Chapter 2

Diana's POV

Trisha was not giving up. She kept following me to every shelf I went through.

"Come on, Trisha, you've got to give me some breathing space."

"Girl, since when did we start giving each other breathing space?" she asked.

I sighed.

"Look, Trish, I know we are—"

"Found it!" she yelled, raising a book.

"Found what?" I asked, confused.

"Found what you are looking for, Diana," she said, handing the book to me.

Surprisingly, when I saw the title of the book, it was exactly what I had in mind. I was shocked.

How the hell did she know that this was why I was worried?

"Trisha."

"Diana."

"How did you know that this is what I was looking for?"

She took in a deep breath before answering. "It's obvious, Diana. I am your friend—do you think I wouldn't know when something is bothering you?"

"I am sorry I tried to hide it from you. I just—"

"It's fine, Diana. I get it," she said, smiling.

"I am just gonna go through a few pages and then we'll go," I said, tapping the book.

"Oh, no problem. Take your time, girl."

About one hour into the book, suddenly, the heavy wooden doors of the library swung open with a dramatic creak that made everyone glance up.

And just like that, Ava Storm walked in—like she owned the damn place.

Scratch that. She did own the place. Or at least, her father did.

She strutted in on designer boots, her Moonbound High blazer draped fashionably over her shoulders like a cape. Her platinum blonde hair shimmered under the dusty rays of sunlight spilling through the tall windows, and her crimson lips curled into a smirk that reeked of mischief.

"Gather around, ladies!" she called out, loud and unapologetic. "I've got something important to share."

Girls abandoned their books mid-sentence, swarming to her like moths to flame.

Only Trisha and I stayed put, unmoved.

"She's at it again," Trisha muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Ava's sharp gaze swept over the room, pausing briefly on us—like we were dust on her manicured nails. Then she flipped her hair and turned her attention back to her loyal swarm.

"I turn twenty this weekend," she said sweetly, her voice laced with arrogance. "And it just so happens to be my first transformation."

Gasps. Giddy whispers.

Typical.

"Well, guess what? I heard the next alpha of the pack would be at the transformation ceremony too."

Everyone began to giggle.

"The next alpha!" Trish exclaimed.

I didn't care about the alpha or anything else. What I was bothered about the most was how my transformation would go.

My transformation would determine if my family would be saved from shame or remain in shame.

"You know what I also heard?" Ava asked, leaning forward a little and smiling.

Everyone was asking.

"I heard he's gonna be choosing his mate and Luna too."

Being the Alpha's mate was every girl's dream, including the dream of my friend Trisha, but I was different. I wasn't like any other girl. I didn't see myself becoming an Alpha's mate or a Luna.

It wasn't because I was born to omega parents. I simply never dreamed of becoming a Luna—it just never appealed to me.

I could see Trisha smiling.

She seemed happy, and I was happy that she was happy.

I finally scanned through the book's table of contents but didn't find anything that made mention of the possibility of transforming into a beta wolf.

So there are different categories of wolves.

There is the Alpha, who is the strongest and the leader of the pack. And then there's also the Alpha of Alphas.

Just as the name implies, this is an alpha whose pack is made of only Alphas, and then there are the beta wolves.

Beta wolves are the next in line when it comes to strength and power. All Alphas must have a beta wolf as their right-hand man and personal guard as well.

The next in line are the omega wolves. These are the weakest of all wolves, just like my parents.

Though there are omegas with ranks, these are omegas that have successfully climbed the ladder of strength and have probably levelled up to the beta's strength.

But this is very rare.

Despite these levels of wolves, strength still varies depending on the individual and the family and how hard they've trained.

My parents tried everything they could so they could level up for me, just so they could save me from humiliation and rejection, but all their efforts were fruitless.

"Hey Diana, I hear you are also turning twenty on that day."

"Yes, she is, and so am I!" Trish interrupted.

"I wasn't talking to you, bitch."

"Say that one more time and I swear you will regret crossing my path today forever."

Trisha wasn't just my friend—she was also my protector. Countless times she's saved me from people who tend to mock me for having two weak omegas as my parents.

There were other people with omega parents, but I was the only one with two omega parents.

Others had an omega mother and a beta father, or an omega father whose strength already equals that of a beta and a beta mother.

One characteristic difference is the eye colour of the three ranks.

Alphas have red eyes, beta wolves have golden yellow eyes, and omegas have blue eyes.

No matter the amount of level-up, an omega's eye colour would never change, except there's a way the omega can become an Alpha wolf.

"You've got so much nerve, Trisha. Don't think that my father would take it easy on you because dear daddy is his beta," Ava chuckled.

"I will be counting on it."

The weekend.

It came so fast.

Mom had woken me up with a happy birthday song, singing and praying for me.

But that wasn't my problem. The transformation ceremony was later tonight.

I wasn't ready.

I picked up my phone and there were about ten missed calls from Trisha and about seven happy birthday messages from her.

I smiled and called her back to wish her a happy birthday too.

We talked for a while and then we ended the call.

I spent the rest of the day surfing through the net for stories, folktales, and legends that might talk about the possibility of becoming a beta wolf, but there was nothing.

My heart was heavy.

I paced back and forth. I was having trouble breathing.

The night had finally reached.

The one I dreaded the most.

All the ladies who turned twenty that day and the ones who had turned during the earlier days of the week were called out and made to stand in a straight line.

The boys were made to stand in the other line.

Trisha stood by my side, holding and squeezing my hands tightly, assuring me that everything would be fine.

After the speech the alpha made, we all stood waiting on the full moon. But before then, I was feeling something strange in my heart, something like a pull.

It started small but became stronger as the full moon came out. Suddenly I could hear bones crack. Screams of agony and pain filled the Moonbound square.

But then something strange happened.