Elara's Special Day

Chapter 1

.

.

.

Elena

The training fields were still soaked from last night's rain, the cool grass brushing against my ankle as i jogged within the perimeter .

Today was supposed to be like any other day– drill formation and I had to pretend as if I didn't feel an invisible chain wrapping around my throat by the day.

Kael's claiming ceremony was fast approaching and it has been the trending topic in the pack.

I heard the whispers.

That our Alpha had already made his decisions and fate had too.

I swallowed the bitterness forming in my throat and picked up with pace.

“Elena!”

I slowed reluctantly as Rhea caught up beside me, her brown curls all a mess and her cheeks pink from stress.

“You are pushing yourself too hard again.” She said, panting.

I forced a grin “Better than being idle I guess.”

We both knew what I was talking about.

“Kael's watching,” Rhea muttered under her breath as she nodded towards the northern wall.

I didn't look. I didn't have to. I could feel Kael's eyes– heavy and possessive. Like he already owned me.

A sharp whistle cut through my thoughts, signaling us it was the end of the warm-ups. Warriors began pairing up for sparring.

I tucked away stray strand behind my ear, heart sinking. Kael would expect me to pair with him again.

“Fucking hell!” I cussed under my breath.

But fate, or something worse intervened.

“Partner with me.”

Those words slid through my ear like a forbidden caress.

My pulse skipped as I turned slowly.

Lucian stood two steps away with his arm crossed over his broad chest.

Beta.

Kael's right hand.

More dangerous in a way Kael could ever be.

We should even be speaking together without permission. Not talk of sparring together.

I took a quick glance at Kael– his jaw was tight and his fist clenched by the sides, but he said nothing. He trusted I wouldn't embarrass him and I knew my place.

I turned back to Lucian and nodded.

The first clash sent a jolt to my body, like something recognizing itself. I lost balance for a second and he was already ahead of me.

A whistle cut through the match mid way and I turned to see our coach walking towards me.

“Elena, maintain your pose. You have been slacking off these days and I expect more from you. You inherited the power of the falling star afterall.”

That title again....falling star. I hated it. A name given to something I didn't even ask for, something that marked me as different the night I shifted too early, and stole the spotlight that wasn’t meant for me, causing a rift between me and Elara.

Those words took me back to that fateful day where all this began. Elara, my sister's sixteenth birthday party.

That night was filled with the scent of roses and something sweeter – ambition.

Her birthday party was the talk of the town . Huge banners hung from several oak trees, fairy lights blinked within the branches and the air was bubbling with excitement. Half of the pack were present to celebrate her awakening. Elara, radiant in her short burgundy satin dress, basked under attention like a new queen was crowned.

I stayed close to the edge of the clearing, my fingers knotting behind my backs. I was only fourteen. I was too young and invisible. I watched as Elara's friends swarmed around her like insects to light, talking about her hair and gushing over her dress, some offered some gifts: hand picked moonflowers, pretty charms and sweets. They also talked about how she would shift tonight.

No one looked at me.

Not even when my stomach twisted into a painful knot, a deep feeling dragging itself awake in my bones.

I located the nearest tree and pressed my hands against it, gasping quietly. My skin felt tight and my heart raced fast.

“Elena!”

I turned around to see Rhea standing with her hands akimbo. “You okay?” she said with brows knitted.

I shook my head.

“I- I don't know. Something is….” Before I could finish, a sharp pain shot down my spine. I doubled over – gasping.

The music stopped– Someone screamed.

Head turned towards me. Elara's ceremony, her spotlight was shattered.

I cried as something within me ripped free – a golden light glowing around me – and then the ground rushed up to meet me.

When I woke up, the party was gone. Only scattered candles and stunned silence left.

“She…. shifted?”

“Goodness gracious, she's just fourteen.”

“Is that normal?”

Their whispers buzzed around me. My mother's disturbed look, my father's silence and most of all, Elara's death stares. Well I couldn't blame her.

They all looked at me as if I was some kind of saviour, while few looked at me as if I was a curse.I was too little to understand any thing going on.

I didn't know then that moment would change everything.

It wasn't just jealousy that bloomed that night.

There was fear too.

I snapped back to reality as I maintained my position .

Lucian was precise and lethal – he pulled back every blow just before it landed, forcing me to think faster and harder. I could say he was two seconds faster than me.

I ducked under his swing, spun and aimed at his ribs but he caught my wrist in a grip strong enough to make my breath hitch.

His eyes locked mine.

A thousand and one things passed between us in that swift second. Regret? Hunger?

Lucian expression didn't change, but something flickered beneath it.

Something that knew that this –we– shouldn't exist

He let go first.

I stumbled back with my cheeks flaring up.

The whistle blew again, signaling a break. And that moment shattered.

Lucian didn't say anything, just a look that seered into my heart– and turned away.

I exhaled shakily, my body still boiling with energy.

Rhea bounded over, eyes wide with a bean on her face.

“Holy hell, Lena. You and Lucian ? That was….”

She smirked at me.

“Don't,” I whispered, glancing at Kael's approaching figure.

He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes.

“Well done” He said, clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder. His fingers lingered, possessive. “You will make a strong Luna.”

I swallowed hard.

My skin hitched under his touch.

Not because he was cruel– Kael was strong, respected

But because he wasn't Lucian.

And because real choices were ripped from me before I understood what it meant.

As Kael walked off, probably satisfied, I still stood frozen, the sinking feeling gushing in my guts.

Rhea nudged me gently.

“You okay?”

I forced a gentle smile. “Yeah just tired.”

Liar.

Deep down I knew the truth, it clawed inside me, begging for air.

I wasn't tired

I was trapped

And worse– my stupid, reckless heart was yearning for a man I was never meant to have.