chapter five

Chapter Five

Astria’s POV

We arrived later than expected, so there was no time to catch our breath. All pack members, including the invited guests, were already moving toward the forest’s edge, the sacred entrance for the Blood Moon Run. The tension in the air was thick with anticipation and instinct. I could feel it vibrating beneath my skin.

Everyone was shifting, some into their wolf forms, others remaining human. The red moon hadn’t fully risen yet, but its light was already creeping into the sky, casting a crimson glow over the trees like a warning or a promise.

“You don’t have to worry about shifting,” Mariah said, nudging me gently as she handed me a silver loose slip dress. “Some of us choose not to. The blood moon heightens our senses, smell, and instinct. It’s easy to lose control in wolf form.”

I nodded, fingers brushing the smooth fabric. Apparently, it was tradition for females to wear slip dresses during the run, while the males wore only shorts. Something about being connected to nature, raw and bare. Sacred.

I slipped the dress over my body. The fabric shimmered softly against my skin, catching the moon’s glow. Mariah pulled her curls up into a quick bun and grinned at me.

“Now we wait,” she said, eyes flicking toward the treeline. “For the Alpha King. He signals the start.”

The moment his title left her lips, a strange chill danced down my spine. My heart thumped harder, faster. The excitement inside me was becoming almost unbearable, like something buried deep was rising to the surface.

And then

I felt it.

A pull. A shift. A surge of something ancient and electric in the air.

“It’s time. He is here.”

The voice inside me, one I’d never heard before, was fierce and beautiful and wild. It wasn’t just speaking. It was breaking through.

Pounding. Screaming. Craving.

My breath caught.

The moon above us shifted fully red now. Deep, haunting. Holy.

A single howl tore through the night sky, echoing across the forest and silencing everything. It was raw and commanding, powerful enough to make my knees weaken.

The Alpha King had signaled the beginning of the run.

And that’s when I smelled it.

That scent.

Dark pine. Fire. Storms.

And then.

I saw him.

He stood at the far end of the crowd, towering, wild-eyed, glowing in the moonlight like something out of legend. The power radiating from him hit me like a tidal wave.

And I knew.

Every cell in my body knew.

“Mate.”

The word slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

The Alpha King is my mate.

Zeyric's POV

Finally, I see her.

Standing there enthralling and otherworldly.

The moon wraps around her like a protective veil, clinging to her beautifully sculpted body, highlighting every curve in a way that makes my blood rush violently to my groin.

Her lips red as roses.

Her eyes goddess-forged weapons.

The kind of eyes that make men swear oaths they can never keep.

And I? I was already hers.

I howled.

From the deepest part of me, it ripped out my throat , vibrating, chest rumbling.

A command.

A promise.

A beginning.

“ Mate. She's beautiful. Let's mate. Mark!,”.

Maelen, wild and unhinged, growled frantically fighting for dominance.

He wanted control. He wanted her.

And Lokar… he was no different.

Silent, dangerous, lurking like a patient predator, but I could feel it.

His restraint was hanging by a thread.

And then she spoke.

Barely above a whisper.

“Mate.”

It came from those sinful lips that promised unspeakable pleasures.

I lost it.

We lost it.

The beasts surged, their overpowering energy pouring through me like molten fire.

Dark. Fierce. Consuming.

Then she did it.

What she should never have done.

She ran.

Oh…

Little Bambi just made my beasts very, very excited.

“ Seems like we have a little rabbit on our hands,” Lokar said, his voice laced with feral delight, crazed, electric.

“Oh, I do love a good chase,” I growled, eyes glowing, pulse thrumming with wild lust and possession.

“Run.”

I gave the signal.

And then we ran.

like wolves chasing fate.

When I catch her…

She’s mine.

Astria’s POV

The Alpha King... he's my second chance mate?

His eyes pierce into my soul like a predator eyeing its prey, waiting to strike.

He stands tall, terrifyingly powerful, and composed, but those eyes.

they flicker between pure black and glowing red like a brewing storm.

And then, it came again.

That voice. That strange, haunting voice.

“ Go to Mate. Mate is powerful. Let them make us, mate us.

My body trembles.

But instead of obeying... I run.

I don’t know when I started.

I don’t know how.

My legs moved before my mind could argue.

I ran.

Ignoring the voice. Ignoring the pull. Ignoring everything but the pounding of my heart.

“ Why did you run? Go back. Our mates need us. They love us.

They love us.

“No!” I snapped back in my mind.

“He’ll reject me.”

“ They won't,"

“I’m an Omega…”

There’s no way the Alpha King knows I’m an Omega. He would never want me.

So why... Why does the voice keep saying they?

“ If you won't let me take over,”

Before I could even ask what it meant

The pain hit.

An excruciating, body-shattering agony rips through me.

My bones are breaking. Snapping. Reforming.

I scream.

Loud, raw, feral.

My vision blurs. My hands... are no longer hands.

My mind spirals as it all begins to make sense.

The voice. It’s not just in my head.

It’s my wolf.

I’m... shifting.

For the very first time.

It felt like hours eternity carved in fire and bone.

And when the pain finally stopped, I blinked against the world and saw him.

The Alpha King.

Standing before me. Eyes wide. Mouth slightly parted.

Staring at me like I’m something sacred… or something terrifying.

“ So beautiful… Little one,is this your first shift?.

His voice is deep threaded with amusement and awe.

I glance down.

Fur. White fur.

I try to speak but only a soft yip escapes my mouth.

The Alpha King crouches down slowly.

His hand touches my fur, gently stroking.

And just like that, my whole body shudders.

A purr rumbles from deep within me.

“ Be calm,little rabbit. Don't be afraid,”.

His voice… changes. Softer. Soothing. Enchanting.

His eyes were pitch black before. Now... they’re red again.

“ Change now,”

A command.

One I can’t resist.

My body obeys without thought.

Moments later, I’m standing in front of him bare, trembling, human once more.

His eyes... black and white now. Piercing. Claiming.

“Mate,” I whisper.

“Yes, mate,” he breathes. “You’re mine now… and I won’t let you go.”

Before I can even react, he pulls me into his arms, his grip unrelenting.

Then I see it.

His fangs.

Elongated. Glinting. Dangerous.

“No... No, no, no,” I protest weakly. But it’s too late.

He sinks them into my neck.

Deep. Hard. Claiming.

I gasp.

Clutching onto him like my life depends on it.

My vision blurs. The world spins.

And then.

Darkness.