MOONBOUND THE ALPHA'S FLAME

The mystery.

"Again, Nyla!” she commanded.

The younger maid darted forward, swinging a padded staff.

Sabrina twisted, parried, and caught her off balance. With a soft thud, Nyla landed on the forest floor, groaning.

“Better,” Sabrina said, extending a hand to help her up.

“But your footing’s still too light. A single gust from a rogue and you’d lose balance.”

“Yes, Luna,” Nyla murmured, cheeks flushed.

Beside them, Mira laughed softly, wiping sweat from her brow.

“She forgets she's sparring with a pregnant wolf stronger than half the warriors in the pack.”

Sabrina chuckled but said nothing. Her senses, once dulled by comfort and love, were sharp today.

The birds were too quiet. The leaves are still.

Footsteps approached. From the shadows emerged a man.

Sabrina’s frown softened and asked the man.

“Shouldn’t you be with Xavier? He was preparing for the Alpha Summit.”

He gave a polite bow. “He sent me ahead. Said you’d need someone to escort you back.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.” Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t drop her stance. “Or is there a message for me?”

The man smiled faintly. “In a way.”

Then he whistled.

The wind shifted.

And the forest erupted.

Figures, dozens, flooded the clearing. Armed humans, cloaked in hunter's gear, blades and crossbows drawn. Wolfsbane smoke rose in puffs, burning Sabrina’s lungs.

“Get behind me!” she growled, shoving the two maids toward the guards that had trailed them from the pack’s edge.

Mira screamed as a bolt pierced her shoulder. Nyla tried to run but was caught by two hunters and dragged down into the leaves.

Sabrina fought. Clawed. Bit.

She was Luna.

She was a mother.

She was furious.

Her wolf surged, desperate to protect the life within her. The two guards fell beside her, outnumbered.

Sabrina shielded her belly as she took down two attackers, blood splashing across her white training robes.

But the man just watched. Stone-faced. Unmoving.

She staggered towards him, her vision blurred.

“You betrayed Xavier.”

“Xavier shouldn't be there,” he murmured. "He took what's mine.”

Tears slipped from her eyes, hot, angry, heartbroken.

Her last thought was of Xavier’s hand on her belly the night before.

And the name they’d chosen for their child. Then the world turned red. Everyone was killed except one maid.

"You'll return this favor to me," he said to the terrified maid.

---

ONE YEAR LATER

Thunder rolled over the jagged peaks of Crest’s northern mountains, its rumble a warning whispered from the heavens. Clouds churned like a restless sea above the Stonefang Council Hall, where the spires of blackstone stabbed the sky like the spears of ancient warriors. Rain streaked the windows, and wind howled against the towering doors nature itself seemed to hold its breath.

Inside the obsidian hall, lit only by flickering torchlight and pale-glowing moonstones embedded into the walls, seven carved thrones formed a wide circle. Each was etched with the sigil of a ruling pack Wyrmscar, Windveil, Crimson Mane, Shadow pine, Silver howl, Ironhide, and Bloodfang. Only one seat sat empty. At the head of the circle.

Alpha Xavier’s throne.

Alpha Thorne of the Crimson Mane Pack leaned forward, fingers steepled, his bronze eyes reflecting the firelight. “It’s been twelve moons. A full year without a mate, and still no sign from the goddess.”

Alpha Rael, gaunt and sharp-eyed with steel-gray hair and a voice like gravel, gave a silent nod.

“The law is clear. An Alpha who loses their fated must relinquish command by the next lunar cycle unless the Moon chooses to bless him with another.”

Saria of Windveil narrowed her storm blue eyes, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “No Alpha in history has been given a second fated. Not after a mate was taken by war. Especially not by human hands. The goddess rarely grants second chances.”

Alpha Gradin of Ironhide snorted. “Unless Xavier believes himself too sacred to follow the law. He doesn’t attend the summits. He sends his Beta in his place. Does he think us fools?”

A heavy pause. Kemmer, Beta of Bloodfang, stood silently behind Xavier’s empty throne, his expression unreadable, but his presence alone a reminder: Xavier still held the title. Still commanded legions. Still ruled the northern frontier.

Thorne’s voice dropped, bitter and sharp. “He leads, yes. But we feel the change. He’s unraveling. No mate. No heir. Only grief and fury keeping his blood hot.”

The flames in the torches dimmed, as though reacting to the dark turn of the conversation.

Then, Elder Damon his beard long, face creased with centuries of wisdom spoke, his voice gravelly and thick with the weight of memory.

“Xavier is not just any Alpha. He is Bloodfang. Descended from the line of kings. The strongest lineage. We do not cast aside kings lightly.”

“And yet,” Saria said quietly, “Even kings bleed. And a kingdom ruled by grief and vengeance is already halfway dead.”

Kemmer stepped forward, voice calm but heavy. “Xavier hears your doubts. He carries the law on his shoulders like the rest of you. But he will not step down in shame.”

“Then give him a path that does not end in disgrace,” Rael said.

“Two moons. Two cycles to prove the goddess still favors him. Let her grant him another mate or show us that his time has passed.”

The circle fell silent.

Finally, Damos nodded. “Two moons. No more.”

Thorne raised a brow. “You realize how impossible that is?”

“Exactly,” Rael said softly.

“It gives him a choice and it gives us peace.”

Saria exhaled. “And if no mate comes?”

Kemmer’s voice was steel. “Then Xavier will not resist. He will stand down. But understand this if forced, he will not fall quietly.”

Each Alpha gave a solemn nod. The pact was sealed.

Two moons.

Two months.

And the fate of Bloodfang would be decided.

The forest road wound like an old scar through the hills, surrounded by ancient pines whose branches reached out as if trying to whisper forgotten secrets. Rain danced lightly across the windshield as the silver SUV sliced through the misty evening.

Inside, the warm glow of the dashboard contrasted the wet world beyond. Ember colored light flickered across the cheeks of Octavia, seated in the back seat, her sketchpad resting against her knees.

She hummed softly, pencil scratching as she shaded a curled wolf in the center of a forest clearing.

Her art always had wolves in them. Lately, she didn’t even know why.

“Are those your werewolves again?” her mom asked from the passenger seat, twisting slightly to peek at the page.

“They’re not werewolves, Mom,” Octavia replied with a shy grin.

“They’re forest guardians.”

Jason, her dad, chuckled from behind the wheel. “She’s got your imagination, you know. Maybe she’ll write a novel someday.”

Her mom rolled her eyes. “As long as it’s not about vampires falling in love with moody wolves.”

Octavia smirked, flicking her gaze out the window. “Not all wolves are moody”

Rain thickened, tapping against the windshield in steady rhythm.

“I still say we should’ve flown,” her mom muttered again, tugging her jacket tighter around her.

“Six hours in the car through mountain roads is not what I call relaxing.”

Jason glanced at her with a grin. “And miss all this quality family time? Come on. We haven’t done a trip like this in years. Just us. No screens. No noise. Just nature.”

Octavia leaned forward slightly, her voice soft.

“It’s kind of nice. The trees feel old. Like they’re watching us.”

Her parents exchanged a quick glance in the mirror, both smiling.

And then

A sudden flash of blinding headlights.

A truck. Swerving. Wrong side of the road.

“JASON!” her mother screamed.

Tires screeched. Metal howled. The world spun.

Octavia’s body lifted off the seat. Her sketchpad flew.

A deafening crash.

Glass shattered. Bone cracked. Then

Silence.

Darkness.

The rain hadn’t stopped.

It poured in sheets over the training grounds behind Bloodfang Hall. Mud churned beneath heavy boots. The scent of earth and sweat clung to the air.

Alpha Xavier stood shirtless, his breath misting in the cold air, muscles coiled like steel beneath his scarred skin. Across from him, Kemmer, loyal as always, wiped blood from his lip and gave a tired grin.

“You’re getting meaner,” Kemmer said, panting.

Xavier didn’t respond. He stared out across the woods beyond the grounds, his face unreadable beneath the curtain of rain.

They sat under the ruined stone arch of the old watchtower, rain dripping from the edges.

Kemmer leaned back against the cold wall. “They’ve given you a deadline. Two moons.”

Xavier’s jaw flexed. “I know.”

Kemmer studied him. “You don’t believe the goddess will send another, do you?”

A long silence.

“She was my only,” Xavier finally said, voice hollow. “There’s no one else.”

Kemmer didn’t speak for a while. Then he said softly, “If no mate appears, you’ll be forced to step down. You know that.”

“I’ll step down if it’s the will of the Moon,” Xavier murmured. “But if they try to take Bloodfang by force”

His eyes burned with fire that even the rain couldn’t extinguish.

Kemmer nodded slowly. “Then let’s hope something changes. Before the blood starts spilling.”

Xavier rose, rain cascading down his back like armor. He turned toward the looming stone keep of Bloodfang Hall, where shadows whispered and destiny waited.

And far away in a shattered car at the forest’s edge a girl’s breath stirred once more.