The Tormented Soul

Aleera’s POV
I ran out of the kitchen as fast as I could. I needed to get out of there and away from the intense feeling I was having. I ran
through the packhouse and exited the back door to the back yard. As I felt the cold air on my face I sat down on one of the
benches to go over what just happened. How can they even think I would be a good luna to this pack with my past and how can I
give Night Shad any hope? I heard the door open and close, I did not look to see who it was, there was only one person that
would come after me.
"Do you mind if I join you?" It was not a man's voice which caused me to look over at the person that was talking and it was
Nicole. So I was wrong this time. Why did she follow me? But I was happy it was not Darius. I looked at her.
"Sure, you can." I said to her, confused.
Nicole came over to me and sat down beside me, not uttering any word to me or saying anything, she just sat there with me. We
sat there for a while before she broke the silence and started to talk to me.
"Aleera, you’re probably wondering why I was the one that came out here instead of Darius. I thought you needed a girl to talk
to."
"And what would we even talk about?" I asked and looked at her.
"Since you came here, you have not talked about anything. Right now we can talk about anything you want to talk about. For
example, the Luna Celebration or even your brother and his betrayal to you."
Shit, she knows so much already and she looks like she wants to help me and wants the best for me.
"Thanks so much." Was the only thing I felt I could say right now.
"You should know that I don't want to force you to talk right now if you don't feel up for it. I just want you to know that you can talk
to me whenever you want and about anything." She said to me and I could tell she meant it by the worried tone in her voice.
I did not answer her. I just sat there waiting for her to say more but it took a while before she did.
"I don't know how it is for you right now, but I can only guess that everything is up and down for you. You have your past and now
you have to figure out your new role as the luna for the Night Shad pack." She stopped there to catch a breath before she
continued.

"And on top of it all, you find out that your own brother is alive after all these years and that he is behind everything and that he
hates you so much. Just remember that Darius, me, and everyone in this pack has your back and we will be here for you."
"Thanks so much, Nicole. You are right this is too much for me right now, and I don't know how to cope with it all right now. And I
don't think this is the right time for the party. There are only a few people that know the truth about me and my past." I said to her
with a low and stuttered voice. How can they think I will be a strong luna? I am weak.
"You will learn to cope with it and you have everyone here to support you. You do know that I believe in you and so does Darius.
We will not have a normal luna celebration, this one will be specially made just for you."
I felt tears running down my cheeks, she must have found a way through my mental walls. She moved closer to me and
embraced me in a hug and held me for a while.
"Aleera, I hope I did not step over the line to get you upset or anything."
"No, you did not step over anything. It's just so much for me right now and all these feelings do not help me at all." I said back to
her. I wanted her to know she did nothing wrong and that it was everything I was feeling that was making me cry.
"Is there something special that you keep thinking about?"
"The one thing that keeps bugging me is what my brother said to me."
"Oh, you mean that the pack lied about your mother's death and then all the nasty stuff your father and the whole pack did to
you?"
I did not feel like answering it with words so I nodded my head. It hurt so much to think about it, and to talk about it hurt even
more. I still haven't figured out why Angelo hated me so much, we were best friends and we loved each other in the past. Now I
found out that our father murdered our mother just because he wanted to be the most powerful alpha. The big question is, is this
one of the things Selene said I would find out later?
We just sat there and Nicole was the one that brought me out from my own thoughts.
"Don't take this the wrong way but I'm guessing that during all these years since your mother's death, you haven't gone to any
parties or had a chance to celebrate your birthday.”
"That is correct."

"I also found out that your birthday is coming up soon, so I think you should take this opportunity to have fun. We can have two
parties in one, you deserve it and it can be good for you."
When I did not answer her she got up and walked towards the backdoor to back inside when my question stopped her.
"Why did you choose me?" She turned around to face me.
"What do you mean Aleera?"
"Why did you choose me as your luna?"
Nicole came back and sat down beside me and placed her hands over mine while looking deep into my eyes.
"We did not choose you. I don't know if your mother even was able to have that talk with you." When I did not answer her I think
she guessed that I did not have all the information that I should.
"The moon goddess is the one that pairs us together with our mate and it is also her who chooses the ones to be the leaders. A
pack always needs two leaders, one alpha and one luna. So there's something in you and in him that needs each other and
that's why Selene mated you together"
"But why would she choose a broken girl like me?"
"That I don't know, but she must know that you will do something great and that's why, and as Darius mate, you need him to be
able to heal."
"But I don't know if I am ready." I whisper out.
"I think you are ready, if you wouldn't, why would you let Darius mark and mate with you?"
"Was it not just his needs?" I asked, confused.
"Wrong, it was both your needs, you need each other to survive. The worst thing that can happen when you have fully mated and
marked is that one of you dies, the one that will live will never feel peace, will always be heartbroken, and will not find another
mate."
That shocked me. Why would our beloved moon goddess be so cruel to her own creation? Why would she not let them find a
second chance to find another mate if the first one dies?

She must have read something on my facial expression. "Don't you dare do anything to yourself. Darius loves you too much to
lose you."
"Don't worry, I am not going to do anything to myself. Sure I have tried twice since I came here, but I promise I will not try again."
"You know our talk inside about the luna celebration before you ran out?"
I nodded my head
"This celebration is not just for you, it's for the entire pack, so they can celebrate that they have finally found their luna. You don't
need to think about any of the preparation for this party, that is my job as the beta female." Nicole says with a small smile and a
little bit of hope in her eyes.
"Fine, I will agree to the party but I think you should know I was never a party kind of girl, even when my mother was alive." Then
I paused as something I said before came to mind. "But I don't have anything to wear." I whispered out.
Nicole's smile grew on her lips when she heard me agree to let the pack have this party for me but deep down I was not up for it.
"Let me take care of that. I will take you to the mall and get a dress to match your beauty."
"I am not beautiful." I said in a deadpan tone.
"Of course you are, and I know that’s what everyone who saw you thought when Darius first brought you here." She beamed a
smile at me.
"You can't be serious?"
"Yes I am, why would I say otherwise if it was not true?" Her smile slowly falling into a frown.
"I don't know. Maybe because I have lived a life with so many lies, I don't know if I should believe or not."
"Remember this Aleera, I will never lie to you. That I can promise you. So are you ready to get out of here?"
"What do you mean ready to get out of here?"
"I told you that I would take you to the mall to get a dress for the luna celebration and we can also get you some more clothing."