CHAPTER 8 — THE WARRIOR ALPHA’S ’s NIGHTMARES

GABRIEL’S POV

I stood alone on the northern ridge of the pack’s training grounds, the cold wind biting at my skin despite the heat of my exertion. My breath came out in controlled puffs, and the air was still thick with the scent of sweat, steel, and pine. The moon hung low above the Blood Moon Pack’s stronghold—a silver sentinel watching him with unsettling intensity.

I had not slept again.

The dreams had returned. But this time, they weren’t about her—my lost mate.

The dream —louder this time, like a storm crashing against the walls of my soul.

Flames.

Screams.

I stood in the middle of a battlefield drenched in blood and smoke. Steel clashed in the distance. The scent of burnt fur and scorched leather clogged my throat. My wolf snarled beneath my skin, demanding to be set loose.

Bodies surrounded me—rogues, traitors, and some wearing the crimson crest of my own pack.

I tried to move. My boots were stuck in mud—or blood. I looked down.

The mud rippled.

A hand shot up from the earth, clawed and pale, grabbing my ankle.

My breath hitched.

And then I saw her again.

The girl.

The faceless one.

She stood at the edge of the battlefield, barefoot, shivering. Her long hair—white-blonde, tangled with brambles—floated in the wind. She wore a tattered green dress that clung to her like sorrow. Blood stained her hem.

But still—no face. Only a blur.

“You failed me,” she whispered. Her voice was soft, but it echoed like thunder. “You let me fall.”

“No,” I said, chest rising with panic. “I don’t know you.”

But the girl only turned—just as she always did—and walked into the mist that rose from the scorched ground.

Then she jumped.

Off a cliff.

Every. Single. Time.

I lunged to follow, but a wall of flame rose between them. My skin burned. My wolf howled. My soul splintered.

---

“Damn it,” I muttered, pressing a hand to my pounding heart.

My nightmares weren’t new. War did that. Alpha blood did worse. But this girl—this dream—had returned three nights in a row, each time more vivid. More violent.

More… real.

My wolf was pacing again, restless and alert, as if trying to break through the skin that caged it.

I rose from the packground and went in. Crossed to the window, staring out at the sharp-edged peaks of the North beyond my territory. The pine trees below whispered under the wind, but the forest was still. Waiting.

Something was coming.

I could feel it in my bones.

---

Two hours later, I wore a different face.

Gone was the brooding warrior tangled in dreams and memories.

Now, I was Gabriel Vermont, ruthless CEO of Vermont Blackstone Holdings, the multi-billion-dollar enterprise that oversaw silver mining, security tech, and discreet supernatural holdings in the East.

I walked into the tower’s executive floor like a thunderstorm in a suit—black-on-black, tailored, perfect. The staff straightened as I passed. No one made small talk. No one dared.

“Meeting room one. Six minutes,” I said to my assistant, Elise, without looking at her.

“Yes, Alpha,” she replied, heels clicking behind him.

Inside the boardroom, investors and human shareholders waited. I took the head seat, rolled up my sleeves, and struck like a blade.

“I want the Shadow Ridge bid withdrawn.”

One of the older men frowned. “But, sir, our legal team—”

“I said withdraw it,” I cut in, voice like stone. “The tech behind their surveillance unit violates three of our ethical firewalls. We don’t deal in war crimes. Not even lucrative ones.”

“But the profits—”

“Mean nothing if we’re exposed. Pull out. Now.”

Silence.

Then nods.

My word was law. Without compromise. Blood Moon Pack’s coffers had tripled since I took over. So had our political leverage. I was the face of dominance and diplomacy—a warrior in a suit.

But beneath the surface, my wolf twitched again.

And my dreams lingered like smoke.

---

By sunset, I returned to the Blood Moon fortress—a sprawling structure carved into the cliffs, all dark stone and spires, nestled above a forest thick with snow.

Caspian, my Beta and childhood friend, met me in the main hall.

“You didn’t sleep again,” Caspian said, tossing me a towel.

I caught it, wiping my face. “I’ve had worse weeks.”

“Hmm. This wouldn’t have anything to do with the faceless girl you’ve been growling about in your sleep?”

I froze.

Caspian grinned, but there was concern behind it. “The walls aren’t that thick, Gabe.”

I didn’t reply.

Instead, I walked past him, towards the war room.

That’s when the courier arrived.

Dressed in Royal court crimson, the boy bowed low and extended a scroll sealed in gold wax. My eyebrows lifted slightly at the crest—an intricately detailed full moon wrapped in silver thorns.

I narrowed my eyes and broke the seal. My gaze swept the content, and something dark flickered in my expression.

Royal Command: Attend the Crescent Moon Pack to deliver condolences for the late Luna Marie Lockwood.

Also, assess the readiness of Alpha Elias Wood.

Your presence is requested at the upcoming mating ceremony.

His hand tightened around the parchment.

“I thought Elias wasn’t due to take over until winter,” Gabriel muttered.

“Guess the old man moved things up,” Caspian replied, scanning him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like this.

I read the signature twice.

My wolf stirred again.

Stronger now.

Hotter.

Like it knew something I didn’t.

My jaw tightened. “Prepare the convoy,” I said to Caspian. “We leave in two days.”

“To Crescent Moon?”

I nodded

That night, I slept.

But peace did not follow.

In my dream, the girl stood beneath a blood-red moon, her hair blowing in a wild wind. She looked up at him with silver eyes, filled with pain and longing.

I reached for her.

She opened her mouth, and this time—she spoke.

“Find me… before it’s too late.”

I shot awake, soaked in sweat, the sheets tangled around my legs like chains. The scent of ash and moonflowers still clung to my skin.

My wolf stirred within him—more awake than ever before.

Something was coming.

Or someone.

I stared into the night, heart thudding.

This wasn’t just a dream.

It was a warning.

And just as I sat up to reach for the royal scroll again, Caspian’s voice crackled through the mind-link. “It’s been three years. You’re allowed to live again, Gabe. Maybe this is the Moon Goddess’s way of saying… it’s time.”

“I don’t believe in second chances,” I said coldly, folding the scroll with military precision.