Bound To The Alpha's Heart: His Silver-Eyed Luna

~Laia~

I stand in line with the others my age, and some a little older. The almost-19-year-olds who weren't old enough last year at this time, stand at the beginning of the line. Maybe they feel more eager than I do... or maybe they're just as nervous. All of us wait for the Moon Ritual to begin.

Elder Nyssara, wearing her ceremonial robes, chants in a self-important voice, "Once a year, under the sacred Winter Solstice Moon when the Longest Night rules the skies, the Goddess wanders the earth to bless this Water of Fate. Drink, and if not scorned by the Moon, you shall sense your destined one."

My eyes dart from the elder and the bowl of Water of Fate in her hands to the one person I can't stop thinking about. Blue eyes lock on me, face cold and demanding my obedience.

The line shuffles forward, the girl in the front eyeing the pearl bowl with at least 5 emotions on her pretty face. I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans, my heart in my throat, and look back at him again.

His eyes, full of malice, haven't moved from me.

Oh, damn me for daring to dream. For daring to wish. For thinking, even for a second, I could have this night like a normal girl. For f*ck's sake, I shouldn't even be excited.

Cael, our Alpha's eldest son... All I can remember is last night and the threat he pressed into me.

"Say you're mateless, Laia." His warning crashes into my head, flat and cold as river ice, leaving no room for argument.

I blink. Once. Twice. Reality rushes back.

Drums beat low and steady in the night, each sound matching the fast thump of my heart. The full moon shines high above the peaks of the trees, its silver light covering the clearing where the giant fires burn bright on both sides.

I'm about to walk down and drink that water. The same water I dreamed about for eighteen years. And even after I drink, I'll have to lie.

What if I don't? What if...

"No matter what you feel, Laia... don't you dare say a thing." His voice thunders in my skull again. It isn't last night anymore, but I can still feel his fingers like iron around my wrist, his stare like winter. He barked orders and didn't stop.

Even if I wanted to refuse...I can't. Cael's trying to prove more than a f*cking point.

"Think carefully, Laia. Whatever stupid decision you make, remember your little brother. Unless you want Liam to lose everything, his Alpha's favor, his school, his meals, his future. I can strip it all away with a single word." The words landed like hammer blows.

Liam's face flashes in my mind, small, stubborn, trusting. The memory pins me harder than any hand ever could.

Names are called. One by one, people step up to the stone basin.

My gaze darts to Cael again, looking for something, anything merciful,, hoping he'll call off the threat. He stands with the other ranked wolves, half a head taller than the rest, arms folded, jaw locked. He doesn't look at me again.

The line shrinks.

A girl in front of me drinks, staggers, then smiles so wide she's all teeth. She turns, hand pressed to her chest, and beelines for the shy handsome guy with messy hair and crooked teeth, at the edge of the clearing, his eyes large and awestruck, his arms open waiting for her. The crowd hums, pleased. Good for her.

My turn.

I step forward. The ground is hard and frosted. Each crunch of my boots feels too loud.

Up close, the basin is older than anything, stone worked smooth by centuries of hands. The elder dips the cup. Liquid shivers.

"May the Moon guide your feet and guard your heart," she says, offering it to me.

My fingers wrap around the cold surface. Cael's warning scrapes through my head again... "Say you're mateless".

My brother's smile flares behind my closed lids.

I lift the cup. The rim kisses my lips, and I gulp down the contents in one go.

My belly hollows out and all I see is a red ghost-like thread spinning around me, stretching its tendrils out, and reaching, reaching, reaching someone... Cael!

"MATE!" echoes inside of me filling every corner of my being with light and hope and I feel the urge to say the word out loud, to run to him and let him wrap his strong arms around me, to tell me that everything will be ok...

He's watching me like I am a problem to be solved.

He knows. He f*cking knows.

His face is stone cold, his teeth grinding together...

The elder's hand steadying my shaking wrist startles me and I jerk my eyes away from the blue ones..

"Do you feel it, child?" she asks softly. What a farce. She probably doesn't even know my name.

Every instinct in me says yes. Every memory of last night tells me to lie.

I swallow hard.

"I..." My voice scrapes. The crowd waits. The drums fade. Even the fires seem to hold their breath. "I feel nothing," I say.

Whispers from the gathering stab through my chest like knives. The three words I just said slam into me.

Mateless. It means I am Mateless.

And everyone here knows what that means. What if they exile me and Liam is left behind? I am a bad omen now, a curse from the Goddess. I look at the elders watching me carefully. These wolves are superstitious enough to throw me and Liam out.

In this instant, I despise Cael. He's every bit the villain I prayed the Moon wouldn't throw at me.

The lifelong resentment and fury spikes through my spine, scolds the back of my neck, and burns in front of my eyes momentarily blinding me.

Then my gaze narrows on Lysandra, Cael's arm wrapped around her waist protectively. Of course. She's probably the real reason he threatened me last night. Her eyes are on me, like she already knows the ending to this story.

I drag my gaze away from Lysandra and back to the elders when I hear the whispers.

"Her eyes... look at them."

"Silver. Blazing like the twin full moons."

The same elder who handed me the cup leans toward the others, whispering, almost afraid of her own words.

"The Moon has touched her."

I almost snort. Delirious old wolves.

If I were Moon-touched why... why would my own mate throw me away?

~LAIA~

Around me, the chatter swells, laughter, songs, parents cheering, friends shouting as they celebrate their children and mates.

Their happiness mocks me.

While they feast, I wait. Arms wrapped around myself, I stand on the outskirts of the party, half consumed by the dark. That's what I've always done. Living in the Pack as charity since our parents died means I eat last, always on the sidelines, hoping there's enough left to keep Liam and me going.

Wolves who accidentally stumble into my corner, lose their smiles, and walk around me leaving a wide distance between us.

The elders left the celebration long ago. One long look from Cael and any of them who'd looked at me at all, left without saying a word.

Cael... The agonizing pain I feel is like a knife stabbing right into my chest. My heart won't stop thrumming, each beat a cruel reminder that the pain is still there and here to stay.

A useless thing. The heart is the most useless organ of all. I should rip it out and destroy it right in front of me, just to end this ache.

Soon, the long-awaited moment is here. The celebration is over, and even the young wolves who always party the longest drift back to their houses.

I've been scanning the tables. What's left staring at me is a single mostly-empty pot of noodles.

I walk down to it, sink onto the ground, and scrape the bottom clean, coaxing the last bits into my container. I brush off the dirt and wet yellow grass from the container and sigh at myself. I couldn't stand in line for the Moon Ritual holding a food container, could I? So it went under a bush and now Liam is going to wrinkle his nose if he notices it.

The meat is gone. The vegetables are gone. Even the dessert is gone. All that's left are scraps. I don't have time to mourn for a mate who can't be mine, I need to feed Liam.

I wish there was some meat left. Liam needs protein.

"Laia?" A familiar voice startles me. I turn, and there he is, Cael, standing way too close, his face carrying emotions I can't even name.

Heat floods my cheeks. I want to disappear into the earth, my hands shaking almost enough to drop the precious food.. Of all the moments for him to catch me, it has to be while I'm scraping the bottom of a pot for scraps.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

And yet... my chest tightens. One word from him, one step closer, and my whole body betrays me.

Get a grip, Laia. This is the same damn man who threatened me to lie. I can't suddenly be imagining laughing in his arms as he peppers my face with small kisses, his own smile vibrant.....

A groan and a shuffle from the dark of the forest... Probably one of the newly mated couples that didn't even make it to their houses.

I shake my head like a wet dog dislodging the fantasy, and focus on my task of getting those last 3 noodles stuck to the bottom. This is not enough to feed Liam and me, and have leftovers.

"About earlier-" he starts, his blue eyes locking onto mine. For a second, I forget how to breathe. Then he finishes, voice low, "-meet me by the weeping willow. Two a.m."

It isn't a request. It's a command.

Without answering, I stomp my way past him and walk home fuming. Liam is curled on his small bed, snoring quietly. I sigh and cover his skinny shoulders with the old blanket.

I shouldn't go. I shouldn't f*cking see him again. But you know how curiosity keeps nagging at you, until resistance feels pointless?

I've lost count of the what if scenarios I've pictured in my head. What if he finally tells me why he forced me to lie? What if he wants to explain? What if, goddess help me, he wants me back?

Yeah, right? Delulu much? With Lysandra hanging off his arm, that door isn't just closed, it's locked, barred, and wrapped in thorns. I still remember their engagement feast. Liam got to eat a blueberry scone that day. I submitted my university application to 4 more colleges. Cael kissed Lysandra and laughed into her mouth when she said something.

And yet, by the last "what if", I realize my feet are already moving. It's 1:55 when I reach the weeping willow.

Waiting five minutes won't kill me... right?

I pace, counting steps like they'll calm me down. For f*ck's sake.

Out of the shadows, a figure appears. My lungs betray me, exhaling the breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

"Hi..." The word comes out of his mouth with his breath curling into the winter air. So quiet, almost a whisper in the dark forest. My mind blanks, and all I can do is stare. He actually came. It's just the two of us now, and suddenly I don't know what to do with my hands, my eyes, my entire existence.

"Hey..." My reply is so feeble I want to punch myself. F*ck. This isn't how it was supposed to be. I wasn't supposed to lose my guard, I wasn't supposed to stand here gawking.

The bond coils tight around me, eating me alive, and I swear he feels it too. It's in his eyes.

Cael was never the type to say much. He threatens and prefers silence, hides his emotions behind that hard exterior. But now? It's written all over him, stamped in the way he grits his molars, curls his fists, swallows like he's choking back words.

The silence stretches between us. And I can't think of a single damn thing to say.

I can't bring myself to tell him to look me in the face and tell me why he asked me to lie...

A howl splits the inside of my head. I close my eyes against the crushing headache=, and try to take small breaths. His scent envelops me, warm and masculine mixed in with the winter smells of the woods.

One step. Two steps. I move back, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it might crack my ribs. What's happening? What's...

My spine slams against the tree, no space left to retreat. "What's going on? I..."

I don't even finish, he is right in front of me, crowding me. His finger brushes my lips, silencing me.

"F*ck..." His voice is rough, low, dangerous. "I hate how much I think about you. I've been trying, trying so f*cking hard, to keep you out of my head. But you're everywhere. Your scent, your skin... these lips..." His gaze drops to my mouth. "All I can think about is what it would feel like to..."

His words scorch my skin. His breath ghosts across my face, and my eyes flutter shut on instinct. Goddess help me, I want to tell him I feel it too, the pull, the bond, the fire burning between us.

"No, I..." The protest dies in my throat as his mouth brushes against mine, cutting me off, silencing every thought. He pins me against the tree, his thigh finding its way to press between mine, lips claiming.

Cael is kissing me. Cael is kissing me. This isn't a dream.

My eyes squeeze tighter. Somehow, my fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him closer, hungrier. His kiss is fire, and my body answers with flames of its own, wild, reckless, desperate. His tongue licks at the seam of my lips, demanding entrance, and I...

The sudden snap of a twig yanks us back to reality. In a heartbeat, his body leaves mine letting the cold air rush at my face. My heart rockets into my throat.

Lysandra.

She's standing there, eyes blazing, fire, jealousy, fury, all tangled in one venomous stare. Panting I try to focus on reality and not the fact that Cael's hand is wrapped around my wrist. She's not alone. Beta and Gamma, her baby brothers, tower over her like two pillars on each side. I hate these guys. Her freaking minions.

Oh, f*ck me sideways. This is cheating, isn't it? She just caught her fiancé with me. Of all people. And Lysandra is the last person in this Pack I'd ever want to piss off.

Cael moves, stepping in front of me like a shield. Maybe it's to protect me, maybe it's instinct, but it only makes my stomach knot tighter.

"Take him away," Lysandra orders coolly. She doesn't even move a step closer. I have to give it to her, she's an Ice Queen. The girl has Cael on a tight leash, even I know that.

At once, two pairs of arms seize Cael. He snarls like a wild animal, teeth gritted, eyes locked on me as though letting go of me might kill him. It takes both of them to drag him back, his growls tearing through the night.

When he opens his mouth and I am hoping he'll command them to stop, Lysandra puts her delicate hand on his cheek and whispers intimately, as if they are alone, "Remember us..." She smiles at him like he's her whole world. His wild eyes dart to me for a second, before she speaks again, "Remember to control your beast around her. You could even harm her right now, in this state. Or worse - me. Let them take you away." She leans in and kisses him leaving pink lip gloss in the corner of his mouth. "I'll be there soon. I promise."

I stand among the dark trees watching this scene, with too many warring emotions to even know what the f*ck I am supposed to feel. And then they are gone.

I'm left alone with the devil herself, I'm expecting several acts of punishment, a slap, whipping, or maybe any form of hard punishment from her. Instead, she simply plucks a leaf from the skirt of her silk dress, her face smooth, her voice as cool as ice.

"Let me make some things clear..." she says, her predator's smile flashing in the moonlight

~LAIA~

Blue eyes lock on mine, I try to look away, but her gaze holds me hostage. She's not smiling now.

One step, deliberate and intimidating.

"You touched what's mine... and you know what that means, don't you?"

Lysander is a mastermind when it comes to punishment. Another step closer.

"But," she finally breathes, lips curling back into a soft smile, "I'll let this one slide."

I hold my breath. Lysander, of all people, seeing me kiss her man and letting it go?

No, I brace for whatever's to come next.My pulse is racing-fifty beats a second, at least.

"Mistakes can be made after all, right?" Her tone is silky, but her eyes pin me in place. "And you'll agree with me that it was a mistake... wasn't it?"

Her questioning gaze burns into mine, and I nod before my throat can even form words.

"You'll have to redeem that mistake," she continues smoothly, "by going to Alpha Damon's pack to do something for me quickly."

My breath seizes. Alpha Damon. Just the name sends a shiver ripping down my spine.

"You see, you'll need to get me something from there... ever heard of the Moon Relic?"

Someone tell me this is delulu, because the Moon Relic? It's just a damn myth. A bedtime story grandmothers tell pups.

Then it dawns on me. Goddess, she's just trying to get me killed. Liam...

"You'll leave at first light," her voice is nothing but serious. "Alpha Damon and his Faceless Pack has called for their tribute. You will join the Sacred Dozen."

The cold night air rushes into my lungs at the thought of the Sacred Dozen. Last time it happened I was younger than Liam and mom and dad kept me inside the house all day until the evil wolves were gone.

Twelve Wolves. Twelve bodies offered up every decade. The chosen never return.

"I can't go with them. Don't the elders arrange all this, months before the Faceless wolves even land in our port? And you can't send 13." Then I add, "Are you sending me instead of someone else?"

"Oh no worries." She waves a dismissive manicured hand. "Your name was sent a while ago. I have your back."

I am stunned into silence. This has nothing to do with Cael... and me. Inside my chest the bond thrums weakly like a tired bird in a small cage.

My throat tightens and I try again. "That's a death sentence," I stutter. My thoughts go to Liam, I can't just die on him. He's barely thirteen, and still too young to shift, too young to defend himself. He's the reason I endure everything. Fucking all of this pack.

"Or an opportunity." Her eyes cut back to mine, warning lights flashing behind them, no, not just a warning. A threat. "You're clever, Laia. I need clever. Think about Liam."

My teeth grind together as my fists curl, ready to swing. Liam did nothing wrong, his only crime is being my brother. And yet, every damn time, they drag him into their twisted games. Why the fuck is he always their favorite target?

"You'll keep him here?" My voice drops to a whisper, but it's not a question. It's a plea.

Lips curl into a slow, satisfied smile. "Of course. Safe under my protection. But safety has a price."

She takes two measured steps back, finally letting the air rush into my lungs.

"Legend calls the Moon Relic a myth," she says as if giving a lecture in a classroom, "but I don't buy legends that easily. I believe it exists. And I believe you will find it for me."

"And if I don't?" I force the words out. "If it doesn't exist..."

Her smile doesn't falter. "Laia. Laia. Laia. You do know me, don't you? Look at this pack. Look at Cael. He's in love with me. Soon I'll be Luna of this pack. I wouldn't send you to fetch something that doesn't exist." She steps closer, voice dripping with honey. "And your lovely brother, such a bright, careless boy, he's under my protection. It would be tragic if he lost his pack's favor, all the free education, a place to live... Mr. Thompson tells me Liam is exceptionally good in his math and science classes. What would a 13-year-old boy do if he got lost in the woods a mile away from that rogue camp one day? You wouldn't want that for him, would you?"

Only Lysander could hand me a death sentence and make me thank her for it.

I'm a puncher. Staring at her face, I can already map the perfect spot to strike, right under the jaw, hard enough to shut that smug mouth for good. Fuck me for having the skill and not being able to use it.

Ice from the cold evening courses through my veins.

"You're sending me as a spy?" I ask.

Her eyes light up like I finally get the drill.

"You see why I chose you. You're clever, and you'll make a fine thief." She leans in as if we're friends gossiping. "Bring me the Moon Relic, and I'll grant you both freedom. I'll pay for a new life in Bavaria, that quaint little town that accepted your university application. You'll study. You'll live like a human girl. No one will ever know where you came from. And you'll forget about all this and never say a word. Forever."

For one heartbeat my chest expands with oxygen filling me. Bavaria. I already see it: cobblestone streets, Liam's hand in mine, warm mornings that don't taste like fear.

I come back into the dark chilly forest we're standing in. I could grab Liam, and vanish into the night before the morning. But that would only complicate our lives further, turn us into hunted fugitives with nowhere safe to land. Or... I could step through this door she's cracked open. She's lost her mind with this Moon Relic thing, but maybe if I spy for her and give her enough useful information... Either way, she's not going to let me stay here. And she's definitely not going to let me get Liam and leave.

I'll either spy for her, or I'll find a way to get Liam and disappear.

My heart is racing so violently it feels like it's trying to claw out of my chest, pounding against my ribs as if it knows the weight of what I'm about to do.

I lift my chin and look straight at her, refusing to flinch. "I'll do it."

The two words leave my mouth like a death sentence. The second they're spoken, realization slams into me; I've just agreed to march into the fearsome Faceless Pack, slip past their wolves, and steal something that isn't supposed to exist from the most dangerous Alpha alive.

Oh, fuck it. Fuckity, fuck me sideways.

"Good girl." Her lips curve, spreading into a smile that chills me straight to the bone.