They found her

"Luna, stop running!"  

"Will you maniacs just get off my trail?" Nora hissed, pushing herself to run faster. She needed distance—as much as possible—between herself and these people. They wanted something. That was the only explanation for why they'd been hunting her relentlessly.  

"Stop running, Luna," one of the five men pleaded desperately as they continued their pursuit. Their breathing came in ragged gasps, their speed diminishing with each passing second. Exhaustion was clearly setting in.  

"I don't want to be your Luna," Nora called back sharply, not slowing. "Is that hard to understand? Your precious Alpha has a woman beside him now. She's your Luna. So what else could you possibly want from me?"  

She rolled her eyes but didn't stop moving.  

This was the third time these men had managed to track her down. And she knew exactly who was responsible: her mother. Only her mother possessed the power to locate her with such precision. But how had they convinced her? That question burned in Nora's mind as she ran.  

The first time they'd caught her, she'd been in Italy, lost in pure bliss. The second time was at a prestigious fashion show in Paris—one she'd been looking forward to for months. They'd forced her to abandon it, and the memory still stung. They'd ruined that day for her completely. And now they'd followed her to Hawaii, of all places.  

Five years. It had been five years since she'd chosen to walk away, to relinquish everything. Yet somehow, every time these people appeared, it felt like no time had passed at all. Like it was still yesterday. She could still see his face clearly in her mind. She could still remember the moment he chose another over her, the bliss on his face when he did it.  

Thinking about it still hurt like hell.  

At first Nora thought something was wrong with her. She wondered why the Moon Goddess would give her a mate who couldn't accept her the way she was. She just buried it all, deciding to create her own version of happiness—the ruthless, careless version of Nora. The one who didn't care about anything or anyone. But even now, she was amazed at what she'd sacrificed. She'd given up her throne for him, and he'd repaid her by betraying her, by turning her strength into a weapon against her.  

Fuck all of it. It was over. And she would never go back.  

But if it was truly over, why did these people keep appearing? Why did they continue to beg her to come home? Why couldn't they understand that she and their Alpha were finished? And if she was being honest with herself, she could destroy them all easily. She had the power. But there was a taboo—a law written in werewolf blood—against killing your own kind. That law was the only thing keeping them alive right now.  

As all of this churned through her mind, the chase continued. Back and forth across the sand, her chasers never relenting, their determination only strengthening her anger.  

Finally, Nora stopped abruptly and spun to face them, her chest heaving.  

"What the fuck do you want from me?" she demanded, her voice cutting through the ocean air like a blade. "And don't start with that Luna bullshit. I'm not your Luna."  

One of the men, Maverick, the Beta, stepped forward, bowing his head slightly in respect. "You're our rightful Luna, and there's no way we would address you without that respect. Please, forgive us, Luna."  

She remembered him. When the Alpha King had abandoned her and taken another, Maverick had been one of the few who'd stood against it. He'd nearly fought the Alpha on her behalf. She was grateful for that loyalty, truly. But gratitude wouldn't stop her from claiming his life if he continued to disturb her peace.  

"My queen doesn't want that ridiculous title. Don't you get it?" Hilton suddenly barked, appearing at Nora's side with Mike close behind. The expressions on the werewolves' faces shifted instantly to disgust as they watched two humans insert themselves into werewolf business.  

"You two should stay out of this," Maverick growled menacingly.  

"You don't growl at my men," Nora growled back, baring her teeth in warning.  

"I'm sorry, Luna," Maverick quickly apologized, immediately exposing his neck in the werewolf gesture of surrender.  

Hilton and Mike were ready to snap back, irritation flooding their features, but Nora silenced them with a single snap of her fingers. She wouldn't allow them to suffer ignorantly for the offense of being human in a supernatural world.  

"Take me back to my seat," she commanded.  

The disgust on the werewolves' faces deepened as they watched Hilton and Mike help their Luna back to her lounging chair, their filthy human hands touching her skin. Once they'd settled her, they returned to their positions—one kneeling beside her legs, the other moving behind her back to resume the massage.  

Nora adjusted her sunglasses and relaxed back into the chair before finally looking up at Maverick. "So what brings you here, Beta?" she asked sarcastically, her tone dripping with disinterest as she played with her perfectly polished nails.  

Seconds stretched into silence. No response came from the beta. Nora glanced up at the men through her dark lenses, clearly enjoying the anger and disgust festering on their faces as they watched her men touch her. The way their jaws clenched, the way their hands curled into fists—it was absolutely delicious.  

This is what your Alpha did to me. Enjoy the disgust in full, and be sure to give him an update when you get back, Nora thought, allowing herself a satisfied smirk.  

"You have five minutes to say whatever you came to say and then disappear from my sight," Nora growled, her voice carrying an unmistakable threat. "Don't test me. You can't handle what I'm capable of. I'm no longer part of your world, and that means the rules have changed."  

The disgusted expressions vanished from their faces, replaced with fear. That's more like it, she thought with a silent nod of satisfaction.  

"Luna, please," Maverick pleaded desperately. "We have an important message, and these men cannot hear what we have to say."  

"Say it anyway," Nora replied dismissively, placing her hand over her mouth as she yawned lazily. "They won't hear you."  

Maverick nodded, though horror flickered briefly in his eyes. He'd clearly just remembered what their Luna was capable of—and that capability was exactly why they'd come in the first place.  

"We need your help, Luna. Our kingdom is in dire circumstances," he began.  

"What about your Alpha?" Nora asked, her tone cold and unbothered.  

"He can't fight this alone. We don't even know who's behind it."  

"Well, that's your concern, not mine. As far as I'm concerned, my relationship with all of you is dead and buried," Nora said dismissively, turning her gaze away.  

Maverick hesitated, clearly wrestling with how much to reveal. Finally, he spoke, his voice heavy with dread. "Luna, I'm sorry to tell you this, but the situation is far worse than you can imagine. The entire kingdom could perish if we don't act. The beast... Luna, the beast is beginning to stir. That's why your mother has been helping us find you."  

The moment the words left his mouth, Nora's entire body went rigid. She shot to her feet so violently that her sunglasses flew from her face. Her men immediately rose as well, sensing the dangerous power radiating from her—the raw, primal anger that was practically vibrating through the air.  

"What do you mean?" Nora demanded, her voice dropping to something authoritative and terrifying. Her eyes flickered, shifting from their normal blue to a glittering, luminous gold.  

All five men immediately dropped to their knees, the domineering force in her voice crushing them like a physical weight. Her Alpha voice—something she hadn't used in years—had activated instinctively, and with it came the full force of her power. The air around them crackled with supernatural energy.  

With a subtle gesture, Nora cast a spell that cloaked them from the other beachgoers. To anyone watching, they would see only a woman getting a massage from two men, chatting casually with five others. Nothing unusual. Nothing supernatural. Nothing to draw attention.  

"Luna, please calm down," Maverick pleaded, struggling to breathe under the pressure of her power. The other men were suffering similarly, their bodies trembling as they remained on their knees.  

"Tell me what happened," Nora commanded, her Alpha voice combined with her inherent power sending chills down their spines.  

Maverick slowly explained the situation—the beast stirring after a thousand years of silence, no clear indication of who or what was responsible, the kingdom's growing panic, the desperation that had driven them to track her across the world.  

Nora's eyes narrowed, gold still swirling in them.  

"A thousand years ago, this beast wasn't a monster. It was a god." She recited, her voice cold and ancient.  

"It was born from Alpha King Cedric's greed. He wanted power that not even the Moon Goddess could give him. So he ripped a piece of darkness from the void and fed it his blood, his rage, his betrayal. He thought he could control it."  

She let out a humorless laugh.  

"Instead, it devoured him. Then his pack. Then entire kingdoms. It grew stronger with every soul it consumed until the supernatural world had no choice. Vampires, witches, fae, werewolves... they all bled together to cage it. It took centuries and thousands of lives to turn it to stone and bury it deep."  

She looked at Maverick. "And now it's waking. Tell me, Beta. Who was stupid enough to wake a god?"  

Maverick's voice shook. "We don't know, Luna. That's why the elders wanted you back urgently."  

"Well, go tell the elders that I said I will not step an inch from my freedom and peace."  

As Nora's voice dropped, Maverick and his men felt their bodies go cold.