My mind whirled as I waited for sleep.Could this be some elaborate hoax to lure Sunny away from the pack’s protection? Harvest Moon has always been friendly, but it’s been years since we’ve been there.
We’d gone to Harvest Moon often when we were pups, but that all stopped after my mother’s death. My father had pulled away from our extended friends and family, wrapping himself in his grief and focusing on raising Sunny while ruthlessly overseeing my training in secret.
My stomach had been in knots since we left our father’s office. I couldn’t help feeling like something big was coming. Something I wouldn’t be prepared for, despite all my training, and that worried me.
Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure Sunny had what it took to be a luna. Could she be a benevolent and gracious figure to a whole pack?
I rolled onto my side, closing my eyes as I offered up a prayer to the Goddess. I rarely spoke to her these days, convinced she’d forsaken me long ago, but I hoped she might hear me tonight. Maybe she’d help everything work out as it was meant to.
***
“Shade,” my father called as I loaded the last of our bags into the car.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, snapping to attention.
“Remember your responsibilities. Keep your sister safe at all costs. The future of our pack rests on her. Nothing else matters, understood? Not even your life.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Whatever you do, keep your damn wolf under wraps. I don’t need word of your affliction getting out. It’d be an embarrassment to our pack and could hurt your sister’s chances,” my father warned. “Don’t let anyone know that you and Sunny are related.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, pulling my silver hair back as my sister emerged from the house.
I waited as she bade our father goodbye, holding the door open for her as she climbed into the car before coming around to get behind the wheel. I glanced at her in the rearview mirror as I turned the key.
Technically, Sunny and I were twins, but her hair was a rich, golden blonde like our mother’s was, while mine was a silvery gray like the moon. The few occasions where I’d act as her double always required the use of a rather itchy wig.
Even our eyes were different now. Before that fateful day, they’d been a similar shade of blue, but after my curse, mine had changed to a blue so pale it almost disappeared into the whites of my eyes.
When we did appear together, I was always dressed in a simple uniform as Sunny’s servant, usually hiding my face with a mask, a scarf, or a pair of chunky glasses. When my father disowned me, he’d told the pack I died. No one ever suspected we were sisters or if they did, they didn’t dare say anything.
“Don’t ruin this for me, Shade,” Sunny said harshly, glancing at me with disdain. “I deserve to be luna of Harvest Moon, and nothing will stop me from taking what’s rightfully mine. You’ll do whatever I ask, whenever I ask without question. Understood?”
“Understood,” I replied as I pulled out of the driveway. ***
I was surprised by how modern the pack house at Harvest Moon was as we pulled into the parking lot. Large white buildings with clean lines and massive glass windows gave the place a subtle elegance.
This is beautiful. Thunder Moon looks nothing like this.
I turned off the engine and came around the car to open the door for Sunny as a rather frazzled woman with a clipboard approached us.
“Names?” she questioned.
“Sunshine Mallory,” Sunny chirped with a confident smile. “Thunder Moon Pack.”
The woman swiftly checked her list and made a quick note before turning her attention toward me.
“Name?” she prompted, looking a little aggravated that she had to ask a second time.
“I’m Miss Mallory’s personal security.”
“All eligible females are considered candidates,” she sighed. “Alpha’s orders. So, name?”
I hesitated, my eyes flicking to Sunny. Her smile faltered for a second before she composed herself.
“I’m afraid you don’t understand. Shade isn’t a candidate. She’s nothing more than a servant, an omega,” Sunny said brightly. “We’ld never wish to offend the alpha by offering someone of her rank as a candidate.”
“Shade what?” the lady pushed.
