Page 1 of Captive Omega
One
Chapter 1
Luna
“So, you’re going to be guarding the pack tonight. Must be frustrating. To not be able to go find your mate, I mean.”
I leaned against the fence and eyed Sam and Nate. The twins arched identical blond brows at me. “Not as frustrating as it is to be stuck indoors. Isn’t that right?”
I whined, knowing they’d seen right through me, but unable to help myself. “It’s just not fair. Why do I have to hide from the chaos? Can’t I just witness it, even if I can’t participate?”
Nate rolled his eyes at me and poked my shoulder. “Don’t be like that, pup. You know it’s too dangerous. Besides, you just have to wait a few years longer, and then you’ll be free too.”
I sighed, but nodded glumly. “I know. I just wish things were different that’s all.”
Every year, like clockwork, in the first week of summer, the chaos hit. Darkness fell over the valley, a thick veil of shadow completely hiding the sun from view. The moon alone shone through, a beacon of hope and promise that lit our way and guided us to our destinies.
No one knew why and how the chaos had appeared, but we did know how it affected us. It allowed us to track down our true mates, clearing our senses and opening our eyes to things we would have otherwise missed. It was only during this special time we could find the people who belonged by our side.
The chaos mostly affected adult werewolves, because they were the ones looking for their mates. I’d always been fascinated by it. When the darkness appeared over the valley, a strange warmth bubbled in my chest, like a promise and a dream.
It was already dusk and the tension in the air screamed that the chaos would hit soon. I desperately wanted to share the experience. But it just wasn’t going to happen and there was no point in sulking over it. Nate and Sam were right and I shouldn’t be bringing the mood down with my silliness. Besides, they had better things to do than cheer me up. “I’m sorry. Here I am, pestering you with my complaints.”
“You’re not pestering us, Luna,” Sam replied. “If you ever do, we’ll throw you in the river, like we used to.”
I stuck out my tongue at him. They were four years older than me, but even so, they’d been my friends for as long as I could remember. Ever since I’d been a pup, I’d waddled after them, cheering them on in their lessons or dragging them along to play with me. Their parents had died in a Firewolf attack, and they’d been left with no family, to be raised by the pack. It wasn’t unusual, but they’d always struck me as so lonely.
My brother always rolled his eyes when he saw us together, muttering something about bossy females under his breath. I always ignored him, because I didn’t care what he thought. Nate and Sam were my friends, and I’d wanted to be there for them. It was as easy as that.
I’d have liked to spend more time with them, but I didn’t get the chance. A familiar lupine form was already heading our way from the settlement. It was Andrea, and she was not pleased. “Luna, pup, you shouldn’t be here,” she said when she reached us. “You’re too young to be outside during the chaos. Besides, Samuel and Nathaniel are guards. You shouldn’t be distracting them.”
Andrea wasn’t an Alpha or a Beta, but her position as a healer gave her some authority regular wolves didn’t have. It wasn’t unusual for my father to leave her in charge of me, since three-quarters of the time, he didn’t know what to do with a female pup.
I cared about her, but I was still frustrated that she’d interrupted my exchange with my friends. “I wasn’t distracting them.”
“Yes, you were. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Come along now.”
Irritated, I shot my friends one last look and said, “Be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“We won’t,” Sam promised. “Now go. We’ll see you after the chaos passes.”
I shifted into my lupine form and together with Andrea, headed into the settlement. The fog was already rolling in as she shepherded me into her hut. The sky soon went completely dark, the last remnants of light swallowed by the heavy veil of the chaos. The crimson moon appeared above us, its rays reaching out to us like ghostly fingers.
I whined and leaned against the window, wagging my tail in a mix of excitement and anxiety. “Can’t I at least go outside for a little while? Come on, Andrea. Please.”
Andrea snapped her jaws at me in warning. “No, pup. Your father left me in charge of you, and I take my responsibilities very seriously. Now get away from the window.”
With a disgruntled rumble, I shifted into my humanoid form and padded back to my bed. Andrea was right, but still, I couldn’t help but feel an ache inside me, something I couldn’t shake.
I wondered what Nate and Sam were doing. Next year, they’d be joining the hunt for a mate too. The thought was strangely irritating. I didn’t want them to run off and leave me behind. Why did everyone insist on treating me like a pup anyway? I was almost fourteen now. I’d gone through my first shift years ago, and I’d never had any problems. I shouldn’t be stuck inside with Andrea, like I had been ever since I was a little girl.
But that was my father’s decision, and I couldn’t go against my Alpha’s orders. “I can’t wait to grow up and find my mate too,” I told Andrea as I sat down on the bed.
Andrea made her way to my side. Unlike me, she was still in her wolf form, and I found that a little disconcerting. Whenever she was around me, she stayed in her human form—a natural consequence of her position as the pack’s healer. But disconcerting or not, when she crawled into bed and curled against me, the chaos’s touch became more indistinct. “You’re going to have a wonderful mate, Luna,” Andrea said, and I understood her easily even if she wasn’t speaking like a human. “I’m sure of it. You’ll grow up into a beautiful wolf. All the males will want to have pups with you. But for the moment, you don’t have to think about that. Just relax, and enjoy your puphood.”
I’d enjoyed my puphood plenty when I’d actually been a pup, and far more when I wasn’t stuck indoors. Then again, maybe Andrea had been right when she’d told me this was necessary. All of a sudden, the sound of a loud howl echoed outside our hut, and it didn’t seem very kind or welcoming.
Chaos nights were always loud, as everyone came together and howled at the full moon. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could almost hear packs from all over the valley doing the same. I knew I was imagining it, but it felt real.
