Zoey’s POV

Well, there she goes again. Savannah never liked me. In fact, she even treated me worst than she treated the omegas who served her. She was one special wolf, as she was the only known female shifter in the land. This title earned her a significant rank in Moonlight Pack. Adding to her gorgeous blonde locks and a beauty that was to die for, she held the title of being the most powerful she-wolf in Moonlight Pack.

While me? I was nothing. Savi was right, I am a loser. I was no match for her looks, much more for her abilities. A lot of times she was insisting I was adopted, for I never inherited the strength and looks that ran into our genes. If not for my mother’s constant reminder that I was her child, I would really believe Savi’s words.

“Answer me, my love. Is she bothering you?” Savi said seductively. She ran her fingers onto Grayson’s chest while throwing me a disgusted look.

Grayson held her close, sniffing her hair in the process. The gesture made Savi giggle as if Grayson hit something sensitive. And then, he turned in my direction. The smile and welcoming demeanor he was giving Savi disappeared. Contempt was all I could see in him.

“I don’t know what the moon goddess is thinking but I can’t accept this pairing. Not only that you are not beautiful but you were also weak, unlike your sister.” Grayson looked at Savi with a smile on his face and in return, Savi caressed the side of his face. He looked at me again and continued to humiliate me. “You cannot be my Luna. You will only disgrace me if I will choose you. So please, don’t ever bring up this topic ever again. You’ll only humiliate yourself more.”

I grimaced in extreme pain as I tried to make sense of what he just said. My soul was shattered. And just when I thought the torture was over, he leaned down and kissed my sister as if the two of them already have a secret relationship they were both making me aware now.

I wanted to move my feet so I could get out of that place but it wasn’t moving. I wanted to take my eyes off of them but I couldn’t.

My mate rejected our mateship. Worst, he was choosing my sister Savi over me.

Oh, moon goddess! Why did it have to be this way?

But I couldn’t just turn my back on all of this. I had waited all my life to find my destined mate. This couldn’t be the end.

“Maybe you are just surprised. I can give you time to think about it. Just please, don’t do this to me. You can’t treat me like this.”

I tried to hold Grayson’s arms but he moved them away from me. This time, the disappointment written all over his face changed into something viler.

“Don’t you have any dignity left in you? I said I didn’t want you! What’s not to understand?”

“Oh my god! Can you just stop?!” I saw Savi roll her eyes. “Why don’t you just walk away? Can’t you see you are bothering me and my boyfriend?”

I turned to her with tears still running down my face. “Please, Savi, not now. This is between me and Grayson so please, stay out of it.”

I saw the surprised look on Savi’s face, as this was the first time I spoke something against her. I was shocked as well but it was already too late to regret what I did to her.

“You piece of garbage! How dare you humiliate me like this in front of our future alpha!” In a blink of an eye, Savi launched at me and grabbed a handful of my hair. Her grasp was so tight that I felt my scalp was about to tear from my head. I let out a groan due to the extreme pain I was feeling. But Savi was not done yet, as she began to slap me so hard that I tasted rust in my mouth.

“Stop it, Savi. You are hurting me....” I begged. I could no longer take her blows. I began to feel dizzy with her constant hits.

The pain made me weak. I suddenly stopped covering my face and let her slap and punch me as if I no longer care. The numbing pain was immobilizing. But nothing compared to the pain I was experiencing seeing Grayson’s indifference. He allowed Savi to beat me as if I was nothing but a nuisance in his life.

There was no remorse on his face. He enjoyed seeing me in this state.

“Savi! Get your hands off of Zoey!”

Finally, my salvation came. I was expecting it would come from Grayson himself but instead, I felt Hunter’s warmth. He was our older brother.   

“What the hell is wrong with you, Savi? Are you out of your mind?” he said while holding Savi’s hands in the air. My brother was furious, as was seen evident in his flushing red face.

“Oh, Hunter! It wasn’t my fault. It was Zoey who started it all!” With that, Savi started crying. She dug her face into her hands and ran into Grayson’s arms while the latter was consoling her.

I rolled my eyes at the scene. Clearly, pretending to be the victim was the game she was an expert in playing.

“What did Zoey do for you to beat her up like this? Look at her! Her face was swollen and bruised because of what you did!”

Suddenly, Savi’s face changed. From her bitch face earlier, it transformed into an innocent-looking saint.

“Oh, dear brother! Because she tried to steal my boyfriend from me!” Savi answered. “She tried seducing Grayson but our alpha heir rejected her advancements. I tried to beg her to leave me and Grayson alone but instead of listening to my plea, she started insulting Grayson and began attacking me. I only defended myself from her! It was her who started it all!”

“Liar! You know that wasn’t true!”

“I am not!” Savi retorted, with tears still streaming down her pretentious face. “I saw it with my own eyes! You were taking off your clothes in front of Grayson!”

“Liar—”

“ENOUGH!”

Hunter’s voice boomed. His eyes changed color, a clear indication of him allowing his wolf to take over. With his fangs already visible, we knew that he was on the verge of losing his patience. Both Savi and I feared our brother as he was known to be a ruthless killer once he morphed into his majestic wolf form.

Hunter looked at me enough for my body to tense in fear. “Tell me what happened.”

I took a deep breath and was ready to tell him my version of the story. “I wasn’t seducing Grayson. We were just talking about something.”

“And what was that?” Hunter, once again, queried.

I was hesitant at first but decided to talk anyway. “About…about our mateship.” I looked at Grayson before continuing my next sentence. “Grayson and I were mated. I just found out this morning.”

Hunter stared at me, shocked at what I just revealed. “What did you say?”

“She said we were mates but that is not true,” Grayson uttered. He stepped forward and grabbed Savi into a hug. “Savi is telling the truth. She was trying to seduce me and when Savi told her that we were already dating, she began attacking her and called me different names.”

“No! That wasn’t true! Why are you telling this—”

Pak!

My cheek went numb from the blow as Hunter hit me with a slap. He glowered at me, panting hard as he tried to control his anger. “How could you shame our family like this? Are you this desperate to be mated to an alpha son? Don’t you have any dignity left in you?”

“But it’s true!” I shouted back. “I am the mate that the moon goddess has given to Grayson! I am supposed to be his girlfriend, not Savi!”

Pak!

Again, another sharp open-handed slap rang in my ears. I cupped my cheek while in tears facing my brother who was never been this angry with me in my entire life.

“If I hear one more word about this nonsense, I’ll make sure to drag you into the dungeon and jail you there until you get back to your fucking senses!”

I stepped back, realizing that my brother now hated me like everybody else. Hunter’s disappointed stares were devastating. He was the only man who knew the real me. But alas! He chose to be blinded by Savi and Grayson’s lies.

Hunter turned to Grayson and bowed his head. “My apologies for my sister’s behavior, Grayson. Please forgive her insolence. Instead, punish me in her stead. I deserve to be beaten because as an older brother and the only man of our family, I should have taught her what’s right from wrong.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Grayson answered. “As long as she would stay away from me and Savi.”

“Thank you for your understanding I’ll make sure that Zoey would no longer bother you and your future Luna,” Hunter uttered. He bowed his head one last time before throwing me a “we will talk later” look.

Meanwhile. Savi smirked at me before hooking her arms to Grayson’s waist. Grayson did the same and planted another kiss on her forehead. And then, they both stepped away, leaving me alone with my misery.

“Go after him, Zoey! Tell him the truth! Tell him he was wrong to think we are weak!” I heard my wolf shout at the back of my head. I gave my remaining ounce of strength to subdue her as I don’t want her to take over my body without my consent.

“What are you doing, Zoey? We will lose our mate if you will not tell him the truth!” My wolf, Kenya, was desperate. She was begging me to speak up but i kept my mouth shut.

He would never know. He didn’t deserve to know about the secret of my ability. After what he did, Grayson only proved that he wasn’t worthy of the truth.

And I vowed to the goddess that I would keep it like that for the rest of my life.

Zoey’s POV

The day was about to be over. I didn’t even realize that I had been running this long.

I looked up the sky. The shades of orange and red were visible on what was once a clear, blue sky earlier. Then, I realized that I needed to go home before the darkness took over. I had so many bad things going on in my life right now so the last thing I wanted was to receive repercusions from violating the pack’s curfew.

So with a heavy heart, I ran home.

Normally, running would calm my senses and ease my heart. Whenever I feel down, I would just run and let my heart out. Afterward, I would feel better and ready to face the world once again. But the pain that was lingering inside me was far from being gone. Instead, the more I tried not to think about it, the more that my heart ached for what had happened earlier.

It wasn’t easy to grow up being the weak sister of the great Hunter and Savannah Davis. I often heard a lot of disappointments and comparisons, making me exposed with a lot of doubts and insecurities. My only consolation was to think about my mate. But the man I expected to save me was the same man who killed my heart.

I was wrong to think that I already experience the worst in life. Because the pain of rejection was beyond comparable.

A few minutes later, I saw our house. It was one of the best homes here in Moonlight, thanks to my brother and sister’s special statuses.. It was a four-bedroom cabin, three-bath houses enough to make the us feel comfortable.

But I never felt this house was home. My father only loved my other siblings while my sister never really bonded with me. Hunter was nice and kind to me but he was always away doing some pack duties. I was left with our mother, who showed nothing but love and support to me. I thought Hunter would be at my side too but after what had happened earlier, I figured he was like all of them.

I entered the house, as my feet guided me to the kitchen. I heard some faint sounds coming from the it so I knew that my mom was cooking something. When I saw her, the restraints I build into my eyes shattered. I broke down in tears, covering my mouth in the process to hide my despair. But this was a stupid thing to do as werewolves were known for their keen senses. Seconds later, my mom turned to my direction. Her face was full of worry as she walked slowly toward my direction.

“Why are you crying?” she asked. “What happened?”

I ran to her arms like a child. I dugged my face in her chest, crying desperately. She lifted her hand and caressed my back gently. Her warm touch was comforting, but even ths wasn’t enough to remove the pain.

“Just let it all out, Zoey. Mommy is here for you.” She stroke my hair, letting me feel all her love and support. We stayed in that position until finally, I calmed down. Although the pain was still there, mom’s presence was able to make it a bit bearable.

Mom caressed my face and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Now, are you ready to speak up what happened?

And so, I started telling her the events that happened earlier. “I…I found my mate earlier.”

Mom squealed in joy. But seeing me cry again, her smiles disappeared from her face. “Wait, did he…”

“Yes, mom, you are right! My mate didn’t want me. He wanted me out of his life!”

“Oh, my poor child!” she exclaimed, pulling my body for another hug. “I don’t understand. Who was your mate and why did he had to do that?

“It was…Grayson Anderson,” I whispered almost inaudible. I felt another wail was about to come out of my throat but I tried my best to stop it by taking a deep breath. “He didn’t want me because I am weak. Savi and him were already dating and even told me he wanted her to be his Luna instead of me. To make it worse, Hunter hit me thinking that I was trying to seduce Grayson. Oh, mother! Why did he had to be him?”

“I am so sorry, honey!” my mom exclaimed. “I’m sorry you have to experience all that on your birthday.”

“Don’t be, mom,” I responded. ”It wasn’t your fault. It was Grayson and his ambition that led me into this.” I felt a raging fire ignited inside my soul.

My mom released me from her embrace. She then looked at my face. A hint of concern could be seen in her eyes glistening with tears. “Did he know about your…?”

I shook my head in response. “No, mom, and I will keep it that way. He will never know that like Savi, I am a shifter too.”

When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t expecting all of this. Apart from me finding about who my mate was, I discovered that like Savi, I could also morph into my wolf form. I could still remember the numbing pain I felt the first time my body had its transformation.

The creaking sound of my bones echoed in my room while my muscles tore from it. I remained to lie at my bedside, trying to understand what the heck was happening to me. My limbs morphed while my hair thickened into copper-hued fur. My nose stretched out and became a snout while I noticed that I grew in size. Then, I saw a spirit wolf in my mind. She introduced herself as Kenyas, the spirit wolf that would become my companion for as long as I live.

After Grayson’s rejection, I was sure of one thing. My secret would remain hidden between me and my mom. I wouldn’t let anyone from this goddamn pack know what I was really are, most especially, Grayson Anderson. No one would know that like my bitchy sister, I could shift into my wolf form too.

“I didn’t know how to face Grayson or this family anymore after the incident. I felt that…I no longer belong here.”

My mom’s forehead creased. “What do you mean?”

“I want…I want to run away and start a new life,” I uttered. Call me insane or what not but I already made up my mind.

I no loger have a place here at Moonlight Pack. How could I act normal knowing that my mate loathed me and my sister replaced me in his heart?

“Are you out of your mind? No, I won’t let you!” My mom stepped back and massaged the temples of her head. “Cut this crap! You’ll die if you live as a rogue. You will never survive

“But I am already dead!” I retorted, with eyes glistening with tears. “I hate to say this but Grayson took the life out of me when he decided to reject me. This is the only way for me to start my life again. I will keep dying as long as I am seeing him with another woman in his arms!”

My knees wobbled. I felt like something had blocked my throat while uttering those words. At last,    I gave in and slowly descended to the ground.

My mom didn’t utter a single word. Instead, she scooched down and gave me another embrace. My body was still shaking but I felt the comfort she was trying to give me. But this time, it felt different. It felt as if she was setting me free. I knew right there and then that she was giving me her blessing for running away.

My mom didn’t have to say anything. That gesture was enough for me to understand what she really meant. And with that, I am thankful.

“I love you, mom,” I whispered. “Don’t worry about me. I have my wolf Kenyas with me and she will keep me company. I will never forget you. I will try to stay in touch.”

“Take care of yourself, my dear Zoey. My love for you will remain the same. You are my child and I will always care for you, shifter or not.”

We both savored the moment as my mom’s hug became tighter. Somehow, we both knew that it would take a while until we hug each other like this again. But for now, this was enough.

*****

Under the light of the moon, I ran through the woods. I decided to run north, as I know the trees would be denser in this part of our border. Also, this was the section where the least of the trackers were assigned. If I would want to get out of this place, this route would be the best way to go.

I have been running for a good thirty minutes now.    I already passed the boundary of our Northern reach, making me inch closer to the other side of the border. At last, I reached the end of our reach. My heart began to thump like crazy. Because once I stepped into this land, I would start my life as a teenage rogue. Am I ready for that?

Wait, am I having a second thought?

I suddenly felt my throat became dry. I tried swallowing my own saliva multiple times but nothing seemed to ease my discomfort. Being nervous was an understatement. All of the dauntlessness I had earlier suddenly disappeared inside me and I couldn’t seem to find.   

There was no turning back. It was now or never.

“Remember, Zoey. I will support you on whatever decision you will have. Mateless or not, I will always be here.”

My eyes became teary hearing those words of encouragement from my spirit wolf, Kenyas. I had only known her for a day, but the amount of love I was getting from her was more than what the people of Moonlight pack had given me. I may have not been lucky with love but I was sure blessed to have Kenyas as my spirit wolf for life.

And that’s all I need to continue.

It felt liberating crossing the border to the other side. I felt I was free from all of the emotional baggages I was carrying with me when I decided to go here. But not long after, my celebration came to a halt when I felt another presence following me.

That moment, I knew I was in big trouble.

Hunter's POV

Today, I asked myself. Am I a terrible brother?

I heaved a deep sigh, remembering the events that transpired earlier. I lifted my palms and stared at it for a moment. These were the pair of hands that I used to protect my youngest sister Zoey from her bullies. But earlier, these were the same pair of hands I used to hit her. I shook my head trying to erase that awful memory. Did I really hit Zoey with these hands? My dear sister didn’t deserve all that!

All her life, people were looking down on her because of me and Savi. Being born into a family with high expectations was a burden she had to carry all her life. Zoey never had a chance to explore her own talents and abilities. Because here in Moonlight Pack, she was always known to be the weak sibling of the great Hunter and Savi Davis.

And, man! It broke my heart every time I hear it! She was too kind, innocent, and pure to deserve that.

I raked my hair as guilt began to eat me. I didn’t know what had gotten into me and why I did it to her. Perhaps her shameful action towards our alpha’s son was something I couldn’t bear. I knew how much she yearned to find her mate but I never realized that she would do such a thing. I mean, what was she thinking? Here I was trying to build her honor to the rest of Moonlight Pack and yet here she comes stripping in front of our alpha son. I have loved her with all my heart but I couldn’t let her get away from what she did.

It was utterly embarrassing! I couldn’t bear to look at Grayson’s face when he stood up for Savin instead of Zoey. I knew that Savi hated Zoey and was almost ready to scold her for hitting our youngest sister. But after hearing Grayson’s confession, my world came crashing down. Because for the first time in my life, I was forced to believe Savi’s words instead of hers.

However, why am I feeling this way? Why am I feeling as if I had committed a grave sin for believing Grayson and Savi’s words?

“What’s wrong, Hunter? You looked distracted.”

It was Justin’s voice, one of the trackers in our pack and a very close friend of mine. We were both assigned to scan the western perimeter of our territory and spy for any possible threat in our pack.

“Oh! Hmm...nothing. This is nothing important,” I scoffed. I tried to hide my distress by looking in another direction. However, my friend really knew me well as my excuse seemed to not work with him.

“I know that something is bothering you. I am a tracker, so I know whether you are acting normally or not. And based on my observation, something is bothering you. You know how crucial our duty is. Any distraction would cause a number of lives in Moonlight Pack.”

Hearing that, I bowed my head in shame. Justin was right, I can’t screw up this job. Being part of our security team was one of the hardest and most challenging tasks in our pack.    If I messed up, somebody would surely lose his life.

“If I were you, go and fix whatever problem you are having right now. Don’t worry about tonight’s patrol, for I will cover for you. Besides, the next set of guards will be here any minute now so you don’t have to worry.”

“There’s no need for that,” I refused. “I just needed some—”

“ But I insist,” he said sternly. “You better hurry because I might change my mind.   

Hearing this, I wasted no time and shifted into my wolf form. I figured that running in this form would make me reach home faster.

I nodded at Mark before bolting in the direction of our house. The rustling of the dried leaves echoed through the night as my feet dashed through them. The woods were a bit darker than on other nights because the moon was hiding behind the clouds. However, it wasn’t a big deal for me thanks to our enhanced vision. It was a good thing that my wolf Aegon was supportive tonight so he let me take over with ease.

Moments later, I reached our house. I went to the side and took a pair of pants that I hid behind the corner. Since my job required a lot of shifting time, I made sure to leave some clothes handy to keep myself from walking around naked.

I whistled a happy tune, as I was excited to see Zoey. I couldn’t wait to talk to my sister. She was my favorite person in the world so I hate seeing her like that. Maybe she did something wrong but that doesn't mean I would stop loving and caring for her.

As I entered the front door with enthusiasm, my smile departed from my lips when I saw my mom crying on the sofa. A surge of worry flooded my senses.

“Mom? Are you okay? What happened?” My voice was evidently distressed. I hurried to her side to console her. However, she stood up and went away from me as if I did something that upset her.

“Mom?” I didn’t understand what was happening. Why was she like this? Why do I have this feeling that something bad had happened?

“Can you please tell me what’s up? I am so confused right now. Why are you acting like this? Did I do something to offend you?” I was hoping my honest words could get into her. I wasn’t good at comforting someone. And yet, she was my mom, and whatever she was feeling concerned me. It was hard to see her face flooded with tears.

“It’s Zoey. She is…She ran away and had vowed to never come back,” she uttered softly, with his voice breaking in the process. My mom buried her face in her hand before producing another sob. This action didn’t resonate with me as I was left even more confused with what she said.

“W-w-wait, what?. What do you mean she ran away? I don’t understand—”

“She ran away from this pack! She was never coming back!” she yelled before running to her room leaving me with my jaw hitting the floor. I raked my hair, trying to wrap things up.    I balled my fist in frustration and stormed off to Zoey’s room to get to the bottom of this.

I have to see it for myself. I need to know whether my sister was already gone or not. And how I wished that my mom was only joking around!

“Zoey!” I pushed the door without even knocking, hoping that her image would welcome me. I expected Zoey to complain about invading her privacy but all I got was a deafening silence.

“No…It can’t be…” I uttered, broken and devastated. I collapsed at her bedside, staring at the cold wall silently praying that everything was just a bad dream. Nothing had changed to her things but it already felt different. It was not the same anymore, for Zoey was gone.

Dear, goddess! What comes to her mind for doing this to herself?

I turned my gaze to my left and saw her tableside. On top of it was a picture of me and her, taken a few years ago. It was proof of how much we cared for each other. Not shortly after, I felt something warm flow out of my eyes.

“Why, Zoey? What have you done?” I asked the evening breeze while holding the picture frame. I couldn’t believe my sister Zoey had run away to become a rogue. I never saw it coming. It was a situation I never imagined for myself.

And then, I noticed something else. There was a letter under her lamp. Curiosity hit me so I took it. My forehead creased as I read the name of whom the letter was for. It was for me.

“I am sorry for running away from all of this. The rejection I received from Grayson was too much to bear. I need time to heal my shattered soul. Take care of mom for me. I love you and I forgive you. You will always be in my heart wherever l go. Love, Zoey.”

My hands were shaking as I felt my heart sore with every piercing word. The memories of what had happened earlier came flashing into my head.

Dear, goddess! What have I done?

I rushed out of Zoey’s room, with my mind clouded with rage. My jaw tensed as I bit my lower lip to control my emotion. My wolf Aegon was howling from the inside but I did my best to subdue him. My mind was focused on facing the man that caused all these troubles.

Heaven forbid, I will make sure that Grayson will pay!