"How I so wish to be with you, Luna Lyana…"
Once again, Snow had been woken up by another nightmare. Every three days, she relived the horrible incident of three years ago in her dreams. And each time, she wished she followed her Luna that night. No doubt that the moon goddess had given her a chance and a new life but to her, her Luna was everything.
Her everything was no more and she was now struggling to find reasons to stay.
Her gaze shifted to the small window adorned with an age stricken curtain, it was still dark, very dark and she was sure the sun wouldn't rise in another few hours. Her eyes moved to her oil lamp and it was dimming, kicking her feet off the bed to reach the soft wooden floor that had also matured with time, she filled the lamp with oil, watching the fire burn brighter.
Snow did the next best thing since she could not sleep, she grabbed her books and began to read. The mid-terms were approaching. They would be tested on everything they had learned and she didn't want to fail. So the Alpha would not see it as a waste, so she would not see it as a waste. She picked her pen and scribbled for hours. At some point, she began to doze but the fear was so strong that she kept herself awake, lest she have another horrible dream.
As dawn announced itself, she got herself ready with a cold bath outside, coming in to get ready, her clothing was always simple but it was her hair she took a lot of time on. Styling it so she would have some semblance to the girls in the academy. They always wore nice clothes and their hair was well-kept. She didn't have clothes, but boy was Snow beautiful.
Beautiful and broken.
Now smelling like an entire flower garden, she grabbed her jute bag and made her way to school. It was still early, the sun gently giving warmth to the earth, she was now familiar with the road and as she passed by, some people began to wave to her. Surprisingly, she waved back. They had never noticed her until recently.
Some part of her was happy she was socializing.
Reaching Lycanthra, she expected not many people to be around since it was still early but when she got there, there seemed to be a group of people in a place, talking over themselves. Curiosity got the best of her and she got closer. Pushing her way through the small spaces, what was getting people talking was now in front of her.
Two wolves in their shifted form were fighting. One was an awfully dark wolf that seemed larger and was fighting a relatively brown one. The brown wolf seemed more agile on his feet until he was eventually knocked over but the sheer size of the other wolf and that alone was enough to cause a discord.
Snow felt panic rise in her as the wolf struggled to stand, it had hit its back hard and when he shifted back, Nolan was slightly bleeding from his mouth. She felt herself move, why was he fighting? He was bleeding, he needed her?
She stopped herself when another wolf came to his side, she looked lovely, nothing like Snow and the way she held him, it said a lot, "would you stop this childishness?!" she screamed at the other and soon, everyone was back to normal form and some guys were around the other guy that Nolan was fighting. He was so tall and huge that it looked stupid to even go against him but for Nolan to take a step against him.
It must have been serious.
"How can such a weak wolf be the future alpha of the Redclaw pack, don't make me laugh, ill tear you to shreds!" he threatened Nolan, rage baited him even, he was about to go again until Cassira held him back.
"Enough! You will not continue this! You know better!" she scolded him like a mother would, putting his weight on her body and lifting him up, "we need to get you to the healer's, I'm sure something is broken…" she whispered gently to him as she dragged him away.
The chatter was getting louder but as his eyes scanned everyone that had been present, he met Snow's. Her crystal blue eyes widening while her face was twisted with worry and the slightest expression of shock ran across his face. It was only a few seconds before she cast her eyes elsewhere and retreated from his view.
Some time had passed and Nolan was out of the healer's, "you should not allow him to get you angry like that, strength is not the only thing that makes an alpha…" the unsolicited advice was a little salt to his wounds.
"I did warn him but he insisted. Now look at him." Cassira was heavily worried about him, her ginger hair now slightly distorted, "he will be fine yes?"
"Yes he will. It is very minor. Such things won't easily take down an alpha." Her tone was teasing and it made Nolan flare up in embarrassment. He was led out of the healer's and into the class he was late for. Everyone saw him walk in with his girlfriend but no one dared say a word.
Even the teacher waited for him to be seated before he continued.
The class didn't last long from when he arrived, "you will however be given a project to do. And you will be paired." the teacher announced and everyone collectively groaned.
"Can't we have one term without a project?" someone complained from the class and his eyebrows were raised in disappointment. He was doing it for their own good and began to pair. After a little while, everyone was in groups except Nolan.
"Nolan… you will be paired with her." and by her, he meant Snow. Her eyes widened in disbelief and so did Nolan's, "you are to submit this week Friday. Good luck." and with that, he exited the lecture room and everyone slowly stood to leave.
As people passed through them, seated on separate benches side by side, brown eyes fixated on blue eyes and time seemed to slow. But his expression twisted to a scowl and he pulled himself out of his seat and took himself out of the lecture room, leaving her alone.
When the day ended, Nolan returned to his dorm, his hair slightly dishevelled as he balanced books in his arms. As he entered, Xerxes was kind enough to help him in setting the books down.
"All this for the project?" a small smirk crossed his mysterious features and it earned him a scoff from his big brother.
"And I got the worst partner. That girl…"
"You mean our mate?" Xerxes clarified.
"She is not my mate!" he spat in reaction and stormed to his room to grab more utilities. Zev who was also in the house could see the steam coming out from the head of his older brother and with a look from Xerxes, he knew better than to approach him. They both knew.
Two days had passed and Nolan had not made much progress on his project. He had to do research on a wolf legend but with all the dead ends and limited information he had, he felt it was more of a myth. Even a myth had more lore than his project. He was low on sleep and very low on patience.
Zev and Xerxes didn't want to bother him but they were concerned. They were both in the kitchen and Xerxes handed his elder brother a plate of food and a glass of water and signalled to Nolan.
"Do I have to do it?" He really didnt want to but he didnt cook the food and the person who cooked the food didn't want to go near the minefield. Zev sighed and walked up to his older brother who was just above a table littered with books and papers.
"Thank you." Nolan appreciated him but his eyes never left the open books and it forced Zev to scoff a little.
"Just take a break bro, you look like you're going crazy." He chided with an eye roll and Xerxes who had heard in from the kitchen, audibly facepalmed himself. He just asked him to deliver food and not open his mouth.
Zev felt unashamed but slowly began to shrink when he was met with the coldest death glare from his big brother. Cold sweat dripped down his face and if looks could kill, he would be having his funeral.
"I am going to the library to meet Cass." that was all he said, no longer interested in the food, he packed some books.
"Oh come on bro, you have been tense for days, we just want you to chill a little. It's just a silly grade anyway." Zev who was making it worse and Xerxes, from the kitchen again, facepalmed audibly. Nolan was not taking it lightly but didn't say a word, Zev could see now, "I'm sorry bro." he apologised.
"I'll be late." It was all he said before he left the dorm.
The sun was just setting, the majority of students had either gone home or retired to their rooms. The scenery was beautiful with the massive trees swaying gently in a soft but firm breeze, the golden light highlighting the beauty of everything. He made his way to the library and as expected, he didn't see anyone in it. People hardly used the library.
But as he got closer, he noticed light coming from a very dark corner, like someone had read a lamp. Then giggles. Who could it have been?
As he approached, he found blue eyes, the flame of a candle being her extra source of light, the corner of the library she was in was not too lit. She noticed a presence and her eyes went from the paper to the man in front of her.
Both their breaths hitched. The bond pulling at them.
"You are here…" he hesitated but ultimately sat with her, noticing how the light from the flame highlighted her features. The proximity makes it harder to breathe.
Those blue eyes that seemed to glow anytime he looked at them.
He sighed gently, "I have not slept in two days because of this project, I haven't made much progress either…" he dispelled the silence, "have you been facing the same thing?"
Snow's lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, she reached into her jute bag and brought out papers bound tightly by a spiral and handed it to him. Sceptical he glossed over its content and his jaw dropped to the table.
"So much?? How?! Where did you get so much information?"