Chapter 5 – THE FORCED LUNA

The room went silent after my father’s words.

“It’s either Deucalion marries Malia, or there’s no deal.”

I stared at him, hardly believing what I had heard. Blackridge’s Alpha leaned back slowly. His eyes moved from my father to me. “You said your daughter is strong.”

“She is,” my father replied. “Stronger than Aria.”

My stomach tightened. The Luna looked at me carefully. “How strong?”

“Her wolf awakened early. She has been training since she was young.”

I wanted to laugh. Now, suddenly, my strength mattered.

The Alpha folded his hands. “Then you should understand why this matters. Blackridge is not an ordinary bloodline.” He looked at his son. “Every Alpha born into this family carries more strength than the generation before him. Our bloodline is difficult to carry. A weak Luna may not survive pregnancy with a Blackridge heir.”

The Luna continued quietly. “We have lost women before. That is why we stopped rushing our sons into marriage.”

Deucalion’s jaw tightened.

His mother looked at him with sadness. “We have searched for years for a woman strong enough to stand beside him and survive what comes with his blood.”

“And you think I am that woman?” I asked.

“We think you might be,” the Alpha said.

My father stepped forward. “She is. You can test her strength yourself if you need proof.”

Deucalion finally spoke. “No.”

Everyone turned toward him. His voice was calm, but there was anger underneath it.

“I will not marry her.”

His father studied him. “You know our situation.”

“I know exactly what it is.”

“Then you know what happens if you refuse.”

Deucalion’s eyes hardened. “I am not going to force a woman into a bond just because our family needs an heir.”

His father’s voice became colder. “And what happens to this family when there is no heir? What happens to the bloodline we have protected for generations? What happens when you are gone?”

Deucalion said nothing.

“You are the First Son,” the Alpha continued. “One day, everything here will belong to you. The pack. The territory. The responsibility. Are you willing to let the Blackridge line end because you cannot make one sacrifice?”

Deucalion’s hands curled into fists.

The Alpha looked at his wife. They exchanged a long glance before she finally nodded. Then he looked at me. “We accept Malia.”

“What?” Deucalion and I said at the same time.

“We have delayed this long enough. If Malia truly possesses the strength your father claims, she may be the Luna this family has been waiting for.”

“No,” I said.

The Alpha raised an eyebrow.

“I said no.”

My father grabbed my arm. “Malia.”

I pulled away. “You don’t get to decide this for me.”

“I already did.”

Deucalion stepped forward. “Father, I refuse.”

His father looked at him for several seconds. His eyes turned dark red immediately. Then Deucalion went silent.

I could see the battle in his face. Duty against choice. Family against himself.

Finally, the Alpha stood. “Tomorrow evening, under the full moon, the mating ceremony will begin.”

My heart dropped. Tomorrow? No.

I turned and walked away before anyone could see my eyes burn.

I made it through the halls and a maid showed me my room. I entered and slammed the door.

Then my wolf spoke inside me.

Run.

I stopped.

She was right. I can't sit and let them marry me off to an alpha just because of family tradition.

That evening, when the estate became quiet, I waited. I changed into dark clothes, opened my window, and climbed down the side of the house.

I looked back once.

Then I ran.

The woods swallowed me quickly. Branches struck my arms. Leaves scratched my face. But I kept moving.

Faster. My wolf pushed me forward. Keep going.

“I am trying,” I whispered.

Maybe I could disappear somewhere no one knew my name. I ran harder. Then a figure stepped from behind a tree.

Another appeared on my left.

Then another behind me.

My heart sank.

“Go back,” one of them ordered.

“No.”

“Luna Malia, do not make this difficult.”

“I am not your Luna.”

Four more wolves stepped into the clearing. I shifted before they could grab me.

My bones cracked. Fur rushed over my skin, and my wolf took control. I attacked the nearest enforcer.

He hit the ground. Another lunged. I twisted away and struck him across the chest.

But there were too many. One caught my hind leg. Another grabbed my neck. I fought until my strength began to fail. There were too many.

They forced me down. I shifted back, gasping. “Let me go!”

Nobody answered.

They dragged me through the woods. When we returned to the estate, I was taken straight upstairs.

The door slammed behind me. A lock clicked.

I rushed toward it and pulled the handle.

Nothing.

I hit the door with my fist. “Open it!”

Silence.

For hours, I stared into the darkness. Tomorrow I would not simply become someone’s wife.

I would become Luna of Blackridge. The thought made my stomach twist. Their wolves would watch me. Their elders would judge me.

And everyone would wait to see whether my body could carry a Blackridge heir.

I closed my eyes. If it doesn't, I might die.

I did not want this. I did not want Deucalion.

And from the look in his eyes earlier, he did not want me either.

Yet tomorrow, they would bind us together. Eventually, pale morning light slipped through the curtains.

I had not slept.

After I left the room, I heard voices behind the closed doors.

“We have already waited years,” the Alpha said. “If she is strong enough, this ends tonight.”

“What about Deucalion?”

“He will accept his duty.”

I stopped outside, listening.

“Will Malia?”

“She will have no choice.”

My hands curled into fists.

There it was again. No choice at all.

The next morning, I spent the hours staring at the window, wondering if there was still a way out.

There wasn’t.

By sunset, the estate had transformed.

Torches lined the courtyard. The ceremony was waiting for me.

Then evening came.

Voices filled the estate. Doors opened and closed. Footsteps echoed through the halls. Wolves arrived from different parts of the territory.

The rumor had spread. The First Son of Blackridge was finally getting married. And his Luna was supposed to be unusually strong.

Some wondered what she looked like. Others whispered about whether she could bear the Alpha’s children.

Far away, Aria heard the same rumor. She immediately rushed toward the mansion.

“I need to see Deucalion!”

Her father blocked her. “No.”

“Move.”

Her mother grabbed her wrist. “You cannot go honey."

Aria stared at them. “Why?” Her face changed. “You knew. This whole time I was in love with him.”

Her mother looked away. Aria’s eyes filled with tears. “You lied to me.”

Back at Blackridge, my door opened. Two women entered. “It is time.”

I stood slowly.

They dressed me in the ceremonial gown and led me outside. The moment I stepped into the courtyard, hundreds of wolves fell silent.

I lifted my head. At the end of the ceremonial ground stood Deucalion.

The full moon was rising behind him.

The elders stood beside him. His face was hard.

But his eyes told me everything. He did not want this either.

I walked toward him anyway.

One step.

Then another.

The moon climbed higher.

And as I stopped before him, the eldest elder raised his hands.

“Let the ceremony begin.”