before the beast wakes up. I felt the dirt in my lungs as I clawed my way above the surface. The dirty monsters just buried me in the dirt. I was awake the entire time. Years of torture. 

But now I was back. I finally pushed my naked body above the surface. The sun rays exposed my pack mark, my mate mark. My hair was long and frizzled as it fell down my tan body.

I was covered in scars—and bug bites from where they tried to eat me alive. My hair had turned a white color. Yet nothing else seemed to age. My legs couldn't walk right, as I had been lying down for centuries. He might have taken my dignity, but I would take him and that mate of his. I dragged myself for what felt like hours.

Eventually, I found myself in front of the throne room, where I was once mated to Alias. He took me while I was at my weakest. 

Now I saw the torches, which showed a mating ceremony was happening. In this new age, I wondered if they still kept the traditions. I slipped in through the door, trying to stay as silent as possible. People had cloth wrapped around their bodies, covering their skin. There were flowers. There were two people standing in front of the throne, which had been redone. A woman stood before them reciting the ceremony.

I looked at the man, who was a boy really. My senses became heightened at the smell of him. But the bond between them showed no connection. They were not mates, and suddenly my blood was boiling.

"Alec, do you promise to take full responsibility as the King Alpha of the Creed pack, to protect your people, and make sound choices based on facts? Do you promise to consummate the marriage and treat your Luna with love and respect till death do you part? And by accepting Gloria, do you understand that you're making her your mate—destroying any chance you have when your destined mate appears? Do you accept?"

I couldn't stop my legs from moving down the middle of the crowd. The anger built up in me, and everyone turned their attention to me as I stood at the last step of the stairs.

"Filthy millennials, you always forget the true meaning of having a mate and would rather take a title than find your mate." 

The Alpha turned his eyes to me, and so did the slut. "This is a mating ceremony. You need to leave and put some damn clothes on." 

My blood was on fire at the thought of his words. "It's such a shame though, you're uncultured and making our kind look horrible."

"Guards, escort her to the jail cells." Both guards started walking my way. As if they were going to make a difference. My magic, which had been asleep inside me for too long, blossomed as I raised my hands and light started coming out of them. Both guards fell to their stomachs and were bound there. The Alpha was madder than hell and walked towards me in anger. He was so close to my face that I could feel his hot breath when he opened his mouth.

"You ruined my wedding, mutt. You don't hurt my pack!" His small threats were a joke. 

"This pack doesn't belong to you. You have no morals. This is my pack now." As I said that, he crossed his arms in anger, trying to keep his wolf from coming out. The audience started to rise when I heard a familiar voice.

"My Queen, you are alive," said Natalia.

I turned toward the voice that had piqued my attention and met the eyes of a familiar face. I raised my hand and caressed the cheek of my loyal Beta. I was scared that I wouldn't know anyone after all this time. "You're alive." She had slowly curtseyed, so I lifted her and wrapped her in my arms. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Natalia slowly moved to cower behind me as the boy raised his voice.

"Where is Alias?" I questioned the young Alpha. The room went cold and quiet. No one wanted to answer that question. 

"My Queen, King Alias tried to kill you. He was killed for treason the very day of your supposed death." An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach. There was something there. The mate bond should have disappeared when he died, but my stomach was in knots even now. I wanted to cry and wither away. 

"Let's get you dressed in modern clothes. You're going to scar these kids." The room around me seemed fuzzy. All I did was keep my head down in heartache as she led me to a different room.

Natalia took me to a room, which had changed in all these years. 

"We wear these clothes on our bodies now. Times have changed, my Queen." Natalia looked uncomfortable at this moment. "You also need to learn to use a razor; your bush is disgusting." She was referring to my pubic hair. People shaved it now, but why?

ALEC

A lot had happened in the past hour. The rising of Queen Luna Vanessa. I felt like I should be fangirling because she was the strongest wolf that had ever existed. 

"Son, could you stop pacing, please? I told you she existed." I stopped and faced her. She had approached her as she knew her. 

"Mom, how did you know her? You made it seem like she was the Goddess." My mom's face turned pale like she had seen a ghost.

"Vanessa was secretly my best friend. I was a servant girl before I was mated to your father. She made sure I was taken care of, and we hung out each night."

This made me wonder what else my mother had hidden.

"I was there when King Alias put a dagger through her heart and threw her off the balcony." A tear fell off my mother's face as she stumbled over each word.

"Mom, how old are you really?" 

Okay, I had asked the wrong question. We lived a long life, but only certain breeds could live almost forever. 

"Boy, don't you know better than to ask a woman her age?" She was angry, but I guess that was better than sad.

VANESSA

I came down the stairs after being forced to shave and put on these rags. Natalia met me and bowed to me. "Natalia, you are my advisor. You need to have my back when it comes to taking my pack back."

I saw the nervous look on her face at this point. "My Queen, when King Alias passed, the throne was handed over to a different line of wolves. You lost all rights to the pack; it belongs to a different bloodline." 

I was so stuck in the ways of my time that I knew this wouldn't pass here. I took a deep breath. "Natalia, we come from a line where we had nothing to hide. We never wore these clothes. And as you know, I'm not afraid to destroy anyone—with a snap of my fingers—if they cross me."