LUNA CELINA’S POV
I couldn’t believe it!
Surely, this was a prank. It had to be a prank. There’s no way, this girl standing in front of me could me mine.
My wolf whined in the back of my head and it made my heart skip a beat.
Trying to regain composure, I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “How old are you, child?” I asked her.
“Eighteen,” she replied. I looked at Vincenzo, who gave me a squeeze on my hand. I shook my head; I couldn’t handle this any longer.
“Excuse me please,” I said and rushed out of the office. I even caught a whiff of her scent and I nearly fainted. It was so familiar, too familiar to be exact.
“She looks so much like me,” I mumbled as tears fell from my cheeks.
CASSIE’S POV
My chest tightened when the Luna left. I felt like crying, like I was rejected for the second time.
“I’m s-sorry,” I tried hard not to cry. I didn’t mean to make the Luna leave. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, dear. Maybe you should come back later,” he said and turned to Gerald. “Thank you for coming. I’ll keep in touch with you,” he said to him. Gerald smiled and ushered us out of the office.
“We’ll meet you in the car dear”, Mrs. Smith said to me and I nodded before walking down the hallway. I ran down the stairs and I didn’t even care if people stared after me as I ran out of the pack house. I went to the car and got in the back seat.
Tears didn’t struggle to fall down my cheeks as I tried to maintain my composure. It was even getting harder to breathe as I tried not to make a sound.
It was hard.
Why was I being rejected for the second time? Why did this one hurt even more? Where do I actually belong? Why did the Luna and I look so much alike?
A sob escaped my lips as I buried my face in my hands. My heart was aching badly making me cry harder. There are so many things I just don’t understand. I was curled up on the seat and didn’t even know when Gerald and Mrs. Smith got in the car.
“Cassandra,” I heard my name but I didn’t look up. I didn’t want to make eye contact with any of them. I was a disappointment. I’ve always been a disappointment.
I didn’t want to see it in their eyes.
I heard them sigh and the car ignition was turned on. My cries turned into whimpers as we drove back home.
When the car was parked, I got out first and ran straight to my room. I climbed my bed and covered my whole body with the comforter. I couldn’t cry anymore; I was too tired to cry.
I felt a warm hand on my shoulder but I didn’t open my eyes. I knew it was Mrs. Smith.
“I’m sorry,” my voice was hoarse and my throat was dry. “I don’t want you to think that we’re disappointed in you or anything, because we aren’t,” Mrs. Smith said. I knew she only said this to make me feel better and that made my chest tighten.
“Cassie,” she said my name but I still didn’t show any effort to move. I didn’t want to see the look on her face, it’ll break me the more. She sighed. I knew it was somehow rude to not answer an older adult but that was the only thing that could save me right now. I didn’t want to cry again.
“Am I going to be a rouge?” I found myself asking. The thought of me being a rouge scared me more than anything else in this life. A rouge can never be accepted in any pack all over the world. I don’t even have a wolf that I can shift into and fend for myself. I was just useless.
“You’re not going to be a rouge, Cassie. Stop overthinking everything. You’re going to be living with us until the Alpha sends for us again,” Mrs. Smith said to me. I sighed and shook my head.
She then let out a soft sigh and ran her hand across my back. “Get some sleep. By the time you wake up, lunch will be ready,” she said and stood up. I waited, hearing her walk out of the room and closing the door behind her as she left.
I slowly pulled down the comforter and sat up. My throat was dry and my eyes were sore from let out waterfalls of tears. “I hope everything goes well,” I mumbled and laid back down.
I didn’t want the Alpha and Luna to send me back to my old pack. Alder won’t be too happy to see me and I’m not even sure if I wanted to see him either.
I’d rather walk on hot coal than get humiliated by him again. But it didn’t mean I didn’t want to see Jack.
In the midst of all my thoughts, I fell asleep.
LUNA CELINA’S POV
“Celina, you’re overthinking. I don’t like this”
I raised my head to see Vincenzo, my husband by his desk with his hands folded across his chest and a frown on his face. I knew he was worried about me. I was also worried about myself.
“Vincenzo, I’m fine. I’m not overthinking,” I told him with a fake smile. He scoffed and stood up from his seat. “I too saw it, my love. There’s no point in hiding anything right now. Just say how you’re feeling and we’ll fix what’s happening,” he said as he sat across me on the couch where I was also sitting.
I ran my hand through my dark brown hair, the same hair that that girl had.
“What if she’s the one?” I asked him. I heard his breath hitch. Then, I knew his heart skipped a beat. It had to, mine skipped a beat too.
“I won’t lie to you, Celina. Something deep inside me has been praying that she’s the one,” he said to me. “Why?”, I asked even though I knew the answer to the question.
“Celina, the girl looks exactly like you. The same shade of dark brown hair, to the point that the highlights are also the same thing. There’s a birthmark on her collar bone, just like yours and also like the one that Mariana had,” Vincenzo said as his voice broke.
Mariana was our baby that got kidnapped when she was just a baby. She was barely one year old before she got ripped away from us. Only the Smith family and our family knew about it. We had to lie to the pack that she died.
“Vincenzo, what if she’s the one?” I mumbled, my chest was heavy. “I didn’t smell her wolf. Mariana didn’t have a wolf too,” he said to me but I shook my head. “Mariana’s wolf was hidden. Because she’s a lycan like me,” I told him. Then his eyes widened as he looked at me. “What if the girl is a lycan too?” he asked.
I let out a shaky sigh and ran my hand through my hair. I wanted to believe that that girl was ours but at the same time I didn’t want her to be ours. I wanted to believe that Mariana, our Mariana was dead and gone.
I needed to speak to Mrs. Smith.
“Let her come here tomorrow, we’ll interrogate her and see for ourselves. There should be something that will link the both of you together. If she’s our daughter, we’ll know,” Vincenzo said. I shook my head at him, “We can’t just conclude whether she’s our daughter or not in just one day by talking to her. It’s a gradual thing that we have to be careful with.”
He seemed to go into his thoughts again. Then he spoke up after a few seconds, “Maybe she should come to the pack house and live with us.” “We haven’t initiated her into the pack yet,” I reminded him. “Let’s do it then. I couldn’t smell harm on her. All I could smell was innocence. She won’t be a threat,” he said to me.
“And what if she’s not our daughter?” I asked him.
He shrugged, “It’ll hurt and sting too. But we can’t send her away because she’s not our daughter, Celina. She’ll remain here and be our member.” I nodded at what he said and he pulled me closer to him.
I immediately wrapped my arms around him and snuggled closer into his touch. It was always calming me down. I loved it.
“Sometimes, at night I still think of her,” I said after a long moment of silence. I heard his heart skip a beat.
“Me too,” his voice was quiet. “I imagine her running up and down in the pack house, causing chaos everywhere,” he said and I chuckled.
Even as a little baby, Mariana was very chaotic. If she didn’t get what she wanted, she would cry and cry until it came to her. She had Vincenzo wrapped around her tiny finger and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Even our fathers; her grandfathers were in love with her. The whole pack loved the little baby.
“If your mom hears about this, she’ll literally fly down here from Italy,” I told him and he laughed. “Yes, she would,” he chuckled and I smiled. I looked out the window to see the moon. It was brightly illuminating every place that it could touch.
“All will be well,” I heard Vincenzo say and I nodded.
MRS. SMITH’S POV
I was confused about what had happened this morning at the pack house. “It’s not like we were expecting rainbows and rubies, Nana,” Gerald chuckled as he handed me a glass of milk. I shook my head, “At least, it should have been better. The poor girl is feeling dejected.”
“Can’t you see that they were shocked? Nana, this isn’t a Bollywood movie. Actually, a Bollywood movie is worse,” he chuckled and I knew he was trying to lighten up the mood.
“What I’m trying to say is that they didn’t reject her. The youths that even saw her today had the same expression on their faces. It’s normal for something like this to happen. All we need to do is just make them realize that Cassie is actually their daughter,” Gerald said.
I sighed and drank my milk. This was harder than I thought. Didn’t day see the evidences? Were the similarities not enough?
“She didn’t even want to eat dinner,” I told him. He gave a small smile and patted my knee. “From what I’ve studied about her. I feel she has been rejected before. Another rejection hurts worse than the first one,” he said.
“They didn’t reject her,” I countered. He nodded at me. “Yes, it’s true. They didn’t reject her. But to her, they rejected her. You’re a doctor, Nana. You know this things, you’re letting your emotions take over,” he said to me.
I closed my eyes and sighed. He was right. I was letting my emotions take over and they were getting the best of me.
“The girl is still young. Young people tend to overthink everything. The only thing we can do is make her feel loved,” Gerald said and I nodded. “I’m sure the Alpha and Luna will soon realize that she’s theirs,” I said to him and he nodded.
“No matter the situation. A mother will always recognize her cub, whether they’re grown or not. That’s just how nature is. Even if it’ll take a lot of time, they’ll still get connected and everything will be back to normal.” Sometimes, I just fall in love with this man the more because of the things he says. He always knows what to say and how to say it.
I hope all will be well for all of us. The moon goddess will take control. She started it, she has to finish it.
CASSIE’S POVI was sitting outside on the lawn, watching Loki as she played with the squeaky ball that I gave her. The little puppy was so engrossed in playing with the toy that it made me laugh whenever she got excited when it squeaked.“You’re such a funny dog,” I said to the small creature. It looked up at me and let out a bark before turning its attention back to the squeaky ball.“Cassandra”I looked up to see Mrs. Smith approaching me. She was dressed in a green dress and her blonde hair was in a neat bun.“Mrs. Smith, you’re back early,” I said in surprise. I’m pretty sure we weren’t in the afternoon yet.“Yes, I am. The Alpha and Luna asked me to invite you to lunch with them,” she said with a bright smile and my eyes widened. My heart also skipped a beat at this. “Why?” I couldn’t help but ask. “If you want to be initiated into the pack, they need to know about you,” she said to me and I nodded.“I don’t know the place,” I said to her. Loki ran to her and licked her shoe, mak
LUNA CELINA’S POVAnger filled me as I looked at Cassandra. She didn’t even look like she was disturbed about the fact that her own mate rejected her. How could that boy reject her?“Who is he?” I tried not let my anger show in my voice, but it was hard. Vincenzo was also trying not to let his emotions take the best of him. “He’s the Alpha son,” Cassandra answered with a small smile and then shrugged. “It’s not like anyone would want to accept a mate that was weak and had no wolf, not to mention an Alpha,” she said with a small laugh.I knew that laugh, it meant she was mocking herself. My wolf growled my head, it wanted to let her know that she wasn’t weak.“Do you ever wish to find your real parents?” I heard Vincenzo say. I was focused on stopping my claws from elongating. Being a lycan meant having a greater deal of self-control can other wolves.“I don’t know. I don’t know if they’re still alive or if they live far away. Or maybe, they don’t want me,” I could hear the hurt behin
LUNA CELINA’S POV“I believe you should try it out,” Vincenzo said to me as I climbed the bed. “You really do believe that she’s ours, don’t you?” I asked him. He chuckled and shook his head at me. I pretty sure he thinks I’, being delusional at the moment.“Sweetheart, that photo was the last straw. Nothing anyone will say can make me think otherwise. Cassandra is our Mariana. If it was left to me, I don’t even think a DNA test is necessary. I have every proof I need. But just because we need actual and accurate confirmation, we need to take it,” he said and I sighed. “If it turns out to be negative?” I asked.“This is the first time in my life that you’ll be so pessimistic about this. Is it because you’re scared? Celina, get that pessimistic spirit out. Or I can do that for you,” he said the last part with a teasing smirk. I couldn’t help but playfully roll my eyes at him. This man never fails to amuse me.“I need to see that stupid mate of hers,” he said, catching my attention as
CASSIE’S POV“Thank you so much for everything,” I said to Gerald and Mrs. Smith. They were standing in front of their house with a smile on their faces. “You don’t need to thank us, dear. We’re more than happy that we found you,” Mrs. Smith said with a smile. “She’s not lying,” Gerald added and I giggled.“I’ll miss you guys,” I said as I hugged them. “Me too, sweetheart,” Mrs. Smith said with a chuckle. “Don’t forget to bring some fresh lasagna when you visit,” Gerald said and I laughed as we pulled away. Then we turned to see a sleek black Mercedes drove into the driveway. It parked in front of us and the alpha stepped out of the car.Sorry, I meant my dad.Excitement bubbled up inside me as he approached us. “Good morning, Alpha,” Gerald and Mrs. Smith greeted while I grinned like a cat. He mirrored the same grinned towards me and my heart leaped.“Are you ready?” he asked me. I nodded. He collected my small bag from me and went to place it in the back seat. “Be a good girl,” Ge
CASSIE’S POVI woke up slowly as a yawn escaped my mouth. I sat up and rubbed my eyes because I was still tired. I didn’t even know what the time was or how long I slept. But I knew I enjoyed my sleep.“Oh,” was what left my mouth when I saw a plate of sandwiches on the nightstand beside me. There was a small note by its side. I picked it up and read it.‘Sweetheart, I came to check on you but you were already asleep so I left a plate of sandwiches that your father made for you. When you are ready, I’ll be in the library. We’ll go out to buy a dress for the party. Love mom.’A smile formed on my lips as I placed the note on the nightstand and picked up the plate. My stomach growled and I giggled. Within what seemed like seconds, I devoured every single sandwich and sighed in satisfaction.I must say, my father is a really good cook.With the plate in my hand, I walked out of the room and looked for the kitchen. As excepted, the kitchen was large with a more modern design than the one
CASSIE’S POVWhen I say my mom is talented, I really do mean it. I looked at my hair in awe and my jaw didn’t waste time in dropping. “How do you even do it?” I asked her in shock as I touched my hair. She styled it in a beautiful French Queen braid and decorated the top with little pearls. I looked so beautiful with it.“My mom taught me,” she said as she smoothened the skirt of my dress when I stood up. “Then you have to teach me,” I said to her as I went to slip on my shoes. “That will I do,” she giggled. There was a knock on the door which drew our attention. “Come in,” my mom said. The door opened and my dad walked in. he was dressed in a pair of dark blue slacks and a white dress shirt was tucked in. Even though he looked handsome and intimidating, he looked as if he’d rather tuck out the shirt. “My two ladies are looking beautiful and eatable,” dad joked making us laugh at him. I liked his cockiness. “Aren’t you meant to be waiting for the family?” Mom asked him. He rolled hi
LUNA CELINA’S POVI watched as my daughter went into the house and then I looked back at my mom who signaled me to follow her somewhere private. I obeyed and went after her.“You wanted to see me, mom?” I said. “Her lycan wolf is powerful, it’s aura is the strongest I’ve ever felt,” she said immediately and I felt goose bumps on my skins.“What do you mean?” I had to ask. “The strongest lycan wolf was the first lycan wolf to ever walk on this planet we live in. That was your great grandfather, Celina. Your daughter, Cassandra, her lycan wolf’s aura matches his aura,” she answered. “But she can’t shift yet. She can’t even feel her wolf,” I told her. “You know that you had to nearly drown before you could activate your wolf,” mom reminded me and I nodded.“I don’t know how she will activate hers,” I told her. “When the time is right, she will activate it. But I can feel that a war is coming very soon. You and Vincenzo have to train her. Your mate is a strong wolf, so that’ll be easy,
CASSIE’S POVMy whole body burned badly as I tried to move. My bones were aching and I found it hard to breathe. I was on the hospital bed in a private room in the pack’s hospital.“Cassandra calm down, baby,” I heard my mom say but I was in too much pain to care. I needed to focus on enduring the pain. Was that even possible? How in the world am I supposed to endure this kind of painful pain?“Has she found her mate?” I heard Mrs. Smith ask mom. I didn’t even open my eyes to look at them because I wasn’t actually interested. I pained hiss left my mouth when there was another crack in my body. “It’s too much!” I cried out when I left a pop in my neck. “Sweet,” I heard my dad call and I groaned.“She’s heating up too much. Almost like over heating,” Mrs. Smith panicked when she approached me. “She’s shifting,” mom said. “But it shouldn’t be this painful. We should give her sedatives,” dad said as he looked at me with worry. Mrs. Smith shook her head, “Sedatives will only make it worse