Astoria

five

"But hey, the Harvest Ball is just around the corner, and then Halloween. Who's ready for the werewolf takeover?" Caden chipped in whilst his arms were wrapped around his mate's waist, leaning his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent as if it were his favorite drug.

Lyla rolled her eyes as she finished her milkshake. "I'll be trapped in my room all day so I mean, it'll be like New Years for me."

Liam poked Lyla's side playfully. "No need to be sour, you know it's only for one night."

She shrugged her shoulders as she knew she should be used to Halloween being the only night she felt at odds with everyone else. It was the only night of the year where her existence must be ignored, but remembered that she isn't one of them. The werewolves amongst themselves pose no threat to one another, but with a human in the mix, it's a recipe for disaster.

Even when Lyla was barely a year old, she would spend most of that day on her own, only to be checked up on every few hours or so to make sure she was safe, fed, and comfortable. It was all she knew that day to be, a day of force abandonment just to keep her existence safe. As a precaution, she would be surrounded by wolfsbane, as well as having juices from the plant itself poured into her formula. Everything was done to keep her safe, yet she felt like a princess trapped in her tower.

"It is what it is. I'm used to it. I just wish I could celebrate with everyone instead of being out casted."

"Once you bear the mark of your future mate, you will be able to join us. Your scent will be masked as us, so you'll practically be one of the pack." Venus stated.

Lyla sighed. "But that depends on whether or not a guy will want to take the human girl under his wing to begin with. Every guy here wants a strong female so they can have a successful bloodline for generations to come in. Having a human tamper with those genetics is just a turn off."

Venus looked towards Lyla with a sympathetic look on her face. In their girly chats that didn't include Liam nor Caden, this was all Lyla could talk about. She was a girl feeling unwanted by the world, and that is possibly one of the worst feelings anyone could experience. No one wants to be alone, even the most-stubborn of them all, like Venus, who used to claim she would be just fine not having a mate.

Now here she was, three years into her mating with Caden and she was addicted to him.

Envy was what Lyla would experience when she would glance at Venus and Caden. She wished and prayed to the Moon Goddess herself to give her someone to love her just as much as he loved her. Or simply just the look Caden would give to Venus would be enough. Just something. Or hopefully, someone.

"Don't worry, pipsqueak. You'll always have me when we're old in our rockers telling the kids to get off the lawn." Liam joked as he pulled Lyla into his side, giving her a reassuring hold making a small giggle escape her lips.

"Now, time to discuss transportation and time schedules for the ball. I am not showing up with any of you late like last year or I will feed you to the vampires in Sweden." And there went Venus.

❖❖❖

Saturday led to be uneventful as soon as the group dispersed. Liam went to training, and as per usual, Venus escaped with Caden to his place to spend the rest of the weekend together. As for Lyla, she went home and submerged herself into the living room couch, and a giant cozy blanket.

A bowl of her mother's stew rested in her lap and she skimmed through the various channels, looking for something to stay situated on. But her mind grew restless as nothing seemed to satisfy her. Instead, she ate in silence as all that could be heart was her mother cleaning in the kitchen.