At the sacred Moonfire Festival, Sera Vane suffers a betrayal that shatters her life and drives her from her pack in shame. In a moment of heartbreak and desperation, she disguises herself and takes part in a secret ritual meant for the Alpha and it changes her fate forever. No one speaks of what happens during the Moonfire Ritual. But five years later, the consequences have returned with sera as she returns to Crimson Hollow with a young son James whose striking resemblance to Alpha Aldric Thorne sparks whispers throughout the pack. Her unexpected reappearance threatens to disrupt the carefully guarded hierarchy, especially for those who once cast her out, and for the Alpha himself, who remains unaware of the truth behind that fateful night. Bound by duty Aldric agrees to Sera’s bold demand: a union that secures her son’s place… but keeps their hearts locked away. As political tensions rise and enemies close in, Sera must navigate a dangerous game of power, betrayal, and buried emotions. In a world where bloodlines determine destiny and love is both a weapon and a weakness, Sera must rise from the ashes of her past to protect her child, uncover the truth, and claim the strength she never knew she had.
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Sera
"Don’t stop," I heard a faint voice from afar.
I drew closer, and a soft groan escaped my boyfriend Gilbert’s mouth, I came here searching for him, he said he would be at the festival but I couldn’t find him anywhere. What I thought was urgent now I find him with another familiar figure, my sister Gina.
My jaw dropped, and I covered my hands around my mouth.
Gilbert, my mate of four years was right there in the woods wrapped around my sister doing the unthinkable.
“What in the actual fuck Gil?”
I wanted to scream out at the top of my voice but my mouth betrayed me.
My breath hitched as I froze for a few minutes, then I pushed through the branches, the sacred grove’s moonflowers brushing my arms. I shouldn’t be here in the first place.
No one was supposed to come this far during the Moonfire Festival.
But Gilbert requested for me here just an hour ago but here I come to find him with my sister.
The second I saw their bodies moving, his hand tangled the back of her hair as she arched her back, breathe left my lungs. The soft grunts, the sticky, desperate rhythm of it, her giggle.
"Don’t you think if you keep up like this someone will hear us?” Gina asks with a low tone.
“Someone like?” Gilbert asks mockingly.
“Anyone, your girlfriend.”
I swallow hard.
"She cries over everything." Gilbert chuckled. "She is too soft for me, that’s why I like you, you are different."
“She is just a flinch, can we forget about her now?”
What? Just a flinch? Is that how low I have become in his eyes?
I gasped trying to take in air and I think they heard me as their eyes darted towards my direction.
His words pierced right through my heart like a dagger. Just like in the movies but this time it isn’t, it was real.
I don’t know which one broke my heart more, Gilbert cheating or cheating with my sister or I was just a flinch to him? All this time?
“Really I am just a flinch?” I yelled at the top of my voice, as I clenched my fist.
“Sera please….calm down, I can explain.” He plea.
“Explain what exactly?” I shot back.
My feet on impulse backed away bolting back to the moon fire festival, but I tripped over something, a fallen branch or some roots.
I gasped in pain as my head hit a trunk in the process it hurt but I had no time to process the pain, I couldn’t hold it as I tried to get up the floor. I just pray I don’t get a concussion.
“Sera,” Gilbert calls out but I don’t respond as I am already in motion.
I hastily scramble up ignoring the pain. My dress got stuck to a branch.
Fuck.
I ignore as run, shredding a piece of my ceremonial dress. I try not to look back.
“It’s not what it looks like Sera.” His voice faded as I spun.
I just ran through the crowd, the confused stares of my packmates make me uncomfortable but I really don’t care.
“Sera?” someone called.
“What’s wrong?” But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t. The shame burned hotter than any fire the Moon goddess could summon. My lungs screamed as I bolted toward the mountain trails, higher and higher until the lights of the festival dimmed behind me.
The pain of betrayal coupled with mockery really stings.
I don’t know how long I ran. My legs gave out near a rock ledge, and I collapsed, the cold stone biting through my knees. I should’ve screamed. I wanted to. Instead, I pressed my fist to my mouth and shook in silence.
That’s when I heard whispers.
Below, a flicker of torchlight. A group of cloaked handmaidens, laughed softly as they passed beneath me.
"The Moon Offering is late,” one murmured. “He won’t like that.”
“Alpha Aldric never does.” Another said.
“She’s lucky. No one’s ever allowed into the Offering chamber without the Priestess’s blessing.” She paused then continued. “And no one ever talks about what happens inside.”
The air stilled. My heartbeat slowed, offering. Sacred night. Secrets. This was the ritual no one dared speak of.
An unwanted thought crept in. Why not go? If Gilbert could betray me like that then I could do the same to him in the most dramatic way and we will see who is too soft now.
I don’t remember making the decision but the next moment, I was down the slope, my heart hammering hard against my ribs.
One of the cloaks was discarded on a rock, still warm so I took it.
The chambers smelled of smoke and cedarwood, it was dark and quiet.
I pressed deeper inside, my body shivering as the heavy doors shut behind me. The scorch of candlelights left shadows. My heart pounded heavily with each step as it grew louder and louder.
Alpha Aldric stood by the window, bare-chested beneath a long robe, moonlight painting his scars in silver with a bottle of alcohol in his hands. He didn’t turn.
“I said no more delays,” he growled.
I didn’t speak. I couldn’t.
He turned slowly before stopping when we locked his gaze.
It was dark but we stared at each other. His eyes were pale gray.
“You’re not the Offering.” He bare his teeth.
I stayed still, not sure what to say or do as my voice trembled.
“No. I’m not.”
His jaw clenched. Power pulsed off him like a storm.
“Who are you?”
Still not sure how to respond but I thank the moon goddess a thousand times as he didn’t recognize me in the dark. Maybe he is partially drunk.
I pulled the hood back slowly.
“Just someone in the right place at the right time, as I can see my Alpha is stressed out.”
A pause. Then another. Then… he exhaled, long and slow.
“You have balls, and I like that.”
I stepped closer. “Someone that has balls and is willing to do whatsoever.”
Another pause.
Something in his face flickered like I just hit a nerve or something.
“Willing to do whatsoever?” he murmured.
I nodded. The image of Gilbert and Gina in my head gave me the strength and boldness I thought I never had.
I dropped the cloak and moved closer, slowly taking off my dress in the sexiest way possible, and the cat working to his sight.
I made trailed his tattoos. I stopped breathing when his fingers curved around my breasts slowly before he pushed me to the bed whispering to my ear. "Don't tell a soul about this."
****
A sharp bang on the door woke me up the next morning as I forced myself from the Alpha’s tight grip. Cutting my utopia short.
“Get your filthy ass out here, Sera!” Gilbert yelled from outside.
I barely had time to cover myself before the door burst open and the boy who once called me mate stormed into the Alpha’s chamber.
“You little slut, I know you are in there.”
Heat thudded violently in each part of my body instantly, how did he know I was there?
SeraI am staring at the mirror looking at the shadow of a person I have become. My hair hung loose, dark circles around my eyes like I hasn't slept for days. My face looks pale. I look like a loser or someone losing.Alpha Aldric isn't making it easier. He has become scarce; I barely see him around the pack house not to talk of his office.The responsibility of the Luna presses down hard on my shoulders as the preparations for this year's annual ball festival loom closer. A festival hosted every year in the crimson, all the packs from the south are usually in attendance. There's a lot of booze, entertainment and games, everyone is usually happy during the festival. It strengthens the bound in the south.I couldn't help but hear faint whispers coming from outside the dooor, not that I was eavesdropping. I only forgot to jam the door.Another thing about Crimson hollow is how fast whispers spread amongst the pack members so am curious what this might be.My eyes glaring at James relaxi
Aldric The reflection of sharp steel blades against the illuminating sun, shone so bright, The crack of steel against steel followed, splitting the air as I stood on the balcony of the arena of the training grounds watching. My warriors clashed in pairs across the field, the rhythm of their movements harsh and unforgiving. Dust rose under their boots, sweat glistened on their brows, and every blow carried the weight of survival. A smile curled towards the corners of my lips as I folded my arms across my torso, trying to keep my face unreadable, though inside I felt already satisfied. It has been a routine coming here lately, drawn to the discipline and order that training provided. It was easier to stand among sweat and grit than inside the packhouse where silence carried her scent. Every corner of that place still hummed with her presence, Sera’s voice, her defiance, the echo of her body pressed against mine when I’d pinned her to the wall. Thank God the guard was wi
SeraHis fingers digging deep into my wrist as he pinned me against the wall, the realization of the situation flashing right in my eyes, I barely had time to catch a breath as my back hit the wall. The door slammed shut in the process, eliminating a potential escape path. Not that I could escape his grip, but just in case.His face was so close I could feel his hot breath on my skin as the tension in the air between us became tenser but it wasn’t just rage radiating from his eyes, there was something else.“How dare you?” His voice was low, dangerous, the kind that made lesser wolves drop their heads in submission immediately.“How dare you raise your hand against me? How dare you throw your insults at your Alpha?”I didn’t flinch at the mighty Alpha, despite my heart pounding heavily against my ribs. My resolve strengthened as we locked gaze, my jaw tightening. I'm sure if it were another lower pack member he would have devoured them at once. But no pack member has the balls in the
SeraThe doors burst open suddenly my heart limping out my chest, it was unexpected, maybe I had thought I had given up on the idea already. I got up instantly, the strength I thought I never had surged out of nowhere, pushing me forward as I ran towards the now open door with curiosity and fear in my eyes.What's really going on? I have been kept in the dark all day, why?.My feet stumbled against something on the floor, but I quickly regained my composure. Aldric emerged carrying James in his arms.My stomach turned at the sight of James; his face looked pale, his body sour, blood dripping from his palms as he clutched tightly to a small white towel soaked now with his blood in his hands."Get away from him," I growled, my voice laced with bitterness. What has he done to him?Aldric looked up, straightening his spine in an upright position, his jaw clenched."God…Sera, he’s fine," he said in a long hush.But his words fell on deaf ears as I stepped forward, my eyes fixed on the blo
AldricI returned to the east wing after collecting James from Sera earlier. He had gone to the forest, but thought she would be back by now. I was too angry to tell her, my mind still burning with Thornes words. The council always found a way of getting on my nerves. They’ve always pushed me to get a new Luna, but I turned them down. Now I get a Luna on my terms, and then this? Not still satisfied?Sometimes I wonder if they are that useful, there should be worried on more pressing issues like the safety of the pack, the brewing war looming in the neighboring packs and how it will affect us. It’s just a matter of time before it reaches us, but here, there are preferring to linger in my personal life.I sighed as I took a long and endless look at the ritual chamber, a place where legend had it of a failed blood ritual years ago, but nobody really had any idea where the body ended up. It had just been tales nobody confirmed, and it later became like a curse that nobody dared to speak
Aldric Two Weeks AgoThe cold breeze of the morning air on my skin making my hair stand, I smiled as I breathe in, taking in all of it. It reminded me of my father, he always pushed me in the early hours of the morning to receive the morning air, and he called it medicine. “Continue this and you would live more than a hundred years old, without falling ill.” He said, one morning.But despite knowing this secret, he didn’t get to live that long. I stared out at the woods stretched in front of my view, where the wind stirred the trees like whispers in the dark. I admired the view; it looked beautiful. “What’s with the good mood, Aldric?” Reece asks, his voice mocking.I turned my beta, Reece sitting on the cushion chair, hanging cross, his legs crossed, his eyes fixed to mine. I don’t even know why he is here. I can’t remember requesting for him. He has been my best friend right from childhood and has a way of reminding me of my schedule, which is sometimes annoying.“And what makes
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