Chapter 3: The Alpha

LUNA'S POV

The night forest isn’t supposed to feel alive… but tonight, every leaf, every whisper of wind, every flicker of moonlight seems to stare back at me.

I keep walking, clutching the hem of my torn cloak. My ankle still throbs from where I tripped earlier. My heart races, but one thought screams louder than everything:

I’m not safe.

Not here.

Not anywhere.

Not after my fiancé tried to kill me.

The memory flashes—my body thrown into the cliffside river, the cold swallowing me whole, the betrayal so sharp it cut deeper than the rocks. My supposed mate, my prince, my future Alpha King… the man I trusted most.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a second. Mistake. Tears slip out.

“Stupid,” I whisper. “You cried enough for him.”

A howl echoes—low, distant, and definitely not friendly. My spine stiffens. I force my legs to move faster.

Branches snap behind me.

No. No, no, no.

“Who’s there?” I demand, trying to sound braver than I feel.

Nothing. Just wind.

But instincts never lie—and mine are screaming.

I keep walking, but the presence trails me. A faint step. A crunch. A shadow that shouldn’t be there.

Until suddenly…

Silence.

Too much silence.

I stop breathing.

Then—

Warm breath touches the back of my neck.

My body freezes.

Every muscle locks, every instinct claws inside me.

Slowly… painfully slowly… I turn.

And there he is.

The man from the clearing.

The one with the moonlit eyes and the impossible aura.

The one who watched me as if he knew me.

The stranger who shouldn’t exist.

He stands only inches away, tall and terrifyingly calm, like the forest itself decided to carve him out of shadows and silver light. His hair is wild, dark, dripping with the storm that never touched me. And his eyes—

Golden.

Sharp.

Otherworldly.

No wolf has eyes like that.

“You’re hurt,” he says softly, voice deep enough to tremble through the night.

“I’m fine,” I snap. Lie. “How long have you been following me?”

His lips curve—not into a smile, but into something knowing. “Long enough.”

A shiver crawls down my spine.

“Go away.”

“No.”

My breath catches. Who just says no like that?

“I don’t need help.”

“That’s your second lie tonight,” he murmurs, stepping closer, gaze dropping to the cuts on my arms, the bruises on my shoulder, the limp I failed to hide.

Heat rushes to my face—not embarrassment, but anger.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“On the contrary…” His voice lowers. Dangerous. Mesmerizing. “I know you’re running. I know you’re afraid. And I know you’re being hunted by your own kind.”

My heart slams against my ribs.

“How—”

He lifts a hand—not touching me, just hovering near my cheek. “Because the wind carries your fear. And the shadows remember your name.”

What?

I stumble back. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe.” His eyes gleam. “But I’m not your enemy.”

“Yeah? Then who are you?”

He tilts his head, observing me like I’m some puzzle piece he’s been searching centuries for.

“I have many names,” he says quietly. “But the moon calls me Kaelen.”

My breath stops.

Kaelen.

The cursed name.

The myth.

The ghost Alpha.

The wolf, who supposedly died a hundred years ago but whose unfinished vengeance still haunts the woods.

“You — you can’t be real,” I choke out. “Kaelen is a legend.”

“Am I?” he moves closer—too close. “Touch me and decide.”

“No.” I back away, but my heel hits a rock. I wobble—and his hand shoots forward.

He catches me.

His fingers wrap around my waist, steady and warm, grounding me in a way nothing has since I was pushed off that cliff.

My pulse betrays me.

A traitor inside my chest.

“Luna,” he whispers my name like he’s known it forever. “You’re safe.”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “No one is safe from the Alpha King.”

“Except the one person the prophecy protects.”

I blink. “What prophecy?”

His grip on me tightens, just barely.

“The prophecy written in your blood.”

“What?”

He studies me carefully, gaze too intense, too knowing.

“You don’t know,” he murmurs. Almost… surprised.

“Know what?” My voice cracks. “What are you talking about?”

He leans in—slowly, deliberately, as if every inch he closes is a question.

“I’ll explain,” he says. “But not here.”

“Why—”

A roar shakes the forest.

Not a wolf.

Something worse.

Kaelen’s expression shifts—no longer warm, no longer curious.

It becomes deadly.

“Luna,” he says, voice turning sharp steel, “move behind me.”

“What is that?”

“Your past,” he growls. “Coming to finish the job.”

My blood turns cold.

“But listen carefully.”

He doesn’t look at me, eyes locked on the darkness ahead.

The air ripples around him, power gathering like a storm.

“No matter what happens…”

He steps forward—one foot, then another.

A shield.

A warning.

A promise.

“…don’t run from me.”

And before I can question him—

The trees explode open.

Something massive charges toward us.

Kaelen shifts.

Not into a wolf.

Into something impossible.

Something that should not exist in this realm.

And as the monster lunges at us, I realize—

The man who found me is more dangerous than the king who wants me dead.

To be continued