You're just what I want," he whispered, his voice low against my ear. "Your slim waist… your sweet curves… that crescent moon tattoo… your soft skin."
His words sent shivers down my body. My hips jerked, my heart beating so loud I could almost hear it.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaky. Everything was dark. I couldn't see his face properly, but I could feel him. His scent filled the air—warm, like cedarwood and cologne. His hand slid from my thigh up to my waist, slow, firm, like he owned me. Every touch dragged me closer to the edge.
"You're mine, Lyra," he breathed.
Thunder cracked. My eyes flew open.
The same dream. Again.
I let out a deep breath, my chest rising and falling fast. The window was open, and cold air rushed in. It was about to rain. I pushed the blanket off and walked to close it.
That's when I saw him.
A man. Standing in the rain. Bare chest and a black sweatpant. Eyes locked on my window.
My heart stopped for a second. I blinked. I wiped my eyes. I looked again.
No one.
"No… no, this can't be happening," I whispered to myself. Maybe I'm just tired. Or going crazy. I crawled back into bed, but my mind wouldn't stop replaying what I saw. And what I felt in that dream.
~~~~
"Lyra, stand up! It's time for school. Are you planning to skip today?"
"No, Mum," I groaned, pressing the pillow over my ears. "I'm not going today."
"That's impossible. Stand up right now!"
I squeezed my eyes shut. Yesterday was the most embarrassing day of my life.
I asked Raze out — the cousin of our Alpha. I gave him the letter after his basketball practice, right there in the changing room. I thought maybe… just maybe… he'd say yes.
But no. He walked into class, stood in front of everyone, and rejected me.
I can still hear his voice in my head, still feel the heat burning my cheeks.
How am I supposed to face anyone after that?
"Get your ass out of bed!" Mum yelled, yanking the pillow from my hands.
"Mum, I want to change schools," I mumbled.
"You are doing no such thing," she snapped. "Count yourself lucky the Alpha offered scholarships to kids who lost their fathers during the last war. Otherwise, you'd be waiting to get your mate, get married, and start giving birth. And that's if your mate even wants an uneducated omega."
I sat up slowly, the weight of her words pressing down on me. She wasn't wrong.
The truth is, I don't want to be weak. I don't want to be just another uneducated omega. I want to prove I can be more.
In two months, I'll be twenty. I'll finally get my wolf… and meet my mate.
Some of my classmates got theirs at eighteen, some at nineteen. But me? Nothing.Just an outcast and a wolfless omega.
Mum says she got hers at twenty too — "It's a family thing," she always tells me.
But it doesn't make it any easier.
The moment I stepped through the school gate, I felt it.
Every single pair of eyes on me.
I gripped my school bag tighter and kept walking, pretending I didn't notice. But I did. I always did.
It wasn't just because I was the only student here who was about to turn twenty without a wolf. No. It was because of what happened yesterday.
The rejection.
"Hey, wolfless omega!"
I froze for a second. The voice came from a group of guys standing beside the entrance door.
I slowly turned.
Raze was standing in the middle of them, that same smile on his lips that always makes me lose myself.
My chest tightened. My heart pounded. For a second, I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.
I wanted to turn around and run home. But then I remembered who was waiting at home — and that wasn't any better.
So I lowered my head, clenched my bag strap tighter, and rushed toward the staircase.
Their laughter followed me, echoing down the hallway, burning into my skin like fire.
I sat on my locker, flipping through my textbook while everyone else laughed and chatted like nothing else mattered.
I wasn't even reading. The exams were over. We were just waiting to hear our names and internship placements.
I had chosen Kaeltech Innovative Company—Raze's grandfather's company, now run by the Alpha. I'd picked it because I wanted to be close to him. I thought it would make things easier when we started dating.
Now I regretted that decision more than anything.
I couldn't face Raze. I couldn't face anyone.
"Oops, the most beautiful girl in class," Alina teased loudly.
I didn't have to look up. Alina was the class beauty, the daughter of the late Beta. She'd made my life miserable from the very first day I stepped into this school. People whispered that she was the Alpha's betrothed. She carried that title like a crown—arrogant and untouchable.
"No, not the most beautiful," Kara, her best friend, said with a grin. "The whore of the class."
Laughter burst out across the room.
My grip tightened on my textbook. My chest burned. I could feel my ears heating up as I tried to disappear into the background.
"Raze, you are like an angel on earth," Kara began, holding up a piece of paper. My stomach dropped. "I'm lucky to live during your existence, and I would like to be yours to hold on to here on earth, before you go back to the moon."
My letter.
She was reading my letter.
I shut my eyes as the words echoed through the classroom. It sounded a thousand times more embarrassing when someone else read it out loud.
Everyone erupted into another round of laughter—louder, crueler, sharper.
Each laugh felt like a knife, cutting deeper into me.
"Everyone quiet!" the teacher's voice finally cut through the laughter.
The room went silent.
"Please, Luna Alina, take your seat," he added with a small smile.
Alina turned to look at me, smirked, then strutted back to her seat like the entire room belonged to her.
"Okay," the teacher began, holding a stack of papers. "Your internship placements are out. You just need to go to the post board to check your names. Some of you might be disappointed, some might be happy. But remember, it's just an internship. What matters is the knowledge you'll gain. Where you're posted doesn't define your future—make the memories count."
He wasn't even done talking when everyone jumped from their seats, rushing out the door in excitement. The hallway filled with noise, footsteps, and whispers.
"Luna, your name is exactly where you wanted it to be," the teacher said to Alina with a proud smile.
She nodded like a queen accepting praise.
I stood slowly, my stomach twisting. My legs felt heavy as I followed the others out of the classroom.
The crowd around the board was already thick. Some students were jumping and hugging their friends; others were staring blankly at the list.
"Moon Goddess, please… let it be changed," I whispered under my breath.
I scanned the names.
My heart dropped.
There it was—my name.
Right after Raze.
Assigned to Kaeltech Innovative Company.
My chest tightened. All the hope I'd been holding onto slipped away in one breath.
There was no escape now. I was stuck.