RAMIREZ'S LUNA

Freya shivered. Her slender arms hugged her slight frame in an effort to warm herself, but it was no use. Her teeth shattered uncontrollably until she could taste blood in her mouth, and yet they chattered on.

Normally, werewolves were able to thrive in the cold, they loved the cold, but each time Freya was robed of her power by her sister's forbidden act, she felt less like a werewolf and more afraid of the cold -- more like a weakling.

The door opened and her sister marched into her room. ‘Get up Freya. It’s time.’

She turned her large blue eyes up to her big sister, pleading, entreating as she continued to shiver pathetically, unable to utter a sound.

"You useless weakling." Kira snapped. "Would you stop looking at me as though you were a lost puppy! That could work on the foolish men that think you're beautiful, but to me, you are just a pathetic little weakling."

Provoked to anger for no real reason, Kira gave her sister a slap, then yanking at Freya's hair, she dragged her forward, out into the open, under the full moon where a bed had already been prepared with chains.

Freya tried to let go of her fear, but it hugged her tightly, making the cold worse. She numbed her mind and tried to think of the few happy moments in her life.

With a thud, her sister threw her on the bed, and Freya cried out from the pain even as Kira chained her to the bed, then the real pain started.

It was more than the cold now, it was the power of her sister's forbidden art, wrapping around her like a thousand icy needles.

Freya begged for mercy, till she could beg no more. The pain got so intense until when Freya knew she could bare it no more, she screamed out with all her might.

''That's enough for tonight Kira" Freya thought she had her mama say, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't believe her mother would know about what her sister Kira did to her every full moon and still do nothing about it, and yet .... as though Kira was obeying a command from their mama, she stopped the forbidden art. With a snap of her fingers, the chains fell of Freya's wrists and ankles.

"Well I think that's enough for this full moon weakling. I don't want to kill you off with my powers just yet."

Freya rolled over in pain. The cold had receded now that her sister was not using powers on her, but she still felt the after effect.

"Better hurry on to the house you pathetic fool and get some sleep because if you make lousy breakfast tomorrow, I'm going to make sure mama has you whipped." Kira called over her shoulder as she entered the house.

Knowing her sister always made good her threats, Freya struggled up and limped towards the house, each step feeling like it could be her last.

She wondered what she had done to deserve all this. Freya could not remember a time when her big sister had not looked at her with unmasked hatred. Tears stung her eyes. All she wanted was a happy family.

The next day Freya woke with a start. It was the day of the Werewolf tournament, a tournament in which all young werewolves wrestled for one crown. They all came from far and near to the council arena, where they displayed their skills and strengths as werewolves. Many young werewolves met their mates at the tournament.

Remembering her sister's threat about getting her whipped, Freya jumped up from the bed, wincing at the pain in all her joints. She tried to cheer herself up by singing a tune as she quickly prepared toast and eggs for her family and served them.

Nothing seemed to be going well that morning. Her father complained that his toast was burnt, her mother sent her egg back to be re-cooked, and Kira complained that her coffee was too hot.

Freya returned to the kitchen with a tray that carried her mother’s egg, her father’s rejected toast, and Kira’s mug of coffee.

‘Hurry up you sluggard, I don’t want to be late for the tournament.’ Kira snapped.

Just then, Freya lost her balance, and her father’s plate of toast slipped off the tray and shattered on the floor.

Kira let out a shrill scream. "What! You idiot, you’ve just broken a very expensive china plate."

Contrite, Freya sank to the floor immediately to pick up the broken pieces. ‘I’m sorry Papa.’

Her father shook his head. ‘You are a disgrace to this family. You are not smart, are not strong and you cannot simply prepare breakfast. You would skip your dinner tonight as your punishment, perhaps then, you would learn to be more careful.’

Freya tried not to cry as her entire family got up from the breakfast table and left for the competition. There was no room to feel sorry for herself, she still had to rush through her house chores and make it in time for the tournament. It was not that she wished to participate in the fight, she could never dream of it, but she needed to be there in case her family had any errands to send her on.

Tears stung her warm blue eyes as she wondered what had made her family to hate her so much. Her life seemed like a nightmare, and she could only wait patiently for her eighteenth birthday when the moon goddess would send her mate to her, a strong powerful alpha to save her from her family.

She tried to cheer herself up again by humming her favorite song as she prepared for the tournament. Standing in front of a full length mirror, she could almost understand why her sister despised her.

Her face looked too small, too delicate. Large blue eyes framed by long dark lashes stared back at her from the mirror. She was seventeen, about to turn eighteen, and yet she was so slender, she could pass for a boy of twelve.

She forced herself to stop thinking about how she looked and snatched the only presentable dress she had and put it on. It was a little faded, and some of the stiches from when she had mended it were obvious, but it was all she had.

Perhaps if she could only get stronger like her sister Kira, then her parents might be proud of her. Then papa might….. she blocked her mind from thinking about her parents and hurriedly brushed a comb through her hair, then picked up the bag that contained refreshments for her family members and headed out. She was already late for the tournament.

The tournament was being held in the large fight arena, set aside for jousts and fights. By the time Freya arrived, she could see that the fighting had already been on for some time.

Among the contestants, those who had fought sat in a different place from those who had not yet had their first match, Kira sat with those who had already had a fight, a yellow ribbon pinned to her battle uniform, indicating the victory she had secured.

Freya noticed the entire crowd was chanting something, but she couldn’t make out what it was. Curious, she turned to face the arena, then she saw him.

She knew immediately that he was an alpha. There was something very aristocratic about him, about the way he carried himself.

His battle mask was on, and so she could not see his face, but their was no denying his good looks, his authority. It was in the straight posture of his shoulders, in the way he held his head.

He did not seem to give his opponent much attention, instead he was toying with him, allowing his opponent throw punches only to forge them.

Freya forced her eyes off the alpha in the arena. She had to focus on what she came for, she did not want to annoy her family.

Jack smiled smugly as the next contestant was brought forward to wrestle with him. He could see it in the eagerness of the lad, in the way his claws were already out before he stepped into the battle arena.

The lad wanted to be champion, he wanted to be known as the best young werewolf, the strongest. He had shown promise, knocking out his other opponents in a single round. It was such a pity that the lad had to be paired with him so early in the game, Jack thought. Now this eager young lad was not even going to make it to the quarter finals.

Jack toyed with the lad in front of him, circling the boy, goading him, allowing the kid to put in a few punches and scratches, then when he got bored, in one single blow delivered to his opponents head, he knocked the boy out.

The crowd erupted in a loud applause, and Jack stood there for a moment drinking it all in. He saw the appreciative glances the females were giving him and smiled. He knew just how handsome he looked w