"Oh no, you will come along with me. If not for the ceremony, you'll help me with my bag. My old shoulders should have a relief with you around" Nana insisted. She just wants Amelia to have this experience of a lifetime. Who knows, if she never gets a chance to witness another.

"But you know that..." Amelia began and Naga interrupted her. She was going to tell her that she'd always been forbidden to attend any ceremony in the village because of the curse on her but Nana wouldn't let her speak further.

She raised her hand to indicate that Amelia should be quiet and she did. This is not going to be her fault now. If she was going to be punished, then Nana would know that she was responsible for her error.

That night, Nana laid awake for a long time, she was deep in thought. She had lost her mate many years ago and the moon goddess didn't bless her with a second chance mate. She'd grown old and childless.

Then Amelia came into her life. Her father believed she was cursed and so did everyone else in the pack. But how can she be cursed with so much beauty and goodness in her. She's a normal child and deserves to have what others do.

She's going to be eighteen the next day. She's weak and wolfless. Besides being the cursed daughter of the Beta, she's often referred to as the worthless Omega.

Shouldn't she also be in the midst of other pack members if perhaps she would find her mate? Will the moon goddess deny her that privilege and chance as well? She's already cursed and wolfless, if she doesn't get to have a mate, her life would be worthless.

That is why Amelia will have to come with her to the Pack's convocation. She closed her eyes and made a silent prayer to the goddess that she give Amelia a mate that would accept her without doubt or bias.

The next morning, Amelia set out, dressed in a cheap dress. Her hair was styled to one side. She looked casual but beautiful. That day was her eighteenth birthday and she dressed in her best, even if her best was the rag thrown away by another family.

She was plain, without makeup but she looked attractive and pretty. Though many will not accept it, everyone knows Amelia is the most beautiful girl in the pack. They wondered why the moon goddess would bless her with such a rare gift despite knowing she was cursed.

"Happy birthday Amelia" Nana said and kissed her temple. She's beautiful and deserves two glances from anyone who comes across her.

"Thank you Nana" Amelia appreciated. She smiled and was happy. All her life, only Nana has ever wished her a happy birthday. That day was always spent mourning by her father and each year made her earn more hatefulness from him than the previous.

She remembered on her fifteenth birthday, she encountered her father coming from the forest. He probably went to place flowers by his mate's tombstone and on his way back, he crossed paths with her.

In his hatefulness he had raised his sword to cut her through when she took to her heels. "I curse you forever Amelia...forever you shall rot in pain and despair" That day she was so close to death and for a long time, the trauma of it haunted her.

As she set out, carrying Nana's medicine bag, she prayed silently in her heart that her father wouldn't see her. The crowd should hide her from his sight and she would be careful as well.

By the time they arrived at the Pack's ceremonial ground, it was already crowded. Had these people not spent the night in their homes? Nana sat down and Amelia tried sitting next to her when a woman stopped her "you are not allowed to come to gatherings, get away from here, you cursed Omega"

Amelia shivered, her fingers trembled and she was going to leave when Nana stopped her by holding her by the wrist "I brought her with me, so she will not go anywhere" she protested.

Amelia's eyes welled up. She said she wasn't going to come but Nana insisted. Now, she'd just arrived and she was already experiencing resentment from pack members. Other people had gathered, ready to have her thrown out.

"If she must be here, let her stay at the extreme end, not mixing with other werewolves. She's cursed and she must stay in solitary otherwise, we will all request that she should be beheaded..." the enraged woman growled.

"Nana..." Amelia whimpered. She hadn't come here only to be murdered on her eighteenth birthday. It should be another day, she shouldn't die on the same day as her mother's memorial day.

"She might have been cursed but she's my assistant and I have brought her along. Are you going to send her away or have her murdered before me?" Nana growled back at her.

Without waiting for her to say another thing, Nana glanced at Amelia and said "Sit at my feet" and Amelia did. Sitting at her feet meant sitting right on the floor and Amelia gladly accepted it.

The other pack members gnawed but couldn't do anything about it. Nana was the Pack's oldest healer, they can't just disrespect her that way. And since the cursed Omega is seated on the floor, that's better, she's meant to be on the floor where everyone can trample on her.

Amelia hugged her knees and stayed quietly as the announcement came that the Beta had arrived. Amelia shook and was more than happy that she's on the floor.

He wasn't going to see her. Everyone stood up as the Beta got to his place and sat down, his elegant daughter sat next to him. She's the most popular lady in the pack. For her fighting skill, her beauty and being the future Luna.

Then the Alpha arrived along with the future Alpha dressed in a royal robe, elegant, and graceful, a dreadful sight to behold as well.

As the future Alpha stood, side by side with his father, a sudden wave of scent hit Amelia. It was soothing and it sent a feeling of emotion into her.

She swallowed hard, is this what she'd been afraid of encountering all along? The scent became stronger and she raised her head to glance at the direction it was coming from...

As Amelia raised her head, her gaze locked with the last person she could ever imagine. She swallowed hard. The scent became stronger, more blinding of her thoughts and feelings and she felt a pull towards him instantly.

"I hereby present the future Alpha of this pack, Alpha Kasper..." the whole atmosphere was filled with applause, from one end of the ceremonial ground to the other and his father placed a crown on his head.

As soon as the crown touched his head, all the werewolves went on their knees and pledged allegiance to the new Alpha. The Beta stepped forward and bowed to the Alpha with his hand on his chest.

While this was going on, the scent was so hard and Alpha Kasper couldn't hold back. He descended the podium, he'd found his mate, he thought the moon goddess was going to give him Chelsea, his childhood sweetheart and best friend.

He knew the direction the scent was coming from. But he couldn't see who his mate was. Everywhere seemed crowded and he could only see a pair of eyes, he locked eyes with her but he needed her to step out, she's his mate, the future Luna of the pack.

If Chelsea can't be his Luna, she would be his chosen concubine, if she doesn't mind. He cannot live without Chelsea and he cannot as well, refuse the moon goddess chosen mate for him.

As Alpha Kasper walked closer, the scent became stronger, hitting him hard like an avalanche. Everyone immediately knows that the other part of the ceremony was about to be experienced.

Who is the chosen mate for the new Alpha?

Who's going to be the Pack's Luna?

The excitement was all over, everyone was still, calm and eagerly waiting for the Alpha to locate her. Chelsea thought he would come towards her, she was all smiles and she adjusted herself, this is the time when her position will be affirmed before the entire pack members.

That day, she was going to move into the pack house as Luna. Her dream was about to be fulfilled and she waited. Alpha Kasper got to the place where she was seated with her father, he paused and shook his head and kept walking towards the scent.

The closer he gets, the stronger the scent becomes. Amelia was shivering. The scent was getting stronger, was he coming towards her? It cannot be, no, it should be someone else, not the newly crowned Alpha.

She bowed her head, she dared not raise it. She shut her eyes. Her calamity was about to befall her. She doesn't know the gravity of her sin in her past life and this lifetime was the time of reckoning.

Chelsea's excitement was immediately drenched when she saw Alpha Kasper walk past her to the crowded pack members behind her. No, he cannot have another woman as his mate. Only she is qualified to be his mate, his Luna to rule by his side.

She's on par with him in terms of sword skills. She's beautiful and from a reputable family in the pack. Who dares to compete with her over Kasper? Everyone knows in the entire pack that she is his woman.

Beta Night subconsciously took his daughter's hand and massaged it. She should not worry, Alpha Kasper can reject whoever his mate is if he isn't pleased with her and chooses her instead.

Besides, she can still be his concubine and birth the future Alpha if all things goes well. In either way, she cannot lose Kasper, that is something he knows within him.

Suddenly, Amelia cannot help it but shut her eyes open. The scent was choking and it was just in time as the Alpha stood before her. The people seated around her, had all moved aside to give a proper glare on Amelia.

Alpha Kasper was about to command her to raise her head when she did. Was there already a mind link between them? And immediately he saw who his chosen mate was, he was mad and growled loudly.

Now, his parents came over, Beta Night did the same. Kasper glared at the woman on the floor sitting so below everyone in the pack, a real indication of her position.

When the Beta saw Amelia, his anger rose within him. He feels like breaking her neck at that moment. She's thin and weak and it wouldn't take too much pressure from his hands to break those long necks of hers.

Chelsea fisted her hand. Of all the women in the pack, the moon goddess didn't see anyone to choose for Alpha Kasper except the cursed Omega, a mistake from her father's bloodline?

Is the moon goddess slumbering or has lost her eye sight that she didn't see her and chose this worthless Omega to be the future Luna? Oh, now she knows that even the moon goddess is suffering from short eyesight.

"Get up!" The Alpha commanded and Amelia quickly did, bowing her head. She had said that she wasn't going to come but Nana insisted and now, her life was about to end, in such a gruesome way.

Nana stood up after Amelia. Her hands were shaking. She wanted the best for Amelia but not to have her die in such a way. Why is the moon goddess playing pranks on her and Amelia this way?

"Who said you could come here after being forbidden from gathering with other pack members?" Beta Night thundered. This evil thing that came from his bloodline to ruin their lives and happiness forever had come here to ruin Chelsea's happiness as well?

He glanced at her from her head to her toes and smirked. She looked so shabby and cheap. Her dress was best used to clean footwear than to be worn and yet, she brought her cursed self to the ceremonial ground?

"I did" Nana replied from behind Amelia before adding "If Amelia is going to be punished for coming here, I will gladly accept the punishment in her place" he declared.

Now, there were loud murmurings coming from all the pack members. "She was cursed, she wasn't supposed to be there"

"She is an outcast, a dredge and a calamity to her own family"

"She was supposed to have been beheaded and sacrificed to the ravins"

The murmurings were loud enough for the Alpha to hear them all. His palm formed into a fist and his eyes had taken a shade of fiery red. He was furious and mad and it was visible for all.

"Silence everyone!" Alpha Kasper thundered.

He gnawed, there was a loud noise of bones cracking and he glared at the shivering worthless Omega before him "How dare you bring your cursed face to my ceremony? How dare you spread your curse as far as inflicting a wrong feeling in the atmosphere?

I am Alpha Kasper, the bravest of the warriors in the cliffwood pack and the moon goddess has to curse me on a day like this by making you my mate? What bad omen did your presence bring along to my coronation?" He thundered.

Amelia was shivering like a spineless wolf that she is. This is not her fault at all. She wasn't expecting to have a mate in this life.

All she wants is a shelter over her head and food to eat. She would be asking for too much to conceive the thought of having a mate and having the Alpha in the first place.

Why has the moon goddess cursed her and allowed it to spread all over her this way? No one loves her, but at least she was left alive, thanks to Nana.

What will befall her now? What is her fate?

"I won't let your curse spread over the entire pack by making a useless thing like you my mate and the future Luna of this pack. I will reject you and banish you from this pack forever" Alpha Kasper declared.

If that day wasn't his special day and coronation, he would have dug his claws into her and plunged out her intestine and fed it to the birds. Does the moon goddess hate him and his pack this much?

When Nana heard the Alpha's words, she knew it was over for Amelia. She was the reason why she came to the gathering. She was the one that made it compulsory for her. She cannot watch that happen

What will she do now? The Alpha cannot marry her.

"I Alpha..."the Alpha was saying when Nana went on her knees. Her old bones hurt her, kneeling before a boy enough to be her grandson. But for Amelia, she would do anything.

"I ask that the Alpha listen to this old healer. I request for a favour, this is the last favour I want until my death. I am childless and I have no mates anymore. Amelia is all I have now.

She's weak and wolfless. She has no ability to withstand your rejection. She would die and I would return to become that childless she-wolf I used to be.

If you banish her, she'll become a rogue and cannot fight for survival, she would still die. In both ways, I'll lose my child. I'd rather you please abandon her..." Nana pleaded.

"Do you listen to yourself when you speak huh Nana? You're an old woman but you violated the rule that cursed wolves should not come anywhere close to public gatherings of other wolves.

This girl was cursed from birth. She was going to be a plague to the entire pack now because of your unguided emotions to keep her. Now, you don't want the Alpha to reject her so that the whole pack will be plagued and our enemies would raid us all away and destroy our pack.

It is best that she dies. That is the only way we can cleanse the entire pack from her curse. The Alpha cannot mate such a curse and call it his mate neither can this worthless Omega be the Luna of this pack" Beta Night growled.

Amelia's tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. If it were someone else who said those words, she wouldn't be this hurt, it's alright for them to think mad and say such words. But she was told that the man, Beta, was her father.

She was told otherwise, she would never connect the reality that she was an offspring of that man. He prefers that she dies. He'd always wanted her to die and at every opportunity, he sought her death.

"You won't tell me what to do, Nana. You should be grateful that I didn't have you thrown into the dungeon for bringing this curse here, for my coronation" Alpha Kasper declared.

Suddenly his mother walked over. She glanced at the woman before her. How insulting that her son should be mated to this wolfless omega. Her royal family has been reduced to nothing by the moon goddess.

"It would be cruel for the Alpha Kasper to let anyone die on a day like this. I'd suggest that she should be thrown in the dungeon and be forgotten there. On a day that he chooses, he would reject her and let her miserable curse die with her" she suggested.

How can her son dirt his hands with the blood if a worthless wolf. He should soak his hands with the blood of his enemies, worthy warriors like himself.

Chelsea was secretly unhappy. She sneered. It's better that she dies. If she was spared, she might rise one day to compete with her for Kasper and she cannot take it, she might have to be the one to eventually end her.

"Guards, throw this filth in the dungeon and have her feet stuck in the stocks" Kasper ordered. His mood was soiled. How can it be, that such misery should befall him on the day of his coronation?

The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Amelia away. She stretched her hand, calling out to Nana "Nana, save me...they're taking me away Nana..." Amelia was sobbing.

Nana fell at the Alpha's feet "I beg that you spare Amelia. I promise to take her away, we'll leave this pack forever. All I ask is that you should let her go and hand her over to me..." She pleaded.

"I see that you have decided to leave your responsibility as the Pack's healer and go with this curse of a girl? Shame on you, Nana, shame on you" The former Alpha Stone reprimanded.

She is the special healer to the pack house and everyone relies on her. She'd got a few apprentices as well. And she was going to leave her duty and become a rogue because of that thing?

"I am the Alpha of his pack. I hereby forbid anyone from coming anywhere close to Amelia Night" Kasper declared. There was an uproar of applause. Finally the decision has been taken against that woman.

Amelia was dragged, her weak body taken to a dungeon far away from the pack house. It was surrounded by tall trees and dug under the earth. It appears only the highest level of offenders were brought there.

She was thrown on the floor and her feet were chained. Just before the guard shut the iron gate, he turned and said "you weren't supposed to be alive. But you are useless and death kept denying it's right over your good for nothing existence, it's good that you are thrown to the wild dogs for dinner"

He glared at her with a killing intent and spat on her. Because she's in the dungeon now, he has to be around, to ensure he keeps a watch over her. What's the use for her existence? She's not good for anyone and she's also not useful for herself.

He wished he could kill her himself.

When Amelia heard the guard's words, she glanced at him with reddened eyes. Even the guards detest her so much. He also wants her to die. Many people want her dead but she's alive, she's not dead, now she knows it's really going to take a lifetime for their desire to come through.

Since she stayed alive until now, it only means that the moon goddess wants her alive and not dead as everyone wants. She will become stronger henceforth. If she survives the dungeon, she will come out stronger and determined.

Amelia closed her eyes and didn't realise that she had dozed off...

***Amelia opened her eyes with a sharp grasp, her arms clutched her cheap dresses as if she'd just escaped from the wild dogs indeed. Her chest heaved up and down, pounding wildly against her rib cage.

She heard a voice in her heart, still echoing loudly in her mind "I shall return..." Was it a dream? Is this what dreams look like? It's so real and she glanced around, oh, she's in the dungeon.

"Oh...so this is how dreams are, so real" Anyways, it's a dream and she'd experienced it. She hugged herself but something was off, the air around her felt...wrong.

It's too cold, too alive and she seemed to feel something off about her. She waved the thought and feelings off. All she wants is to get freed from the dungeon and be with Nana again.

She closed her again and quickly shut them open when she heard footsteps approaching. Her breath stilled, has her date been decided? She tried to stand up, her survival instincts taking a hold of her but her feet were in chains, she fell back.

She must survive, no matter what happens, she must survive this phase of her life and come out alive and strong.

"I have returned..." She heard the thought and she stood still. Was it from her? She glanced around and didn't see anyone except the guard who came into view and glared at her before walking away again.

What is happening?

Why is everything becoming strange to her and around her? A hush of fear clouded her heart when she heard it again. She listened and heard her thoughts "Amelia, we are going to be fine. Stay strong, I'm here with you" she went still. She glanced around and wanted to ask who was speaking when she answered her thoughts again.

"You can call me Ann, I'm your wolf" Amelia's hand stiffened and tears instantly dropped. She's got a wolf! She'd never felt it before. How ...when..had she always been with her all these years?

"Yes, I've always been here. But I'll be active now" Ann answered her thoughts. Now, the mind link was a perfect way for their communication. She can mind link with her wolf form.

A sigh of relief flushed over Amelia. She found her mate, though he hates her and she's undeserving of him, at least she found him and he found her too.

But more than that, she found her wolf too. Looks like her eighteenth birthday was exceptionally beautiful from the moon goddess. She thought she was doomed, but now, she knows that the moon goddess had not totally left her miserable.