001

~VALLISA~

“Val, a woman cannot be an Alpha. That’s the rule of all packs. I’m sure you know this already. So you need to find your mate fast, so the Alpha position won’t move to another family,” My mom told me while we were eating lunch.

“That’s why you’ll be going to Vilkas Academy tomorrow,” My Dad told me after he was done eating.

“What? Dad! You know how I feel about that,” I leaned in closer. “All this while I've been homeschooled since after high school. If I go to Vilkas Academy I’ll have to start from year one,” I complained.

“You’re the daughter of a wealthy Alpha, Vallisa. I’ll pull some strings and you’ll start from year three,” He said with an air of finality and left.

I turned to my Mom and gave her a please-talk-to-your-husband look so she could say something to my Dad on my behalf. Anything at all. But she sighed and placed her hand on mine.

“Mom, please talk to him. I don’t want to go to Vilkas Academy. Yes, it’s a werewolf Academy, but I hate public places and you both know it,” I pressed.

“I’m so sorry sweetie,” She smiled sadly. “But this is the best option. You can’t just keep staying at home, always cooped up in your room. You need to find your mate.”

I scoffed in annoyance and frustration. “So this is about finding my mate?”

“Your Dad and I have been supportive of you all this while. But we aren’t getting any younger. We need a successor and that person is your mate,” She pointed out.

“I attend every Moonrise Ceremony Mom and you know it. But I have never found my mate,” I uttered in frustration.

Yeah I knew she was right, a woman couldn't be an Alpha. I had no interest in leading a pack either. I just wanted to live a stress-free life.

“And you think going to Vilkas Academy would help? Mom, it's just a college,” I deadpanned.

“I believe you will find your mate there. Your dad does too. Please, baby, do this for our family. Ever since your brother died, we haven't pressured you. Also, they have a history of helping people like you get their wolves. Please sweetie you have to understand with us,” My mom squeezed my hands tightly and gave me a pleading look.

I sighed because she was right. I owed them this much. They had been very supportive of me and showed me the maximum amount of love even though they were both the busy type.

I could understand their fears because they had worked hard to make our pack what it is today. Handing their hard work to another family because I didn’t have a mate would devastate and break them.

“Fine. I’ll start packing my things,” I let out a forced smile hoping it came out as a genuine one to her.

She hugged me and then gave me a forehead kiss. “My beautiful girl. Go show that school what a Brainbox you are. Show them you are the daughter of Alpha Wolfhart. Show them that you’ve got it all.”

I so much wanted to tell her that, “I’ve not got it all. I have no mate and no wolf remember?”

But I held back my words and smiled while nodding. I decided to put in more effort.

We both left the dining room afterwards and while on my way heading upstairs to my room, I couldn't help but brood about my current predicament.

They said turning eighteen would be the best night of my life. Well… They lied.

It was the worst night of my life because while other girls in my age grade found their mates, I just stood and watched, waiting to find mine but… he was a no-show.

And now I was 21 years old, still without a mate and worst of all, without a wolf too.

Well, it was no news that I had no wolf. I hated the way people looked at me whenever I went to public gatherings or stayed around people because of it.

There was always this judgmental look on their faces. Not like their looks or words affected me. But what always saddened me was the fact that it affected my parents.

I know that as a daughter of an Alpha, not having a wolf was bad, but couldn’t they have been a little understanding that it wasn't my fault?

Trust me, I tried to hide that I had no wolf but the truth eventually came out.

The fact that my Dad was one of the wealthiest Alphas was what helped me or else I would have been mocked even in the open or worse, bullied.

Not like I would have tolerated anyone trying to bully me.

And my brother's death when I was nineteen made everything worse. He was the one who used to give me courage and cheer me up.

But he got into a fatal accident while coming to pick me up from the pack's library and honestly, I have blamed myself for his death ever since then too.

All these reasons were what made me anti-social but my parents wouldn't understand because I never even told them this was how I felt.

I sighed for the umpteenth time and went into my room.

I hated the fact that I was going to be constantly surrounded by werewolves with different characters.

No doubt most of them would want to pick on me thinking I was weak because I had no wolf.

But that was where they would be making the biggest mistake of their lives. I had no wolf, yes, but I was far from weak.

My late brother, Tristan, and I had one rule when it came to bullies, which was to bully anyone who tried to bully us or anyone around us.

I wanted to call my best friend Shantel and tell her about this but I decided against it. Since my parents surprised me with this news. I was going to surprise her too.

So I began packing my things.

☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

By the time I was done, it was already dark. But I was still in a bad mood. So I left our house and took a walk to get some ice cream.

Taking a stroll at night with my headphones on always brightened my mood and ice cream always did the trick too.

I was walking when someone snatched my phone and ran into the alley I didn't even notice was beside where I was passing.

Then I looked and saw Jax.

“Jax?” I called out with surprise and in response, he smirked evilly.

Jax was a known bully back in high school who tried to bully me but ended up getting bullied by me instead.

“What is the meaning of this Jax?” I asked him in annoyance.

“You think I forgot how you broke my arm back in high school?” Jax sneered.

I rolled my eyes. “You deserved it because you tried to break mine first. I get it that you are angry that I wasn't as weak as you thought. But that was in the past Jax, we are adults now. So let it go already,” I told him.

“Sure! I’ll let it go after I get my revenge,” He smiled wickedly and lunged toward me but I effortlessly dodged him.

Tristan wasn’t the only one who taught me how to fight, my dad also kept training me himself after Tristan died so I was a good fighter.

Their reasons were that since I didn't have a wolf yet I should learn how to fight so I could protect myself and my fighting lessons really came in handy.

Jax and I began fighting. I was kicking his ass before two boys unexpectedly showed up from nowhere and pinned me to the wall.

Jax instantly grabbed my neck and began choking me. I tried to wriggle my way out but they had me in an impossible position.

Just when my breath began to seize, that was when something snapped.

First, it was my legs.

This made Jax and his boys let go of me thinking they were the ones who did it.

I fell to the ground and winced in pain due to the impact of my fall.

It was happening, I thought to myself as I felt excruciating pain begin to spread all over my body.

I was finally going to shift into my wolf form. The moment I had been waiting for all my life. It was here.

Just then I heard a deep masculine voice say, “Boys? Get away from the helpless girl or I’ll make you all go back to your parents. But not in one piece,”

“Shit, it’s HIM,” Jax and the other boys said before they ran off with horrified looks on their faces making me wonder.

Who was the “HIM” they were talking about? And why did they look so scared?

A few seconds after they ran off, I shifted into my wolf form fully, and then I turned to look at the guy whom Jax and his friends had run away from.

“Your wolf is a Solara?” The guy asked with a hint of surprise in his voice before I even got to get a good look at him.

When I heard the name Solara, I froze in shock. I knew what a Solara was.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

This couldn't be happening. My wolf shouldn't be a Solara. There wasn’t a Solara for over a century.

Personally, I even thought the whole thing was just a fairytale.

“Hi, Val. My name is Ingrid. I'm your wolf and I’m from the Solara bloodline,” My wolf spoke to me, confirming my greatest fear.

This only meant one thing.

Death was coming for me soon.