The Indifferent Luna 1 - Austan wolf

I groan in my sleep, opening my eyes to see the bright blue sky ahead of me, the smell of earth, grass, and the forest filling my nose. I wrinkled my nose at the rush of scent which made my eyes water and blinked twice trying to remember where I was and how exactly I got there, then it dawned on me that I had slept here last night after leaving home and spending the entire day walking north to my new pack.

I sat up and looked around the forest in which I had slept peacefully, wondering what had made me forget that I wasn’t at home or in my bed anymore. I stood up and dusted the dirt off my backside silently.

I could hear almost all movement in the forest around me, that of scurrying animals, the rustles of the leaves from a thousand miles, the sound of birds as their song rang from somewhere too far for me to point out, reminding me of the ritual night. I frowned, as I wondered about the usefulness of these new abilities when all I ever wanted was to be a shift into my wolf, like everyone else.

Perhaps I would have been a gray wolf or a red one, matching the color of my now dirty red hair. I guess we would never know now.

I picked the dirt out of my hair before picking up my backpack, which contained all I owned, slinging it onto my back, I began walking along the path leading to the Kirjan border and my soon-to-be new pack.

I didn’t know per se where the Kirjan clan was but since my father sold me off to some Gamma in that pack to save face from the shame I had brought to the family by not shifting on my eighteenth birthday and for also causing it to rain, ruining the happy celebration, I had to find out which way led there but the only thing I had been able to remember was the direction.

Up north.

Father was not alone in his rejection of his youngest daughter though, the entire clan didn’t want me there any more than he did, even the Alpha of our pack had ordered him to do something about me, as the pack was becoming restless and I had now been considered a curse.

‘A bad omen’, they said, as if a little child like me could really cause it to rain.

I knew Father already had plans not to keep me there, from the moment I opened my mouth to tell them I had never heard my wolf. His obligation to his Alpha, as the Gamma of our pack, was just an excuse. I had descended in rank, even though born to such a noble family, and had received weird looks since that day, so much that I even had to hasten my departure.

I decided to leave without saying goodbye to either of my parents. They wouldn’t miss I know, they were never one to really care about me. I don’t know why, but I never felt loved there. Not with them nor my siblings and that was all I ever wanted, I had looked forward to that night, hoping that shifting would change everything.

They would accept me, love me, and most importantly, I would have a wolf, I would have company.

But she never came, and never once have I even heard her voice. I should have known then, but I still couldn’t help but hope I would shift. I even still wonder what it would have felt like to actually hear her voice, I guess I would never know now.

If one didn’t shift at the age of eighteen could one ever shift again? That I didn’t know but one thing I know for sure and that the others probably didn’t know was I was not human as they speculated, as I had been given wolf instincts instead.

I mean, it had to have been instead since my wolf never came but the alertness, sharpened eyesight, and enhanced hearing all began that night. Maybe I mutated? Was that even possible? Both my parents are purebreds.

I stopped in my tracks suddenly as I heard the light crushing of twigs,

“Border patrols”. I said to myself as their scent filled my nose and I noticed I had crossed a pack border.

Oh yes, my sense of smell had also gone from zero to a hundred. These were the same abilities my folks had but only when they were in their wolf form.

Was this my wolf form then?

The stick placed against my neck didn’t take me by surprise, I heard them coming even before they got there and they obviously noticed.

“Why did you trespass on our land child?”

“I am the new maid for the Gamma of Kirjan’s wife, Lady Freya. I only wish to pass your land on my way there.”

“This is Kirjan kid.” I heard a heavily built man walk towards me, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

He wasn’t exactly older than me, probably in his early twenties, but still called me kid, how convenient. He also seemed to have just shifted to his human form to meet me and was very comfortable in his own tanned skin which was lined with toned muscles that could make any woman blush, but I was not moved, do I even have the right to feel that way right now?

“I am Gamma Dilan of Kirjan. Where are you from?” He asked as he stopped in front of me.

“My name is Silveen from Estradol, I was sent here as a maid for Lady Freya. The Alpha sent me”

I said handing him the letter I had pulled out of my backpack at one point in time, he gently collected it and read its content, glanced at me with a frown, probably wondering why an eighteen-year-old girl who should have begun to undergo training to join the pack warriors should be sent there as a maid instead.

He handed the letter over to one of the men who had now gathered around me and his eyes glazed over as if giving them an instruction through the pack link.

The two werewolf clans have always been friends, maybe due to the fact that they were neighbors and small in size, I never knew why, and I don’t care anymore, I am here as a slave after all, or is that not what an Omega was?

The daughter of the Gamma of Estradol sent here as an omega was the surest possible means of averting a curse, but no one here was going to know that.

“Let’s go”. Gamma Dilan said to me after his private discussion with his men, who left immediately, probably going back to their posts.

Another man brought him his clothes and I looked away as he put them on out of courtesy even though I could guess he didn’t really care if I watched him or not. When he was done, I followed him silently, along with two other men as we began the long walk to the village.

The walk might have been silent and awkward, but my ears weren’t exactly silent, so it was for me.

“How did you know to come here when you didn’t know the way?” He asked and I knew he was trying to clear the awkwardness in the air. Maybe they felt it was so weird that an eighteen-year-old girl had so little to say and so little curiosity.

“I always heard that the Kirjan village was north of ours. Didn’t know how far north though”. I replied with a shrug.

“You must have a good sense of direction then”. I looked up at him slightly taken aback by his kind statement, it was the first time someone complimented me.

He gave me a faint smile before focusing on the road once again. I bowed my head staring at the forest floor not sure how I was to respond.

***

I heard the noise from the village long before we even got there, and I knew for sure that though their pack might be friends with ours, we were different in so many ways and these people had a completely different scent and a different atmosphere, almost as if I was home, it is my new home after all so I could relax and have a fresh start.

“We are home.” Gamma Dilan said as we stepped out of the forest into the clearing as if reading my mind.

I took the opportunity to take it all in, the village in front of me, the running children, and the people going about their activities. The mansion not far from us, which I guessed was the home of the Alpha.

What was their Alpha like I wondered? I had heard that the Alpha, Eric was practically a boy, two years my senior, he took over when he became eighteen. His father had died in a battle with the Austan wolf pack, which was then the strongest wolf pack in the realm. He, however, didn’t die alone, he took the feared Alpha of the Austan pack with him, fighting him to the death. All this happened when Alpha Eric was just two years old. So I knew for sure that he was nothing like the Alpha of my former clan.

“Is there a problem?” I heard one of the men whose name I didn’t know ask.

I looked at him confused, then I realized that I had been standing there staring. I shook my head hurriedly then I ran over to catch up with them and we continued walking.

As we walked past the large house, I gasped as an intoxicating scent filled my nose. I turned towards the house, stopping short on my tracks, transfixed on that spot. The men also stopped, staring at me, rather confused.

“Is there a problem?” Gamma Dilan asked me this time, but I just looked at him as my eyes glazed over, unsure.

It was different, certainly different from the scent I perceived from the whole village. It was it, wasn’t it? The scent everyone wanted to perceive all their life, the scent of their better half, the scent of my mate.

But why was it coming from here? Why was it coming from the Alpha’s house? Certainly, it could not be...

I shook away the thought and turned to the Gamma who was about to ask me the same question again, this time with an irritated look.

I cut him off.

“Whose home is this?” I asked even though I knew whose it was.

I had to ask, I had to hope I was wrong. I could not become the Alpha’s mate if that was the case, this would end up becoming a huge disaster, I can’t shift!

The Gamma Dilan’s men shared surprised glances and then stared at the Gamma who only frowned at the question, hoping he would answer me.

“Why? You’ve been here before?”

“No... No... I just...” I trailed off not knowing how to explain myself without being looked at as a stupid fool.

I gave the house one last look getting off my high horse and back to my senses as I remembered my position in this clan. Even if, which is certainly impossible, that I was the Alpha’s mate. It doesn’t change the fact that I was now an omega, an omega who can’t shift.

This possibility would be the birth of a drama I had no desire for.

I threw these thoughts to the back of my mind and followed the men silently to the house that would now become my new home.