31. Alpha's Howl.

Adrian’s POV

The moment I stepped out of that room, my chest felt like it was burning from the inside. I didn’t slam the door. I didn’t shout. I didn’t even look back at Lucy as her voice echoed behind me. I just walked. Each step felt heavier than the last, like I was dragging the weight of every expectation, every prophecy, every responsibility that had been tied to my veins since the day I took my first breath.

“Be a good leader…”

Her words kept repeating in my head, loud and sharp.

“We are both forced… Don’t be selfish…”

I swallowed hard. Something inside me twisted....not guilt, but something close… something I didn’t want to name.

I walked down the stairs, my hands clenched at my sides. I could still feel the warmth of her lips on mine, the pressure of her hands pushing me back on that bed. The sound of her voice when she begged....actually begged....for me to look at her, to choose her.

And I couldn’t.

Not because I didn’t understand her pain.

Not because she wasn’t strong, beautiful, or worthy of a title many wolves would kill for.

But because… I couldn’t.

Something in my spirit refused. Something primal. Something ancient. Something that remembered her.

Rose.

Her face came into my mind without permission....soft eyes, unsure smile, warm laugh. The girl who shouldn’t have survived that night. The girl who wasn’t supposed to matter. The girl who wasn’t supposed to mean anything.

But she did.

She had, from the very start.

I stopped halfway down the hallway and leaned against the wall, feeling my heartbeat pound against my ribs. I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, but it didn’t help. My instincts were too loud tonight… too sharp. My wolf was too close to the surface.

Everything felt wrong.

The council.

The pressure.

Lucy’s desperation.

Matthew’s warnings.

Caleb’s fear.

The eclipse drawing closer.

The fate of my people hanging by a string.

And all of it leading to one impossible thing.

Bonding with a Luna I didn’t choose.

I pushed myself off the wall and kept walking. My steps echoed across the marble floors of my mansion as I reached the door and stepped outside into the cold night air.

The wind hit my skin sharply, like it was trying to wake me up. I looked up.

The sky was clear.

The stars quiet.

And the moon....full.

A full moon.

Of course.

Of course it had to be tonight.

I felt my wolf rise instantly, pushing against my bones. My breath hitched and my body tensed as the shift tried to take over.

“No,” I whispered to myself, clenching my fists.

But it was too late.

The full moon was unforgiving.

The alpha in me didn’t get to ignore the call.

Not tonight.

My bones snapped first....one by one....reshaping, stretching. Heat burned through my muscles like fire. My claws tore through skin. My jaw cracked outward as fur replaced flesh. I dropped to my hands and knees, groaning as the pain rushed through me… and then....

Silence.

I stood on four legs.

My wolf....the wolf....was out.

Massive. Silver. Ancient. The wolf that generations of wolves had bowed to. The wolf that represented the Lunar God’s chosen.

I tore forward without hesitation.

The world blurred under my paws as I ran into the enchanted woods surrounding my mansion. Trees whipped past me. Wind rushed through my fur. My lungs expanded with cold air that seared beautifully with every inhale.

I ran not to escape....

But because running was the only thing keeping me from shattering.

I ran because every voice in my head was too loud.

The council.

Lucy.

Matthew.

Caleb.

Rose.

Rose.

Her tearful eyes earlier today flashed in my mind again. The disbelief. The pain. The betrayal.

And my own words…

Cruel.

Intentional.

Sharp enough to kill hope.

Because I thought that would protect her.

Was I wrong?

My wolf growled painfully.

I reached the cliff overlooking the valley. The wind roared up from below and pulled at my fur. The moonlight rested on my back like a crown I never asked for.

And then....

I howled.

Not a call.

Not a command.

Not a warning.

A cry.

Deep.

Raw.

Wounded.

A howl that shook the trees.

A howl that carried pain centuries old.

A howl that could be recognized by any wolf alive.

A distress howl.

An alpha in agony.

Caleb’s POV

I was sitting on the couch in Adrian's mansion, scrolling through messages on my phone, not really paying attention to anything. The house was quiet....in an uncomfortable way. I knew something had happened earlier, but Adrian hadn’t said a word since he came back.

He just went straight upstairs.

And when Adrian was silent, truly silent....it was never a good sign.

I tossed my phone aside and leaned back, closing my eyes....

Then the howl hit.

The kind that slices through bone.

The kind that carries emotion too heavy to be hidden.

The kind only one wolf in this world could make.

Adrian.

I sat up instantly.

Not just any howl.

A distress howl.

From him.

My chest tightened. I stood and moved to the window, looking out toward the woods. The moon was full. The night was still. But that howl....

That howl was pain.

And I recognized it because… I had made that sound before.

When I lost my Luna.

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. My wolf pressed against me, pacing.

He’s not okay.

Of course he wasn’t. Everything had been building up. The council pushing him. Lucy pressuring him. His heart still tied to that human girl. And the burden of leading every wolf bloodline in existence....alone.

He wasn't just my friend.

He wasn’t just my alpha.

He was my brother.

And hearing him break like that....

It made my bones ache.

I placed my hand on the glass and looked toward the woods, hearing the echo fade slowly.

“I’m here,” I whispered. “I hear you.”

But I didn’t go to him.

Not yet.

There are moments where an alpha isn’t meant to be comforted.

There are times he must break alone.

Because when he returns....

He must return as a leader.

So I stayed.

Quiet.

Still.

Present.

Listening to the night settle again.

And I prayed.....silently, fiercely....that when he came back, he would still be whole.