Chapter 3: The Past

Luna's Pov

My fiancé in the pasr tried to kill me.

The thought keeps repeating in my head like a broken spell as I limp through the dark forest, clutching my torn cloak. Every step sends pain shooting up my ankle, but I don’t dare stop.

Because if I stop… they’ll find me.

That way my trauma keep coming back on proposal word i don't want it I am afraid And this time, I won’t survive.

My memory crashes back—the push, the shock on my face, the cold river swallowing me whole. The prince. My mate. My future Alpha King. The man who was supposed to protect me.

He threw me off a cliff like I meant nothing.

I swallow hard, forcing the tears back. “Stupid,” I whisper to myself. “You cried enough for him.”

The forest at night 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, heart pounding, senses on edge. One thought screams louder than everything else.

I’m not safe.

Not here.

Not here.

Not anywhere.

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 the wind.

But instincts never lie—and mine are screaming.

I keep walking, but the presence follows. 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 entire body locks. Every instinct claws inside me, warning, screaming, begging me to run.

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 stranger who shouldn’t exist.

He stands only inches away, tall and terrifyingly calm, like the forest carved him out of shadows and silver light. His dark hair falls across his forehead, and his golden eyes glow faintly in the night.

No wolf has eyes like that.

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

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

His lips curve—not into a smile, but 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. His gaze drops 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 and 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, hovering near my cheek but not touching. “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, studying me like I’m a puzzle he’s been searching for his whole life.

“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, yet whose unfinished vengeance still haunts these woods.

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

“Am I?” He steps closer—too close. “Touch me and decide.”

“No.” I step back, but my heel hits a rock. I wobble—

His hand shoots forward and catches me.

His fingers wrap around my waist, steady and warm. Grounding. Safe in a way nothing has felt since the 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 tightens just slightly.

“The prophecy written in your blood.”

“What?”

He studies me, 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 changes instantly—no longer warm, no longer curious.

Deadly.

“Luna,” he says, voice turning to 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.”

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…