Something took my breath away last night and made me couldn’t sleep until the sun hit the ground.

Last night was supposed to be the happiest day of my life and it was supposed to be the moment my parents had been waiting for, the moment when I was supposed to transform into a wolf.

And my seventeenth birthday is a bummer. Instead of getting my wolf form and becoming my parents’ favorite, they send me to summer training in the hopes that if I train harder and push myself, I will get my wolf form.

No one knows about it because, thanks to the Moon Goddess, we did not invite anyone other than family members last night, but the word of this may spread in Eden Spring.

As I rose from my bed, I slowly opened my eyes and the sun shone directly into my hazel eyes. The morning felt so different, perhaps because it was my last time in this city.

Fresh air got into my lungs as I opened the window; I can’t believe I’ll be moving to another city and not knowing when I’ll return. I then take a deep breath of the morning air, feeling it in my lungs before stretching up and gritting my bones.

“Ugh, it felt so good!” I groaned as I stretched my muscles, the twist from keeping my eyes open last night gone right then and there.

My ears are extremely sensitive because the Moon Goddess has blessed me with powerful hearing and strength for as long as I can remember. I could clearly hear my parents arguing about my father, Alpha Adrian, sending me to summer training.

My mother adores me and I am the only child, the next heir of the Red-Blood pack, which worries my father because I still don’t have my wolf.

They didn’t have a son to continue the heir, so my father relied on me, but now I only see the disappointment in his eyes when he sees me and I can’t do anything about it because I can’t give him what he wanted.

My family could be cursed by the Moon Goddess. She cursed me for my father’s sin. But I don’t have time to think about it right now because I have some important things to do, such as preparing myself and packing my stuff.

Stepping away from the open window, I began making my way out of my room after grabbing some snack packs that had accompanied me the night before, opening the door handle, and finally stepping out.

The empty corridor was making my parents’ voices buzz all the way up; they probably thought I didn’t hear them arguing downstairs, but the truth said otherwise, I had known my parents liked to fight since I was five and I never told them that I had this powerful hearing ability.

My father is still in love with his ex, Luna Mira. But she turned him down and chose someone else, an Alpha who is more powerful than my father. They never spoke again after that and my father marries an omega, my mother and without her, I might not exist.

My palms slide through the stair handle as I step downstairs, my other hand holding the snack packs, my head darting to the left and right to see if my parents can see me, I am observing the situation, hiding from the two of them. My parents, on the other hand, caught me.

My mother quickly ran her gaze to me while she was still arguing with my father. She stared at me with those pretty hazel eyes with tears in them. They then stopped arguing when they realized I was there.

“This is what you get for refusing to let her go!”

My father was visibly upset; he locked his gaze on me, pointing with his index finger and showing my mother what they got after seventeen years of raising me.

I understand what he meant, but I never blame him for everything. I also don’t hate him because he did this to me; otherwise, I would hate myself for not being able to give them what they desired. Both of my parents relied on me, but I let them down by not changing last night, shattering their hearts.

“How could she have missed out on her wolf?” My father frowned, his brows touched each other as he spoke and I could see the sorrow inside his magical blue eyes, which made me grieve.

“Elora will get that wolf! And I believe she will” My mother responded, attempting to persuade my father not to send me to summer training. “Give her some time” She frowned, begging my father.

“We got no time, and if she can’t, someone else will take her place” My father expressed his dismay.

“I understand, but don’t send her to that summer training! She never ventured far from Eden Spring…” My mother said, still trying to persuade my father.

“If she wants to get her form and a mate, she should!” My obstinate father stood firm in his decision.

“Elora required our assistance! How could you do this to your own daughter, Adrian?” My mother sighed with disappointment and teary eyes, her voice breaking as she spoke.

“You’re staying no matter what!” My mother yelled angrily, her index fingers pointing to the ground as a sign that I should stay in the house no matter what.

I broke their argument, preventing them from hurting each other’s feelings any longer and I told the two of them it was my pleasure to go to that summer training, which surprised my parents but left some smiles on my father’s face.

“It’s all right, mom! I’ll go…” My first words had finally escaped my lips.

“But, honey... You don’t have to!” My mother tried to persuade me otherwise. As she looked at me, she frowned.

“I needed this!” I declared and continued, both my parents listening to me and looking me in the eyes.

“Dad needed this… Our family needed this!” I said it loudly and kept going.

“I need to go to that training so maybe I can get my wolf form like dad said” I finished and now I’m making my way to the trash can to get rid of the snack packs I was holding.

I toss the pack into the trash, increasing my power as I do so, making the trash move as if it were about to fall to the ground. I was angry, not at my parents, but at myself.

“Look what you’ve done, Adrian! Now you making her upset” My mother re-started the argument.

“I’m fine, Mom!” I raised my voice and turned to face them again; I was still standing next to the trash, not far from where they were, putting an end to their argument.

“I can do it! And Mr. Edward had done an excellent job of training me. Those city kids can’t mess with me, mom” I explained, telling my mother not to be concerned about me.

My mother is concerned. She is concerned that another teen wolf will bully me because I still hadn’t received my wolf at seventeen and she is concerned that I will have a difficult time in that summer training, which is why she insists on canceling this plan.

But my father knows better; he has been in my life and trained me until I had what every teen wolf in this city desired: a powerful brain capable of solving the war. I am smarter than any teen wolf in Eden Spring and that is what distinguishes me.

“But, honey, you don’t have to walk in your father’s footsteps! You are not a boy and you are not required to lead the pack as your father wishes” My mother approached me, staring at me with teary eyes and later holding my palms as if she didn’t want to lose me.

“Mom, it’s just summer training, not a war” I replied, chuckling afterward, knowing that my mother was overreacting. “I'll be fine!” I said with a small smile on my lips.

She is still refusing to accept my father’s decision to relocate me to another city for training and when my mother discovers that I am carrying out my father’s wishes, she becomes glum.

That caused a squabble between them and my mother went into the kitchen with a heavy heart, leaving me in the living room with my father. I smiled sadly as I watched her walk away in disappointment.

My father approached me and gave me a small smile and sighed while caressing my hair; I could feel warmth enveloping me right then and there; my father appeared pleased and proud of my decision to choose his orders.

“Hey, your mother will understand your decision, she will be proud when you get your wolf and convince her otherwise” My father smiled as he looked at me, still implying my wolf form; his stubbornness could destroy our family and I am the one who has to make sacrifices to keep this family together.

“All right, now go pack your stuff! You don’t want to be late for the new day, do you?” He chuckled and motioned for me to return to my room to prepare.

I smiled as my gaze remained fixed on him. I forced a fake smile on my father to make him happy, despite my heart’s objections. But I have to. I have to make them proud by becoming the next Red-Blood pack heir, the treasure keeper.