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last update Last Updated: 2025-04-27 13:30:22

Elena’s Pov

I stood there, trembling, heart hammering, unable to look at Lykan.

The weight of it all pressed against my chest—the years of silence, the lies, the humiliation I swallowed because I thought that was what love was supposed to be.

The girl who took beatings in the dark, who apologized for bleeding, who begged for scraps of affection.

She was gone.

And the woman standing here now?

She didn’t beg anymore.

She didn’t break anymore.

I forced a slow, ragged breath into my lungs. My nails were still half-shifted, claws digging crescents into my palms.

"Are you alright?" Lykan asked, voice pitched low, steady, he stretched out his hand and soothed my back.

I didn’t answer right away.

Because 'alright' wasn’t the word.

'Free' wasn’t either.

There wasn’t a word big enough to describe how I was feeling.

I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze.

"I'm fine," I said, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue.

His silver eyes scanned me, sharp and assessing. He didn’t believe me.

Good. He wasn’t
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  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    61

    Lykans pov I watched her sleep. Or rather, I tried to convince myself she was sleeping. But I knew better. Her breathing was too shallow. Her grip on the blanket was too tight. Her eyes flickered beneath closed lids, not in a dream, but in denial. Something had changed after the mountain. After that vision. She hadn’t told me everything. I could feel it. And I could feel it in the bond between us small; I think she forgot if she lies or hides something,, I'll feel it too. “Elena,” I whispered, brushing a knuckle against her cheek. She didn’t stir. Not physically. But her energy? It was coiled. Guarded. And I hated it. I hated that I couldn’t protect her from it. She was so tense. --- By morning, she was already up. Dressed. Composed. Too composed. “You okay?” I asked casually, leaning against the wall as she fastened her cloak. “Of course,” she said too quickly. “We have a lot to do.” I crossed the room in two strides. “Elena.” She paused but didn’t look at me.

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    60

    Elenas povIn the cover of night, when I'm sure everyone is asleep.I get out of bed and slip through the window, making sure not to wake up lykan.I slip through the guards on patrol, making sure no one sees me. I dash for the opposite mountain.Since I got here, no one has spoken about it, almost like it was forgotten.“This isn’t your best idea,” Eira says, her voice low and cautious in my mind.“True,” I admit, slipping past the outer edge of the rebel camp, the wind biting at my skin. “But aren’t you a little bit curious? Plus… I feel a pull toward it.”There’s a pause.Then a reluctant, “Well… I do feel some energy from that place. But that doesn’t mean this is a good idea.”I smirk faintly. “We’ve done worse.”I keep my pace low and steady, my breaths even as I scale the frost-covered incline. The opposite mountain looms ahead—taller, sharper, more jagged than the one the rebels had settled beneath. Its slopes are lined with dark trees, skeletal and twisted, their branches claw

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    59

    Elenas pov The training yard was a wide slab of packed earth tucked between the mountain’s inner cliffs, hidden by thick walls of stone and snow. Once used for quarrying, now it held something more valuable than stone. Hope. And chaos. “Back straight, Lior!” I barked, watching the younger boy nearly trip over his own feet as he attempted a basic sword stance. “Yes, ma’am!” he yelped, wobbling back into position. Beside me, Lykan stood with arms crossed, expression unreadable but I could tell he was fighting a smirk. “This isn’t a parade,” he called out to the rebels. “If you stumble out there, you won’t get a second chance. You’ll be dead before your blade clears its sheath.” That sobered most of them. We had nearly fifty rebels lined up in makeshift groups. Some held weapons others had nothing but sticks or old training spears. Most had never seen real combat, let alone survived a war. But they would. Because we would make them ready. Lykan walked forward, posture comma

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    58

    Elenas pov The walk from the hut to the main chamber felt heavier than it should have. Not because I was afraid. But because what came next would change everything. Lykan walked beside me in silence, cloak draped over his shoulders, his presence commanding even in stillness. He didn’t need to speak. The way the rebels parted as we passed and the way the air shifted told me enough. They felt him. And they knew. Whispers stirred like wind through dry leaves as we entered the central chamber. A long hollowed-out space carved beneath the mountain, its walls lit by glowing stones and torchlight, its floor worn smooth by rebellion after rebellion. But this one would be the last. Mira was already there, standing near the center of the gathering. Around her were the key rebel fighters, scouts, and elders eyes wide, voices low. Every person turned to us the moment we stepped through the threshold. And the room went silent. I let go of Lykan’s hand. Not because I wanted to. Becau

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    57

    Elenas pov Lykan, being by my side, gave me strength. A different kind of strength. Not the raw, raging fire I’d been holding onto since the rebellion started but something steadier. Calmer. Like a heartbeat, I’d forgotten how much I needed. And maybe that’s why when I tried to slip out to address the rebels again, he caught my wrist. “You’re not going,” he said softly, but firmly. I blinked up at him, surprised. “What do you mean? They’re waiting. We planned this ” “You’ve been carrying them on your back since this started,” he said, his eyes holding mine. “Planning. Fighting. Starving. You’ve earned the right to breathe for one damn second, Elena.” My chest tightened. I wasn’t used to someone telling me to stop. To rest. To not bleed for everyone else. “I can’t,” I whispered. “If I stop, even for a moment, I’ll lose my momentum. They need me—” “They need you alive,” Lykan cut in. “Not burnt out. Not half a shadow of yourself. They need their queen well and fine.” He st

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    56

    Lykans pov She closed the door behind us. It was quiet inside the small, cracked stone home. A thin rug covered the frozen floor. There was no furniture, just a bed that looked like it was going to fall apart, some worn blankets, and a rusted lantern hanging from a beam. The walls looked like they were made of scraps, wood, stone, and bits of cloth stitched together to keep the cold out. Elena stood across from me, arms crossed. Her face was unreadable now, the calm she wore outside slipping just a little. “What is it?” I didn’t answer immediately. I looked around the room again. Then I looked at her. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” She raised a brow. “What did you expect?” “I didn’t expect luxury,” I said. “But gods, Elena… this? This is how they’ve been living? Like rats shoved underground?” She said nothing, but her gaze fell to the floor. I stepped closer, voice low and rough. “How long have they lived like this?” Her fingers curled around her arms. “Years. Since

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    55

    Lykans pov “Lykan?” she whispered, her voice trembling against the night. My name on her lips, gods, I’d dreamt of it, begged the moon for it, fought through death and blood just to hear it one more time. I loosened my grip slowly, but I didn’t let her go. Not yet. I couldn’t. Our eyes locked. And the world stopped. Even with her mask covering half her face, I knew every inch of her. That violet gaze, blazing with disbelief. Her scent wrapped around me again like home, like fire, like everything I thought I’d lost. “Elena,” I breathed. “You’re real. You’re here.” She stared up at me, stunned, lips parting like she wanted to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come. So I did the only thing that made sense. I kissed her. Not gently. Not cautiously. Desperately. She didn’t pull away. She melted into me like she’d been waiting, aching, burning for this moment just as much as I had. Her hands fisted the front of my cloak, and I felt the bond surge between us like

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    54

    Elena’s pov The sunlight reflected in my eyes as I stepped into the fields, squinting against the glare. It was one of those rare mornings when the clouds hadn’t covered the sky, and the sun dared to shine down on the mountain’s shadowed valley. But even in the warmth of its rays, the weight of where we stood never left. The rest of the pack was scattered across the frozen fields, harvesting with stiff fingers and silent mouths. Their faces were drawn tight with exhaustion, backs bent in rhythm to a routine that had long since turned their bodies into machines. They moved quietly, always watching. The ever-present guards stood at the perimeter, spears in hand, eyes hard. But I saw it. The shift. The whispers. The way some glanced at me now was not in fear, but in anticipation. Because the rebellion had started. And the town was bleeding from the inside. It wouldn’t be long now. I walked through the rows, Mira trailing slightly behind me as we passed groups of Moirea prete

  • Betrayed Luna: The Alpha's Claim    53

    Lykans pov The air grew still. Too still. Even the wind dared not move in this part of the forest. Sylvester halted at the base of a narrow trail carved through two huge rocks, its end lost behind a veil of mist. We had passed ancient ruins, fought through the witches, and survived the illusions that tested our minds. But this… this was different. It was quiet. Too quiet. I could hear the blood in my ears, the breath in my lungs. Everyone else was silent, too. That’s when I saw it. A narrow ledge spiralled up the side of a cliff, no wider than a man’s shoulder. Below, it stretched a deep ravine, not black, not empty, but filled with something that made my stomach twist. Water. Or at least… what looked like water. Thick. Crimson. Glowing faintly like it breathed. A pool of blood. Literal or not, I didn’t know. But the stench, metallic, ancient clawed its way up the cliffside like a hand reaching for us. Dominic stepped forward, his brows drawn. “What the hell is th

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