Chapter 5 Meet My Mate
Lya's POV
Two years have passed since Airina's death. The pain and anger in Moon Shadow Valley Pack remain fresh. Her memory hangs over everything like a shadow refusing to fade.
The pack worships Airina now. They've named streets after her—Airina Lane, Rina Boulevard. The local tea shop created an "Airina's Blessing" drink. It's their bestseller now. But Damian takes her loss hardest of all. He built three statues of her across our territory. One stands at the packhouse entrance. It shows her in formal Luna attire. Another sits by the crystal waterfall where they first met. The third stands at the school. It depicts her reading to children—something she loved.
Every week, he places fresh moonflowers at each statue. They were her favorite. On her death anniversary, he holds a private vigil from sunset to sunrise. He refuses to date. He claims no one could replace his "angel." Luna Isabella told everyone that Damian keeps Airina's room untouched. He visits daily to "talk to her."
The pack made her death anniversary and birthday into holidays. Everyone must attend memorial services. Well, except Omegas. They still work. The ceremonies include speeches about her kindness and beauty. Children recite poems about her "angelic spirit."
I questioned this once. Big mistake.
"Don't you think this is excessive?" I asked my parents a year after she died. We sat at dinner. They ate while I sat quietly. I'd learned to eat alone to avoid their dirty looks.
"What do you mean?" My father paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.
"We've never honored any other Luna this way. Only a few historical Alphas got this treatment. Treating her like a Moon Goddess emissary seems much."
Silence fell. My mother's face twisted with rage. My father's expression hardened.
"You disgusting half-breed," my mother spat. She stood up. "How dare you question how we honor our daughter? You've always been jealous of her pure blood."
I kept my head down. Her insults about my mixed blood were nothing new. I'd always known I wasn't Victoria's real child. The reminders of my "dirty vampire blood" had been part of my life forever.
"Your father fucked a vampire whore. Then he brought her bastard home," she continued. Her voice rose. "That bloodsucking slut seduced him. He was too weak. We should have left you to die. I was too merciful."
She grabbed my hair. She yanked my head back. It hurt.
"And how do you repay my kindness? By killing my daughter! My real daughter!"
She slapped me hard. Tears ran down my face.
"You're just like your whore mother. Selfish. Destructive. You planned for Airina to die that night."
My father said nothing. He stared at his plate. His silence hurt more than her words. Not once had he defended me or my birth mother.
The beating left bruises for weeks. Still, it hurt less than what I'd endured before Airina died. Physical pain was nothing compared to emotional wounds.
After Airina's death, they could barely look at me. Their eyes said what their lips wouldn't: We wish it had been you instead of her.
I lived with them until eighteen. I paid for my own meals and needs. I worked at a restaurant nearby. The owner, an elderly Omega named Martha, pitied me. She often gave me extra food. "Growing wolves need to eat," she'd say with a wink. She ignored rumors about my shifting abilities.
I never ate at the packhouse. The dirty looks and remarks from my parents, Damian, and others made it impossible.
"Look at her, acting like nothing happened," Sophia Black once whispered at the packhouse. "I bet she's glad Airina's gone. Now she can try to steal Damian."
How ridiculous. As if I'd want anything to do with Damian after what he did.
No one celebrated my birthdays. Only Kate wished me "Happy Birthday" each year. No one cared if I'd shifted or not. Kate suggested I avoid pack runs "for safety." I agreed. Since I never joined group runs after turning sixteen, rumors spread about my first shift.
Some said I lost my wolf from PTSD after Airina's death. Others claimed guilt prevented my shift. Damian spread rumors that Airina went to the forest to rescue me from a rogue boyfriend.
I never had a rogue boyfriend. Airina asked me to meet her in the forest.
That rumor caused my mother's worst beating on my first shift night. It reinforced the pack's wish that I had died instead.
I never defended myself. Speaking truth meant accusing Airina and Damian. That could mean execution. So I stayed silent and focused on surviving.
I threw myself into music. It became my escape. I still remember the day I told my mother about applying to Blood Stone Music Academy. I'd been saving every penny from my restaurant job to afford the application fee.
"I'm applying to the Music Academy in Blood Stone City," I said one morning, trying to keep my voice steady.
She looked up from her coffee with disgust. "Music? You think anyone wants to hear a half-breed howl into a microphone?"
"I want to study vocal performance," I continued, gripping my application forms tightly. "I want to write songs that—"
"Shut up," she snapped. "Your voice makes my skin crawl. Just like your bloodsucker mother."
"My teachers say I have talent," I whispered.
She laughed cruelly. "Talent? The only talent you have is ruining lives. You ruined mine by existing. You ruined Sebastian's by being his shame. And you killed my real daughter."
She grabbed my application forms and tore them to pieces. "No one will ever want to hear you sing. Your voice probably makes babies cry and plants die."
I retrieved the pieces later. I filled out new forms. I sent them in secret. When the acceptance letter came, I hid it. I never told her I was accepted. I just left.
I enrolled at Blood Stone Music Academy. I took extra classes every semester, including summer sessions. I avoided going home. My dream is to become a professional singer—perhaps the first mixed-blood to perform at the Moon Goddess Festival.
In Blood Stone City, I can breathe. Nobody knows me as "Airina's sister" or "the girl who should have died." I'm just Lya, the music student with the unusual voice. People even smile at me sometimes—a kindness I'd almost forgotten.
When I sing, I forget everything. The pain fades. The memories quiet. For those few minutes on stage, I'm free. My vocal coach says my mixed heritage gives my voice a unique quality—something between the raw power of werewolf singers and the ethereal tone of vampire vocalists. It's the one time my mixed blood feels like a gift rather than a curse.
I only return to Moon Shadow Valley for Airina's two memorial days. Those are the only times anyone can find me there. My goal is to meet my mate and build a life far from Moon Shadow Valley. I pray to the Moon Goddess my mate isn't from this pack. If they are, I hope to convince them to leave with me.
Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll turn twenty. Most werewolves find their mates at eighteen, but I'm still waiting. Will it happen now that I'm twenty? Will I ever find my mate? My stomach twists with nerves every time I think about it. Part of me fears finding my mate. Another part desperately hopes for it. Finding my mate could change everything—give me somewhere I truly belong.
My hands shake slightly as I pack my guitar for the trip home. Mixed feelings of dread and anticipation fill me.