She is ready for marriage

LILY’S POV

They say a wolf’s instincts never lie.

But mine didn't warn me.

I’d just returned from a run in the woods, my bare feet muddy, my skin humming with leftover energy from the shift. My wolf was still adjusting to her new form, wild and restless beneath my skin. She made me crave the trees, the wind, the earth. She made me feel alive in a way I never had before.

But that feeling died the second I walked past my father’s office and heard my name.

“She’s ready,” my father said.

“With her wolf awakened, there’s no more excuse for delay. The marriage will be formalized at the next full moon.”

My heart dropped immediately when I heard that.

Marriage?

To who?

I pressed my back against the stone wall, trying to vanish into the shadows, even though no one could see me.

“Alpha Torin has agreed,” my father continued. “An alliance through blood is stronger than any oath. With the rogues circling both our borders, this is the only way forward.”

Alpha Torin?!.

Of all the names in the Northern Territories, his was the last I ever wanted to hear in connection to mine. I had only seen him once, when I was thirteen. He didn’t even look at me. That time he was too busy discussing battle strategies with the other Alphas like war was a game and we were just pieces on his board.

He was ruthless and feared by most packs in the North. And secondly he was so old, twice my age.

But worse than the age difference, worse than the way my body recoiled from the very idea, was the quiet certainty in my father’s voice. There was no question in it. No concern for how I felt. He already agreed to this.

“She’s only sixteen.” Beta Henry spoke.

“She’s ready,” my father replied, firm. “Her wolf emerged strong. We both felt it. The Moonshine Pack needs this alliance, it needs Torin’s strength if we’re going to survive what’s coming.”

“And the girl? Has she agreed?”, Another voice came, gruff and unfamiliar. It was probably one of the elders of this pack.

“She’ll understand,” My father replied to him. “She’s my daughter.” He added. Like that meant something. As if my blood gave him the right to decide my future.

My wolf growled, low and warning, inside me. She didn’t understand politics, didn’t care for strategy or survival. All she knew was that this felt wrong.

“She’ll do what’s best for the pack whether she wants or not.”

I didn’t wait to hear more. I stumbled back from the balcony, my heart slamming in my chest like it was trying to beat its way out. I ran. Through the hallway, down the servant’s stairs, out the back door, past the warriors who barely gave me a second glance. I didn’t stop until I was deep in the trees, surrounded by the scent of pine and wet moss, the only place I ever felt like I could breathe.

I dropped to my knees as I felt my throat burn. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if I wanted to scream or sob.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I didn’t cry. Crying felt too small for the fire in my chest. Too soft for the storm rising inside me. My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless and wild, not used to being caged by human rules and politics.

“What if I refuse?” I whispered to the wind. “What if I run?”

She didn’t answer.

Because deep down, I knew the truth. Running wouldn’t stop the wedding. Refusing would make me a traitor. And traitors didn’t live long in the Moonshine Pack.

I was trapped. No, not trapped. I was in fact sacrificed, to a man I didn’t know. A cold, dangerous Alpha who didn’t ask for my hand, just accepted it like a deal at market.

My limbs were trembling by the time I pushed open my bedroom door and slipped inside.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the soft rug, the worn books on my shelf, the blanket draped neatly across my bed. It felt like another girl had lived here. One who thought her life would begin with the rise of her wolf, not end in a political cage.

I didn’t cry.

I couldn’t.

I simply sank onto the edge of my bed, staring blankly at the floor, their words still flowing in my head.

What could I do? Where could I go?

Nowhere.

I had nowhere. No one.

And so, I did the only thing left to do. I laid down in silence.

And waited.

Waited for them to come tell me what I already knew.

A soft knock at the door shattered the silence in the minutes that followed. I didn’t move. Didn’t speak. I just stared at the floor, hoping they’d go away. Maybe if I stayed quiet long enough, I could pretend none of this was real.

But the door creaked open anyway.

“Miss?” a timid voice called. I recognized it, it was Elsie, one of the younger servants. Kind, but nervous. Always nervous.

“Your father says you’re to come down for dinner.”

Dinner.

As if everything was normal.

I didn’t respond right away. My throat felt tight and my limbs heavy.

“Miss?” she said again, a little softer this time, peeking around the edge of the door. “He said… he said not to make him come get you.”

That got me moving.

Not because I wanted to see him but because I knew what it meant when my father had to “come get” someone.

I stood slowly, smoothing down the front of my dress with hands that still shook. My wolf snarled quietly beneath my skin, but I kept her down. Not now. Not yet.

“I’m coming,” I whispered then made my way towards the dining room.

When I reached the dining room, the doors were already open. I stepped inside but the moment I did, I nearly stopped breathing.

Alpha Torin sat at our table. That was enough to make me freeze.