Chapter 1

LAYLA’S POV

Thunder struck from the sky, torching the apple tree in the centre of the square. The fire erupted, racing across the ground and setting everything it touched ablaze.

Carnage, blood, pain, screams and raging cries were all I could hear and see. The fires licked at the edges of the village square, leaving the people petrified like a cornered rat. They ran helter-skelter, seeking refuge from not only the fire but the armed soldiers that haunted them.

The ground rattled violently under me and my eyes trailed forward. Fear was registered on the faces of the people as they pushed past me, screaming and howling to the dead moon.

I heard a whisper. Someone was crying to the Moon Goddess. Well, they shouldn't bother. The gods are dead.

The sound of sizzling flesh and clanging swords sliced through the smoke-filled air and I stood, frozen. My legs rooted to the spot.

“Run, Layla!” Raven called out weakly.

My eyes fell on her immobile figure on the ground. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be dead.

“Run! He's coming for you!” She cried out.

My gaze shifted from hers to the man charging towards me with full force.

My breath caught.

I wanted to run but I couldn't. I was rooted to the spot. Sweat gathered around my palms and my heart raced wildly in my chest. I was terrified but I couldn't run to safety.

“Layla!” Raven screamed this time, reaching for my arm but it was too late. The soldier was closing in.

His sword glinted in the fires surrounding us and with a deadly roar, he lifted the weapon. “Die!”

With lost hope, I closed my eyes and braced for impact but when the sword came, I felt nothing.

“Layla!”

I was jolted awake, clutching my chest as I gasped for air.

What kind of dream was that?

Suddenly, Raven's words echoed in my head. “Dreams are a revelation of the future.”

Revelations of the future? She never got to explain that to me. She never will because those were her very last words.

I could remember holding her cold, immobile body in this same room and on this same sunny day. I was ten.

Raven had always said, “Survival requires sacrifice and a willingness to kill.” But Asher went back on her words when she was laid to earth a day after.

“Layla, are you deaf!” Came the yell again.

I was jerked from my thoughts when a young girl my age hurled a bucket of water at me.

“That will get your attention.” She threw the bucket aside and slapped her hands together. “Listen up. I've got some things to say.”

Water dripped from my hair and clothes as I sat up.

“Why is she so slow at this?” A man growled impatiently.

“Raven was a better priestess than she is. Why did she have to die and not this cursed fool?” Another man wailed.

“Let her be. She's just a child!” A woman said in my defense.

“Yo,” the girl sitting in a lotus style in front of me said, “are you listening?”

“Yes.” I reached for a towel beside me. “What does my child want me to hear?”

The girl's eyes sparkled. “Well, the mating ceremony is coming up and I'm terrified. Can you pray to the Moon Goddess to give me courage ‘coz I'm scared shitless and also, make my mate cute and handsome?”

I heaved a sigh. It was the same old request I've been receiving for the past week.

I banged the Alkali, the drum I used to communicate to the Moon Goddess and listened to the echoing sound.

Then I smiled and said to the girl. “The Moon Goddess says you won't stop feeling nervous…”

The girl frowned.

I concluded. “But your mate is more handsome than you'd ever imagine.”

“Oh my gosh. That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks, loser.” she rose to her feet and rushed out of the room.

“It’s my turn!” A woman said, pushing through the line that queued right outside my door.

She got into the hut and sat down in a lotus position.

“What does my child want me to hear?” I asked.

“Oh, I just wanted to pray for my daughter. She doesn't want to attend the mating ceremony but I want her to have a husband. Please, tell the Moon Goddess to help me.” The woman clasped my hands.

I banged the drum with my fist and repeated the same procedure as I did earlier.

The woman smiled. “Ah, thank the Moon Goddess.”

“You're welcome.” I smiled. As I watched her leave, my eyes followed the line she walked past. They're no more than 50 people here today.

I fell on my back and sighed. “I need a break.”

After attending to the cries and wails of 50 overgrown and growing teenagers, I decided it was time to go home.

I peeled off my prayer gown and wore my regular clothes but the red symbol on my forehead would remain.

As I walked the path that led to our mansion, I noticed people were staring at me. They whispered too.

“Isn't that Layla?”

“Ah, look at her. She's so pitiful.”

“Shh. Don't let her hear you say that. She's cursed, remember? You want her to curse you?”

“Shh. I think she heard us.”

I heaved a frustrated sigh. This was getting old.

The summer I was born, the Crescent Moon pack became a battlefield.

My childhood ended for me before it began and it was because of some stupid prophecy. A prophecy that labeled me an outcast and a recluse.

My sister would live a life of flare and fun while I would be bound to a life of confinement and solidarity. For the past ten years, I had lived as the pack's priestess because everyone thinks I'm cursed. They found it funny. I found it sickening.

“I'm home.” I said as I pushed the front door open.

“.... I know, right? He's returning to the pack.” I heard Isabella’s muffled voice.

Returning? Who was returning to the pack?

“Ah, there you are!” Cassandra blocked me before I would enter. “Go feed the horses. The servants are busy.”

“Good evening, mum.” I greeted with a bow.

“Don't greet me! Go away! Shoo!” She gave me a light push and I stumbled backward but I didn't fall.

I got a hold of myself and bowed. “Alright, mum.”

“It's Your Highness to you!” She shot back.

Before I could respond, she slammed the door shut.

“Who was that?” I heard Isabella ask.

“It's the outcast.” Cassandra replied in a dry tone.

“I hope she didn't touch you, mum. You know she's cursed.” Isabella sneered.

“Why would I?” Cassandra replied.

Then they shared a laugh and continued their conversation.

“The mating ceremony will be epic. King Asher would be looking at me.” Isabella said proudly.

“Of course, he would. You're the princess.” her mother chimed in and they laughed again.

I picked up my bag from the ground and marched to the stables, irritation burning at my skin.

For the past week, the only thing the people knew how to speak about was the mating ceremony and Lycan King Asher. It was infuriating to watch young maidens cry to me to help them pick which dresses they would wear or what hairstyle would their prospective mates like. It jarred at my nerves.

As I fed the horses hay, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

“Mating ceremony, huh.”

Everyone has been talking about it. Now, I'm really curious to see what it looks like.