Her eighteenth birthday comes by far too quickly. The day she has been looking forward to for months, now feeld like it is a countdown into something she can’t control.

Life has a twisted sense of humor.

Nyra had watched her sister get celebrated on her birthday. Cakes, presents, beautiful dresses, make up-- something she had always yearned for.

And now, at eighteen, that she finally has all of it... it feels suffocating.

Since the Awakening Rite, Luna Selene has made it a personal mission to cater for her. Sometimes it was overwhelming. Other times, Nyra secretly enjoyed finally having someone.

Though it didn’t change the fact that she never wanted this bond with Adrian.

Today is the mating ceremony.

Nyra had begged-- a small party, nothing serious. She didn’t want the crowd, gossip or spectacle.

And Luna Selene had agreed on one condition; that Nyra would wear the Luna’s heirloom, the one necklace Anna had yapped about wearing so many times around the house.

It felt heavy against her throat, like a chain of unwanted responsibilities, though it complemented the long hair cascading down her shoulders in perfect waves. Her black backless gown hugs in all the right places, making her look very... different. Hot.

Very hot.

She had run into Adrian first. And she didn’t miss the way his eyes dropped down her body, like it was the first time he was seeing her...more than Anna’s defective sister.

"Ummm." Nyra clears her throat.

Adrian is just far too attractive for his monter personality. His alluring silver eyes didn’t make it easier either..

He drags his gaze away, muttering something about the bond affecting him. Then he walks away, without sparing her another glance.

It is a blatant lie and they both know it.

Nyra rolls her eyes, instead focussing on making it down the stairs without tripping.

Surprisingly, her parents show up, but they don’t even look at her. They stay by Anna like she’s the only reason they even came.

Anna on the other hand is shamelessly drags Adrian go her side, like he isn’t about to be completely mated to her sister in a few hours.

Nyra pretends not to see it.

The celebration is quick, but surprisingly warm. A few presents, none from people she actually knew except the Alpha and Luna.

Cake is cut, wine shared, and finally the first part of the night came to an end.

Now, the real night is about to begin.

---

Adrian’s room is the typical cliche Pinterest board of teenage boys. Band posters, his football trophies...but surprisingly neat.

Luna Selene and...much to Nyra’s embarrassment...the Oracle had refused to let them sleep in separate rooms.

"At least for tonight." They said, "you need to complete the bond. You need to mate."

That word again.

They say like it’s so dimple. Like she’d suddenly want the same man her sister has been sleeping with for two years.

Even thinking about it makes her recoil.

What’s worse is, the door is locked from outside the moment they stepped in, leaving no way for them to sneak out later.

Alone, the tension is very obvious. Adrian’s jaw is tight like he can’t believe this is really happening, and Nyra..still in her birthday dress...looks like she wants the ground to open and swallow her whole.

She breaks the silence first, refusing to meet his eyes. "S-so what do we do now?"

He looks at her incredulous, like the concept of them in the same sentence threatens world peace. "We?" He shoves a pillow into her hand. "You are sleeping on the couch. Alone."

Nyra’s eyes flicker toward the massive bed. "We can just divide it with pillows-"

"No." He doesn’t even wait for her to finish before he slams the door to the bathroom behind him.

Nyra sighs.

Alone, she takes off the dress, reaching into her embarrassingly small bag of clothes, pulling out a night gown first-- too skimpy. So instead she settles on a pair of sweats and a tank top.

Right at that moment Adrian comes out in the same thing. Nyra almost laughs at them matching-- but it dies in her throat when she notices for the first time just how huge Adrian’s biceps are.

She swallows, hating herself for even looking at him in that light.

Ew. No. Not him-- anyone but him.

She turns away so fast, pulling the covers over herself on the couch like it can somehow drown out the unwanted dirty thoughts.

Adrian doesn’t even acknowledge her. Pulling the covers over himself like he can’t be bothered either with whatever is wrong.

--

Nyra’s eyes open slowly the next morning, only to disturbingly find Adrian staring at her intently. She jerks up, looking down over her chest, making sure no..’slip ups’ happened during the night.

Her boobs are still firmly secure. She exhales, thank God.

"We need to convince them we mated last night." He says at last in a deep voice, ignoring her little display. "It’s the only way they’re letting us out of this room."

Nyra stays quiet, because what exactly is she supposed to say? She doesn’t have any experience with sexual things.

"What do you suggest?"

Adrian thinks for a beat, then sighs dramatically.

"Turn around." He thumbs the waistband of his sweats, preparing to pull them off.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Nyra is a stuttering mess. "I’m not sleeping with you!"

He rolls his eyes. "I’m not interested in sleeping with you either. Just turn around."

Nyra is mildly offended, but she says nothing as he rumples the sheets slightly, settling in the middle of the mess.

"I’m going to jerk off," he says it so plainly like he’s talking about what they’re having for breakfast. "My mother and the Oracle are going to check, they need to think we had sex."

The thought of Adrian doing that with her in the room, sends an embarrassing wave of heat between her legs. She quickly turns around.

She hears the shift of clothes behind her, followed by the sound of a lube bottle being uncapped.

Nyra holds her breath for a while, the silence deafening in the space between them. The room suddenly feels too hot.

Adrian doesn’t hesitate to start touching himself. The lube makes it sound much more obscene. Nyra presses her face deeper into the couch, to hide the blush on her face.

"Ah-- fuck!" He groans, hips bucking into his own hand, head tipped back. Adrian’s brows are furrowed in pleasure, hand moving faster. He thumbs the slit, shutting his eyes, imagining it’s Anna’s hand instead of his.

Not Nyra. Never her.

He reminisces over the way Anna used to look up at him through her lashes, while she touched him. It was always the sexist thing.

And he almost moaned out her name. Almost. But he bit the sound back at the last moment.

His hands tighten, slick with lube and precum, fucking into his own hand like a dog in heat. It’s fucking embarrassing, that he’s even this turned on.

He convinces himself it’s because he misses Anna, she refused to let him touch her beyond light make out sessions ever since the Moonbond-- a punishment.

So it’s definitely because of all that pent up heat--

-- definitely not because he knows a certain girl can hear him groaning and grunting like it’s the first time he’s been touched.

He tips over the edge with a loud, guttural growl, white cum spilling all over the sheets and his hands.

Fuck!

As his breath slowly evens out, he turns to find Nyra still there. He smirks, despite her embarrassment, the girl had made no effort to leave.

"Didn’t expect you to be into voyeurism." He sounds slightly breathless.

"Shut up and just go!" Nyra croaks, absolutely refusing to look back up until she hears the bathroom door close behind him.

She lolls up slowly, the scent of cum hitting her sensitive nose-- her wolf starts howling in happiness.

"Shut up!" She mumbles to herself, hating how she can’t stop replaying Adrian’s grunts in her head like a broken record. Why did he even have to sound so good?

Eventually the door opens again, Adrian freshly showered, wet dark hair pouring into his beautiful eyes. He pauses when he sees Nyra hasn’t moved an inch.

"What?" She throws him a questioning look.

He facepalms himself. "You were supposed to..." He gestures toward the bed. "...to touch yourself too."

Oh.

Oh. Italics

She looks away, embarrassed to admit she has never touched herself before...

"Don’t tell me you’ve never..." He muses, staring intently at her, "...who the hell doesn’t know how to wank off?!"

"Me apparently!" She snaps in embarrassment. Then quieter, "I’ve never-- I don’t.."

He sighs, glancing at the clock. "I have to leave, I’m late for Combat practice."

"Combat practice so early?"

"None of your business."

Right. They weren’t automatically friends because of this damn bond.

"Look," he runs a hand through his beautiful hair. "If we have nothing from you on those sheets, they’ll sniff it out within seconds. We need to make it believable or we’ll be stuck here for days!"

His annoyance is thick in the space between them now, and Nyra almost feels guilty. "Okay..." She whispers. "Just..just give me a few minutes, I’ll try."

"Good." He mutters, grabbing a few things before he storms back into the bathroom.

Alone, Nyra tries to touch herself, but it doesn’t feel as good as she thought. She pushes one finger slowly, gasping as her hole swallows it greedily. She’s so untouched and it hurts.

Accepting defeat, her voice cracks as she yells, "I can’t do it!"

Adrian appears a second later, like she’s been waiting. He glares at her for a few seconds, but then his expression slowly melts into something unreadable..

"Should I do it for you?!"

Silence. Deafening silence.

"Just with my fingers." He adds, "It’ll be quicker,"

Something about the way he says it... completely rid of that usual arrogance he wears like a second skin, it makes Nyra’s eyes instinctively drop down to his fingers.

Goddess, they’re so long.

She swallows. "J-just your fingers?"

"Yes." He nods. "We’ll never talk about it again. Just this time-- I really need to leave!"

Right, Okay. He’s offering for himself.

Still, it’s not like she wants to be trapped in the room all day either. She sighs long and loud, before she finally nods. Just a slight tilt of head.

"Okay. But I’m never talking about this again."

She expects him to laugh, mock her for being this inexperienced, but he doesn’t. His handsome face is unusually serious, eyes studying her like he’s trying to make sure.

"Okay..." He inhales, quietly coming over to sit at the edge of the bed.

"Just relax for me..okay?" Nyra blinks at the softness, but nods, parting her thighs, to let him in.

He looks down, a small sound escaping him, as his hands come down between her legs.

He starts gently at first, a press of finger between the folds, a flick of his thumb against her clit. She bites her lip tightly in response, legs trembling slightly.

It feels much more different now that it’s his hand-- feels better.

He presses one finger in gently, and Nyra gasps at the intrusion. His finger is much longer and thicker, reaching spots she didn’t even think were possible.

There’s slick running down her thighs now, onto the sheets... the scent of it is maddening.

He adds another finger. This time Nyra gasps loudly, clutching his shoulders tightly for support. He is being incredibly soft, so incredibly gentle that it makes her wonder if this is the same boy that had made her life a living hell for years.

She squeezes her eyes shut, just letting herself feel. His fingers move faster, like he’s doing it more for himself now, than her.

Every press solicits a gasp, a soft moan, a tilt of her head.

"You’re so.." he whispers under his breath, talking to himself. "You’re so responsive."

Adrian has had several hookups in the past. They were all either bold, or experienced. He always thought being inexperienced meant boring...

But watching the way her face flushes in embarrassment, but parts her legs open for him, it turns him on much more than he would like to admit. His limp cock stirs again in the constraints of his boxers, already leaking at the tip.

He curls his finger just right...

"Ah!" She moans, fingers digging into his shoulder. "There-- f-fuck, right there."

He drowns in every sound like it’s opium. "Look at you." He pants, pushing closer. "Moaning over my fingers.. the boy you claim to hate."

"I do hate you!" She grits out between moans, thighs trembling.

Hot.

He smirks and slams his fingers harder, deeper, the gentleness from earlier fizzling out completely. He watches every twitch, every moan, every tremble of her frame--drinking it like a reward he’s earned.

"So pure, so untouched." He pants, scissoring his hand, stretching her. "So fucking tight!"

"F-fuck. Please just be quick!" She tries to shoot him a look, but it comes out shaky.

Adrian hums, increasing his pace, thumb pinching the sensitive clit. One final brutal press of his fingers and she cums with a loud cry, spilling right across his sheets.

Their pheromones mix in the air, coffee and milk, musk and something floral-- their wolves howl beneath their skin, pushed by instinct and heat.

And for one sickening moment, Adrian leans in, almost like he was going to give in--seal the intimacy with a kiss.

Nyra shifts slightly, and just like that, the spell is broken. The warmth completely fades, leaving behind icy silver eyes.

Even the temperature drops.

He glares at her, pulling his hand away like she’s dirty. Then with a dark voice, one even worse than the ones he’s used to torture for years--

"You can never replace her. So don’t even get the wrong idea." He wipes his hand across the sheets with a frown.

"This means nothing. You mean nothing to me."