CHAPTER 10 — TAKEN BY THE ALPHA

SAMANTHA’S POV

The Great Hall spun.

I clutched the stone pillar like it might hold me together, my fingers white against the cold granite. My chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

I’d only meant to pass behind the dancers. Avoid attention. Stay invisible, like always.

But then I’d crashed into him.

And time had… stopped.

His eyes. Like molten silver beneath winter frost. They had locked onto mine like they’d known me forever. Like they’d been waiting. For me.

My wolf—dormant for years—didn’t stir, didn’t speak. But something had throbbed through my chest. Like a string pulled taut inside my soul, humming with recognition.

I didn’t know his name.

But I knew what he was.

Fated.

To me.

No.

No, that couldn’t be right. Not after everything. Not after Elias. Not after the curse.

“Breathe, Samantha,” I whispered to myself, pressing a hand to my chest.

The wine stain still clung to my dress like shame.

I hadn’t meant to draw attention.

And yet—

“Alpha John,” a deep voice rang out across the hall. “May I speak?”

I froze.

That voice.

I peeked from behind the column.

The man I’d crashed into—the stranger with the impossible eyes—stood at the center of the gathering, tall and composed, as if he commanded every inch of the air around him.

Alpha John, grim as ever, gave a curt nod. “Speak, Alpha Vermont.”

Alpha.

My mate was an Alpha, the Warrior Alpha.

He stepped forward slowly, eyes sweeping the room until they landed… directly on me.

“I came as a representative of Alpha King Aldric ,” he began. “But fate has presented another reason for my presence.”

Murmurs broke out.

I edged back, heart pounding against my ribs.

His gaze didn’t waver.

“I found her,” he said, voice low but steady. “My mate.”

No.

No, no, no.

The world fell silent. Even the music died.

All eyes turned—to him. Then slowly, to me.

I felt them like knives.

Dozens of wolves watching. Whispering. Judging.

“Samantha Morgan,” he said, louder now.

The breath left my lungs.

Elias choked on his drink.

Alpha John rose from his seat, eyes narrowing. “This is a mourning feast. Not a claiming.”

Gabriel—Alpha Vermont, I realized—didn’t flinch. “I claim what is mine regardless of setting.”

My legs shook.

People were standing now. Watching like it was a staged drama. Like I wasn’t real. Like this wasn’t my life unraveling.

Gabriel stepped forward again. “Samantha Morgan—come with me. The Blood Moon Pack offers protection, respect, and the right to awaken what’s been stolen from you.”

“Stolen?” Alpha John’s voice was razor-sharp. “Her wolf is dead.”

“She is not,” Gabriel said coldly. “She’s just been bound.”

Gasps.

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

My heart screamed. My soul pulled. But my feet stayed planted.

Gabriel extended his hand.

“Choose, you are not safe here,” he said.

I stared at him.

One moment, I stood frozen, breath snagging in my throat as Gabriel’s words echoed—You’re not safe here. The next, Rose lunged across the table with an enraged scream, claws glinting beneath the ceremonial lights.

But she never reached me.

A blur of black cut between them, and Rose was airborne, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

Gabriel stood where I had just been, chest heaving, eyes glowing with his wolf’s fury. His fists were clenched, knuckles white.

The crowd gasped in unison.

Rose groaned, trying to rise, but a low snarl from Gabriel stilled the room. It was the kind of sound that made even seasoned warriors go still. Cold, brutal authority.

Alpha John surged to his feet, composure cracking. “Alpha Vermont, this is a Crescent Moon affair. I’ll handle Rose.”

“No,” Gabriel said, turning to face him. “Your pack has already mishandled her.” He nodded toward me. “A wolfless orphan you raised at Luna Marie’s wish. And yet, this is how you repay her memory?”

Alpha John stiffened, shame flickering in his eyes. “You don’t understand the dynamics—”

“I don’t need to,” Gabriel interrupted. “Because I felt her pain before I even crossed your border. And now I have see it with my own eyes.”

My heart pounded. The crowd shifted restlessly. Even Beta Caspian looked uncomfortable now.

Then Gabriel stepped down from the platform and extended a hand to me. “Come with me.”

The entire hall held its breath.

I stared at his hand. It was strong. Scarred. Steady. I wanted nothing more than to take it, to step into the safety that pulsed around him like armor.

But fear clawed at my ribs.

“Why?” I whispered. “You don’t even know me.”

“I’ve dreamed of you,” he said simply. “I thought it was grief driving me mad. But it was you. The Moon Goddess gave me a second chance.”

I trembled.

“Please,” he added. “Before they destroy you.”

Elias’s voice cut through the tension like a whip. “She’s wolfless! She can’t be your mate.”

Gabriel’s eyes snapped toward him. “Then you’re a fool for rejecting her.”

The words were a slap. Even Rose flinched where she stood, dazed.

Gabriel stepped closer to me, not touching, but close enough for me to feel the pull—the bond thrumming between them like a heartbeat. My soul ached toward his.

“I won’t force you,” he said softly. “But I won’t leave without you.”

My gaze swept the room—Elias glaring, Rose seething, Alpha John brooding behind a mask of pride and shame.

No one here had ever protected me.

Except Luna Marie.

And she was gone.

Slowly, I reached forward and placed my hand in Gabriel’s.

The room erupted.

Voices exploded—protests, gasps, demands. But none of it mattered. Because the moment our hands touched, a surge of warmth shot through my body like lightning.

The bond sealed.

Gabriel pulled me gently toward him and moved to shield me from the chaos. “We’re leaving,” he told Alpha John.

“You can’t take her!” Elias roared. “She’s Crescent Moon!”

“She’s mine,” Gabriel growled, voice like rolling thunder.

Beta Caspian stepped forward, torn. “This… violates protocol.”

“She was never claimed properly,” Gabriel said. “No ceremony. No mark. No bond. No protection.”

Alpha John’s mouth opened, then shut. Everyone knew it was true.

Gabriel turned to me. “Do you need to pack?”

I shook my head. “I have nothing to take.”

A shadow passed through his eyes at my words, and he gently brushed a curl from my cheek. “You do now.”

We began to move toward the door, his arm around me protectively. The crowd parted reluctantly, staring as if a prophecy were unfolding before them.

But just as we reached the threshold—

A sharp whistle.

Rose’s voice rang out. “You’re making a mistake, Alpha Vermont! She’s cursed!”

I froze.

The room stilled once more.

Gabriel slowly turned. “What did you say?”

“She’s cursed!” Rose spat. “Why do you think her wolf never came? Why do you think the Moon Goddess gave her to you now, after all these years? She’s broken! Damned!”

Gasps echoed.

I went cold.

Gabriel said nothing for a beat. Then: “So was I. Until her.”

He turned away again.

But behind them, I could hear Rose’s bitter laughter echoing.

“She’ll ruin you. Just wait. The curse doesn’t care how strong you are…”

I gripped Gabriel tighter, my fingers curling into the fabric of his coat.

Because deep down… some part of me feared Rose might be right.

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