Lana

I can feel my energy slip away every second I keep on breathing. This heart-wrenching feeling has turned me into this dull frail girl with little to no willpower.

I haven't been myself lately, locking myself up in my room, skipping classes, eating less, partying less, interacting less with others...I'm slowly slipping into depression. And it's all my fault for being a coward and hiding from my mate.

I come to remember the first and last time I saw him. Fur as dark as the night, canines that he'd bared at me that were thick and sharp enough to pierce anything, and red eyes that peered straight at my soul. His wolf had been the epitome of beauty, and I had wanted to caress his fur even though I was scared shitless to the bone. I haven't seen his face before, but I imagine he would be just as beautiful.

I want to leave everything behind and run miles to Red Moon Pack so I can be with him. But I can't, at least not yet. I wasn't sure if I was ready to give everything up for him.

Red Moon Pack is isolated with the little education system in there. If you wanted to have a proper education, you would have to leave the pack. There are licensed teachers there, but those were for middle schoolers and high schoolers. No college. I can't travel all the way from Oakland to LA every day for school. It's basically impossible for me to do that. And there's no way I'm transferring to an online college.

I'm not even sure my mate would allow me to leave the pack if he gets his hands on me. I've heard a lot of rumors about their pack, some true and some not. But I do know for a fact that they can be very possessive of their mates. Once you get in, you're never getting out...at least not alone.

I haven't even told my mum yet about him. She would only worry, and with how fragile her health was, I couldn't afford that. Ever since her mate, my dad, died, she has been as frail as glass. The littlest thing could make her break, and I didn't want that. I just have to deal with my mate's business on my own.

Jace. That's what Ellie had called him.

Alpha Jace. I'm surprised I'm mated to an Alpha, a powerful leader of a pack. It's exciting as well as scary. I wonder what he's like. Since he's an Alpha, he would be more territorial than an average wolf. And I can only imagine how pissed he would be if he finds out the truth about me hiding from him.

But what scares me the most is the possibility of him marking another before I come to him. I honestly don't think I can survive that. I'm not as strong as Ellie and would crumble from such devastating news.

"...and that's all for today. Hope you're all getting ready for your finals..." I sigh, drowning out the voice of the lecturer as I pack up my stuff and head for the door like every student in the class. Another tiring day is done with. I just wanna flop on my soft bed and bury my face in the pillow as I drift off to my dreamland, where I can imagine my mate with me.

But as I reach my dorm room, I see a figure already waiting for me there. Gina.

I let out a groan as I continue to proceed to the door. She notices me right away, and a bright smile appears on her face. She has a blue tube top with floral designs on it, a pair of white shorts and pumps on her feet. I look down at my lazy outfit of a grey and baggy sweater with loose pants.

What has happened to me?!

I used to be overly obsessed with what I wore and made sure to always look my best, but look at me right now. I couldn't even collect a single number all day as every boy I walked past didn't even give me a second look. Sometimes before all of this I couldn't make it to my dorm room without a guy wanting to escort me, but that had changed since I met?him.?Now, I'm not interested in boys or my outfits.

Gina notices my look when I got close to the door, and she c***s an eyebrow at my outfit. I've been trying to avoid her ever since our last argument, but she's always looking for me. I don't know if she's stupid or just adamant about being my friend once more. But I don't want anything to do with a conniving selfish bitch like her anymore. I'm the only real friend she has, and she knows that. Maybe that's why she still wants to stick with me.

"Hey...Lana." She's still studying me as I bring out my key to stick into the keyhole.

"What do you want?" I ask in a bored tone, opening my door.

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're still mad about last time. That's weeks ago, and I already apologized." I was walking into my room when I stopped in my strides, turned back around to stop her from coming in as I blocked the doorway.

"Did you apologize to Ellie?" I tilt my head at her, and she frowns in response with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why should I? It's not like I did anything to her?"

"You slashed her pillow...and would have done the same to all her other belongings if I hadn't stopped you," I state the obvious, causing her to roll her eyes as she lets out a huff.

"What do you want me to do?!" She blurts out while waving her hands in the air with a frustrated look. "I was a bit irritated about what had happened at the ceremony. Do you know how embarrassing it was for Prince Reagan to have sniffed me like I was his mate, only for him to ask for her?! You can't blame me for my actions."

I remain silent after her outburst, staring at her with hooded eyes as she justifies her actions while digging her fingers through her hair.

"This isn't about you being embarrassed." I finally say, causing her to stare at me in confusion. "It's about the fact that you can't stand being rejected by someone or something you wanted. You are selfish, you want everyone's attention on you and you only."

She stares at me in confusion, "What are you..."

"Just like you wanted Cory," I add, cutting her off. She steps back, cringing as if I had slapped her hard across the face.

"I apologized for that," Gina whispered after a long silence with her face contorting in guilt. But I don't budge as I continue to glare at her. "I thought we were past that!"

I roll my eyes at her statement. "Oh, yeah. Like I'm supposed to just forget that I saw my best friend f*****g my boyfriend."

Cory and I had been the best couple in highschool. He had the looks and charms enough to make me fall hard for him, and I had already started to envision us getting mated in the future even though we weren't bonded by the moon. I was okay with forming a bond with him, even if he wasn't really mine. But then I had walked into Gina's room one day, unexpectedly, and I found her bouncing on my boyfriend's lap as echoes of their moans filled the room. I had been so disgusted at the sight, I puked my guts right there.

Being friends with a bitch like her after all that was probably a mistake. Maybe I was stupid to do so, but I took pity on her. At that time, she was going through a rough period in her life, since her mom died from a terrible accident, and a few weeks later, her father was exiled from the pack. We never knew why, as the Alpha had kept it a secret. Gina never told me the reason either, and I didn't pressure her for it.

She cried to me after what she did, pleading with me in tears to forgive her and using her parent's misfortune as an excuse. She claimed Cory had approached her to console her when it all happened. She sounded desperate and even tried to end her life seeking a way to make me forgive her.

I felt bad for her, as she had no one to lean on. I was her only true friend then, and others were all fake. When they tried showing their sympathy, it was evident in their expressions that they couldn't care less about what was going on with her. Gina didn't want to lose me too, having just lost her parents, and I couldn't abandon her then because I was scared she would do something to harm herself.

Over the years, I've learned to tolerate her. She wasn't the best person to be around as she was a first-class bitch. But something had snapped in me the night of the ceremony when she just kept on accusing and insulting Ellie. Maybe it was the years of having to deal with her, but I just got so irritated by her, and still am. I don't even know how I managed through all these years tolerating her.

"Goodbye, Gina," I state while closing the door in her face. But she stops by placing her palm flat on the door to halt it.

"Wait!" I stare up at her wide eyes with mine drooped with tiredness.

"You can't possibly want to throw away years of friendship for a little argument we had...because of?her." She snarls the last part with disdain as she eyes Ellie's part of the room behind me.

I sigh as I open the door wide so I could look properly into her cat-like eyes. She just doesn't get it.

"Do you know why you never make real friends, Gina?" I arch an eyebrow at her while she stares at me in confusion. I nod, "It's because you're f*****g dumb bitch!" I hiss before slamming the door shut in her face.

I flop on my bed, exhaling a sigh of vexation. My eyes dart around the empty room, and I can feel the absence of Ellie. She didn't talk much when she had been here, but she was still a joy to be around. So sure of herself and always confident. I had adored her strong spirit and never thought she had a weak bone.

I had suspected something had happened to her to have molded her into the strong-willed lady she was, but I never thought it was because her mate had rejected her. It was truly sad. But who would have thought that her luck was so high, it got her mated to a fricking Lycan Prince! How cool is that?! From an Alpha to a Prince! Her stars are destined for something great it seems.

If I hadn't followed her to Red Moon, I wouldn't have found my mate. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. But I'm in now, and I just have to deal with it.

I decide to play some candy crush to brighten my mood a bit. It's late in the afternoon, and I haven't taken a look at my phone's screen all day. I had switched it off so it wouldn't blare off in class.

I reach into my pants pocket for it and turn it on. I'm surprised to see about ten text messages waiting for me, and about eight were from Ellie, pleading with me to call her as soon as possible.

With a worried frown, I did, and she answers on the first ring.

"Ellie? What's wrong?" I ask as soon as she picks.

"Eh...Lana? Could you come over to my home...not the penthouse but my parents'?" My frown deepens at her words as I wonder why she isn't at her mate's right now.

"Why?"

"You're gonna have to sit down for this one." She states for me to know something really bad had happened.