[Margaret's POV]
"Margaret, where are my pink shoes?"
"I don't know. Why don't you look under your bed?"
This was my sister, Elizabeth.
We had come out of our mother's womb, one after the other, but I had to bear the name 'older sister' because I was born a few seconds earlier. It was very unfair.
Ever since I was a child, no matter what happened, as long as I had a falling out with Elizabeth, I would hear my father or mother say to me, "Margaret, you're the older sister. You have to give in to the younger sister." Then Elizabeth would justifiably steal everything I had, including my beloved little bear, the pretty dress I took a fancy to, and the love of my parents.
Perhaps it was because of this that we were two completely different people in terms of appearance and personality. I hardly broke any rules and did everything properly and dutifully. As for Elizabeth, she never even called me 'older sister.' She just called me by my name, Margaret. It had always been like this since we were young.
I brushed my hair and studied myself in the vanity mirror.
Today was the day Elizabeth and I became adults. It was also the most important day for a werewolf. We would hold a coming of age ceremony in front of all the werewolves in our pack.
Our pack's Alpha was Armstrong. He was tall and handsome, and six foot five inches tall. Most importantly, he was my boyfriend. I'd been with him since I was 12 years old. I'd spent many important moments of my life with him, including his father's passing and his succession to the Alpha position of our pack.
I had never thought that I could have an Alpha as my lover. Compared to Elizabeth, I had always been an insignificant character in the crowd. But Armstrong was always there to comfort me whenever I was uneasy or indecisive.
One Halloween, when we were young, Elizabeth and I went trick or treating according to tradition. Elizabeth disliked the cold and refused to go on after asking for candies at two houses. She ignored my advice and ran home alone.
I went to a lot of trouble going to dozens of homes and collecting a bag of candies. When I got home, my hands and feet freezing cold, I saw Elizabeth pouting and clinging to our parents by the fireplace. Expecting their approval, I wanted to show my candy collection to our parents.
But my father reprimanded me for not taking good care of Elizabeth, for leaving her to cry her way home in the snow. I looked at Elizabeth and thought that she did not look like she was freezing at all. I was the one who was cold, and I was the only one who took the blame.
As Elizabeth wouldn't stop crying, I was forced to give her all the candies. Then she was allowed to sleep in the big bed with our parents, and I—because I couldn't take care of my sister—was ordered to reflect on my wrongdoing in the small bed in the attic.
I lay in bed alone, tired and hungry. I felt aggrieved.
Then I secretly climbed out of the window. The physique of a werewolf was far superior to that of ordinary people and I had always had the best physique among my peers. A two-story height was nothing.
I walked alone on the streets, looking for candies that other children might have dropped. It was then that I met Armstrong for the first time. He was still a teenager back then, not as tall and strong as he was now, but he already had the awe-inspiring manner of a future Alpha.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me, frowning.
"I want to find some candy to eat."
"No one is handing out candies at this time." He thought for a moment and took a piece of chocolate from his pocket. "I'll give it to you."
When I took the chocolate from him, I felt like Armstrong was someone the Moon Goddess had sent to save me. I remembered that the moon was shining brightly and the stars twinkled that night. At that moment, I was moved by him.
After that, Armstrong and I often dated in the forest. I told Armstrong about our encounter that night. I told him how cold that night was, how aggrieved I was before I met him, and how happy I was after meeting him.
"You know what? My parents asked me to apologize to Elizabeth, but I refused. Elizabeth just kept crying."
"And?" Armstrong asked me.
"Then I cried, feeling wronged. But they only cared about consoling Elizabeth and even asked me to give all the candies I collected. However, Elizabeth is not their only daughter. They are my parents and I am their daughter. Tell me, I still remember it after so long. Do you think I'm petty?" I said embarrassedly.
"Did you give her the candies afterward?"
"I did. They said that as the older sister, I had to give in to my younger sister."
"You're good. You're the best girl I've ever met, but you could be more confident."
Armstrong hugged me, his eyes meeting mine with complete trust. I felt a warmth in my heart I had never felt before. No one had ever supported me, praised me, or told me I was doing the right thing.
"I'm really grateful to you. You're my savior. Meeting you must be the luckiest thing in my life. You're better to me than all my family." I snuggled up to him as he embraced me.
"I am your family," Armstrong promised me. "You will be my wife and the future Luna of the tribe."
I also believed that we would be fated partners under the arrangements of the Moon Goddess.