AURELIA
“What do you mean by, ‘You can't shapeshift’? I turned eighteen today.” I demanded, my silver-gray eyes burning with frustration as they locked onto my parents — Selene and Caelum Blackthorn.
They were two of the most powerful werewolves in the Midnight Howl wolf pack, and yet, at this moment, they felt like strangers to me.
“That is what it is, Aurelia.” My mother, Selene said, her tone, distant. “Your twin sister has transformed already. Every female wolf in our pack is expected to do the same. But you… You aren't destined to be a werewolf. You can only be…”
My father's hand shot out to silence her, dragging her out of the room in haste.
I turned to face the full moon, which glowed unnaturally bright tonight, casting an eerie light on everything. The cold under my feet felt like fire, like I was standing on the edge of something I couldn’t outrun.
How could I have failed the Rite of Passage? It had never happened before in our pack's history. Why was I the first? This was supposed to be the moment I stepped into my legacy — into the power that ran through my blood — but instead, I had failed.
Elara, my twin sister stormed into the room. “What are we going to do?” Her voice, full of desperation.
She had always been overprotective since our parents were the guardians of our pack and had little time for us.
Elara tried touching me but I shoved her off and she nearly hit the floor.
Upon getting to the ground floor, my parents stumbled in. Their breathing? Ragged.
My initial thought was that our pack was under its usual attack and my parents would take us hiding like a loser which is what I am tired of doing.
“What’s wrong?” I phrased my question delicately, my eyes watchful.
Selene’s eyes flickered nervously, “When you were born, you were cursed by the moon.” She paused, as though bracing herself for the weight of her next words. “You have to lie with a man... to transform into a werewolf.”
A pang of sorrow pierced my heart and before I knew it, tears came rolling down my cheeks.
“Don't do something rash.” Elara shook my body immensely for me to jolt back to reality which I was in but couldn't move a muscle.
“I will do it,” I replied, my voice cold, detached. Reality had already set in, and I knew I would do whatever it took to claim my place in this world, even if it cost me everything.
“Aurelia, are you going to put your most prized possession on the line so you can be a werewolf?” Elara's eyes widened with shock.
“You would have done the same.” I replied coldly, not looking at her face.
“Do you have someone in mind?” She asked.
“Yes, we do.” Caelum said before he ushered in a young-looking handsome man with green eyes.
Without another word, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to my room, my heart pounding in my chest. His touch was cold, calculated, but I didn’t care. I would do whatever it took.
He pulled me to the bed, his hands rough against my skin. His eyes never left mine as he moved over me. For the first time, I realized how empty I truly felt. But there was no turning back.
When I opened my eyes, I was met by the smug smirks of the people I called family.
“What's going on?” I felt drained suddenly, my mind exhausted like never before.
The stranger lifted me to his shoulders.
Under the full moon, the stranger carried me to the edge of the forbidden forest, a place no one dared go. He tossed me into a hole, my fragile hands bound tightly together. I screamed, my voice echoing, but there was no one to hear.
“This young man that you laid with… is Elara's fated mate and he will help us sire new heirs but he was cursed with eternal hunger. And you Aurelia, is the sacrifice.” Selene's voice rang out.
“You've always been useless.” The pain of betrayal twisted in my chest as Elara’s voice pierced the silence.
“At least, you can sacrifice yourself for your sister's happiness, right?” Caelum sniffed.
The cloud opened, hinting at the impending rain, one that hadn't fallen in years.
The man roared with laughter before he dropped a lighter into the hole.
I braced myself. The fire would come. The end was near.
But deep inside, a single thought remained: I would never be forgotten.
