Prologue
"We all have our own kinds of forbidden. Sa mga bampira, ang number 1 rule nila ay bawal silang magmahal ng mga mortal. Sa mga taong lobo, bawal silang magmahal ng mga bampira." The high priest preached.
I was still a kid that time. And yet everything is vivid in my memories.
"And to us...we are forbidden to love both. Especially vampires. Because we are foxes, at hindi dapat tayo nakikiisa sa kanila. They have their own world. Magulo, full of violence and wrath which is the total opposite of ours. Do not let them infiltrate our own peace."
Iyon ang palagi sa aming pinapaalala ng mga matatanda. Pero ang palagi kong tanong, may limitations ba talaga pagdating sa pag-ibig? Sure, there are lot of things that we shouldn't do such as cheating, violence, and more. But my point is...napipilit ba ang pusong magmahal ng iba kung may mahal ka naman na talaga?
My grandma once told me that most people in this world have a special someone to live with until they die.
They're called mates.
For wolves, mates are written in blood and scent, a pull as undeniable as gravity. They bond for life or die trying. While vampires don't usually fall in love, but when they do, they'd burn the world for it. For foxes like us? Our bonds are spells woven into the soul. Losing a mate doesn't just break hearts; it unravels something.
A mate is the reason you'd defy kingdoms. The one you'd carve a family with, fight the world for, cling to until your last breath turns cold. They make you feel like starlight has fingerprints, and they're tracing yours.
In my case, hindi ko pa naramdaman 'yan. I've knelt before women for tradition's sake, but fate spat on every vow.
The first left me for a man who knocked her womb full, yes she got pregnant.
The second fled with her true mate the night before our wedding.
The third stood at our engagement feast, hand in hand with her lover and smiled as she begged me to let her go. And I did. Their courage was too beautiful to burn.
Imagine the shame I felt during those times. Kaya napasuko na lang ako. But then, there's Morganna. My childhood friend. The future princess of her pack. She's the only one who chose me, but I tore our betrothal contract myself. She's my sister in everything but blood; she deserves a love that isn't shackled. Yet our families still force the match.
Gusto ng pamilya kong mahanapan na ako ng kapareha dahil hindi ako katulad nila. They believe I'm weaker than them. Because I'm the only omega fox with five tails in a den of Alphas. The runt and the insult in the family.
Our family follows wolf-like tradition where in we prioritize brute force in which I am not qualified. Our people were expecting me to lead because I was born with five tails, ang inisip nila'y qualification na 'yon. Pero hindi iyon nangyari dahil...hindi ako isang Alpha.
Their words are knives, but the truth cuts deeper: I'm not an alpha but an omega. I don't have a mate. And that's the most important, because mate bonds amplifies our lives.
