CHAPTER 4: THE LUNA'S SAVIOUR

Aria slowly opened her eyes to the soft murkiness of the room. Pine and earth filled her senses, and her body ached with the memory of the rogue attack. She instinctively looked to her side, the deep gash that had been there, to find it bandaged with care. The pain was still there, but dulled.

She shifted her head and saw him, Landon. A tall, commanding frame stood at the side of the bed, his amber eyes aglow with that peculiar mix of tenderness and strength. An Alpha, her second-chance mate.

"You're safe now," he whispered, his low, gentle tone soothing her. "No one will harm you again."

The warmth of his words enveloped her, a comforting blanket after the cold she'd known for so long. "Where am I?" she rasped, her throat dry.

"You're in my pack territory," Landon replied, refusing to let his gaze waver. "You were attacked by rogues, but I got to you just in time."

Dark figures, sharp claws, and the desperation of her own voice avalanches into her mind in a rush. "The rogues... They were sent by Selene," Aria whispered, her voice no louder than the hum of a hushed murmur. The sting of betrayal coursed through her veins as, slowly, the heat of anger began to roil inside her.

"I know," he returned, the gravity of his voice surprising her. "She has been plotting against you for a length of time. But she will never get to you here." And though a flicker of relief did cross Aria's face, her past terrors swallowed it whole. "What about Kieran?" Her voice was bitter as the name tumbled from her mouth. "He rejected me."

The brightness fled from Landon's face. "That man is no longer your concern. He doesn't deserve you, Aria. You're stronger than you think, and you deserve better."

With every word he said, Aria felt some sort of undeniable connection to him. The air between them crackled with this strange energy, as if the universe had conspired to bring them together at this moment. Her heart thudded in her chest, and for the first time in a long time, hope began to bloom within her.

"What will happen now?" she asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty.

Landon surged forward, the presence overwhelming and at the same time comforting. "Now, you heal. Take the time you need to recover from the betrayal, and I'll protect you. You are my mate, Aria. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

The words falling from his lips washed over her like waves of warmth. In his gaze, she felt as though she had found a place of being seen and valued, a feeling she hadn't had in so long. But the ghosts of her past clung to her person like a shadow to remind her of the pain she had endured.

"I don't know if I can trust again," she said, the vulnerability of that sentence hanging between them.

Landon reached out and gently lifted her chin so she would look at him. "Trust is earned, not given, and I won't hurry you. All I want to say is that I'm here and won't leave you. I want you to see what true loyalty tastes like."

His touch stirred something in her, buried long ago. Part of her was dying to believe him amidst the storm she had gone through.

"Thank you," she whispered, the sincerity leaking into her voice. "But I need to go back. I need to go back and face them."

Landon's expression hardened a bit. "You want to face Kieran and Selene?"

Aria nodded, her eyes shining with resolution. "I don't want them to think they have won. I need to confront them, to let them know I am not going to be defeated."

Landon weighed her words for a moment, then spoke: "If this is really what you want, I'll be there. But we will do it on our terms. You are not alone in this any longer."

His promise swelled Aria's heart, and something inside her fluttered, a determination, perhaps, and for the first time, she did not feel like a victim; she felt herself to be a survivor, a woman ready to take back her power.

"Then let's do it together," she said, her voice steadier than ever.

Landon smiled, his eyes glinting fiercely. "Together."

Kieran stood at the window of his office and stared out into the vastness of his territory. Before him stretched an endless forest thick with trees, fog creeping across the ground like silent ghosts. Always, he had felt powerful here, reigning Alpha with all these people at his beck and call. Now, though, there was a gnawing, hollow feeling inside of him, an empty space given to the one person he never thought would leave him in this life.

Aria.

The divorce papers were signed, and poof, she was gone. At first, Kieran was so sure she wouldn't dare run. Where would she go? She had no family left, no one outside the pack. She was stuck. But when word finally reached him that Aria wasn't just gone but had sought shelter with Landon, his blood boiled over in jealousy.

"She took my children with her," Kieran growled to himself, his fists automatically clenching at his sides. Knowing that she was pregnant, twins, the news had landed on him like a blow to the gut. It wasn't just about Aria anymore; his heirs were out there, growing inside her, and she had run off with them to another Alpha's pack. The thought drove him insane.

He punched the windowpane, and the glass cracked with the landing blow. "How could she leave me!" His voice reverberated with the emptiness of the room, none acting to placate the tempest within him. Aria was his, his mate, his Luna, the mother of his children. How could she have left him so easily?

"Kieran." Selene's voice cut through his stormy mood as she swept inside, a smug smile dancing on her lips. "You're not taking this very well, are you?" she intoned, closing the door behind her.

"Don't push me, Selene," Kieran warned, his eyes dark and menacing. "You told me she'd never leave. You said she had no place to go."

Selene shrugged unconcerned. "I didn't think she had it in her to run. But you, of course, underestimated how desperate she was getting." She moved closer to him, her hand falling on his shoulder. "She's with Landon now, isn't she? I'd be worried if I were you."

"I'm not worried," Kieran spat, brushing her hand off. "I'm furious. Landon is trying to take what's mine. He thinks he can protect her, but he has no idea who he's dealing with."

Selene chuckled, a cold, mocking sound. "She was never truly yours, Kieran. You pushed her away. You were the one who asked for a divorce, remember?"

"I didn't expect her to leave," Kieran snapped. "I was angry. But now she's carrying my children, my twins. I cannot let her slip through my fingers."

Selene's eyes flashed with malice as she circled him. "So, what are you going to do? Let Landon raise your children? Let him take Aria as his mate while you sit here and brood?" She closed in, her voice dripping with venom. "You'll be the laughing stock of every pack."

Kieran's jaw clenched as the weight of her words started to seep in. He couldn't let that happen. Aria was his. His Luna. His mate. Nobody was to replace him, let alone Landon. The burn of jealousy churned hotter, twisting into something darker, more dangerous.

"I'll bring her back," Kieran growled as his gaze flashed with an unyielding resolve. "One way or another, Aria will come back to me."

"And the twins?" Selene asked, her tone smooth. "What if she refuses?"

"She won't have a choice," he replied coldly. "I'll be making her understand full well that her place is with me, where she belongs."