The sound of boots stomping on the ground, my parents shouting for me to hide, the rustling of bushes, and gunfire echoed around me. I woke up with sweat beading down my back, my heart pounding in my chest.
"It is just a nightmare. Again," I tell myself.
"It is going to be alright soon," Sienna, my wolf, tells me.
"Today is my coronation. I need to be at my best," I reply to her. "I turn twenty today," I say to myself.
On this day, fourteen years ago, I lost both my parents to human hunters in the woods. I had requested that my parents take me to see the human realm as my gift for my sixth birthday, but it turned into a bloodbath. I was able to hide and was saved by my father's beta, Antonio. Since that day, I had a recurring nightmare of the night I lost my parents.
I turned twenty today, and I was to be crowned ruler of our pack. Since my parents' death, Antonio and the council of Elders had led the pack, but today, I took over.
I made my way out of my room into the pack house, which was quiet at this hour. It had been my routine since my wolf manifested at age ten. I walked quietly toward the open training field. I passed my mother's garden, which was the only thing the elders kept in her memory. I paused for a few moments to take in the scenery, simply because I could.
I arrived at the training field only to hear footsteps behind me. I guessed I had been too distracted to pay attention.
"Obstacle course or just a sprint?" the voice asks.
I recognized the voice immediately. It was Toby, my personal guard and oldest friend. I turned around to see him standing there with a smile, which I returned. He had been following me out here ever since he found out I sneaked away at midnight. He asked no questions about why I did it; he just followed.
"Sprint," I say.
Just like that, we both shifted and sprinted around the training field.
By the time we got back to the pack house, it was bustling with activity. Maids scattered around, handling one chore after another.
"And where are you both coming from?" a voice called from the top of the stairs leading to the elders' quarters.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath.
"Training field. Went for a sprint, Antonio," I replied.
Antonio sighed and shook his head at both of us.
"The elders will not approve if they know. Now go get ready for your big day," he dismissed us.
I started walking to my room with Toby behind me when another voice called out, this one not directed at me.
"Tobyyyy!"
A beautiful smile was plastered on her face. Ava.
"Good morning, soon-to-be Alpha," she said as she jumped into Toby's waiting arms.
Ava was my beta and best friend. She had perfectly white skin and rosy-lit cheeks, beautiful in the morning sun. She had a petite body, beautiful blonde hair, and blue eyes to match. Her and Toby's mate bond activated last year when she turned twenty, and they had been inseparable ever since. Like right now, they were in each other's faces, kissing and giggling.
"You both do not have to make the rest of us without mates jealous," I say.
She smiled sheepishly and moved slightly away from Toby.
"You guys can have your fun. Take it as a privilege for my birthday," I called over my shoulder as I walked away, feeling a bit deflated.
"We will find our mate soon," Sienna assures me.
"Soon," I repeat in my mind.
After lunch, I took a walk around the pack house with Toby following behind me. He was in his guard uniform--a black leather tunic made for the guards in the pack house. He usually wore brown, but because of the coronation, he was wearing black. Ava, on the other hand, was busy giving instructions on the decorations for the coronation ceremony in the massive ballroom in the town square.
"You look nervous," Toby said as we made our way back to the house.
"I am fine," I say with a smile.
"You are nervous," Sienna states.
"He does not have to know that," I reply to her through our mind link.
We walked silently to my room, where Toby waited by the door. Inside, a beautiful silver dress that matched the color of my hair sat on my bed, glinting in the evening sun. It looked like the dress my mother wore for her wedding to my father, except this one had gold stones lining the neckline and the hem.
I put the dress on and stood before the mirror, staring at my reflection for a second too long. The dress gave me a sense of closure I had not felt since my parents died. I felt like she was right beside me again, telling me how beautiful I looked and how I brought life to everything I touched.
I let my silver hair fall freely, then put on my mother's necklace—the one Antonio recovered from her body. Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back like I had for years.
"I am strong. I can do this," I say to myself.
A knock pulled me out of my trance.
"Your chariot awaits, Princess," Toby called.
I smiled and opened the door. He had added his ranks and medals to his leather tunic, giving him a kind of glow.
"Is it too late to run away?" I asked as I closed my door.
"You are going to be fine," he reassured me, taking my hand and leading me down to the carriage.
We arrived at the ball shortly after. The place was packed with people dressed in beautiful, colorful outfits. Mage lights lit the streets and the walkway to the ballroom. I took a deep breath before stepping out of the carriage.
Toby linked his hand with mine as Ava joined us, and we made our way down the aisle to the front podium where Antonio and the other elders waited. People whispered about how beautiful I looked, how much I resembled my mother, and how the moon was out on my coronation, just as it was on the day I was born.
At the podium, Toby let go of my hand, and I took Antonio's as he led me to the huge golden throne my father once sat on. As I took my seat, a wave of nausea hit me, but I swallowed it down.
Elder Elizabeth, the only elder who smiled at me, stepped forward. She wore a crimson dress that made her pale skin glow, her black hair packed into a ponytail. She handed me the royal staff and gave me a final smile. One by one, the other elders placed royal jewels on me—the same ones my father wore when he was alive.
The final piece was the crown, which Antonio held. It was gold steel imbued with moon magic, projected from the moonstone at its center. The moment the crown was placed on my head, the moonstone began to glow.
"Is it supposed to do that?" I asked.
Antonio shook his head, clearly as shocked as I was. Elder Elizabeth stepped forward, smiling brightly.
"The blessing of the Moon Goddess has been given to us again," she said, her voice calming the commotion. "I, Elizabeth Van Dier, present to you, people of Southern Park, your Alpha, Queen Silvia Florence."
A roar of applause filled the air as I stood to face my people, hope for a better future filling my heart.
"We were born for this," Sienna says.
"We were born for this," I whisper back.