Aurelia
Under the moon was the only place I felt safe. It was the only comfort I'd had over these past few years I'd spent trapped behind the gates of this sanctuary. It came back to me every night, watching me, listening to me, consoling me—learning every crevice of my heart as it set a path towards a destiny I had started to resent.
"It's already past midnight," Meena said from my side, letting out a huff of irritation. "Do you think the matrons have lied to us about the claiming ceremony tomorrow?" Her words felt sharp as they sliced through me, my gaze dropping from the shadows in the night sky as the panic clutched at my chest.
"Don't say that." I hissed, "The matrons would not risk the wrath of the witches they serve by lying to us about something so sacred."
Meena sighed, shooting me a pitiful glance.
Since I'd known her, she had never taken this all as seriously as I did—but then again, she had never wanted this as much as I did either.
"It was just a thought, Aurelia." She turned her head, a frown settling on her forehead as she shuffled further along the canopy we were both hiding beneath.
I was on edge, and my words to her had come out harsher than I had intended—but she knew more than anyone the mess that I turned into when it came to nights like these.
Unlike her, it had been years since I'd been brought to this sanctuary, all wide-eyed and full of excitement for the fate that would be given to me. Instead, here I was—stuck in stasis. Waiting for my Alpha, waiting for the claim that had been promised to me from the moment the witches had chosen me on the day of my eighteenth birthday.
Marked wolves had never tended to stay under the protection of the sanctuary for very long—most she-wolves were claimed by their Alpha within the year they had stepped foot into this place, but it had been three years since I walked through these gates and my Alpha was nowhere to be seen.
"There's still time, maybe—maybe they just got lost, the sanctuary is hidden well for a reason." I grasped at whatever my mind could come up with as Meena gave me a sidelong glance. The both of us knew very well that all wolves had a strong sense of direction, and that wasn't even countering in the fact that an Alpha's senses were even more heightened than that of an average wolf.
Simply getting lost wasn't something that was in an Alpha's DNA.
"And maybe a dragon came out of the sky and burnt them to a bloody crisp." She replied sarcastically, laughing quietly at her joke as she leaned against the ledge of the roof. She tilted her head up at the sky, basking in the power of the night air as she smiled at the very thought of the fairytale she had managed to conjure up.
I scoffed, knowing just how much she would have loved for that to be true.
Sometimes the things she said made me wonder why she had even shown up at the sanctuary in the first place, when I knew just how much she was against its teachings, but even as my past was an open book—hers was padlocked and loaded with silver for anyone who tried to get through.
In the grand scheme of things, it had made sense why we had become such quick friends. Meena had never cared about the rules that had to be followed, and she had never cared about the whispers that followed me around, or the way most of the other girls were hellbent on trying to avoid me like I was some sort of plague.
She didn't care that after the last ceremony that had occurred in the spring, that I had officially set the record for the longest time a marked wolf had ever resided in this sanctuary.
She didn't care that everyone here thought of me as a bad luck charm.
Their whispers had thickened my skin as they made their mean remarks about me to the new wolves that arrived at the sanctuary steps, and even though Meena had been the only one who hadn't fallen for it, their declarations travelled through every room I walked into. And over time—the more I listened to them, the more I began to believe they were right.
Stay away from Aurelia or you'll end up cursed just like her.
Stay away from Aurelia or your Alpha will never come to claim you.
Stay away from Aurelia unless you want to be mateless forever.
Maybe I was cursed. It was the only thing that made sense, the only thing that held substance behind their cruelty. Or maybe the moon had made a mistake when it had gifted me its mark and its magic, maybe I'd never even had a mate to begin with.
As someone who had stood witness to twenty-four ceremonies, and watched more than double the amount of my sanctuary sisters be claimed before me, how could I still have faith when what was theirs had never been mine?
Tonight—the moon was shining brighter than I'd ever seen it before, the heaviness in my chest lifting as I watched the clouds clear in the darkened sky. It recognised my helplessness as I rested my forearms against the canopy, leaning towards the pulse of its power.
"We have movement," Meena said, my gaze dropping away from the face of the moon and whatever it was trying to tell me.
My heart was thudding in anticipation as I followed her gaze, roaming over the heavy expanse of trees and towards the wrought iron gates that protected the entrance of this sanctuary. The clearing that came after them was where the Alpha's were welcomed and shown to their accommodations for the night, the distance between their building and our temple as far away enough as it needed to be from the scents of their new mates.
The rules of the claiming ceremonies were few, but the most important of them all was that the alphas and the marked wolves were not to fraternize before the ceremony took place. It was an instance that kept the balance of power intact, and in disobeying the rules you would only risk the wrath of the witches that had been generous to us enough already.
No one had ever been stripped of their mark before—but the threat was always there to keep the claimings from turning barbaric like the old days.
Meena grumbled in annoyance as the first alpha of the night arrived in his wolf form, the monstrosity of his size highlighted by the light of the moon. For a moment he stood on his hind legs, letting out a powerful howl before he settled on all fours once again. The strength behind his call shuddered down my spine, my body instinctively seeking out the protection of the woman who stood beside me.
Meena and I were supposed to be safely tucked into our beds getting a good night's rest like all the other girls, instead—here we were, watching the horrific way this alpha reformed his body and shifted back into his human form.
A blush rose to my cheeks as I took in his nakedness.
"He looks like a piece of work," Meena said from beside me as I turned my attention to her, watching as she picked up the bottle of wine she had stolen from the stash that had been reserved for our guests. She took a heavy gulp, glaring at the unassuming Alpha instead of admiring him.
"The two of you would definitely get along then I think," I responded quickly, trying to hide my grin as she snorted. She shoved at my shoulder as I leaned over the ledge of the roof, and I had to cover my mouth to muffle my laughter.
"You know me, I'd make his life a living hell." She said honestly, but she always said things like that when I mentioned her mate.
"But you'd still carry his pup." She took another swig of the wine like my words made her nauseous.
It was everything this sanctuary had prepared for us, and the matrons had spent hours of care in teaching us how to cater to our mates no matter the world in which they came from. We learnt to fight, and to cook and to lead so that we were prepared for our required duties of being a Luna—but most importantly, we learnt about the intricacies of childbearing and the many ways to pleasure our mates.
I had never met a marked wolf so uninterested in the gift that had been bestowed upon them—I didn't understand it, but Meena was the only one who had ever made an effort to be my friend, and for that—I never pushed her to explain why she had hated the idea of it so much.
"I could run instead." She said breezily, the pang of pain pressing against my chest at the sheer thought of it.
When she said things like that, it made me realise exactly why she stuck around me.
Meena wanted my curse to be true and she wanted it to be her own.
"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed. "If you were claimed he'd take care of you, he'd give you a home and a family, he'd keep you safe."
What else could a wolf wish for?
"It's another cage just like this sanctuary, Aurelia." She said haughtily and I pursed my lips together to stop this from turning into another one of our arguments.
Wolves had been created by witches and those witches had picked us to carry on the lineage of their power.
This sanctuary was not a cage, it was a place for us to be revered.
"I think you've had enough wine." I pulled the bottle from her hand and took my own swig from it. The liquid was sweet as it travelled down my throat, the consequence of it leaving an energetic buzz throughout my bloodstream.
"Do you think you'll be claimed this time around?" She asked me like she always did on the night before the ceremony, but this time I didn't like the sour way she had phrased it.
I looked out to the clearing again, my hand tightening around the neck of the bottle in my hands.
I shrugged my answer.
I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I was a slave to my own emotions.
When the matrons had announced that there would be another ceremony, nothing could have destroyed my happiness that day, but as the days went on the more doubts that seemed to creep in.
"Another alpha." She noted, pulling me away from my dangerous thoughts.
This time the alpha had come in a sleek looking car and my heart began to beat out of place as I watched him get out of the driver's seat. He stretched his legs like he had been driving for far too long, and then he rolled his shoulders as he got a bearing of his surroundings.
I had been admiring his form for a little longer than I was supposed to, completely enamoured by the way he moved that I hadn't even realised he had seen me before it was too late.
He turned, facing me head on as he pinned me with his precise stare, almost as if he knew I had come to this rooftop to catch a glimpse of him.
I was so taken aback by the certainty of him that I was frozen in my spot, his intent burning a blaze across my skin as his grey eyes settled and gleamed like the moon.
He tilted his head in slight amusement when I didn't drop my gaze, but before I could see what he would do next, Meena pulled me to the floor.
"Fuck, he definitely saw you. The matrons are going to be so pissed if he mentions anything. We need to get back inside."
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A/N: Hi! Moon Marked is officially back and I'm so excited to start posting this story again. This is just a quick note to let you know that this story will now be updated twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I appreciate everyone who has welcomed me and my stories back with open arms, and I hope you like the improved version of this book! <3
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