"It was the coldest night in the North, Queen Siena's screams echoed throughout the castle, the midwife asked her to push harder, while another dried the beads of sweat that ran down her forehead, another woman came in with more cloths, the amount of blood was almost a certainty of the Queen's death, a birth as difficult as her pregnancy. After one last push, silence fell over the place, followed by a baby's cry, loud and clear."

The princess had finally been born, upon hearing the cry the King entered the room, he could no longer wait to hear about his heir, but seeing the state of his companion he did not even look at the baby, he just wanted his Queen to be well, having a child without his companion was like trading six for half a dozen, he wanted a complete family.

Sometime later the bleeding was finally contained, the King did not leave his beloved's side and soon the princess was brought into the Queen's arms. — It's a girl, the midwife said, handing her the beautiful baby.

They had been trying to have a child for years, King Louis was being patient, he loved his wife, but she knew that his life would only be complete when his dream came true, she saw the look in the King's eyes when his allies informed him about the birth of their children, it was as if everyone was blessed except him, that would be his burden for not obeying the Moon Goddess.

When Louis assumed the throne, he had just turned eighteen and still had no companion, as soon as the crown was placed upon his head, he smelled his chosen one, she too felt the connection, the crowd cheered the new King, and even with so many people, his eyes met his companion's.

While the people celebrated, the king asked for the young woman to be taken to his office, she entered with a smile on her face, which soon faded upon hearing the King's words, he rejected her and forbade her to speak of it, the young woman argued with him, she was his destined companion and Luna of his people, but as King he threatened her, he could imprison her or worse kill her, she remained silent and accepted, a companion capable of such a thing was not worthy of her love, unsatisfied he banished her from his kingdom.

The young woman was escorted home, arriving there she told her family and being the only daughter of the best shoemaker in town, her father would never let his daughter die and worse, at the hands of the one who was supposed to protect her.

At that same moment he packed his things, and left with his wife and daughter, from the place he had called home since he had left his late mother's womb.

As they departed, fireworks lit up the entire sky, and even without seeing, the young woman felt the betrayal, the King took Siena to the people and introduced her as Luna, they had already been together for some time, so she would be his companion, he would not give that up even knowing that there would be consequences for his disobedience.

Years passed and it became frustrating to see them both want a baby so badly and not be able to, the Queen had already had six interrupted pregnancies and two buried babies, and as much as they told her not to continue with the madness of getting pregnant, she would not listen, she just wanted to give the son her husband wanted so badly, the successor.

The Queen prayed every day and night for the Goddess to hear her and after a long time the Goddess answered her pleas and presented her with the most beautiful of creatures, even though it was not a male as they wanted, having a child without caring about the sex, was in fact the only thing they wanted at this point.

When the princess was finally born the bells rang for too long and the whole town celebrated for a week, the couple's happiness was more than noticeable.

A week after the princess's birth, the three alphas met at the castle to celebrate, the North, East and West were together again, celebrating life and the birth of Princess Selena, but this had an expiration date.

The East under the command of the Lennes, the West the Belmontes, an invitation that could not be refused since it came from the King of all Alphas, Louis Hunter IV, who lived up to the surname he carried, he was the greatest hunter that ever lived, another thing that was about to change.

Before it all happened the packs were always united, including the South, but something happened overnight and without explanation the South was excluded, each one was master of their own space, they were not enemies, it was just a matter of following the agreement made by the ancient ancestors and everything would be fine, they lived in peace and harmony, everything was going well, well, at least that's what they thought.

Some say that wolves are cursed beings, well, maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but what they knew for sure was that generations never stopped growing and that was exactly why they were meeting tonight, celebrating life.

It was supposed to be the best night ever, there was drinking, food, music, the hall was filled with friends and acquaintances, after all, the successor was born.

What no one expected was that this night would be hard to forget, agreements were about to be broken, and wars would be declared, villages would be destroyed, losses would be inevitable and for a long time it was like that, but that was about to change.

Could one night really be enough to change lives? Could a single night really turn everything upside down? Shake up agreements? And wage wars?

Well, I tell you, yes! One night would be capable of changing lives drastically.

Revenge is never full, it kills the soul and poisons it.

"Ramon Valdes" (Mr. Madruga)

17 years after the princess's birth...

"Go home!" my father yelled to my sisters and me. The gates slammed shut, and I stood there trying to hear the end of yet another attack. It had been a month since they last came; we thought they had grown tired or given up, which we knew was unlikely, but here they were, attacking us again. And once more, we didn't know the reasons, which sparked an immense curiosity in me. Nothing was ever said or discussed; it was a war between wolves that had lasted for years. We were all exhausted.

My name is Arya, Arya Lockwood. My parents are Arthur and Helena Lockwood. I am the youngest of three sisters: Hellen, at twenty-two, Hanna at nineteen, and me, Arya, at seventeen. My best friend is called Lucius Bennet. He is the son of our greatest warlock, and it was because of his father that we were most distressed and afraid. We were losing strength, and we didn't know how much longer we could hold on.

We are wolves of the South; we don't have as much strength as the North, but we had with us the greatest warlock of all time, Salazar Bennet. However, he was ill, none of his potions had any effect anymore, so he began to get more serious with his only son, Lucius, since soon he would be the one to take his place, if things didn't improve.

After a few hours, silence finally reigned. The gates opened, and my father entered, carried by his guards. My mother was unharmed, thanks to the Moon Goddess. They laid my father in bed, and you could see the extent of the injury. It wasn't a simple bite; it was the bite, and that scared me a lot. I would never forget that.

"Get out of here, let your father rest," my mother said, wanting my sisters and me to leave their chambers.

"But Mom?" I questioned her, to no avail.

"No more, Arya. Why do you always confront me?" my mother said in a rather gruff tone.

"I just want to know what caused such a wound on my father," I tried to sound gentle, knowing the pain she was feeling. Even though Salazar would prevent it with potions, deep down we knew that she could still feel my father's pain; after all, she is his mate.

Helena let out a tired sigh and looked at her daughters.

"The North has a new alpha. We don't know who or for how long, but he's big, much bigger than any we've ever seen. I don't want to scare you, but I need you to obey me and be aware. I need your help," she said, trying to remain calm, but her eyes said something I couldn't decipher yet. That look was new to me.

"You can count on me, Mom!" I heard my two sisters say, while I couldn't take my eyes off my father. He is the alpha; I knew he would heal soon. I had read about bites, and that bite was from a supreme alpha, a wolf that the Moon Goddess chose to be the greatest of alphas.

"Arya... Are you listening to me?" my mother asked. She was always on my case.

"Yes, I am!" I replied without taking my eyes off my father.

"Look at me," she said as an order, and so I did.

I looked deep into my mother's eyes. I knew she was exhausted; she had always been protective, and that look, the look I had never seen, was fear. Something out there had really scared her.

"Promise me you'll listen to me and not do anything reckless again," she said, holding my arms.

"Mom... Reckless? Why is it always me you're picking on?" I said, pulling away from her touch.

"No one else will go beyond the gates but the guards. No more sneaking out to the river, and let Lucius concentrate on his studies. You know his father is not well, and soon he will be the one to take his place, and now more than ever, you need to distance yourself," Mom said, and I knew it was more than an order.

"You know he's my only friend. You know everyone transforms at sixteen and gets their wolves, and it hasn't happened to me yet. Don't ask me to walk away from the only friend I have," I said, even though I knew what she was saying was sensible.

"You need to understand, daughter, our duty lies with our pack," she said, and once again, I knew she was right.

"As you wish, Mom," I agreed, even though I didn't want to.

"Thank you," she said and went back to the bed where my father was.

I left the room and took a few steps before being pinned against the wall by my older sister. I didn't struggle to get out of my position. She squeezed me tighter, and I growled at her.

"It's in your best interest to let me go," I told her.

"I'm only going to say this once: obey our mother, or you'll answer to me," Hellen said, trying to scare me.

"Oh, how scary," I said sarcastically.

She let go of me and left. Hellen was older, but I was stronger. She never liked to train with me; she was always teased when I defeated her. "The youngest Lockwood is stronger than the oldest," they'd say. So we started avoiding each other. She hated me, and I knew it.

"I know this must be hard for you, sister, but Mom is exhausted; you need to listen to her at least once," Hanna said, crossing her arms.

"I understand perfectly. I'm the cause of all our problems," I scoffed at the situation.

"Don't be dramatic, it doesn't suit you," Hanna said with a smile forming on her lips.

We both smiled until Hanna went quiet.

"I have to go train with Hellen. You always manage to get under her skin," she said, shaking her head.

"How I envy you. I wish I could communicate by link," I said, looking down at my feet.

"Hey, you're going to be a wolf that will take our breath away. You'll have a beautiful transformation; the Moon Goddess is preparing the best for you," Hanna said, trying to boost my self-esteem, which I loved.

I let out a sigh, and before I could say anything, Hanna interrupted me.

"I really have to go now, or Hellen will kill me."

"Good luck," I said to my sister, who soon disappeared down the hall.

As soon as Hanna left, I went into my room and grabbed my cell phone, sending a message to Lucio.

📲We need to stay away from each other for a few days until you have learned everything, for the good of our pack, learn quickly, this is an order.

📲Is your mother making you do this?

📲She certainly is, but I don't blame her, my father was bitten, and it's not just any bite, it was by a supreme alpha, my mother is scared, I can feel it.

📲Wow, I've read about them but didn't know they really existed.

📲In the world we live in, we have to be prepared for anything, now I have to go, I have things to do.

📲Don't do anything reckless. Kisses

I don't answer him, I throw my cell phone on the bed and lie down, falling asleep immediately.

I wake up with Hanna at the foot of my bed, sweat running down my face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say, sitting up in bed.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?" Hanna asked seriously.

"Nightmare, I wouldn't call it a dream." I retorted.

"You need to tell Mom!" Hanna added.

"Our mother already has enough to worry about, and you know what she'll say, it was just a dream Arya, nothing to worry about." I say, finally getting out of bed.

"The same dream over and over again must mean something, don't you think?" Hanna believed that dreams could mean something.

"It's okay, let's not bother Mom with this, okay?" I said, wanting to end that conversation.

"Was it the same? The dream?" Hanna insisted.

"Yes, I was walking through the silent forest until I started to hear a baby crying, I followed the sound it made to our gates, but this time the baby was not alone, a black shadow surrounded it, I tried to run to it but…" I stop talking for a moment.

"But what?" Hanna said curiously.

"The shadow was coming towards me, now it was me it was chasing." I say, remembering what came next, how could a dream be so real?

"Did it have an ending this time?" Hanna asks, coming closer.

"Yes, I was on fire! The shadow finally reached me, but... It grew weaker with every touch of mine." I shake my head, none of it made sense.

"You're right, Mom will say it's just a dream." Hanna's speech snapped me out of my trance.

I throw a pillow at her.

"Let's have dinner." She says and closes the door behind her.

As soon as the door closes, I lie down again sighing, I look at the window and the sky is beautiful, a bath in the river at night is so good, but my mother's phrase will not leave my head "don't do anything reckless", so I decide to go down and join my family.

"Good evening!" I say, sitting down in my chair.

Everyone answers me.

"And Dad?" I ask as I grab a piece of bread.

Silence stretches across the table, they look at each other and it is clear they are hiding something.

"I don't have mind-linking, I think you're going to have to use your mouths to talk." I add, noticing the looks.

"Why are you always so inconvenient?" Hellen says, dropping her cutlery.

"Inconvenient for asking how our father is doing?"

"Enough of that, just eat." Mom says.

"I lost my appetite." I say getting up.

"Arya, Arya come back here!" My mother calls after me, but I ignore her and go upstairs.

I reach my bedroom door and look down the hall, somehow I need to know how my father is doing, releasing the doorknob I look back and then in the direction of my father's quarters, walk there with long strides, open the door and see him still the same way as when they brought him, I approach and sit beside him taking his hand.

"Hi, Dad." I speak softly and he opens his eyes giving me a half smile.

"D-Don't strain yourself please." I say, not wanting to be blamed for anything.

"W-Water." He says with difficulty.

His voice comes out so weak, it doesn't even sound like that gruff Artur who made anyone shudder just to hear him, I go to the pitcher, pour a glass of water and take a straw leading it to him, who takes small sips and soon is satisfied.

"Where is everyone?" My father finally asks.

"Eating." I answer too quickly.

"And why aren't you there?" He faces me.

"It's nothing, I'm just not hungry, Dad."

"You never could lie." He finishes.

We laughed, but I could still see him trying to pretend he wasn't in pain, I noticed the bite wasn't healing.

"We need to redo the dressings." I say, getting up and starting to remove the bandage from his shoulder, when I'm done I'm startled by the size of the bite.

"I'm going to be fine." He says, noticing my gaze on the wound.

"Of course you will, that's an order." I speak as I clean the bite.

My father will be fine! My father will be fine, I repeated that to myself over and over again, but the wound was ugly, I finished cleaning it and placed my hand over the injured area, wishing I could heal him, wishing I could do something besides a bandage.

"What are you doing?" My father says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"It's nothing, I'm going to bandage you up again."

Finishing the dressing I go to the bathroom to wash my hands, while drying them my vision gets a little blurry, I feel a little weak, I hold on tight to the sink and take a deep breath, I splash water on my face and after a few minutes everything goes back to "normal".

I come out of the bathroom and approach my father's bed.

"I think I better let you rest." I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Or you could stay here a while longer, your company made me feel better." He says, raising an eyebrow.

"You know Mom won't like it." I speak knowing perfectly well the mother I have.

"What happened? Did you two argue again?" My father asks, he knew I was almost impossible, but sometimes Mom overdid it, I was the youngest, maybe that was it.

"She always gets annoyed with me, I know I may not be easy, but lately a simple question turns into an argument, tell me Dad, which one of you do I look like when you were young?" I ask, taking a deep breath.

He is silent and watches me thinking about what to say when the door opens.

"What are you doing here? You want to know? It doesn't matter, just let your father rest." My mother speaks as she goes to my father adjusting the pillows.

"See, I told you." I speak getting up and lowering my shoulders.

"Told you what?" She asks, facing my father.

"Dad will tell you, good night." I speak turning and walking to the door.

I grab the doorknob and with the door ajar I hear my father call me.

"Arya…" He says calmly.

"Yes, Dad."

"You, you're like me." Dad speaks with a smile spreading across his lips.

I give him a huge smile upon hearing this.

"Good night!" I say and close the door, going to my room still with the same wide smile.