The Moon's Choice

Lyra couldn't sleep. Martha's words echoed in her mind all night. True mate. The very thought made her heart race. How could she, a simple omega, be the true mate of the future Alpha?

Dawn was approaching when Lyra grabbed her small bag of belongings. She had packed only essentials—a change of clothes, her mother's necklace, and a worn book of wolf legends. If they were sending her away, she would go with dignity.

She crept through the silent house, careful not to wake anyone. The front door was guarded, so she headed for the kitchen exit instead. Just as she reached for the handle, a voice froze her in place.

"Going somewhere?"

Lyra spun around. Erik stood in the doorway, his powerful frame blocking her escape. The kitchen suddenly felt tiny with his presence filling it.

"I—I was just..." Her voice died as the pulling sensation returned, stronger than ever. Her skin tingled, and her wolf stirred inside her, desperate to get closer to him.

Erik took a step toward her. "You're running away."

"I'm following orders," Lyra whispered. "Your father said all unmated females my age must leave."

Another step. "And if I asked you to stay?"

Lyra's breath caught. "Why would you ask that?"

Erik moved closer until she could feel the heat radiating from his body. His scent—pine and mountain air—surrounded her. The same scent as the black wolf she'd seen yesterday.

"That was you," she gasped. "In the garden. You were the wolf."

His eyes darkened. "I needed to see you. To be sure."

"Sure of what?"

"This." Erik reached out, his fingers hovering over her cheek without touching. Even without contact, Lyra felt the connection between them spark and flare.

"What's happening to us?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"You know what this is," he said. His eyes—golden now, his wolf close to the surface—fixed on hers. "I've waited my whole life to feel this."

Lyra backed away until she hit the counter. "You're engaged to Clara."

"A political match. Not a true mate bond." His jaw tightened. "When I saw you yesterday, when our eyes met... I felt it. The pull. The connection."

"This can't be real," Lyra protested, even as her body leaned toward him instinctively. "I'm nobody. Just an omega."

Erik shook his head. "The moon doesn't care about rank. It chooses who belongs together."

His hand finally touched her cheek, and the contact sent a jolt through both of them. Lyra gasped as warmth spread from his fingertips across her skin. Images flashed in her mind—running through forests, hunting under moonlight, two wolves moving as one.

"You feel it too," Erik whispered, his voice rough with emotion.

Before Lyra could respond, the kitchen door burst open. Clara stood there, her face twisted with rage.

"What is this?" she hissed.

Erik dropped his hand but didn't step away from Lyra. "Clara, we need to talk."

"Talk?" Clara laughed bitterly. "I find you with her the day before our wedding is announced, and you want to talk?"

"Wedding?" Lyra's eyes widened. "I thought it was next week."

"Plans change," Clara snapped. "Mother convinced Alpha Varian to make it tomorrow. Before any... complications arise." Her eyes narrowed at Lyra. "You should already be gone."

Erik growled, a sound that made both women shiver. "You can't do this."

"Watch me." Clara's smile was cold. "Guards!"

Two burly pack guards appeared in the doorway. Clara pointed at Lyra. "Take her to the south territory now. She's disobeyed direct orders from the Luna."

The guards hesitated, looking at Erik.

"Don't touch her," Erik warned, stepping in front of Lyra protectively.

"Son." Alpha Varian's commanding voice cut through the tension as he entered the kitchen. "Step aside."

Erik's fists clenched. "Father, she's my—"

"Silence!" Alpha Varian roared. The kitchen walls seemed to shake with the force of his Alpha command. "This omega means nothing. Your duty is to the pack, to your intended Luna."

"She's not just an omega," Erik insisted. "She's my true mate. I know it now."

Lyra watched Alpha Varian's face darken with anger, but something else flickered in his eyes. Fear?

"There's no such thing," he said dismissively. "True mates are myths, stories to entertain pups."

"Then why send away all the females my age?" Lyra surprised herself by speaking up. "If you don't believe in true mates, why fear me?"

Eleanor appeared behind Alpha Varian, her face tense. "Guard your tongue, omega. You forget your place."

Lyra felt a sudden surge of courage. The pull toward Erik gave her strength she'd never felt before. "My place is here. The moon decided that, not you."

Eleanor's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Take her away," she ordered the guards. "Now."

The guards moved forward, but Erik shifted instantly, his body blurring as he transformed into the massive black wolf Lyra had seen in the garden. He stood between her and the guards, teeth bared in warning.

Everyone froze. An Alpha's son shifting indoors, challenging his father's authority—it was unheard of.

"Erik, stop this madness," Alpha Varian commanded. When Erik didn't back down, the older Alpha's voice dropped to a dangerous tone. "There are things you don't understand. Forces at work beyond a simple mate bond."

Lyra felt something stir inside her chest—her own wolf, awakening with a power she'd never felt before. Warmth spread through her limbs as her wolf pushed to break free, called by Erik's presence.

"She's starting to shift," Eleanor gasped, backing away. "Stop her!"

But it was too late. For the first time in her life, Lyra's transformation came easily, naturally. One moment she was a terrified girl, the next a sleek wolf with fur the color of autumn fire.

Gasps filled the room. Omegas rarely shifted fully—they lacked the strength. Yet here she stood, her wolf form powerful and vibrant.

Erik's black wolf moved closer, pressing his muzzle against hers in a gesture of recognition. The connection between them blazed like wildfire, visible now to everyone in the room.

"Impossible," Clara whispered.

Alpha Varian's face had gone white. "Get Madeline," he told one of the guards. "Bring the healer now."

Lyra's wolf didn't understand the human words, but she felt the threat in the air. She and Erik stood together, their fur touching, two halves of a whole finally united.

A commotion at the door drew everyone's attention. Marcus, Erik's Beta, burst into the already crowded kitchen.

"Alpha Varian," he panted, "we have a problem. Hunters spotted at the north border. They've crossed into our territory."

"Hunters?" Alpha Varian's attention shifted instantly. "How many?"

"At least twenty. Armed with silver."

The tension in the room changed. Human hunters with silver weapons were the gravest threat any wolf pack could face.

Alpha Varian turned to Erik, who was still in wolf form. "We need you. The pack needs its future Alpha."

Lyra felt Erik's conflict as if it were her own—his duty to protect the pack warring with his need to stay with her, to protect their newfound bond.

Eleanor seized the moment. "Take the girl south while we deal with this threat," she told the guards. "Now, while he's distracted!"

Lyra snarled, backing away from the guards. But a sharp pain suddenly pierced her side. She looked down to see a small dart sticking out of her fur. Her legs wobbled as her vision began to blur.

The last thing she saw was Erik lunging toward her, his wolf eyes wild with fury and fear. Then darkness took her, and she knew nothing more.