NADINE

I tried to convince myself that the Moon Goddess never played favorites. That she was a kind-hearted Goddess who only wanted the best for her people. But when she let my parents die right before my eyes on my twelfth birthday, my perception of her changed in a blink of an eye.

"Wake up, Nads! You wouldn't want to get the Alpha hungry before training!" a familiar man shouted as he banged the wooden door of my room that's barely attached to the concrete wall.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips after I pulled the sheets down to my chest. My body was still sore and I was having a hard time healing lately due to the restrain anklet I was forced to wear. No matter how many times I tried to tell Alpha that I didn't start the fight against Kelsey, I was still the one punished. Now I had to wear this stupid silver anklet for another week.

I knew he sided with Kelsey because he hated me so much. My mother was his true mate, but mum lost the fight for the Luna position before. They had no choice but to marry someone else. Mum fell in love eventually with my Dad, who happened to be Alpha Lawrence's Beta... and his younger brother.

Alpha couldn't accept the fact that Mum and Dad had me out of love because he never moved on from my mother, so when my parents died, he gave me a choice. Either to leave the pack and get myself killed by hunters or stay as their slave.

So much for being his true love's daughter.

I promised Mum and Dad I would stay, so I chose the harder route in life. I guess I didn't really have the right to whine about all the abuse and unfair treatment I was getting. I had a choice, and I chose this life.

The last thing I would want right now is another beating and an anklet just because I was late for work, so I pulled myself up. The Delta banged my door once more, harder this time. Afraid it would finally break, I yelled. "I'm up!"

When I heard him leave, I groaned and stretched my arms. My bones cracked and, somehow, I felt relieved. My bare feet felt the cold floor before it searched for the comfort of my old flip flops. With my still sleepy eyes, I looked around my tiny room I had been calling home since I lost Mum and Dad.

Nothing changed. My clothes were still inside a cardboard box I stole in the kitchen. Some books from Mum's stuff were stacked next to my bed to be a night stand where I placed our family photo, my room key, mom's locket, and a small jar where I put some of the change I was getting whenever Alpha would send me to the downtown to get groceries. Funny as how it would sound, mother gave me her locket before she ran out of breath.

I didn't understand why, and there were days that I didn't want to wear it anymore, but I promised her that I would always have it. I was twelve that night. Maybe I just didn't get her right when she said, "keep it all the time and know that no matter how difficult life will be, you are a product of love."

I knew my parents loved me more than anything. What I didn't understand was why she gave me a locket that had her and Alpha Lawrence's photo. I knew they had history, but Mum made sure that I came into this world because my parents were in love.

I shook my head and got up to take a shower before I got emotional after seeing my late folks' picture. I'd been on my own for about nine years. I had already accepted the fact that I didn't belong to the golden list of Moon Goddess' favorite creations.

After I changed into a pair of faded jeans and a white shirt, I stormed out. My room was near the storage room. With a few more steps, I was already in front of the kitchen.

Because of my restraint, I failed to sense the man hiding behind the kitchen door. He snatched me by my arm and shut the door immediately before anyone could see us together.

"Luhence." I breathed out a sigh of relief.

My boyfriend, who happened to be the next Alpha of our pack, smiled at me before he wrapped his strong arms around my tiny body.

"I missed you, Nads. It's been a week." He leaned down to kiss me lightly, which I gladly answered. "I heard you got into a fight with Kelsey when I left with Dad's Beta."

I rolled my eyes and traced my fingertips on his jaw. "She started it. She hit me first."

Luhence's eyes turned soft. He raked a few strands of my sandy blonde hair towards the back of my ear before he heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

"Lu, even when you're here, you're not allowed to do that." My eyes fell on his chest as I felt my throat tighten. "We can't let them find out about us or they'll surely get rid of me before the selection night."

He pulled me closer and pecked gentle kisses on top of my hair. I inhaled his natural manly scent mixed with his perfume and let it intoxicate me. Despite all the bullshit I'd been enduring over the past years, I still wanted to call myself lucky for having him as my mate.

"I believe in you, Nads. I promise you, you'll have a better life after the selection."

A slight nod was my only answer before I hugged him back.

I could never afford to lose him in that match...

I need to win the fight for the Luna position. My relationship with Luhence wasn't enough to secure my spot in his life, because under the rules of Nirvana, only the strongest she-wolf in the pack was allowed to be the Luna. I have to prove myself worthy of being his mate, even if it would kill me.

"I have to go. Dad wants me to lead the training today." He gave me a kiss on my forehead. "Don't work yourself up too much."

As if I had a choice.

I was the slave of Zenios. I was never entitled to rest while chores weren't done yet.

When Luhence left, I immediately got rid of his scent all over me before I started on my long list of chores for today. When I finished cooking, I went to Alpha's office to clean it.

I was in the middle of scrubbing the floor when Alpha Lawrence came in. His expression immediately darkened the moment he laid eyes on me, probably because every time he sees me, he also sees the younger version of my mom. The best I could do for both of us was bow my head in resignation.

I shuddered when he sighed heavily. "How many times do I have to tell you to finish cleaning my office before I come here?" his voice thundered.

My heart began banging wildly inside my chest as fear thrummed in my body. I froze on my spot like the hopeless child he once beaten up to death just because I kept reminding him that my mother loved someone else.

He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up. His grip was so tight that tears began to build up in my eyes even when I didn't want to cry.

"F--Forgive me, Alpha," I begged with a shaking voice.

He looked at me with darkened pools, but when he saw the locket I forgot to hide inside my shirt, his face turned red as fury consumed him. "How dare you wear Nimpha's necklace..." he said between gritted teeth before he dragged me outside his office.

I struggled to catch up with his big steps, and every time I would get left behind, he'd tighten his grip on my hair and harshly drag me.

Tears began to trail down my cheeks as I felt like my scalp was getting stripped off of my skull. When we reached the barracks, Alpha threw me towards the middle of the trainees. I spotted Luhence in front. When he tried to come near me, I immediately shook my head, telling him not to do anything.

His father must never find out about us or else he would kick me out so I wouldn't be able to join the selection. Luhence needs to be Alpha first. Once the position was already transferred to him, I would finally have the chance to join the fight.

"Dad, what's going on?" Luhence asked his father while trying to hide the anger brewing inside him.

Alpha went towards my side and grabbed me by my hair again before he looked around. "This pack isn't for the weaklings, the soft-hearted."

He let go of my hair and kicked me on my side. With my restrain anklet still on, I felt the immeasurable pain of what he had done. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut while I curled into a ball on the ground. My breathing hitched, but I knew Alpha was only getting started.

"You!" He pointed to one of the trainee warriors. "Come over here and show me your best kick."

"Dad! What the hell?! You're gonna get her killed!"

"Shut up, Luhence!" He glared at his son. Afraid that Luhence would come forward to help me, I tried to open my eyes and shook my head.

His face darkened when he understood my reasons, and as much as he wanted to protest, I showed him that my decision was final.

One by one, trainees punched me, kicked me, even threw me across the room while my mate was left frozen on his spot, unable to blink while watching me get tortured because of his own father.

I coughed blood, my eyes couldn't open anymore. My whole body was sore and my head was already bleeding, but they didn't stop. Every punch, every kick, every slap, I looked the Alpha straight in the eye, wondering if he was really that heartless or it was just his heart had died with my mother and that he couldn't feel remorse anymore.

Maybe he hated me because of my parents' love for each other, but he hated me more because he was blaming me for my mother's death.

If Mum didn't try to protect me from the hunters when we were attacked after they took me to the beach for my birthday, maybe the love of his life was still alive.

Another punch hit my back, but my eyes remained on the Alpha. When I fell on the ground and my locket opened, I saw how his eyes shifted from my bloody face to the photograph inside the locket.

It was... him and my mum, and he hated that I wore it just because it was my mother's.

He signaled the others to stop. I kept coughing blood when he walked towards me. He went on one knee and snatched the locket from my neck. When he saw the photo, pain crossed his face as if he was still grieving.

After all these years, it was still my mom...

I tried to lie on my back, my eyes remained looking at him as I tried to force a broken smile. My tears trailed down the sides of my face as I spoke. "I'm sorry... if... mum was not that... strong to win..."

My eyes drifted towards Luhence, who was looking at his father with so much fury. All his life, Luhence hated his dad for not loving him and his mother.

I can't let Luhence end up like his Dad someday.

I have to win that fight. I have to be his Luna...