2
Ravenna's POV
"Ravenna.... I really......need your help. I'm in deep trouble and only you can save my soul."
My help? Deep trouble? My stomach dropped. Something in his voice and in the way he thrusted into me earlier had told me something was wrong. And now -he needed my help. How could I possibly be of help to the Alpha heir who had thousands of people at his beck and call?
But anyway, I lifted my head slowly. I should hear whatever he had to say. "What is it?"
He sat up, staring at the ceiling for a long moment. "There was a warrior. One of the Crescent Moon delegates. I... I killed him."
The world stilled. This was really deep trouble like he had said.
This was disastrous. The Moon Crescent Pack and the Bloodmoon Pack had been at war with each other for a very long time. But yesterday the Moon Crescent had come to the Bloodmoon pack and extended a peaceful alliance. But now that Ronan had killed one of their warriors, it would only fuel the battle.
The air disappeared from my lungs. "Ronan-"
"It was bad," he said quickly, his voice low with fear and regret. "I lost control. He's unrecognisable. There's going to be a fallout, Ravenna. Big fallout. If they found out I killed him-my father will disown me. Our Pack would suffer attacks."
"And you want me to take the blame?" I asked, already knowing what he was driving at.
"You're an omega," he said, his voice almost pleading. "No one expects anything from you. You will be exiled for a few weeks. Father had already planned to pass the throne to me. Once he does, I'll come for you. I promise. I'll make our relationship official. I'll claim you as my mate in front of everyone."
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't say a word. My thighs were still wet from what we just had. And now this?
"You love me, right?" He asked, taking my hands in his. "Because I love you, Ravenna. And I need you now more than ever."
I looked at him-this was my mate, my king, and the only man who was meant for me. Just a few weeks and everything would be over. I trusted Ronan more than I trusted myself. He would definitely keep his promises. He would definitely come for me.
Alpha. If he becomes the Alpha, then I'm made for life. I will be able to change my fate from being a worthless, wolfless Omega and slave-to being the Luna. Then no one would ever treat me like trash. I'll be honoured, respected, and powerful. This is a chance for me to help myself, while helping my mate.
Then I nodded slowly despite the fear coursing through me. "Yes."
"Oh," he sighed, pulling me into a tight embrace, my breasts pressing against his chiseled chest. "Thank you, Ravenna," he muttered, his breath hot against his ears. "Thank you so much."
He pulled out of the embrace and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. When he withdrew from the kiss I had expected him to dress up and sneak out as always, but instead he positioned me on the bed and slipped between my legs.
"Again," I whispered, my voice raw. "My body still hurts....."
"I know my little wolf," he replied, positioning his dick at my entrance. "But I'll miss you. I need to feel you again.... one last time."
With that, he thrust into me, harder and claiming me once more as if this was our goodbye.
_______
Next Morning.
"You," Alpha Lucian's voice-thick with disbelief echoed through the grand wall-which was filled with pack members. "How did a weak Omega manage to kill such a powerful warrior of the Moon Crescent Pack?"
I stood before him, trembling as his fury-filled eyes locked with mine. I was surrounded by the guards-I was already tagged a criminal.
"He wasn't watching. So I attacked him from behind."
A gasp echoed in the room from the pack members, the warriors, and the delegates of the Moon Crescent pack.
Alpha didn't believe me still as he bared his teeth. "Even at that, how can a mere Omega slaughter a trained warrior like that. He was barely recognizable."
Desperation clawed at me as I tried to convince him. "I... I was fast," I replied, lowering my head as if he would somehow deduce the truth from my features.
Ronan stood behind the crowd. He was dressed in a breathtaking regal outfit. He looked calm. Almost... cold like I truly killed the warrior. Like I wasn't taking the fall for him. But I made a mental note that he must have been like that to make everything more convincing.
Then, like a nightmare, Thalia-the leader of the delegate and the Crescent Moon Alpha's daughter-strode in-looking very beautiful and a bit of powerful princess that she was. She strode towards Ronan and kissed him full on the mouth.
It was like the world stilled. I froze.
No. This can't be happening. I must have been seeing things. I closed my eyes and when I opened it-she had withdrawal from the kiss-but Ronan's hand was still on her waist.
The people didn't look surprised. In fact they weren't even paying any attention to them. All eyes were fixed on the weak Omega who had managed to kill a trained warrior.
Pain stabbed through me, deeper than any blade. But I didn't react. I couldn't.
Then Alpha stepped back. "You'll be imprisoned until further notice. The Crescent Moon demands justice."
Chains were clasped around my wrists as they dragged me away. But my eyes strained back at Ronan who was smiling with Thalia like nothing happened.
_______
The prison door creaked open, echoing through the dark, quiet night. I looked up from where I sat, the blood that slurred from the silver cuffs around my wrist already dried up.
"Ronan?"
There he was. He stepped inside, his presence towering over me. For a moment, hope ignited inside me. Maybe he has come to fix this -that the kiss with Thalia earlier was part of the plan.
I forced a smile. "You could've warmed me about warnedss with Thalia..... " I swallowed, the lump in my throat. "You really made me scared."
He stepped closer and his torch light caught his face. It was everything I have never seen hadreverld. Emotionless.
"It wasn't a plan," he said at last, his words slow and heavy. "The kiss..... It was real. Thalia -she's my mate now."
My heart pierced at his words.
"No." I shook my head frantically, trying so hard to deny it even though I had heard him clearly. "You told me you loved me. You told me you were going to come for me."
"I thought I loved you....but I realised TButia was actually the woman meant for me," he replied, avoiding my eyes.
My stomach twisted in painful knots. "Ronan, please don't do this. You promised me a future...."
A cold, sharp voice cut through the air. "Quit dreaming, Omega."
Luna Selena entered, every features in her featurehed with disdain. "You?" She sneered. "A Luna? You're a filthy. Just some available hole for my son to bury his urges in. Nothing more."
I turned to Ronan, my heart shattering into pieces. "Tell her, Ronan. Tell her she's wrong."
Silence.
He didn't say anything. He didn't even look at me.
"Ronan....." The silence lingered, killing me by each passing withcond.
Then finally. "She's not wrong. You're just a convenient hole for my release."
My world tilted, and the tears that have been pilinghadall day finally streamed down my face.
Before I could say more, he continued. "I, Ronan of the Bloodmoon Pack, reject you, Ravenna as my mate."
Pain ripped my soul apart as the mate bond shattered like glass. A scream tore through my throat as it felt like untamed fire was ripping from the spot he had marked me. I couldn't sit still and had to collapsed to thecollapseor.
"I accept," I gasped through the agony. "I accept your rejection."
Selena stepped forward, calm and composed just as always. She pulled out a dagger from her robes.
"Do it," she said, offering it to Ronan. "Seal your place as Alpha. End her life. You don't want her telling everyone that you killed the Moon Crescent warrior, right?"
Ronan looked at the dagger. He shook his head stepping back. "Mother....."
She hissed. "Will you stop being a coward. Do it. Or lose everything."
He looked at me and passed the dagger back to her. "I can't."
Selena didn't hesitate. She crouched lower, drove the blade down my face. My screams echoed through the night at the pain rippling me aparrippinghe wasn't done yet. Finally, she drove the blade into my chest.
I felt it all-the pain that burned through my chest, my heart stilling. Blood slide down my faslidd also poured from my chest.
My eyes locked with the same man who had promised me everything just yesternight.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't cry.
He just turned and walked away.
And the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was Luna Selena's triumphant smile -like she had just gotten rid of her biggest worry.
Oh..... Is this how am going to die?I'ms this how I'm going to lose my life after everything I had done for hI'veave up my dig?ity, my body, my freedom just for him.
I echoed through my almost lifeless mind. 'Moon Goddess..... please. Save me...... just this once.'
Then darkness swallowed me.
Lunarstrike Pack.
7 AM.
Ravenna's POV
I slipped on my skirts slowly, feeling Damon's eyes on me. Damon is the Alpha heir of the Lunarstrike pack-it was a small pack in the southern province-the people were nice and accommodating. His gaze pierced into my naked back. The sheets were tangled and the smell of our orgasm still thick in the air. I reached for my bra and quickly slipped it on, then my blouse.
"Vexley...." Damon's voice was low and almost pleading.
I didn't look at him. I didn't bother answering.
He moved behind me, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight. And I felt his warm and gentle palm, squeezing my clothed breasts a little bit hard as if he wanted to memorize me with my touch alone. I stiffened, my breath caught between protest and surrender as I bit back the moan threatening to escape my lips-I couldn't let him know how much impact he has on me.
"Please," he whispered, his lips warm against my ears. "I love you. Be mine. I want you as my mate. I want to marry you, Vexley."
I rolled my eyes. Of course, I knew where he was driving to.
Instead of him to just let us enjoy the moment, but he'd ruin it with his marriage talk everytime. I know Damon is a nice and kind man: He made sure his people accepted me and the Lunarstrike pack felt like home.
We started off as friends-he would always comfort me in my lowest time and encourage me that I could survive my past and become someone too. Damon trained me in marital arts-I even joined the Royal bodyguards. I was a skilled fighter even though I was still wolfless.
But everything between us changed one night in the pack garden. We gave in to our desires and since then we have been sleeping together-Damon have a thick, long cock that would always have any woman hooked.
Everyone in the pack knew about us and they had thought we were something serious and that one day I'll become their Luna. That was delusional!
"Love? Marriage?" I gave a hollow laugh, turning at him and slipping his hand away from my breast. "Those aren't in my dictionary anymore."
His face twisted in frustration, confusion. "I know what you've been through-"
"No," I snapped, my voice cold as ice. "You don't. And you never will."
Damon stood from the bed, naked-his cock was still a little hard. He crouched down in front of me, his golden hair was a tousled mess and his eyes-those affectionate eyes-were searching mine for something he'd never find. Something I had thrown away that night after Ronan betrayed me. That night Selena ripped my face and chest apart.
"I could come with you to the Academy," he said, his voice desperate. "At least drive you-"
"No," I said firmly, standing up and walking out of the room. "You don't have to." I knew Damon meant well but I can't let anyone close-not anymore.
"I'm going to miss you," he simply said.
I paused in the doorway. "Don't." Then I walked out.
_________
The Elder's mansion was quiet when I arrived, the morning sun filtering in through the window blinds. I stepped into the room I had lived in for the past three years and shut the door behind me.
As I stood by the closet trying to pack some of the essentials, the mirror was like a magnet, drawing me in. I stood before it. The girl staring back at me wasn't Ravenna, the lowlife Omega and slave. I am now Vexley Aleron.
Long dark lashes, almost white, perfect skin. High cheekbones, plump lips. A total stranger.
More beautiful than Ravenna. More deadly too
I remembered everything-the pain, the betrayal.
Elder Aleron saved me. He gave me a new life, hope and home.
______
I was in the coma for four months and when I woke up bandages were all over my body. But my face felt quite different. Felt like it doesn't belong to me.
The nurse hesitated before handing me a mirror. When I saw my reflection, I screamed.
And when I asked for explanations, I was told Elder Aleron found me in the forest where I have been left to die by Selena and Ronan. He saved me, arranged for everything-called in the best magician healers in the kingdom to treat my wounds and got in contact with the best surgeons who did a face surgery on me because my old face was ripped beyond repair.
Instead of gratitude, I was angry on why he had to go through so much stress just to save a low life like me. But the elder had stepped closer.
"You shouldn't be angry at yourself for being a good person. It's those who hurt you that deserves to suffer." He pulled me into a comforting embrace and said one statement that I have never forgotten since then.
"Let this be your second chance," he had told me. "To live... or to destroy those who tried to kill you."
So, I chose the later. Armed with nothing but a steel heart and a new identity, I promise to destroy them all-to pay them back for the wrongs against me.
______
Bloodmoon Academy
I stood at the gates of the Bloodmoon Academy. The academy loomed ahead-proud and regal. A place for warriors and elites-the cruelest and the untouchable trained here. A place where I once had no place. But now, I walked it's grounds freely.
The Bloodmoon Academy was owned by the Bloodmoon Pack, and I had waited all my life to be here.
Inside, the dormitory halls were already bustling with voices. Eyes fixed on me as I searched for my dorm. I knew why they were staring-they were probably attracted to my beauty. The surgeon had done a perfect job on my face that I couldn't enter a room without being noticed.
I located my dorm immediately. I stepped into the room-which was neat and decent enough. I dropped my bag on the empty bed.
A girl with dark red hair and emerald eyes looked up from her bunk, a smile on her lips. "You're my new roommate?"
I nodded.
"I'm Astrid. You?"
"Vexley," I said.
She tilted her head. "I don't know someone could transfer this late. Only two years until graduation."
"I've always loved the Bloodmoon Academy," I said smoothly. "Thought I'd finish at the best Academy in the kingdom."
Astrid shrugged. "Fair enough." She paused. "Would you be free to attend the Alpha coronation party today."
I turned, my heart skipped a beat. "What?"
"Yeah. Big celebration. They're crowning Ronan-Alpha Lucian's son. It's gonna be massive. You should come."
A smirk tugged at my lips, my heart swelling with gratitude to the Moon Goddess. Everything is falling into place so fast.
Ronan. My traitor. My mate. My enemy.
I said in a smooth voice. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Now.... Let's go cause disaster.
Ravenna's POV
"You look.... wow." Astrid's voice was breathy, her mouth wide open in admiration as she stared at me. "Vexley, you're stunning. Honestly, you're even more beautiful than Thalia."
I blinked. "Thalia?"
"Yes," she replied, nodding. "She's Ronan, mate, and everyone thought she was the prettiest girl in the academy, but I think you're prettier."
Of course, I know Thalia quite well. The beautiful Moon Crescent Princess.
I turned to the mirror and studied the reflection staring back- a silky black gown clinging to every curve, and my long raven-dark hair flowing down my shoulders in waves. The makeup was simple yet elegant, and the pair of striking silver eyes.
I smiled faintly. "Thanks, Astrid. Let's hope the crowd agrees."
Astrid grinned. "Oh, they will. You might catch Ronan's attention tonight."
I didn't respond. Inside my heart twisted painfully at the mere sound of his name. If his name could unravel me this much, then I wondered how I'd react if I eventually saw him.
______
The grand hall was a sight to behold-huge chandeliers lit up the room, and flowers adorned every corner in the Bloodmoon colours-Black and red. Laughter and chatter filled the entire room.
The moment Astrid and I walked into the room, heads turned as usual, and I received a lot of compliments telling me how beautiful I looked.
Astrid leaned in, whispering, "I told you they would agree,"
I forced a smile at her. An unknown feeling settled inside me as I recognised some of the pack members from three years ago. But now they weren't staring at me with disgust, or rage-they were staring at me in admiration, like I was someone special, someone valuable.
Then they entered. Ronan, dressed in a black robe adorned with golden cufflinks, walked between his parents like a prince walking into his future. Alpha Lucian's face was as calm as always, and he looked proud of his son's achievement. Luna Selena -that witch was cold as ever. But all I could focus on was him. The same man who once held me whispered promises into my ears before throwing me out to the wolves to devour.
My heart thundered painfully in my chest. My breaths became erratic, and I realized in that moment that Ronan's betrayal was more painful than the dagger Selena drove into my heart.
I had to get out of here-it was too suffocating in here.
I turned to Astrid. "I'll be back."
She nodded without question-her attention was fixed on the same set of people I was trying to get away from.
Outside in the garden, the evening air wrapped around me. I took a seat on the bench, trying to steady myself.
"I guess crowds aren't for everyone."
I turned to my left, where the deep voice came from.
A man in his mid-thirties stood a few miles away, watching me. He was tall, effortlessly attractive, with sharp features and dark eyes that seemed to see my future. His white shirt was slightly unbuttoned, displaying his athletic build. He had that calm and commanding presence that no one could ignore.
He stepped closer and, without permission, took a seat beside me. "I'm Professor Kael." He extended a hand.
I hesitated. If there was something I had learnt all these years was never to trust blindly. But he had the aura that made it seem like I couldn't refuse him, so I took it. "Vexley Aleron."
"Transfer student?"
"Yes, I am."
"Strange timing," he noted. "Most people don't transfer with just two years left."
Why did he care? I forced myself not to snap at him and offered the same excuse I gave Astrid. "I've always dreamt of finishing at Bloodmoon. It's the best."
He gave a knowing smirk. "That's a good lie. Polished. Believable."
I frowned, caught off guard. "Excuse me?"
"You can fool everyone else, Miss Aleron," he said softly. "But not me."
What? Did he know? How....?
Before I could recover from my shock, he gave a small nod. "Nice meeting you." Then he stood up and walked away, leaving me there, confused and shaken.
Did he know something about me? My face? My identity? Those questions ran through my mind as I made my way back inside. I didn't watch where I was going and I bumped into someone.
"Watch where you're going, bitch," the girl snapped.
When I realised myself and looked up at her, my eyes narrowed, recognition flooding my features. Thalia.
Her icy blue eyes glared at me like I was filth-one who would stain her.
Anger rose inside me. "No, you watch where you're going, bitch," I fired back, matching her venom.
Gasps echoed from the students nearby. Thalia's face was covered in a mix of rage and shock. I bet no one dared speak to her in that manner before.
She raised her hand to slap me. "I should really teach you some -"
I caught her wrist mid-air, twisted it, and threw her across the floor. She landed on the floor with a loud, humiliating thud. At this moment, all eyes were already on us. Whispers, and gasps filled the entire room.
"You don't get to lay your hands on me," I warned, towering over Thalia. And I think, I did see a flicker of fear on her face.
And then they appeared. Ronan and Luna Selena stepped forward. Ronan's face landed on me-burning with anger and something else. Attraction? Or perhaps recognition? But I knew the asshole couldn't recognise me.
I don't know that strange look, but I knew it wasn't completely hatred. Selena's gaze was as sharp as a blade, shifting between me and Thalia, who was still on the floor.
"How did you get in here?" Selena demanded. "We don't allow filth here." Just the same words she had said to me all my life. "Guards-throw her out," she ordered.
My heart skipped a beat. No. I can't be on Selena's bad side now-not yet. I know just how much she loved to be in control and tame anyone who seemed to want to stand against her. She could throw me out of the Academy before I even begin my plans.
Two guards stepped forward immediately. But before they could touch me, I dropped to my knees.
"I'm sorry, Luna," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Please forgive me this your unruly servant."