THE SUBSTITUTE LUNA (IRIS and DRACO) novel Chapter 1

IRIS.

I used to have a wolf, but five days after I turned eighteen, I lost her.

I still remember what happened as if it were just yesterday.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, I accompanied my half-sister to a festival. A chaos erupted, and we tried to run away. People were shouting, and then the stampede happened. We got separated, and the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of the swaying crowd, being pushed by everyone who wanted to get away from that place.

I stumbled and gripped the arm that was nearest to me. I felt the spark travel all over my body, activating the bond between me and my fated mate.

Yes, I touched my fated mate that night.

His masculine scent enveloped my senses all at once, putting me in a trance. It was too late when I realized the crowd had already pushed me. But I saw him—he was tall, and he towered over almost everyone—and I knew it was him. My fated mate.

He kept turning around, as if looking for something or someone. I tried to call his attention, but no matter how much I screamed that I was there, he couldn’t hear me. Until he was already too far. Until I lost him.

But I knew his name and who he was. I had always watched and admired him from afar. I couldn't believe he was mine.

I tried to find him in the crowd, and when I couldn’t, I hurried home and told my family about it.

Finding a fated mate is a rarity. Not everyone was lucky enough to find their other half.

So I was excited, beyond ecstatic. I could finally get away from this house. I didn’t care that he was famous or had money. All I wanted was a chance for a better life. A life away from being my family’s slave. And maybe, he would let me continue my studies.

But my happiness was short-lived. The family that I grew up with didn’t believe me. My stepmother slapped me, and my sister laughed at me. They called me a liar and a lunatic, especially when I told them his name. They said, like my mother, I wanted prestige even to the extent of lying.

I kept telling them I wasn’t making up stories.

I begged them to take me to him so I could prove it. They agreed, and we planned our visit to his territory. But I fell ill after a few days and spent a couple of days in bed.

Then one morning, I woke up and my wolf was gone. I had no idea what happened to her. My father said I might have been too weak, that my wolf didn’t survive when I got a high fever.

I mourned for my wolf, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to meet my mate.

The day of the meeting finally came.

I, together with my whole family, traveled to my mate’s pack. All the way to his territory, I kept rehearsing the things I would tell him. I was filled with joy and excitement at the prospect of becoming his mate.

My mate was an Alpha, which meant that I was his destined Luna. Despite not having a wolf, I wanted to believe he would still accept me. A fated mate is a blessing, and not everyone is fortunate to have one.

I was expecting that meeting him would become the best day of my life.

But the exact opposite happened. It became the worst.

Alpha Draco of the Knight’s Stone Pack appeared in front of us and growled, “Mate,” like I knew he would.

Yes, he found his mate.

But it wasn’t me.

It was my sister, Felicity.

My whole world CRUMBLED as the life I envisioned for myself was stolen before my eyes. I watched in agony as Alpha Draco held my sister's hand and introduced her as his mate to the people around us while I was pushed back and ignored even by my whole family. But like always, I kept my mouth shut.

I was confused. I almost believed I’d gone crazy, hallucinating like what my family had been telling me.

Until I found the cuff links that I was able to rip from his shirt when I grabbed him on that festival night. His initials were carved into it. Yes, it could be anyone, but in my heart, I knew it was his.

For many months, I held on to the only thing that connected me to him while I watched my sister bask in the love and attention that he was giving her—a life that was supposed to be mine.

I eventually reached a breaking point. I confronted my family and told them that I would tell my mate the truth. They laughed at me. They told me to go ahead and make a fool of myself. But the next thing I knew, I was thrown into a small and dark room that was locked from the outside. I was not given food and water for many days. It had nothing except a blanket that smelled like someone had died on it.

There was no light, no bed, or chair. So I comforted myself by hugging my knees every time I thought about how my family had wronged me.

My only source of light, the small gap in the wall that let me see outside, was also my source of misery. I could see whenever my mate would come and visit my sister. I witnessed it when he asked permission to take her home.

This was what they’d been waiting for. He would finally make her his Luna. And I heard when my stepmother talked about getting me out of the way—permanently.

It served as the wake-up call I needed. My family had no intention of keeping me alive. So when my stepmother came in to give me something to drink, which I knew must be poisoned, I slammed the wood of the broken chair that had been sitting in the corner onto her back. She collapsed on the dingy floor, and I wasted no time running out of my prison.

I ran out of the house and out of their lives.

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