Luna By Blackmail

Zara's POV

The day I was buried alive didn't start with screaming; it started with breakfast. Sunny-side eggs, burnt toast, and silence. I sat at the kitchen counter in my white robe, my hair was damp from the shower, watching Ethan scroll through his phone like I didn't exist. We had been married for three years, and I still looked for crumbs of affection in the man I once called the love of my life.

"Ethan?" He grunted as I placed his coffee beside him. No thank you, no glance or smile.

Ethan hadn't touched me for months. I should've known something was wrong, but when you've been unloved long enough, indifference feels like normal.

That morning, I kissed his cheek, and he flinched. Hours later, I had no idea that I would be clawing my way out of a shallow grave, buried alive by the same man I'd sworn to love and the women I trusted the most.

I don't remember the exact moment I died, only the parts that mattered. Jade's laugh, Mara's smirk. Ethan's hands on my throat. They didn't bury me deep, just enough to forget me, but the earth isn't quiet when you're still breathing it presses on your ribs, fills your mouth, and steals your scream.

I woke up choking on dirt. At first, I thought it was a nightmare, then the taste of soil and blood, the pain throbbing in my skull, crushed ribs, and lungs gasping. I screamed, but only the earth heard me.

My nails clawed upward, fingers split, and my knuckles bled. I fought like something feral and reborn, and when I broke through the soil, it was not a gasp of relief, it was a vow. They should have buried me deeper.

I hadn't meant to come home early, I left work with takeout and tired hope. I was always the one trying to fix our broken marriage. Ethan had been cold for over a year. We used to talk about babies, vacations, and threesomes. Ethan wanted one, and I said no; that was the start of his silence. But I still loved him. I still believed I could fix this.

The house was too quiet. There was no music, no lights, and no Ethan pretending to work. Then I heard it, moaning, then laughter.

Not two voices, but three. I dropped the food and walked upstairs, heart pounding. I opened the bedroom door, and the world I knew shattered.

Mara, my sister, was riding Ethan, her head thrown back in ecstasy, hair wild. Her nails raked down his chest as she bounced on his cock like she owned it.

Jade, my best friend, was sprawled beside them, legs spread, her wrists bound with pink satin cuffs. Jade was gasping, Ethan's hand was between her thighs, fingers thrusting deep, a silver vibrator humming at her entrance, and his mouth latched to her breast, sucking like he was starved. Their laughter was erotic and cruel.

My husband, Ethan, groaned like he was in heaven. The same man who flinched at my touch now thrust into Mara like she was his only source of air while devouring Jade's body like he'd waited years for her. Nathan never touched me like that. He never begged to taste me, never even looked interested.

I stood frozen. Jade saw me first, her gaze locked on mine, and she grinned.

"Well, shit. She's early."

Mara turned, still moving on Ethan. "Hi, sis," she said sweetly. "You want to join? You always said no before; I bet you regret that now."

I couldn't speak.

Ethan didn't stop. He looked straight into my eyes and said,

"You shouldn't have come back, Zara."

"I... I live here," I whispered.

He pulled out of Mara lazily, wiped his hand on the sheets, and stood naked.

"You always ruined the fun," he said. "Always too prude. Always so proper."

Jade blew a kiss at me, her breasts were still exposed, and her wrists were still tied. "And now that your daddy's money's in Ethan's name..."

Mara climbed off the bed, her skin glowing with sweat. "You're just dead weight, Z. And lucky us, you're worth more gone."

My heart dropped. "Why?"

Ethan's eyes turned cold. "Because now we have to kill you."

It happened fast.

Jade smashed a wine bottle against my head. Mara grabbed my legs as I fell. Ethan dragged me by the hair, muttering something about "ruining everything."

I tasted blood as my vision spun. Jade leaned in. "You always thought you were better than us, the precious heiress, the Monroe name, the mansion and the money."

Mara scoffed. "Dad left everything to you. And you didn't even earn it."

I tried to scream. Ethan covered my mouth.

"I never loved you," he whispered against my ear. "You were a fucking investment. A stupid little princess with a fat inheritance."

"You married me for money," I choked.

"For control," he corrected. "And now, I don't need you."

Jade's eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Don't worry, love. We'll make sure you're remembered. As the tragic heiress who disappeared."

They buried me at night. The woods was cold and silent. My body was limp in the back of the SUV. I heard them laughing and heard the music blasting as Ethan smoked and drove like this was a joyride.

When they opened the trunk, Jade poked my cheeks. "She's really gone.

Ethan grunted. "I checked her pulse twice, and there was no pulse."

"You hit her hard; she deserved worse, though." They carried me out like trash. Dumped me into a shallow pit Ethan had dug.

"I still can't believe it," Jade whispered. "That we finally did it."

Ethan lit another cigarette. "Don't get sentimental now. She was nothing, just a trust fund in heels."

"I always hated her," Mara muttered. "Even as kids. Perfect grades, perfect hair and a perfect fucking life."

"She was weak," Ethan added. "And weak things don't get to keep power."

They shoveled dirt over me quickly, like they were covering a mistake, not a person.

Each handful muffled the world.

"I wish I could see her face one last time," Jade murmured. "When she realized we won."

"You did," Ethan said coldly. "That's what makes this perfect."

The last thing I heard was Mara laughing.

Then the dirt and darkness. I didn't know how long I lay underground. But I remember the moment I broke free, my nails torn and my body numb, but I crawled. I didn't even know where I was going. The woods were quiet, and my gown was torn and soaked in blood.

I just knew I wasn't dead, and if I was alive, Ethan, Mara, and Jade wouldn't be for long.

Zara's POV

They buried me, but I crawled. The night I rose from the dead, the moon watched silently; it didn't scream or mourn; it only glowed more, as if it knew something broken had survived and something dangerous was coming.

I saw a mansion glowing in the distance behind the shadows. I stumbled and bled as I crawled, as I kept on moving. My body was torn, leaving a blood trail. My gown, once silk and soft, was ripped in places I didn't remember being touched.

The cold wind kissed my skin, but it was the rage burning in my chest that kept me going towards the light. I didn't know who lived there, it looked like the kind of place where monsters drank wine from crystal goblets and if I died again, at least it wouldn't be at Ethan's hands.

I crawled towards the gate in the shadows. I couldn't lift my head, but I felt a presence, towering and animalistic. The hairs on my arms stood up like he'd touched me without laying a finger.

"Who the fuck is that? A deep voice muttered. Another answered, colder and sharper, more like steel sliding from its sheath.

"Take her to my bed.

Then darkness.

****

I could feel that my wrists were wrapped in gauze. Tubes ran into my arms. Something beeped steadily near my head. I wasn't dead, but I wasn't alive either. I was suspended somewhere between mercy and madness.

"She moved." I could hear a woman's voice, gentle and curious.

"She twitched again last night. That's the third time this week," she whispered.

"She shouldn't be alive," another voice muttered back. "Not after what they did to her. The doctors were sure she wouldn't survive."

I stayed still, my breathing shallow and my ears wide open. "When will he come to see her?" The first voice asked.

"He's waiting," the second replied. "But he said the moment she wakes, he wants to be told."

"Alpha Rael doesn't like surprises."

That name, Rael, echoed in my chest like a match struck too close to gasoline. I finally had a name for the man whose bed I'd been brought to like a broken offering.

The door shut softly. I cracked one eye open. The woman, maid, or nurse, I wasn't sure, sat beside me, replacing a damp cloth on my forehead. Her tag name read Olivia. She was young with chestnut hair and a kindness she tried to hide behind protocol.

When our eyes met, she gasped and stumbled to her feet.

"You're awake," she whispered, eyes wide. "You're...oh my god."

I tried to sit up, but I winced due to the pain.

"Don't move," she said quickly. "You've... you've been in a coma. For three months."

Three months. My breath caught.

"Machines kept you stable. You wouldn't eat. Wouldn't speak. We thought..." she trailed off.

I swallowed. "Where... am I?"

Her gaze darted to the closed door. "You're safe. That's what matters."

"No," I croaked. "That's not enough."

She sighed, hesitating. "This place is a guarded territory," she said. "You crossed into a city not meant for outsiders."

I blinked slowly. "A city?"

She nodded. "Hidden, guarded, and governed by one man."

"Rael," I murmured, the name foreign on my tongue.

She stiffened. "You shouldn't say his name lightly."

I didn't understand the fear in her eyes, but I understood power when I felt it.

Later that night, I was alone in the soft shadows of the room, and I stared at the ceiling. My body was healing, but something inside me wasn't. The betrayal lived in my bones now. the pain was stitched to my skin. They had tried to end me, but I was still here.

The door opened, interrupting my thoughts. A tall, domineering man entered dressed in a black shirt that clung to his shoulders. His black hair was styled back, and his golden eyes found mine immediately.

He looked like sin carved from shadow, a god too cruel to worship, and he was staring at me like I was the one intruding.

"Well," he said, his voice deep and smooth like whiskey. "The corpse finally sits up."

"You need to work on your bedside manners," I shot back.

A smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. It didn't belong on a man who saved lives. It belonged to someone who broke them.

"Didn't think you'd wake up with so much attitude," he said, stepping closer.

I didn't shrink back. I held his gaze. "Didn't think I'd be kidnapped either, yet here we are."

He studied me, arms folded across his chest. "You weren't kidnapped. You crossed my territory. You collapsed at my gates. My men saved you."

"And dumped me in your bed?"

"Would you prefer the grave you climbed out of?" His voice dropped, colder.

I flinched. Rael noticed for a second, his jaw tensed like he regretted it, then he turned away like he didn't.

"You have a name?"

"Zara Monroe," I answered stiffly. "Not that you care."

"I don't," he said simply. "But I like to know the names of things I own."

My lips parted. "Excuse me?"

"You're in my city. In my house. In my bed." He looked at me again, his voice like a growl. "Until I say otherwise... You belong to me."

Arrogant bastard. I sat up and felt the pain again but I didn't stop. "Let me make something clear, I might be weak right now, but I don't belong to anyone, not anymore."

He stared at me for a beat too long, then he smirked.

"You've got fire," he murmured. "We'll see how long it burns."

"I want to leave."

He didn't respond.

"Open that damn gate and let me go."

Rael's eyes sharpened. His whole energy shifted.

"You want to leave?" he asked, stepping forward. "Go where, Zara? Back to the people who buried you alive?"

Silence.

"Back to the man who choked you? The sister who watched? The best friend who laughed?"

My throat tightened. My nails dug into the sheets.

"You don't understand..." I stared at him, confusion turning to suspicion. "How do you even know all that?"

He tilted his head slightly. Amused.

"I know everything that happens near my borders," he said. "Especially when someone crawls out of a grave screaming."

That cold heat settled in my gut again.

I swallowed. "And you... what? Just happened to find me?"

Rael's smirk returned dark and cutting. "Let's just say... I was watching."

"You watched and did nothing?" I hissed.

His expression darkened. "I wanted to see what you were made of."

"And what did you find?" I spat.

"Nothing that interesting," he said softly.

I inhaled sharply. "You still don't understand. I'm not staying here."

Rael's voice dropped lethally. "You can't go back."

"Why not?"

Rael took a final step toward me, leaned in close, and whispered. "Because to the world you are dead."

Zara's POV

"Because to the world you are dead."

I stared at Rael unbelievably, trying to control my laughter.

"You bloody liar." I spat my voice, rough and barely sounding like mine. Rael didn't blink, he just looked at me as if I were stupid. Then he turned and signaled to the maid.

"Turn it on."

A maid picked up the remote without a word, like she was used to obeying, and pointed the remote to the screen mounted in the corner of the room.

Click, static, then the news. I almost laughed again, it felt so ridiculous, like he had hired actors and scripted this moment, it looked like some twisted test. But then I saw it. They used my graduation picture, the same one hung in my father's study. The screen read.

Zara Monroe laid to rest- Heiress pronounced dead after a tragic disappearance.

A video began to roll, it was my fucking funeral. A closed casket, a sea of black, and then I saw Jade clutching Ethan like she'd lost his soul. Her head was buried in his chest, his arms wrapped around her like she was his world. Mara stood beside them, dry-eyed, dressed in black lace; she looked smug, like she wasn't the reason I was six feet under.

I could feel the tears threatening to fall at the corner of my eyes, my breath caught, and I could barely process the words the reporter was saying.

"Zara Monroe's body was found badly decomposed after an alleged kidnapping and murder. Due to the condition, the family has opted for a closed-casket ceremony. Her husband, Ethan Monroe, has stepped in as acting CEO of Monroe Holdings, with her sister Mara as executive assistant, and the police have concluded their investigations and closed the case."

"They buried me, uh?" I whispered. "They made it look so real. I'm still here, I'm not dead." I whispered. I could feel the dirt in my throat and the taste of blood."

Jade wiped fake tears on the screen. "She was my best friend. She had such a kind heart. I miss her every day."

Liar, I tried to sit up, but pain stabbed through my ribs, but I didn't care.

"Turn it off," I screamed. No one moved; it was as if I were talking to the air.

"TURN OFF THE FUCKING TV!" The maid jumped and scrambled for the remote.

The screen went blank. I was shaking as my hands were cold and my mind was on fire.

"They think I'm dead." Real stepped closer, his gaze never leaving me.

"I told you."

"I need to leave," I choked. "I need to go back. I need to..."

"Go where?" he cut in, voice sharp.

I tried to push off the bed. My legs didn't move. My body trembled with weakness.

"I don't care anywhere that isn't here!"

Rael didn't flinch. He simply said, "You leave, you die. That's how this works."

"Who gave you the right to decide that?"

"I don't need rights," he said. "I have power."

"You can't just keep me here!"

"I'm not keeping you," he replied. "I'm protecting you. You just don't realize it yet."

I laughed bitterly. "You're delusional."

He leaned in slightly. "No. I just live in a world you don't understand."

I was about to snap again when he added, quieter this time, "But you will."

"What is this place?" I asked, breath ragged. "What kind of city buries secrets like mine and walks around in shadows?" Rael didn't answer immediately; instead, he walked to the window and parted the heavy curtains. The moonlight shone like it owned the night.

"This territory," he said, "isn't ruled by men in suits. It's ruled by instinct. Blood. Teeth."

I swallowed. "You're insane."

"You're alive because of me," he said, turning back to face me. "You crossed my land. You bled on it. That makes you part of it."

"I didn't ask to be!"

He stepped closer. "And yet... here you are."

Silence stretched between us for what seemed like forever. I hated him because there was something raw in his voice. Something scarred.

"Why?" I asked, softer this time. "Why didn't you just leave me?"

Rael tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle that refused to solve itself.

"Because people don't claw their way out of graves," he said simply. "Not unless they're meant for more."

More?

I didn't know what that meant.

But I hated that it made sense.

"I want answers," I whispered.

"You'll get them."

"When?"

"When you're strong enough to survive them."

I looked down at my arms. At the tubes. The bandages. The weight of what they'd done to me.

And then I asked, almost against my own will, "What are you?"

Rael smiled, it wasn't kind or comforting. It was savage.

"Not human," he said. "And soon... neither will you be."

I swallowed, my throat burning. "I don't care what you are. I'll find a way out of here."

Rael's golden eyes gleamed amused, but not soft. Nothing about him was ever soft.

I nodded, lips trembling. "I'll find a way."

He moved closer. The bed dipped beneath his weight, but it was his voice that made my blood still. His voice was low and lethal.

"I could send you back," he murmured. "To the man who tried to kill you, you want that?"

My breath hitched. I didn't speak, I just stared at him. Rael grabbed my chin, his fingers were rough but gentle, and stared at me, like he could strip my thoughts bare.

"Or..." he whispered, "you can stay. As mine."

My pulse thundered. I wanted to look away, but it was as if I were under his spell.

"Be my Luna, Zara." My mouth parted, but no sound came out.

"Marry me," he said, each word sharper than the last. "Or die."

The room went still, and I gasped. Rael released me as if letting go was an act of mercy, and then, with a voice like a prophecy, he said.

"Because if you think being dead was hell... You haven't survived me yet.