"The Replacement Luna..."

Reject...

Glare:

"What have you learned from our informants?"

"The Whiffs seek to unify all Lycans under one rule. An Alpha King that does not come from the royal bloodline, but from a similar situation as they have experienced and gone through... that of being rejected for the mere fact that they were not the mate of the Lycan they fell in love with."

"That is absurd. A king is only granted that title through succession. No commoner is allowed to rule and unify all the Lycans. It needs certain strength and agility, as well as presence of mind, and sharp wit to govern many a people." I answered, keeping my voice down, afraid of waking Ares who slept peacefully on my bed.

"That is true my Penumbra, which is why they have started this war for conquest. Anyone who does not share their goal is eliminated either by force or by hypnosis." Yendre, Carina's right hand man informed me.

"Hypnosis? They have that power?"

"It would seem they do, Penumbra."

"How did they acquire such an ability?" I asked intrigued.

"They have traded their ability to shift from their human shape to wolf form for the ability to vanish. Hypnosis, it would seem was a perk given to them by the witch they struck a bargain with."

"Who is this witch, and who leads the Whiffs to attain their goal?"

"Both are still a mystery my Penumbra. We are still searching for answers." Yendre bowed his head in apology.

"With you and Carina in-charge of this matter I have no doubt that you will get to the bottom of things quickly. Now, if you'll excuse me, Yendre. I must attend to my Apha." I turned to resume giving Ares a warm sponge bath to remove the dirt and grime he accumulated during his encounter with the Whiffs earlier.

"Certainly, Penumbra." I sensed, rather than saw Yendre leave the room with as little noise as possible.

Gently, I wiped the thick brows of the man I have been longing to set eyes on since the time he came to my aide, this when I was being bullied in boarding school. His face, though similar to that of Atlas has more endearing features. More remarkable qualities. More cute quirks.

His nose for instance isn't as sharp, nor his forehead as wide. His ears were peculiarly small for his head, and his jaws though square and prominent somehow agreed with the rest of his face, giving him a more handsome look than that of his younger brother.

Atlas.

Why must I compare him to his brother, or to anyone else? Ares is his own person, apart from his bloodline, apart from his brother, apart from his pack. If I were to truly serve him, I must hold him above anyone else.

Above his younger brother whom I have fallen in love with first, before even really meeting the Alpha to whom I was destined to offer my life to.

"Liza." He whispered in his sleep. He tossed a bit, perhaps trying to hold the woman whose name he just called. In that instant, I felt my heart break. Who is this Liza? Why does she haunt his dreams. Why does she have a hold on him?

"Liza!" He sat upright, jolted out of his sleep. "Rosewater, why are you... where am I?"

"Try to stay calm, you are safe. We brought you here to treat your wounds. This is my home, the Rosewater Manor." I replied, looking at the damp cloth I was wringing unconsciously.

"Why here? I'm needed by my pack at the Barrier Estate. I must attend to the ceremony for my Luna. She's..." His eyes became sad, and my heart hurt for him.

"I heard about your Luna. I am truly sorry, Ares."

"Liza, my Luna." He looked away, reluctant to let me see the sadness in his eyes any longer. "They attacked the Estate while I was out tending to business. These Whiffs whom I have no quarrel with, just suddenly appeared to take the life of the woman whom I promised to love for the rest of my life." He explained. I remained quiet, willing him to provide me with more information.

"The Betas, the Gammas, the Runts... all slaughtered without reason. They came in hordes of Lycans whose eyes looked empty, devoid of life. The few that escaped recounted everything to me. How my Luna stood her ground, how she fought valiantly trying to protect the children and the old. How while trying to help the others escape, they ganged up on her... striking her mercilessly until she fell lifeless on the hard marble floor." Tears pooled at the side of his left eye but refused to fall.

"Do you know why they chose to attack your pack?"

"Control. If I fall, they will have control over the largest pack in the area. Thereby making it easy for them to attack smaller packs around the vicinity."

"That's a sound conclusion, but why now?" I asked, curiously.

"There is a new threat to them. An ancient power has recently awakened, with that power comes the solution to fight them off entirely by transferring or controlling their emotions. Their ability to hypnotize doesn't come close to the ability of this ancient power to project fear, sadness, or hurt on their group with a single wave of a hand."

"How do you know this?"

"There was an old Tome called the Book of Lament. My father once had it in his possession, until a Mage demanded that he hand it over in exchange for a protection spell for both my younger brother and I."

"I know of that Tome. I recently returned it to the Oracle of Thetis with the help of your younger brother." I replied.

"That's only part of the Tome. The part where the being called Penumbra is mentioned. The other half, the one demanded by the Mage contained the spells to counter the powers that come with the awakening of the Penumbra." He revealed.

"Why did you and your brother need a protection spell?"

"Because we were born from a union where both our parents weren't Mates destined by the moon goddess. As such, we were cursed to encounter difficulties in shifting to our wolf form, as well as recognizing our mates, and mastering our wolf abilities."

"Then how were you able to recognize your Luna?"

"I didn't. She recognized me."

"And you believed her?"

"I had no reason not to. She came from a bloodline that has always had strong ties with my family."

"If you didn't recognize her, then that means you don't recognize me as well." I asked, hopeful.

"I recognize you to be Glare Rosewater. The snobbish, hot headed, unreasonable son of the Elder Maximillian Rosewater." He chuckled.

"Nothing more?"

He shook his head, and again I was back to the same situation where Atlas couldn't claim me as his mate as well. My heart was pounding loudly, and I wanted to cry. Both brothers do not see my worth, my importance, my role. For that reason alone, I must give Ares the chance to look for someone else whom he might be destined to love...

Other than me.