Moon Blind

Emberlyn's account

"Run, Emberlyn ! Run and don't look back!"

Those were my mother's last words before she was brutally killed by lycan wolves. But foolish as I was, I didn't listen. Her pain-filled cries pierced the air, and despite her warning, I turned to see the horror unfolding.

Biggest mistake of my life.

That image is like a parasite etched into my memory, feeding off me, pulling me into a dark abyss.

I can still see it:

Chaos reigned. Huts were on fire, people screamed, and blood flowed like a river over the rocky path. I froze, unable to move as the world collapsed around me. Not even the people running past could shake me from the nightmare. I stood paralyzed, watching as my mother's golden hair was smashed against a rock with brutal force.

Tears streamed down my face as I screamed her name. My voice echoed, unleashing a surge of energy I never knew I possessed. It was like being inside a storm, with me as the thundercloud.

I kept screaming, even as my eyes ached and blood trickled down my cheeks like tears. Those around me suffered too. The lycans attacking our village fell to the ground, clutching their ears in vain. Their ears bled, and even the fleeing villagers weren't spared. My power affected them all, but it wasn't enough to save my mother.

Then, through the smoke and debris, a figure emerged-no, not a man, but a demon.

I paid him no mind at first, a decision I soon regretted.

If I had looked closer, I would have recognized him as Thane Valtor , the Lycan King and Alpha, the most brutal ruler to ever walk the earth. A god of fear, though few had ever seen him.

He was half-shifted, with a lycan's lower body and a human upper half. His piercing midnight black eyes locked onto mine, trapping me in a trance. I kept screaming, but it felt like my voice was underwater. Thane approached me, standing directly in front of me. He pressed his thumb against my forehead, and everything went black.

After that, it was nothing but darkness.

When I woke up, I was blind and captured, imprisoned in a dungeon owned by the Lycan King. From that day forward, I was made a slave-the most maltreated of all.

That was eight years ago. I was ten then; today, I turn eighteen.

Nothing has changed. I am still blind, still a slave to Thane Valtor .

But now, I know something that could cost me my life.

"He is the one, I'm sure of it," my wolf insists repeatedly.

I swallow hard, trying to push down the rising fear. My wolf came to me when I turned fifteen, and in all these years, she has never been as persistent as she is now.

I've kept her existence a secret from my captors. They believe I am a cursed were-witch, unable to shift or perform magic. To them, I am a useless, disabled slave that their king keeps for reasons only he knows.

But they are wrong. I am not a were-witch-I am a were-dragon. And the only person who knows this is my mate, Alpha King Thane Valtor . Yes, my captor is my mate. The goddess couldn't have been crueler.

I've known for a year, but I've kept it to myself, hoping to avoid the inevitable drama. My wolf, however, won't have it. Like a shameless flirt, she acts irrationally, especially when we're near Thane. I've had to fight her countless times to suppress the primal instinct to claim him as ours. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, especially since I am Thane's royal food taster. I am always by his side during meals.

Today, like every other day, I enter the grand dining area, where lycans of all ages are gathered, laughing and cheering like barbarians. I carry a cane in my hand as a guide, though in truth, I can see them all-well, not their faces, but their heat signatures. I suppose that's a perk of being a breathless dragon.

The crowd parts like the Red Sea as I walk toward the high table, dread settling in my stomach. This has never happened before. My heart pounds as I take slow, calculated steps, each one echoing in the sudden silence that fills the room.

Thane's strong presence filled the room. His bare chest showed scars from battles, revealing his toughness. His dark eyes locked onto me, intense and unsettling. His face was chiseled, with sharp angles that made him look ruggedly handsome. His black hair was long, pulled back into a rough, manly bun, hinting at a rebellious edge.

He sat confidently, his legs apart, exuding power. His broad shoulders and muscular build radiated strength. The scent of wolfsbane, pine, and spices surrounded him, drawing me in. His dark eyes seemed to see right through me, stirring a primal desire. His aura of danger was intense, making my heart race.

My wolf stirs, her primal desire for our mate growing stronger with every passing second. I struggle to keep her under control, but it feels like a losing battle. The scent of wolfsbane, pine, and spices emanating from Thane is intoxicating, pulling me toward him like a moth to a flame.

"Let me out! I want him," my wolf shrieks in our shared mind space.

I grit my teeth, trying to ignore her. "Control yourself! You'll get us killed."

"Mate!" she roars, her voice echoing in my mind.

"MATE!" The word escapes my lips before I can stop it, and the realization hits me like a ton of bricks. I cover my mouth with my hands, head bowed in shame.

"Forgive me, sire," I stammer, my voice barely audible.

Silence reigns, thick and suffocating. Then Thane's voice cuts through the tension, a low growl that sends shivers down my spine. "How long?"

I remain silent, my mind racing, searching for the right words.

"How long have you known?" he repeats, his tone dangerously sharp.

I swallow, my throat dry. "I...I found out a year ago," I mumble, keeping my head bowed, unable to meet his gaze.

He stands abruptly, his chair crashing to the floor. The room erupts in chaos as the other lycans rise to their feet, their faces contorted in anger and confusion.

I dropped to my knees before him, hands clasped in a desperate plea. "Forgive me, sire. It's my fault. I'll reject you right now. I, Emberlyn Nyktoria , slave of Alpha King Thane Valtor , hereby reject you, Supreme Alpha King, as my mate-"

Before I can finish, a forceful hand slams against my cheek, leaving my head spinning, ears ringing, and vision blurred. Thane has struck me.

"How dare you reject me, you foolish creature!" he growls. Another stinging slap lands on my face, forcing me to the hard stone floor. "How does a lowly nobody like you dare to reject me?!"

Everything becomes muffled, and I can't hear or see clearly. The violent assault worsens my blindness. Thane continues his tirade, but his words are lost to me as I writhe on the floor, a wounded animal. I try to crawl away, but my efforts only fuel his fury.

A crushing blow lands against my ribs, and I scream as the sound of snapping bones echoes in the room. Another merciless kick follows, causing blood to gush from my nose and mouth. I struggle to crawl away, but the looming threat remains over me.

Thane isn't finished. He crouches down, grabbing a handful of my hair, twisting and pulling it to force my gaze into his eyes. "Revoke your rejection now, or I will make you beg for death."

Emberlyn's account

I writhed in pain; every fiber of my being screamed in protest, but the fear of another beating made me freeze, not daring to move. "I revoke my rejection!" I rasped, my throat raw from the effort, but Thane only tightened his grip on my hair.

"Say it the proper fucking way, you little worm," he barked, his voice dripping with fury.

Right. I hadn't said it correctly; my revocation was invalid. If the names of the parties involved weren't mentioned, it was considered void by the goddess. I didn't know who made the rules, but it had been that way for eons.

"I, Emberlyn Nyktoria , slave of Alpha King Thane Valtor , revoke my rejection of him as my mate." Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. The metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth, a sickening reminder of the beating.

Satisfied, Thane released my hair with a shove. Stars exploded in my vision as my ribs screamed in protest. "Get your worthless self out of my presence before I break your neck!"

Not wanting to see his threats manifest into reality, I stumbled out of the grand hall. It wasn't until I was leaning against the walls at the entrance of the maids' quarters that I noticed I had left my cane behind. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, but the only thing I had tasted today was the coppery tang of my own blood. I was only allowed to eat the king's leftovers, which often amounted to almost nothing.

A sudden flicker of heat at the edge of my senses startled me. My ears, still ringing from the slaps, didn't register the footsteps approaching. "Emberlyn ? What in the goddess' name happened to you?" Gaipa, an omega slave captured by Thane's men, gasped.

He was one of the few people who interacted with me in this hellhole, but I didn't want to talk to him right now. I didn't want anyone to see me like this, so I bolted into the quarters, knowing he couldn't follow. My room, cramped and barely big enough for my cot, felt suffocating. I looked around-no heat signatures, meaning my bedmate, Lyra, wasn't in. My shoulders slumped as I crashed to the ground, sobs wracking my body. I didn't know how long I cried, but every second felt like hours. Finally, when I began to feel light-headed, I had to stop.

Sniffling, I wiped my face with the sleeves of my sack dress, which was already stained from my bleeding nose and cut lips. Never in all the years I'd been here had I bled this much-at least, not from Thane's hand. He'd never laid a finger on me before today. Yes, he constantly rained insults on me, but he had never been provoked to violence.

I guess being rejected by a lowborn maid bruised his ego, so he decided to leave me in bruises. Unlike his clan and my half-clan, the werewolves, I couldn't heal quickly. I was just like a regular human in terms of healing-slow and painful.

I was used to pain, always the subject of bullying even among my fellow slaves. They saw me as an outcast, and worse, I was a hybrid, a misfit of the supernatural race. Surprisingly, Thane was also a hybrid, but his people never judged him like they did me.

Sometimes, I wished he'd killed me the day his brutal warriors murdered my mother. But no, he kept me alive. Now I finally understood what he meant all those years ago.

"I'm keeping her because I have no choice," I'd overheard him tell his beta while I was being handed to a guard wolf. Yes, he had no choice because the goddess tied our fates together. Sigma Alphas like Thane rarely find their mates, but when they do, they keep them close because they are stronger together. They mostly cherish and care for their mates because losing them would leave them forever broken. But my situation was different; my mate wanted me dead, probably why he made me the royal food taster, knowing how dangerous the job was.

Sighing, I pulled myself up, ready to move when a sudden knock on the door startled me. Knowing Lyra, she wouldn't knock before entering, so it couldn't be her. Forcing a polite expression, I opened the door. "Yes?"

"The king requires your presence in his chambers," a lycan guard wolf announced. I recognized him by his scent; all guard lycans smelled like pine, while warrior lycans always reeked of blood.

I wasn't allowed to ask any questions before the guard started walking away. He abruptly stopped and pointed at my feet. "He said you should be done in that dress and smell nice."

"What?!"

The guard didn't wait to see my shocked face; he just left me standing there. I looked down and saw a neatly folded silk dress and other ornaments on a tray, which I identified by touch. My heart pounded as I imagined the infinite possibilities of what this meant...

I couldn't tell how I looked since I was blind, but Lyra assured me I looked heavenly. I'd never been in Thane's chambers before, and I had no idea why he was summoning me. But strangely, all this excited my foolish wolf; she'd completely forgotten what we went through just hours ago. The sight of a broad-shouldered man sitting alone at a large table welcomed me.

"Why are you staring at me?" Thane growled, slamming his cutlery onto the table. "Come and taste this food and get out!"

Hurriedly, I rushed to the table and stumbled but didn't let myself fall. I bowed and let my cane drop as I picked up a saucer to begin my dangerous duty. However, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I could feel Thane's eyes on me... focused on the upper part of my body. My blood ran cold. No, it couldn't be. He wasn't staring at my cleavage, was he?

No, I was wrong. He was staring at my cleavage. My breath caught in my throat when his big, scorching hand grasped my breast in a twisting motion.

"Who would have known that you were this ripe under all those rags?" he muttered.

Emberlyn's account

My mind reeled, my heart hammering against my ribs in a frantic rhythm that echoed the confusion in my soul. Was Thane truly interested in me, or was this just another cruel game, another way to break me?

I met his eyes, searching for a hint of truth, but all I saw was a dark hunger that sent shivers down my spine. I knew then that I was entering a dangerous game, one with consequences I could only guess at.

Thane's eyes glowed, taking on a darker shade. Unconsciously, I purred. No, my wolf purred. I felt myself growing moist between my legs from his mere touch. Could this be the reason Thane had gifted me a dress today, or did he remember my birthday?

Impossible! He hated everything about me; he always said he hated the fact I shared the same breath with him. A couple of hours ago, he nearly killed me for rejecting him. Did it affect him that much that it changed his personality?

"So plump and soft..." he purred, his eyes devouring every curve of my breast. I swallowed the food in my mouth, tears forming in my eyes. I hadn't eaten all day, but if my mate wanted me, I was willing to submit. It was a decision I was soon going to regret.

Thane rose, towering over me like a great wall, my face pressed against his broad chest, his hands still squeezing my breast. I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart racing. My greatest fear was becoming a reality.

Thane pinched my chin up to make me look into his eyes, but I was too terrified to meet his gaze. "Open your eyes. Look at me," he commanded, and like a loyal fool, I complied.

He leaned in, his touch sending shivers down my spine. "I should just claim you now, shouldn't I? So you never think of rejecting me again." With that, he crushed his lips against mine, his tongue invading my mouth, his other hand tightening possessively around my neck.

I gasped, my breath stolen away. The saucer in my hand clattered to the floor, shattering into pieces, but Thane didn't break the kiss. The hot taste of his mouth mixed with his pheromones clouded my mind. My whole body heated up; I couldn't control myself as I clutched the fabric of Thane's evening wear.

The kiss grew hotter, and before I could comprehend what was happening, Thane ripped the top part of my dress in half, exposing the soft curves of my breast. He tore his lips from mine and trailed his lustful eyes down my chest. "Will making you a full woman be a sufficient birthday gift for you?" His voice was a low growl, thick with hunger.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I bit my lower lip, cheeks burning red. Shame and humiliation battled within me, but I found myself nodding. However, I knew Thane was not asking for my permission; lycan kings never did. Thane lifted his eyes from my chest and met my gaze. For a moment, a flicker of something crossed his face, but he blinked it away. His eyes started shifting between colors.

Confused, I watched as Thane began to retreat, knocking over the dishes and startling me. He shook his head violently, smacking himself. "Let go of my mind!"

Subconsciously, I stepped back as Thane stopped attacking himself and looked at me, his emerald green eyes blazing with fury.

The temperature in the room dropped to zero as realization struck me. All along, I had been interacting with Thane's wolf, not him. Oh no, I was in trouble. I lifted my dress, but before I could act, a hand roughly grabbed my arm.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Thane roared.

My pulse quickened, and images of what he might do to me flooded my mind. Instinctively, I shielded my face, afraid he would strike me, but instead, he shook me violently. "How dare you seduce me? You used your disgusting dragon pheromones to draw out my rut, didn't you? Answer me!"

"I didn't!" I cried, lowering my voice, afraid he would get angrier. "My only crime was not resisting..."

Thane's eyes widened, but he quickly hardened his gaze, even after realizing it was his wolf that caused it all. "You are pathetic," he spat with disdain. "Did you think your foolish tactics would work on me? Even if I were under a spell, I would break it before my flesh meets yours! You disgust me. I hate you."

My lips quivered as heavy sobs wracked my body. I didn't know where I found the strength, but I broke free from Thane's grip and ran out of his expansive chambers. I forgot my cane again, but I didn't care. I bumped into a couple of guards on my way out, my tears blurring my vision.

That night, I cried my eyes out. No matter how much Lyra tried to coax me into talking, I refused to tell her. I could only suffer in silence, my heartache compounded by my hunger and the bruises still healing from the beating I received earlier. I had willingly given myself to Thane only to be rejected by him. I guess today, I got my own fair taste of what rejection felt like. Touché.

A whole week passed before I saw Thane again. He had left the kingdom for one of his dictator expeditions. Of course, he returned victorious, bringing in a new batch of slaves. Some would be sold within the kingdom, while the rest would be sold outside. This time, the slaves were wolves. If they were human, they would all be sold since Thane hated them.

I was in the kitchen helping out, as I usually did. When Thane was away, I was rarely fed because I was everyone's least favorite, so it was good that he was back-even though I didn't want to see him.

I wiped my hands on my dress as I prepared to enter the grand hall. There was a celebratory feast, which meant more leftovers for me. As I entered the hall, pretentiously using my cane as a guide to the table, my heart skipped a beat. I saw another figure intimately seated by the king-a woman, a beta female I recognized well. The woman who had been obsessing over Thane for years... Why was she by his side?