••• Aleena’s POV •••

What would you do when you found out that everything you knew about your life was a big fat lie?

“Aleena, come to my study now,” I heard Alpha Andre’s voice through the mind-link.

“I need to go meet the Alpha now,” I told my friend and waved goodbye at her as she nodded in understanding.

I walked fast, changing course from the ballroom toward the Alpha’s study- more like rushing. No one liked to keep the Alpha waiting after being summoned.

Reaching the study's door, I heard hushed voices of people inside, so I decided to knock; then I heard the Alpha asking me to wait for a while before I heard the shuffling sounds of papers being hidden.

I couldn’t care less about it. It wasn’t my place to ask about the pack’s matters.

“Come in,” the Alpha’s voice sounded from inside the room, and I reached for the doorknob to open it.

Opening the door, I saw the Alpha seated on his usual chair behind his desk, with Luna Rose on his right and Beta Erick on his left.

Beta Erick then nodded to me in acknowledgment before passing me by to exit the room.

“Is there something wrong, Alpha?” I asked with my head down as a sign of respect and submission.

He barked out a laugh before saying, “You know you don’t have to stand on ceremony when we are in private, Aleena. You are my daughter, after all.”

My body relaxed at his words, and I lifted my head to see him.

“Father,” I greeted him with a grin.

He stood up to his full height, and I involuntarily stepped back. Standing all tanned and bulky at 6 feet 5 inches, everyone would be intimidated by him, and I, as his daughter, was no exception.

“Still scared of your own father, huh?” he joked before coming to stand in front of me.

“Who wouldn’t?” I countered back, and we laughed at our banter.

“Come give your old man a hug,” he said with a silly grin on his face, and I gladly stepped into his arms.

We kinda looked like a giant and a dwarf. He was big while I was... well... tiny. I was even tinier than other she-wolves I’d ever met. No matter how much I ate or exercised, my body seemed to not be able to grow. You could mistake me for a 15-year-old female if not for my womanly curve - big breasts, tiny waist, and wide hips.

But I was so fortunate to have a father like Alpha Andre. He spoilt me rotten - giving me anything I wanted and was very affectionate in a fatherly way.

And all that despite my one biggest weakness. I had no wolf. Yup, you read it correctly - I’m wolfless. I had never heard any wolf voice in my head, and I was nearly 18 years old now.

With the way my body had stopped growing, wolfless and not even being able to cure any wounds, no matter how small it was, I believed there was something wrong with me. I might even believe it if some people said I was a human instead of a she-wolf.

But in reality, I was still a she-wolf, minus all the abilities a werewolf should have... Except for mind-linking, I could do nothing else.

“Come sit with me, Aleena.” I heard Luna Rose’s voice suddenly coming from the couch area.

I turned my head toward her and back toward my father, who nodded. I then strode to sit beside the Luna while my father sat on the single couch, which seemed to be too small for him and creaked under his weight.

“Have you thought about what you are going to do after graduation, Aleena?” I heard Luna Rose asking me.

Contrary to popular belief, despite being human-like, I was not shunned by my pack. My father doted on me while Luna Rose, his chosen mate after my mother, the rightful Luna, passed away, was polite to me. Everyone else in the pack was also polite toward me, although I knew it was because I was the Alpha’s daughter. I might have been treated differently if I wasn't, but I loved them for not shunning me for whatever reason.

And also, my father and the Luna allowed me to be human. As in doing all the human stuff except that I had to stay in the pack’s ground, train, and attend school there. After high school, I was free to do whatever I wanted to do. Thank Goddess for that!

“Umm... I’m still not sure about it, but I’d like something to do with the environment. So, I might take a major along that line,” I replied to Luna Rose after thinking for some time.

“You DO always love nature. Sand, water, wind, even fire. I had to keep my eyes on you most of the time when you were little, in case you burned down the pack.” Alpha Andre barked out a laugh again while still sitting on that too-small couch, which I feared might break at any moment.

I laughed at his words. I did loved nature since I was just a little child. You would always find me dirty with mud, wet with water, or even playing with fire. I was such a nature girl.

“All right then, just tell us once you have decided what you will do and where you will go. You can go and do your duty now,” my father said and dismissed me with a wave, going into Alpha-mode again.

I stood up and nodded respectfully at him to bid him goodbye. “Alpha,” before I then turned to the Luna to do the same, “Luna.”

She nodded to me in return, and I left the room to go to the ballroom.

Honestly, I couldn’t wait to graduate, explore the human world, and live with them. I wouldn’t have to train or do werewolf stuff; I would just be an average adult female and maybe find love the way humans did.

The current Luna, Luna Rose, was a witch. She predicted I might not have a mate since I was a singularity amongst the werewolf population. But even if I had a mate, I was sure he would reject me for being the way I was.

I let out a hopeless sigh. That thought would always sadden me. How I wished I was a normal she-wolf. I should have even wished to be a strong Alpha she-wolf since I was the Alpha’s child, but sadly, the reality was not as great as expected.

Just as I was thinking all that, I felt someone bump into me, and my lips curled into a smile. I didn't have to see who it was; I knew him - Greg.

“Where have you been?” he asked as he ruffled my hair.

“I know I’m small, but don’t treat me like a child!” I huffed out and ran my fingers through my hair to tidy it out.

Greg was the same age as me. We were actually born on the same day. We had always done everything together. He was my best friend and my secret crush. I had always hoped that even though we were not destined mates, he would choose me as a chosen mate.

He laughed aloud at my reply and re-asked his question.

“Alpha just called me to ask me what I would do after graduation,” I told him.

“Still thinking of living in the human world?” he asked.

“Yeah...” I replied, and we both fell silent as we walked toward the ballroom.

“I’m gonna miss you, you know,” he said after some time.

“I’m gonna miss you too. We could still mind-link and tell each other everything like usual,” I told him calmly despite the way my heart was fluttering. He wouldn't know how sweet his words were.

He hummed in reply before asking me, “How are Alpha and Luna today?”

“Still the same as usual,” I replied with a faint smile.

“Still the same cuddly wolf in front of you?” he asked.

This time, I was the one who laughed aloud at his reply.

My father, Alpha Andre, was the strongest alpha as of now. He was feared by most werewolves. He chose a second mate, Witch Rose, after my mother died.

The appearance of Witch Rose brought about the triumph of the Black Heart Pack, which was labeled as the strongest Pack ever. With my father's strength, ruthlessness, and Witch Rose's witchcraft (which we call her 'Luna Rose' now), no packs would dare to attack, much less take over the pack.

So, to see how the great Alpha Andre behaved around me, his daughter, was indeed amusing.

He’s my father, after all,” I replied, and we fell into a comfortable silence after that.

“Have all the packs decided to attend the prom this time?” Greg asked as we crossed the threshold to another area of the pack.

••• Aleena’s POV •••

“Yup. All five will attend for sure,” I replied.

“Even the Crimson Blood Pack will attend. Shows how respected our pack is,” he said with pride.

We all were actually quite shocked by the news. No one would have imagined that the Crimson Blood Pack would attend a social event. Even the invitation was sent out only as a courtesy of them being one of the packs here.

There was a total of five packs in this country - Silver Moon Pack, Spirit Shadow Pack, Glowing Stone Pack, Crimson Blood Pack, and on top of them all was ours, the Black Heart Pack.

We all had quite nice friendships and businesses together, except for the Crimson Blood Pack. They were kind of a loner as their pack was situated far away from the rest of us. We all lived near forests to not be seen by humans when we were in wolf forms, but they lived up the mountain, where even other pack members wouldn't see them.

And they wouldn’t usually attend social functions if they had no important issues to be discussed by the Alphas, and thus, the reason why we were shocked by their confirmed attendance.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe the history we just learned,” a girl’s voice suddenly rang in my ear as we passed by two small she-wolves.

Greg and I shared a look at her words and fell silent once again, each of us thinking of the history ourselves. I could imagine how amazed they must be feeling at learning the history of Werewolves vs Lycans.

Once upon a time, this world had not only humans, witches, and werewolves, but there were Lycanthropes, too, a.k.a the Lycans. Lycans were like us but better at everything. They were the supreme wolves with better agility, power, and stamina and were more intelligent than us. And we all lived in our own worlds with no wars between us.

But a few years before I was born, new-born werewolves suddenly started disappearing one by one until the numbers were too great to be counted. It turned out that the Lycans had been killing them, which led to the greatest war of all time - the Werewolves vs Lycans War.

There was said to be a prophecy from a witch that a child born from that year would be the end of the Lycanthrope, and they began killing the newborn werewolves to ensure that the prophecy wouldn’t come true.

One of the witches (that was Luna Rose) told all the Alphas about it, and so the war began. Werewolves around the world banded with witches to upturn the Lycans, and with their help, the werewolves succeeded in driving the Lycans to extinction.

For me, driving the Lycans to extinction was a bit of an extreme gesture, but I wouldn't let anyone know of my thoughts as I would surely be labeled as a traitor.

Maybe they deserved it because they were killing newborn werewolves just because they were afraid of extinction. How ironic that their action in preventing it actually still led to their demise? Would they not have done it if they had known what would happen? Or would they wait and try to kill that one werewolf alone to save their race?

“Why are you sighing?” I heard Greg’s voice from beside me.

I hadn’t realized that I was sighing, but although that history amazed me, I somehow felt a tinge of sadness when I thought about it.

“Nothing... Just thinking how great werewolves are,” I half-lied. Well... It was the truth. Werewolves were great, but I knew that without the witches’ help, they wouldn’t win against the Lycans.

I stopped in my tracks and groaned once I realized what I was thinking. There it goes again - me thinking nicely about the Lycans. Something is seriously wrong with me!

"You okay?" he asked.

“Yup, good as new!” I said with a cheery voice.

“By the way, because of that great war, Alpha Andre was crowned the strongest Alpha in this country, right?” he asked happily.

“Uh-huh... I heard he killed the most Lycans together with Luna Rose back then,” I confirmed his theory.

“They must have been fated together since they worked so well since then,” he replied with a dreamy look on his face.

I was sure he was imagining that battle scene of the Alpha and Luna working together, orrrr... he was imagining finding a mate and becoming like the Alpha and Luna. My heart fell at the thought.

“I’m sorry; I didn't mean to say that your mother and father are not fated together,” he apologized suddenly.

Huh?! My mother and father? Ohh... he thought I was saddened about that.

“No worries. You know I don’t remember anything about my mother,” I replied dismissively.

To be honest, I wouldn't have had a great bond with my mother, the supposedly Luna of the pack, if she was still alive today. Not because she wasn’t great or anything, but because she died when I was less than a year old. But I still wished for her to be alive because I knew she was a great mother. She died while protecting me from being kidnapped by some rogues.

“Are you excited about the prom?” I asked him, deterring the subject from anything saddening.

“Yes!” he suddenly looked pumped up. He must have been very excited about it, which actually made me excited, too.

“We’re going to attend prom tomorrow and celebrate our birthday the next day. Double happiness!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, I know!” I laughed at how excited he was.

We were both turning eighteen in two days' time. My dad had suggested celebrating my birthday at prom, but I declined the idea. Of course, I wouldn’t cut the cake at the event, and I had begged my father not to make a big deal out of it as I didn’t want everyone to turn their attention to me, the wolfless Alpha’s daughter. To feel embarrassed would be an understatement; it would be humiliating! Thankfully, my father finally agreed after some hard begging on my part.

“How are you going to celebrate?” he asked.

“I’m not sure... Luna had asked me permission to deal with it. So... I guess it would be a surprise,” I told him with a huge grin on my face. I loved surprises, and Luna was always kind enough to arrange them.

“How lucky,” he chuckled.

“What about you? How are YOU going to celebrate?” I asked in return.

“Just with family,” he shrugged.

“You don't seem to be so enthusiastic about spending your 18th birthday with your family.” I raised an eyebrow at him, declaring that I was somewhat unhappy that he thought that way.

For me, spending time with my father was always the best time. So, for him to be unenthusiastic because he would only celebrate it with his family didn't sit right with me.

He rolled his eyes at me. “You know what I meant.”

I did know what he meant. It wasn’t that he was displeased; it was just that he wanted a larger family with sisters and brothers, but he was an only child, hence his reaction.

“I know. By the way, did your father say anything about the rogues?” I asked as I remembered the hushed voices behind the studies before I entered.

“No, why?” he asked with little interest in the subject.

“Nothing. Just thought there were problems again,” I replied. We’d been having a little problem with the rogues. They had been around the area but didn’t do anything else. I once heard Greg’s father, Beta Erick, tell my father that it seemed the rogues were waiting or looking for something.

“Let’s talk about the prom, alright?” he suggested, and I agreed happily.

“Would the students feel that our theme is cliche?” I’d been wondering about this since it was first selected by the prom’s committee.

“Rainforest?” He laughed.

“Yeah... Forest... Wolves...” I pointed out.

“I think they would be surprised at how life-like the decorations are.” he laughed again.

At long last, we reached the ballroom building. It was situated in a different area than the pack members’ houses, so it took a while to walk there.

“Ready to see?” he asked as he was about to open the double door.

I nodded, and he pulled open one of the doors. Today, we were finishing the small touches, and as per his words, I was astounded while looking at the decorations. It felt like we had traveled to a natural rainforest.

The trees, animals and their sounds, the waterfall, and the ceiling were even painted as black as the sky with lighting as stars and moon.

“Do you think some would turn into wolves because of the life-like moon?” I blushed when I realized what I had just asked.

He laughed out so loud and hard until his eyes were teary. “Sometimes you are just too naive.”

I rolled my eyes at him despite my blush.

We walked around the “rainforest,” and I could feel that after I attended the prom the next night and turned eighteen the day after, something big was going to happen to my life.