Dictionary:

☾- Genuine lunam: Genuine moon, the genuine alpha's mate. Second in command.

☾- Velut luna: The alpha's mate.

☾- Lunae: Crescent moon, the beta's mate. Her womb is only fertile in the absence of the genuine or velut couple.

☾- Luna cimex: Moon error or moon's insect, the omega's mate. The lowest among the females with no noble value of any kind.

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A BABY INSTEAD OF A CUB

"How lucky you are, sister," Ruby said, looking up at the sky.

Emerald said nothing. Really she was very lucky. Born and destined to become a velut luna while her younger sister is just a cimex luna. Even if she found a mate, her sister wouldn't have any noble value within the pack.

"I hope you have many puppies, it will certainly not take long," her voice sounds calm and a simple smile adorns her red lips.

Ruby loves her sister. Among all the wolves of her pack, Emerald's the only one who never treated her badly. However, Emerald had no power to rid her younger sister of all the evil that happens to her inside the pack. An example of that were the bruises on her sister's arms. About three days ago, some of the females hit Ruby as a way to get rid of their anger.

Among their kin, there are lone wolves, and the vast majority of them are omegas and lunas cimexs. Life is much harder when they are on their own. Almost every one of them dies when they leave the pack because they're too fragile.

However, when the omega couple decides to abandon their pack and live on their own, the luna cimex's womb becomes fertile. But the parents cannot protect their offspring properly and end up dying, being attacked by other wolves or starving. None of them can hunt their prey because of their condolence nature. And so they're forced to endure the humiliation caused by their brothers and sisters.

Suddenly a loud howl fills the ears of the females sitting on the fluffy snow-covered ground in front of the frozen lake. Emerald knew the alpha was calling for her. They were going to mate once more.

"Better not to keep him waiting," Ruby said and hugged her knees.

Emerald sighs and transforms. Comparing her lupine form with that of her younger sister, she is three times bigger, her dominance is three hundred times stronger, she's ten times stronger, and she is seven times faster.

Emerald approached Ruby, putting her large furry head over the little one's in a form of a hug.

She stayed like that for a few seconds, but withdrew when she heard her mate's second call.

Ten moons later...

The full moon shines brightly in the sky giving the feeling that even the goddess herself was waiting for the birth of Emerald's first cubs.

What the goddess was really doing was putting into place the warning she gave them years ago and they refused to listen.

That night the stars looked even brighter as the whole pack heard the howl of their alpha announcing the birth of his child after long ten months of waiting. The goddess saw everything and smiled.

Her surprise would surely be shocking for them.

The other members of the pack howl at the moon, the icy winter wind carrying the sounds of their howls throughout the region, being able to be heard even by the other packs. All the members of the pack wished to be born a genuine lunam. Having a genuine birth within the pack would be the greatest honor of all, and finally the Rising pack would have an advantage over the others. The hope was even greater because the present genuine lunam was pregnant and by fate or not, the velut luna was also pregnant.

Emerald had a huge belly, could barely stand and spent all her time lying in her lair, in the great room of the Nascent Pack's castle. No one went inside, not even her younger sister because the alpha could see her as a danger to his cub and kill her without any remorse. The only one who could stay close to the velut was him, her alpha, her protector, her mate.

The pack bet that a litter of ten or more cubs would come this time. This was the first pregnancy since the velut luna was introduced a year and a half ago.

When the alpha couple finally manage to have their cubs, it's customary for them to remain in their lupine forms until their offspring reach six months of life. Puppies are born as small wolves, and when they're six months old, the first signs of lycanthropy begin to appear. Their furs begin to fall and their claws give way to fingers, their eyes cease to be black and then they take on their complete human forms.

It was a beautiful night, but the blood flooding the ground makes the alpha sweat cold even in his lupine form. That wasn't common, that wasn't normal and her moans of pain were piercing.

The velut luna was suffering, and so was the alpha.

Outside the room, Ruby hears her sister's groans of pain with a tight heart. It was taking too long for the cubs to be born, she knew that wasn't normal.

Back in the room, something strange happened. The birth forced the velut luna to return to her human form and her groans turned into screams, which took everyone by surprise.

"What's going on?" all the lycanthropes wondered, restless and their howls ceased.

With a final scream that practically tore her throat, only one cub was born without hair or claws.

In the eyes of the alpha, that was a humiliation.

Turning her fingers into claws, Emerald cut the umbilical cord, took the child in her lap and her eyes filled with tears. It was her son, a piece of her being. Love was evident in her eyes and gestures.

But that wasn't right.

When the cubs are born with defects, the mothers eat them and go in search of their partners to mate and generate another offspring, one healthy and strong.

But in Emerald's eyes, her son was healthy and perfect. She didn't smell any disease or deformity on him. He was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

“What did you do?” the alpha asks in a horrifying voice as he approaches his mate.

“I–I don't know, I–"

“You dared to betray me?!” he yelled. If she didn't eat the puppy, then he was born perfect. And if he was born perfect, if that was his true form, then that child was not his son.

“No! I would never do that! And even if I had, you would have smelled it on me and–"

"You sure talked to those witch trash!"

“No, I didn't! Don't disrespect me–"

"Shut up! Bitch! Adulter!" he shouted, making everyone outside fear of what could happen.

With her whole body trembling, Emerald finally noticed her mate's intent. He wanted to kill her cub.

The big wolf leaps towards her, but even though she is weak, she spins on the bed and runs towards the door, opening and leaving quickly. But not as fast as she wanted; her legs are weak and in her arms she carries a human baby who she only knows is alive because of the heat emanating from its little body.

The howling stops, all members of the pack transform and the hunt begins.

Emerald cannot transform to escape, she needs to save her child's life.

With her heart throbbing in her chest, she manages to get out of the castle through a secret passageway. The snow burns her bare feet, but that doesn't matter. Her son's life is more important.

"Ahhhh," she cries in pain.

Then she feels fangs on the skin of her shoulder, which makes her lose her balance and fall to the ground. Not even the impact of her fall on the icy snow makes the child cry and worry floods the mother's chest.

What happens if she's not able to save her cub?

Tears are already flooding her eyes.

MARY VAN HELSING ADOPTS THE BABY

Even though the order was clear, Ruby refuses to follow it and at that moment she declares that she's no longer a member of the pack.

Although her body was much smaller, and her fangs were not sharp like those of the other members, Ruby, in her lupine form, didn't flinch as she threw herself at the Lycanthrope that was biting her sister.

"Run! Save the child," she said to her sister, positioning herself in an attack position to defend her.

"What do you think you're doing?" growled the wolf that rises from the ground and shakes its body to remove the snow from its fur.

"I won't let you kill my velut luna! You're going to have to go over me first!" she said firmly. In her eyes was possible to see the fervor of her words, her fidelity to her velut luna and above all her love for her sister.

"She's no longer the velut luna, she's a traitor! Traitors don't deserve compassion, forgiveness or anything!" snarled the beta, positioning himself in front of the others, taking the place of leader on the attack against their luna cimex and her sister, the traitor.

"She's my velut luna! My sister!" she growled in response.

"Forgive me. Please forgive me," Emerald whispered with eyes full of tears as she rose from the ground. Hugging the baby to her chest, she ran into the forest lit only by the light of the full moon.

Her heart was bleeding; she knew what was going to happen to her sister. The icy wind carried her plea for forgiveness.

A half circle of wolves stopped in front of Ruby. Her entire body trembled. She was never exposed to so much dominance before, and it almost hurt her physically. Her instincts wanted her to lower her head, but instead she didn't lose her ground and did not lower her head. For the first time, she stood up in front of those who had repressed her, mistreated her and despised her all her life.

For the first time in the history of cimex lunas, she was defending something she loved. And that was being seen. She was being seen. In the dark corner of the forest, at the top of one of the trees, the enemy was lurking, watching everything with their red eyes.

"Kill the deserter!" The beta orders and everyone jumps on Ruby, who still tries to defend herself with her small claws and round fangs. But, unfortunately, she had no strength or skills to begin with, so it didn't take her a minute to be defeated.

Ruby howled one last time. In her last moments, she asks for the goddess's protection for her sister and her helpless little cub.

Her lifeless body returned to its human form and her spirit returned to the great moon. The wolves, not satisfied with just killing her, trampled her until she was completely deformed and unrecognizable.

The night sky began to drizzle, fine drops of water from the sky as the goddess wept for the cruel death of one of her beloved daughters.

"We're going after the traitor," the beta declared after approving the job they did on what was left of Ruby.

The wolves returned the hunt as the wind carried with it the traces of the traitor. The enemy, intrigued with the baby, jumped from the tree. With their long-range vision, and their extreme sense of smell, they could track the blood on the ground, its smell and its carrier and so they knew exactly where Emerald was.

The former velut luna can no longer run; her leg had broken in a sharp fall at the root of one tree and the constant drizzle didn't help either. If she transformed, she could heal quickly, but she couldn't do that. She needs to take care of the baby. But her situation was too drastic. Her fear of losing the baby was too great.

Her ears detect the sound of someone approaching over the trees. Her heart throbbed in fear, and all her senses became more sensitive.

"Please, moon goddess, don't let anything bad happen to my baby..." Emerald trusted the goddess as she was one of the few wolves who still worshiped the moon as being the force who moved their life, but her request was interrupted.

"Don't you think it's useless to ask her for protection now?" said the voice in the woods.

With her red eyes and black clothes, there was no doubt for Emerald of who that was. It was the enemy, that was clear. But the person in front of her was not only the enemy, it was the dreaded Mary Van Helsing.

"No. She's our goodness, our–"

Emerald was interrupted by the menacing howls of the wolves that hunted her. She gasped in fear. Despite her dominance and force losing only to her mate, she was weak, and they were many. The female was vulnerable, her male should be there to defend her, but instead he wants her and their baby dead and that, the longing for her mate, makes her even more weak.

"They're close. Their smell is everywhere; it's only a matter of time before they find me."

Mary saw the terror in the green eyes of the weak, powerless woman sitting inside the root of a large, twisted tree in hopes of keeping herself and her baby in hiding. In hopes of saving their lives.

"Please. Please," Emerald's lips trembled, not from cold, not from fear, but from sadness. She knew the fate she would have, she knew she wouldn't be able to protect her cub, but she wanted him to live. If he was born this way, it was for a purpose. She believed in it because the goddess never fails. "Please. Please save this child. He has never committed any sin, he's innocent in all of this, so please... Please take him and keep him safe. Please."

Mary looked deep into Emerald's eyes. She knew that at that moment, Emerald was just a desperate mother. Mary also knew that this situation was not normal. A cub born in the shape of a human was something impossible. They were beasts. He had to be born a wolf and only show signs of humanization after his first six months of life.

Mary knew that the baby was something abnormal.

"I beg you, please. Please don't let them kill my puppy."

Mary didn't say a word, just stretched out her arms and took the child.

Emerald smiled, relieved. Even if she died in that place, her little cub's life was going to be preserved and that was enough for her. She could die in peace.

"His name is Rudolf, the mighty wolf," Emerald's voice came out low, but Mary could hear perfectly.

She didn't find the name appropriate for the boy, for it was clear that this child didn't look at all like a wolf. Nothing about him was anything like those terrible cruel beasts.

The wolves were close, Emerald could hear them run in the woods and howl at the moon. Any minute now. She took one last look at her baby's face, committing his features to memory, but Mary didn't extend the farewell. Soon she turned her back and returned to the top of the tree, jumping from branch to branch until she stood at a long distance. But not too far; she wanted to see what would happen to Emerald.

"Thank you, my goddess. I've always trusted you and I'll always..." but Emerald couldn't finish her last prayer to her maker.

The beta grasped the female's head and ripped it from her body without any difficulty and the ground was bathed in her blood. The fine drizzle turned into a great storm, hail fell violent upon the earth, thunder cut through the dark in the sky. Not long after that, the wolves rushed back to their dens inside the castle.

Mary jumped from tree to tree to the nearest base. All the way through she took care that no stone or ice hit the little child in her arms.

"Welcome back, ma'am," the guard who opened the gate greeted Mary who only nodded in response.

"Whose baby is this?" Margaret asked as soon as Mary entered the base.

Margaret was adopted by Mary five years ago after her parents were killed and devoured in front of her by werewolves. Mary managed to save her from having the same fate and since then has she been raising and training the girl.

"He's part of our family now."

THE BIRTH OF THE FEMALE STAINED WITH BLOOD

The cold wind and the thudding caused by the hail on the massive windows ended up frightening the genuine lunam that cowered by instinct to defend her large belly and in it the strongest cub of its entire kind. The heir.

"Looks like someone has enraged the gods," she whispered in thought and licked her belly, in order to show the puppy that they were out of danger.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the heavy door scratching at the floor.

"Come, Kathe, I brought dinner," the genuine alpha, her mate, entered the room with a large piece of mutton.

Kathe got out of bed and went to meet her mate; her mouth salivated as she inhaled the delicious smell that emanated from the meat and the puppy inside her stirred.

"Your belly is so big. This puppy will be born and become even stronger than me and any other that has ever existed, for sure," he said proudly as he watched his female delight with the feast he bought for her.

There was nothing more pleasurable for a male than to see his happy, well-fed mate carrying his offspring.

For ten moons the couple has been waiting for their cub; the genuine lunam can only reproduce once in a lifetime, only a single cub, a male cub, and nothing more.

But, once again, the moon goddess was more than willing to change things, and sure enough, on this night of great storm, another surprise awaited the Lycan race.

As the lunam finished snatching the last piece of meat in front of her, pain took over her body and her howl of surprise triggered the contractions in her belly. The genuine alpha felt his heart beat faster and helped his mate back to bed, then howled loudly so everyone would know his heir was finally coming into the world.

The rain outside grew stronger and stronger. Inside the great den of the genuine ones the grunts of pain frightened everyone. The big female wolf's unsteady breath, her head down, the blood coming out of her center – it was all too intense for Kathe. The genuine alpha felt everything, all the anguish that his mate was feeling, part of the pain. He paced back and forth. Suddenly the den seemed to have gotten too small for his big red-eyed black wolf.

Hoping to at least try to alleviate even a little of his mate's pain, he jumped into bed, ignored her growl of disapproval, and approaching with confident strides, he began to lick the place through which his cub would pass. The female relaxed a little. Her male was reassuring her, but even so her heart wouldn't calm down. Her body trembled; it was too difficult for her to have the strength to remain awake.

At exactly one in the morning, the genuine couple had their eyes wide with surprise.

"But how is this possible?" They wondered as they watched the blood-stained cubs on the bed.

The genuine alpha approached to look at them more closely. There were two cubs. Touching his large snout on the black one, he noticed that it was dead, its tiny hairy body getting colder and colder. Swallowing dry, he touched his snout on the other cub and this one was white with several red spots on its fur. Carefully, he turned the cub until its belly was up, and the fright he felt with what he saw made him take a few steps back, almost falling from the bed.

That couldn't be happening. It shouldn't be happening. After a second, he looked again at the dead cub, turning its belly up until its manhood was in sight.

Thunder cut through the sky and lit up the whole room, making the genuine alpha even more frightened. He growled in fury. Soon the genuine lunam understood what had happened. Although she was weak, without strength to even raise her head, she understood what had happened.

And she cursed her cub. Not just her, but everyone else, once they knew what happened, they'd curse the killer too.

Growling, the genuine alpha left the den, returning to his human form and without caring about his nudity, went to the boardroom. He was trying to control himself so as not to break everything around him. His hands closed in fists.

"Bring me the beta," he cried to the omega who was cleaning and filling the jars of water.

Without saying a word, only with a silent reverence, he did what was commanded of him. In less than five minutes, the genuine beta appeared in the boardroom.

"Genuine alpha," the beta bowed his head in a show of respect as he entered the room and took one of the chairs for himself.

"She... She killed my heir, Lacios!" The alpha punched the table and the shrill sound filled the whole room. "What do I do now? My mate will never be pregnant again! Damn her!" He angrily threw the chair on the wall, breaking it.

"I don't understand, Kratos. If the cub died, her womb wouldn't be able to carry another one?" Lacios, the genuine beta, used the logic of lycanthropic reproduction in the attempt to calm the spirits of his genuine alpha.

"Yes," Kratos replied with a red face, "If two had not been born, and if one of them had not been alive!"

He controlled himself not to scream. As he no longer had an heir to protect, he didn't find it in himself the obligation to remain in his lycan form.

"Two," said the beta, still perplexed by what he had just heard. "Two..."

"Are you fucking deaf? Don't keep repeating what I say!" cried Kratos, furious.

"Sorry," Lacios said, trying to think rationally. "The cub that survived..."

"It's a fucking female!" Kratos answered without waiting for Lacios to ask the question.

"It cannot be possible," his eyes widened.

The wind whistled hard from the outside and another thunder cut through the sky.

"It's all that woman's fault!"

"Whose fault?"

"The goddess! Damn her!" "Kratos screamed, walking back and forth around the room.

"I thought she was just a legend."

"No, she's real!"

Kratos remembered exactly the day the goddess promised she would end the lineage of lycanthropes. And that made him even more enraged.

Kratos' thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking at the door. By the smell he already knew it was an omega.

"It's better to be something very important, you fucking omega, because if it's not, you can already prepare yourself to have your head shredded!" He cried out to his omega brother as soon as he opened the door.

"News of the Spring pack has arrived."

"And what the fuck do I have to do with this..."

"The velut luna was killed for treason after she birthed a human cub, and a luna cimex rebelled against her pack to defend the velut and the child. They were both killed, but no one found the child"

"When did this happen?" Lacios asked.

"About three hours ago. Their genuine alpha is now burning in fever because of his mate's death."

"Another problem. One more," Kratos took a deep breath.

If the genuine alpha is to die without having an heir, he has an obligation to ensure the rise of a beta as the new alpha through the disputes.

"Send our best healers there. I don't want to have to take the reins of another pack."

Upon giving his order, Kratos sat exhausted in a chair.

"Now you can go," he commanded and closed his eyes.

"Genuine," Lacios draws Kratos' attention back to him. "Since you don't have an heir, I think it's better to organize a tournament among the alphas to mate with your cub. So the lineage will not perish." Lacios thought fast.

"You are right. Since a female was born, even though that should be impossible, surely she has none intended. She must be able to carry cubs from anyone," the genuine smiled. "I'll select the strongest alphas to face each other and thus earn the right to grant me an heir!"

For him, that was the perfect plan and the goddess would not triumph.

A pity that her creations would never be greater than their creator.

Kratos just didn't understand that.

Yet.