Chapter One
~~ANIKA VALERION~~
THE ECLIPSE PACK
“Don’t go, Anika. Just stay back home, with me,” Nana pleaded for the tenth time.
I turned to grab my linen dress from the table where I’d just finished pressing them and hurriedly walked to the front of the mirror to prepare but the instant I turned away from her, I heard the door click shut behind me.
I whirled around. “Nana? What are you doing? Open the door!” I demanded pleadingly, rattling the handle.
“It’s for your own good, Anika,” she whispered, her words laced with unexplained fear.
“No. It’s not. It’ll only be for my good if I attend the ceremony!”
“You won’t understand, Ani, but please, trust me!” I heard the way her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Why? Give me a reason!” I screamed, pounding continuously on the door.
Panic curled its way into my chest. If I missed this ritual today, I’d miss it forever.
“Grandma!” I called again, expecting a response, however, rather than spoken words, I heard retreating footsteps.
I scanned the small room, my eyes landing on the window. I could use it to my advantage.
I slipped on my dress before attempting to shove the window frame open.
I’m small so it was easy to squeeze through the tight gap. I ended up tumbling into the dirt outside and the instant my legs hit the ground. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.
It was the day of the transition ceremony and the Moon Goddess was my witness to how much I’ve desperately longed for this moment.
I waved off the guilt clawing at my chest. As much as I wanted to grant her request, I couldn't stay behind. I hadn’t waited eighteen years just to turn back now.
The transition ceremony had been a tradition in our pack for decades. On that night, unturned teen wolves gathered in the square with their families, waiting in tense silence for the precise moment the moon reached its peak. When it did, the surge of lunar energy would awaken whatever lay dormant in their blood.
If a wolf spirit existed, it clawed its way to the surface, rebirthing them as something new. If not, they returned as nothing more than untransitioned and powerless wolves.
Ever since I was a child, I had watched the older teens come back from the square transformed—fur coating their bodies, four powerful legs carrying them forward, fire burning in their eyes, and an unmistakable aura of pride and growth that marked them as true wolves of the Eclipse.
And tonight… It was supposed to be my turn to experience this.
Being an unturned wolf even after the ceremony, had its consequences.
Wolves of this pack had relentlessly bullied me for years, branding me a "wolfless freak" before I even had the chance to prove them wrong.
A sudden, cold wave of panic shot through me, making my knees feel like water. What if they were right? What if the moon reached its zenith and I remained standing there, unchanged and exposed, while the rest of the world turned wild?
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing a breath into my lungs. No. You are the Eclipse. Your blood is moon-blessed.
“I’m normal. I would experience my transition today. Just like the others.” I muttered to myself reassuringly.
I continued the walk to the square, the closer I got, the more I started to hear the noises that came from the square.
By the time I reached, it was already filled with dozens of teens who stood in the center of the grounds. Some faces I recognized, some I didn’t.
To the sides, families gathered in circles, waiting to experience their loved ones’ first transition.
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. I was the only one standing alone.
Nana wasn’t here, not standing in the circle with me—and I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t.
I inhaled sharply, in an attempt to calm myself. It barely worked.
I smoothed the front of my linen dress and stepped toward the transition line, ready to settle into the grounds with the rest of my peers.
But before I could take my place, I heard approaching footsteps and silent, disdainful giggles.
I didn't even have to look up to know who they were.
Joana stepped directly into my path, arms folded across her chest.
I met her gaze—and she smiled.
“Oh?” Her eyes widened in exaggerated surprise as they swept over me.
“Such a beautiful dress.”
My fingers tightened at my sides.
She clicked her tongue, pitying. “What a shame, really.” Her gaze sharpened. “All that effort, all that prettiness… completely wasted on you. I thought I told you to stay in your hole."
“Everyone has to be here,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
Joana laughed, a short, cutting sound. “Oh, sweetheart. Not everyone.” She stepped closer, close enough that her perfume flooded my lungs. “When the rest of us shift and you’re left standing there like a mistake the Moon forgot to clean up—do try not to make a scene.”
Something in me snapped.
“I have every right to be here,” I said, lifting my chin. “And I’m done letting you decide what I’m worth.”
The air went still.
For the first time in all the years she’d tormented me, Joana’s smile faltered—then curdled. Her face flushed, eyes flashing with pure, ugly rage.
“What did you just say to me?”
Her hand came up—
"They’re here," someone whispered in awe.
I turned toward the high ledge at the farther end of the square.
The Alpha, Marcus Mortain, stepped onto the ledge. He was burly, his presence commanding the authority he exuded.
Following a few paces behind him was a figure I had never seen in my eighteen years of being in this pack, never had the privilege to, yet I instinctively recognized him from the rumors I’d heard about him.
He was tall, taller than his father, with a leaner build. His hair fell in rough waves around his shoulders.
He was clad in a casual attire, his face showed disinterest in the ritual as though it’s just one of the numerous chores he needed to complete.
He didn't look at the crowd. His gaze was rather fixed forward, cold, blank, expressionless.
Every wolf in the square instinctively bowed their head as he walked to the high ledge, taking the seat prepared for him.
Xander Mortain.
The cold blooded heir.
Beside me, Joana stared with adoration.
“You’d be the perfect Luna for him, Joana.” one of her minions stated dreamily.
Joana huffed in response. “Naturally. I’m certain he’d fall in love with me at first sight. He won't be able to look away after I’ve shifted.”
Xander leaned back, his gaze finally scanning the line of teenagers waiting to shift. For a heartbeat, those grey eyes drifted toward the back of the line. Toward me.
I froze, suddenly feeling too aware of myself.
Then as quickly as it happened, he looked away, staring back into nothingness.
Alpha Marcus’s eyes assessed each of us. The clouds were already parting, the moon slowly coming into view.
"Tonight, you leave your childhood behind and embrace the beast. Transition into your full blooded wolves.”
With every word, my heart raced uncontrollably. As if on cue, the moon reached its zenith—the moment had finally arrived.
Around me, teenagers began to collapse to the ground. I heard the sickening cracks of bones shifting and caught glimpses of bodies bending at impossible angles as they transformed.
Could I go through the same and prove them wrong?