The Alpha's Regret, The Luna's Rise

Zara POV

There was a silver glow across the Bloodfang grounds from the low moon. It was not fear that made my heart beat fast. Not yet. I thought tonight would be the start of all my dreams coming true.

In the middle of the circle stood the pack leader, elders, warriors, and wolves I had known my whole life. Lucian was tall, strong, and far away from the rest of the people. His face was hard to read, and his aura was cold. He looked like a god carved out of stone.

He was mine, though.

My mate.

Fate had chosen us.

The noise of the crowd stopped when Elder Moren's voice called out, "Alpha Lucian." "Are you ready to accept Zara as your Luna and fated mate before this pack?"

I did not breathe. That was it. The time.

Lucian took a slow step forward. Everyone looked at him. We did not look at each other.

"No."

There was such silence after that that a cold wind could have blown through it. I split my lips in confusion.

"No?" Elder Moren asked again with a frown. It is possible that Alpha Lucian did not hear-

With more force, Lucian said, "I said no." "Zara is not my mate," I said. She does not deserve to be Luna.

The words cut me like a knife to the heart.

People in the crowd gasped. A few whispered. Some people laughed.

I turned my head away. "Lucian, what do you mean?" My voice stopped. "You are my mate."

He turned to face me then, and for the first time, I saw nothing in his eyes. No love. No warmth. Just ice.

"Zara, I do not want you." "I never have," he said in a mean voice. "Shadow Moon did something wrong."

"No," I said in a whisper as I walked towards him. "That is not what you mean." Hey Lucian, please...

I reached out to him because I wanted to hold on to the connection I could feel between us. It was still there. It was there for me. The invisible line that joined my soul to his.

But he stepped back.

"I already have someone else," he said.

The crowd shifted. And that's when I saw her.

Seraphina.

Beautiful. Powerful. Smiling.

She walked forward and slipped her arm through Lucian's like she'd always belonged there.

"You chose her?" I said, my voice trembling. "Over me?"

"She's everything a Luna should be," Lucian said. "You... are nothing."

The pain was too much to bear. It hurt in my chest, and my wolf howled inside me, hurt and lost. Every bone in my body hurt from the rejection as I fell to my knees.

"You're lying," I sobbed. "You said I was yours. You kissed me under the moon-"

Lucian turned his back to me. "That was a mistake."

Then I felt it.

The bond-snapping.

Like a cord inside me had been cut, leaving a hollow space where love used to live.

I screamed.

It wasn't loud. It wasn't fierce. It was broken. Like me.

Laughter came from someone. Looking up, I spotted Seraphina's grin. The audience observed with mixed feelings-pity, disgust, humour.

Elder Moren shook his head. "Then by Bloodfang law, your rejection is final."

I tried to speak, but then I heard it.

"Zara has stolen from the pack!" Seraphina declared.

The crowd gasped again, louder this time.

"What?" I whispered, confused.

"She took gold from the treasury," Seraphina said, holding up a pouch. "This was found in her room."

"That's a lie!" I stood up, hands shaking. "I didn't take anything!"

"Lies from a traitor," Seraphina said with a bitter smile. "I saw her myself."

"No, you didn't! I would never-"

Lucian raised his hand. "Enough."

I turned to him, begging with my eyes.

"Don't do this. Please. You know me, Lucian. You know I'd never betray the pack."

"I know you used your status as my mate to get close to our secrets," he said. "And I know now it was a mistake to trust you."

I was shaking. "You're letting her do this to me."

"I'm protecting my pack," he said coldly. "Guards."

Two warriors stepped forward.

"Take her outside the border," Lucian ordered. "She is no longer one of us."

"No!" I screamed. "Lucian, please! You know this isn't right!"

"She is not to return," Lucian said. "And if she does... kill her on sight."

I stumbled backwards as the guards grabbed my arms. The crowd didn't stop them. No one did. Not even the elders.

I looked around, hoping for someone to help me. To speak for me. but, everyone had already decided I was guilty.

Seraphina smiled like the Queen she thought she'd become.

Lucian didn't look back.

The guards dragged me away from the pack grounds.

I didn't cry. Not anymore.

The pain had turned into numbness.

The rejection.

The false accusation.

The exile.

I had nothing left.

Or so I thought.

As the guards threw me onto the frozen forest floor beyond the border, one of them leaned close and whispered, "Run little wolf. Or we'll end you right here."

I looked up through strands of hair and blood.

And I saw something in the woods.

Eyes watching me.

Glowing.

Not wolf.

Not human.

Waiting.

Watching.

And then-

A growl. Low. Deep. And close.

Too close.

Zara POV

I slammed into the frigid forest floor. Snow burned against my skin, but I hardly noticed it. Pain clouded everything- Lucian's words, rejection, and betrayal. My heart was broken and my soul felt torn from me. The two guards stood over me, their eyes full of contempt. One of them said, drawing his blade, "Alpha's orders."

I didn't think. I moved.

Rolling to my side, I kicked out with both legs. The blade missed by inches. One guard cursed and stumbled back. The other reached for me, but I was already on my feet, running blindly into the trees.

Branches tore at my arms. My feet were bare. I didn't care. I ran.

"Get her!" someone shouted behind me.

Wolves howled.

My lungs burned. My legs screamed. But I didn't stop.

Not when I heard paws pounding behind me.

Not when I felt the boundless emptiness stretch wide inside my chest.

Not even when a branch caught my face and left a hotline of blood across my cheek.

Because I wasn't going to die for something I didn't do.

The trees became denser. Between the trunks, shadows danced. Through the leaves, the wind howled like a ghost. I breathed in sharp gasps. I fell, but I carried on.

And then-

A snarl.

So close.

Too close.

A wolf lunged from the left. I turned too late.

My teeth grazed my side. I screamed and fell hard, rolling down a slope, and crashing through the underbrush.

I hit the bottom with a crack.

Everything went still.

I could hear the pack wolves above, snarling, and pacing. But they didn't follow. They didn't descend.

Why?

A new sound filled the air.

Growling. Low. Dangerous. But it wasn't from them.

It came from below.

From behind me.

I turned, shaking.

His eyes met mine.

Not silver.

Not blue.

Gold.

Bright. Burning. Alive.

Massive and unlike anything I had ever seen, the wolf entered the clearing. His eyes sparkled like stars though his hair was black as night. Heart racing, I hurried back.

But he didn't attack.

He stood between me and the ridge.

Protecting me?

The pack wolves above snarled and then... retreated.

Just like that.

I blinked.

The huge black wolf turned toward me.

He took one step forward-and then the shift began.

Bones cracked, limbs bent and reshaped, and fur disappeared into skin.

And standing before me was a man.

Tall.

Muscular.

He was naked save for a long dark cloak he draped over his shoulders pulled from a tree branch.

Sharp-faced, he had high cheekbones and a scar across his jaw. His black hair was wild and tousled.

But his eyes really amazed me.

Still golden.

Still on fire.

Still looking at me as though he could see all I had ever experienced.

You are bleeding, he remarked.

I blinked once more.

"What?"

"You are bleeding," he said again, crouching next to me. Your own.

I gazed downward.

Blood

So much of it.

I didn't even remember feeling the bite.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

He turned his head. Kael.

"Are you going to kill me?"

He grinned. You would already be dead if I were.

Good point.

Reaching into the trees, he retrieved a leather pouch. There were water, bandages, and herbs inside.

"Why are you assisting me?" I said, wincing as he put something chilly against my side.

"Because they want you dead," he said. Their sort annoys me.

The Bloodfangs?

He agreed. Lucian is a coward.

I looked at him in disbelief. "You know him?"

Kael stated, "I know what he has done." For you. For others. I have been looking for some time.

That was illogical.

What for?

Kael hesitated. Zara, you do not belong to them. Not really.

My heart raced. "How do you know my name?"

"I told you," he said, his voice now softer. I have been observing.

I ought to have been terrified. I ought to have fled.

But his voice-steady, strong, and sure-something in it made me remain.

He picked me up as though I weighed nothing.

I inhaled sharply. Hold on! To where are you bringing me?

"Somewhere safe."

Running made the world hazy. The wind howled around us. Too weak to object, I held his cloak.

In the end, the trees separated to show a cabin half-buried in stone and moss. With smoke spiralling from the chimney, it appeared ancient yet cosy.

He kicked open the door and put me down on a soft bed close to the fire.

"You live here?"

"Sometimes."

Panting, I lay back.

I ached. I was dizzy.

He knelt next to me and grabbed another herb.

"Why did they want you dead?" he asked.

I told him everything. The rejection. The false accusation. Seraphina. Lucian.

He listened without interrupting.

When I finished, he nodded slowly.

"That explains it," he said.

"Explains what?"

"Why do you feel... different."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

Kael rose and walked to a corner chest. He unrolled an ancient scroll.

You know about the lost royal bloodlines, don't you?

I opened my eyes. Those are myths.

Not at all. Yes, they are real.

He indicated a symbol atop the scroll. A winged silver wolf. The Moonblood lineage. The strongest wolves to ever tread the planet. A century ago, they disappeared.

I stared.

"You carry that blood," Kael said. "I can feel it."

"You're insane."

"Maybe. But I'm not wrong."

I laughed-dry, bitter. "I'm no royal. I'm no one."

He looked at me, hard. "You think it's a coincidence you survived a rejection and a death sentence in one night? That the bond didn't completely break you?"

"I... I don't know."

Kael's golden eyes narrowed. "It's because your blood won't let you die so easily."

My breath caught.

Could it be true?

No. It couldn't.

But...

My skin tingled. My bones felt strange.

And then-I screamed.

Fire lanced through my veins. My fingers twitched. My vision blurred.

Kael was at my side instantly. "It's starting."

"What's starting?" I gasped.

"Your awakening."

Pain twisted my limbs, but deep inside it-there was power.

Raw. Wild. Sleeping for too long.

Images flashed in my mind-silver wolves, moonlight, battles, a throne made of stone.

My body arched. I couldn't breathe.

And then-

Silence.

I collapsed, gasping, soaked in sweat.

Kael knelt beside me.

His hand was warm on mine.

"What-what happened to me?"

He didn't smile.

He didn't look surprised.

"You're not just a girl from the Bloodfang," he said. "You're something far more dangerous."

"What am I?" I whispered.

Kael leaned closer.

"You," he said, "are the last heir of the Moonblood line."

My heart stopped.

And then-

A crash.

Outside.

Kael's eyes snapped to the door. "They've found us."

Zara POV

The crash outside rattled the walls. Kael jumped to his feet, eyes blazing gold in the firelight, and my heart raced.

Grabbing a sword from next to the door, he commanded, "Stay behind me."

He cracked open the cabin door to look inside. I noticed his shoulders become a little more relaxed.

"It's not them," he said.

My chest heaved. "Who then?"

"A scout. One of ours."

Ours.

I still wasn't used to that.

Kael stepped outside, exchanged a few quick words with a tall woman wearing a black hood, and then returned.

"They're searching the outer woods. We're safe-for now. But we have to move soon."

I nodded, even though my legs were shaking. I wanted to be strong. I needed to be. I couldn't be that broken girl anymore.

Kael saw the war in my eyes. He placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "It's time."

"Time for what?"

"Your awakening. Your real training."

The next day, Kael brought me deep into the forest.

"Where are we?" I asked, leaping over splintered branches and not wanting to tumble.

"Somewhere you can learn freely."

We reached a clearing surrounded by thick trees. The smell was pine and rain. Kael faced me.

"Your abilities are inside of you. But you have to wake them up.".

I crossed my arms. "I still don't believe I'm some royal bloodline or whatever."

Kael smiled, but there was something sad in it. "You will."

He handed me a wooden staff. "Fight me."

I blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." He stepped back, twirling his own staff. "Come at me."

"I've never fought before."

"Exactly. That's why we're starting now."

I hesitated.

Kael raised an eyebrow. "You survived betrayal. You survived exile. You survived me dragging your half-dead body across the woods. You can swing a stick."

I snorted. A little.

I charged.

Kael moved so fast that I didn't even have time to react. He took my legs out from under me and I hit flat on the ground.

"Ow!"

"Again," he told me.

I got up.

Tried again.

And again.

Each time, I ended up on my backside.

My fingers were stung by the staff. My hands were swollen. My body hurt less than my pride.

I do not know how to do this.

Beside me, Kael knelt down. You certainly do. You will not, however, until you let yourself move aside.

I do not even know who I am!

He got up and moved back. Then discover.

A haze of injuries, perspiration, and fire marked the days.

From morning till sunset, Kael educated me. We fought with hand, sword, and staff. He showed me how to climb, how to conceal, how to hear the wind and feel danger before it was close in the woods.

Worn out, I fell into the bed at night. My muscles objected. I had blood on my hands. Every morning, nevertheless, I got up.

Because something within me had begun to burn.

Something strong.

Something wild.

I spent one night outside the cabin window, staring up at the moon.

"I hate him," I whispered to the wind.

Lucian's face returned to me-cold, hard, deadly.

He chose her.

Seraphina.

He gave her a new name-Luna.

I'd heard the rumours. The stray scouts brought back stories when they returned from hunting trips.

The whole pack celebrated.

And me?

I was the ghost they buried.

"Good," Kael said on my shoulder. "Let that anger shape you. Then let it go.".

I turned around. "You also hate him."

He nodded. "Lucian made me lose my title of prince."

My breath caught in my throat. "Tell me."

Kael looked out into the woods. "My father was the leader of the Darkfang Pack. Proud, cruel, hated. But just. Lucian came among us as an ally. And poisoned everything."

I stood there in silence, listening.

"He lied. Turned my father's council against him. My father was killed in the end. I was banished. I lost everything.".

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he envied what we possessed. Power. And blood. You're not the only one with Moonblood running through your veins."

I bristled.

Kael's slow nod told me the truth. "You're not."

A crawly chill slithered down my spine. "So. he knows?"

Kael's tone dropped. "He suspects. That's why he had Seraphina accuse you falsely. Why he tried to kill you? If you're dead, the last legitimate heir would be taken care of."

I took a step back, gasping. "I am not ready for this."

Kael approached me. "You don't have to be ready. You just have to fight."

I looked up at him.

He was taller, stronger, smarter-but behind golden eyes, I saw pain.

The same pain I carried.

Perhaps that is why I let him brush the hair out of my face instead of pushing him away. Or when he said, "You are stronger than you know."

By the third week, my abilities began to awaken.

It started small.

My fingers glowed in the dark when I raged.

Then, when I cried one night, the flames burned without fuel.

One time, Kael flung a blade at me without warning-and I halted it midflight.

Floating.

Held by nothing but will.

I looked at my hand as if it belonged to someone else.

Kael grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere."

What is going on with me?

You are becoming who you were meant to be.

I still fell.

Still failed.

But I was learning.

One morning, Kael knocked me flat again. I grunted, gasping.

"Get up," he said.

"No."

"Zara-"

"I SAID NO!" I yelled.

The earth trembled.

We both froze.

Kael looked down.

Cracks were spreading around me. Tiny, shining veins of light.

I leapt to my feet. "Did I do that?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes."

I looked at my hands.

"What else can I do?"

Kael's stare was piercing. We will find out just that.

But the next night, everything changed.

Kael and I sat by the fire, eating dry meat and unheard words.

I gazed at him and enquired the question that had been nagging me for days.

Did he ever love me, in your opinion?

Kael didn't answer right away.

"I think Lucian loves only power," he said finally. "And you terrify him because you were never meant to be little."

I gulped hard. "I wish I could forget him."

"You don't need to forget," Kael told me. "You need to become someone he can never touch again."

His words sliced through me.

Something inside of me moved.

Not anger.

Not revenge.

Determination.

The next morning, Kael took me to a hidden glade.

"It's time for your final test," he said to me.

I blinked. "Final?"

He nodded. "You'll face all you fear. All that broke you."

"How?"

Kael stepped back. "With this."

He hurled a small black stone into the pool of water at the centre of the glade.

Mist curled up.

The atmosphere shifted.

I gasped as the mist materialized.

Lucian.

Tall. Smiling. Seraphina beside him.

"You're nothing, Zara," the illusory Lucian said to me. "Weak. Worthless. Forgotten."

My hands shook.

Kael breathed down my neck, "Face it."

The fake Lucian drew nearer. "No one wanted you. Not even your mate."

Something broke inside me.

I flung up my hands.

The ground shook.

The illusion flailed, trying to maintain its shape-but I thrust more.

Light burst from my chest.

A roar shook the glade-not mine.

From within me.

The image dispersed.

Dissolved.

I was standing there, panting, sparks dancing around my skin.

Kael smiled.

"You're ready," he said to me.

I looked where the illusion had been.

I no longer felt weak.

I no longer felt broken.

But I wasn't complete either.

Not yet.

Kael turned towards the woods.

"What is it?" I demanded.

He tilted his head. "Someone's approaching."

We both tensed up.

And then-

A girl ran through the trees.

She was out of breath, had wild eyes, and was bleeding.

She gave me a direct look.

"They are coming," she screamed.

"Who?"

"Lucian," she said in a whisper. "Seraphina as well." They understand where you are.

I stiffened up.

Kael growled low. "How?"

The girl shook her head. "There's a spy within your people. And they're bringing an army."

The wind howled.

Trees rattled.

Kael took my hand.

"We have to leave. Now."

But I didn't leave.

Because in the girl's hand-

She was clutching something I thought was lost forever.

My old pendant.

The one Lucian gave me.

And burned the night he dumped me.

"Where did you find it?" I demanded.

She gazed at me, tears welling in her eyes.

"I saw him," she said. "Lucian. He's not coming for you."

My voice cracked. "Then what does he want?"

She took a step closer.

"He's coming for your power."