The Alpha's Second Luna

(Augustina's Pov.)

“You will be married off before the next full moon.” my mother announced.

My hands trembled slightly. The polished wood of the council table felt suddenly foreign under my fingers. My wolf growled softly, restless, sensing the shift in the air.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. The council room around me disappeared into shadows. My mother, Luna Seraphina Moonfall, stood perfectly still, chin lifted, as if she had just declared something noble. My father sat silent, his gaze fixed on the table, giving nothing away.

I had expected this. Ever since my fated mate tore our bond apart and ran away with another woman on the night I turned nineteen. I had learned never to trust fate or anyone else’s promises.

My mother had spent the entire week crying, not because her daughter was hurting, but because she felt exposed.

She kept saying that her rivals would never let this go, that every Luna who disliked her would whisper behind her back and smile to her face. In their eyes, my situation was proof of failure.

At nineteen, I was expected to have a mate.

Not having one wasn’t just unfortunate, it was shameful.

In our pack, an unmated daughter reflected directly on her mother. And my mother was terrified of being laughed at.

“Oh.” The word slipped out, small and flat. It wasn’t exactly shocking. Deep down, I had known this moment would come sooner or later.

Still, a part of me had hoped for something different. I was too young, I thought, for my life to be decided so completely by others. I had foolishly believed they might allow me a voice, in who I'd be tied to for love.

“He’s an Alpha,” my mother announced suddenly, spinning toward me, her eyes alight as if she’d just bestowed a priceless gift.

My brows shot up. Well. That explained her excitement.

My former fiancé had only been the son of a Gamma Enforcer, respectable, yes, but nowhere near impressive enough for my mother’s standards.

I searched through my mental list of Alphas, desperately trying to recall one even remotely close to my age.

I found none.

“Who is it?” I asked carefully.

My father’s hand paused mid-movement. Slowly, his gaze dropped to the polished oak table between us.

“Alpha Kael Daravaryn, of the Obsidian Vale Pack.”

“Alpha Kael Daravaryn” I repeated.

That name. Dad had mentioned him more than once when he needed someone to unload business frustrations on.. Alpha Kael was the man other Alphas complained about, negotiated with cautiously, or avoided entirely. Mother, on the other hand, tuned out anything that didn’t involve social prestige or designer labels.

My lips parted in shock. Alpha Kael Dravaryn had been circulating through every pack like wildfire over the past few months. His name appeared in conversations that ended abruptly, the moment someone noticed they were being overheard.

No one spoke of him casually.

He was the most feared Alpha in the region, a man who had recently lost his Luna and been left to raise two young children alone.

The whispers about her death were endless and never consistent. Some claimed the Alpha had lost control one night, his temper finally turning lethal, which caused her death.

Others believed his rule had been so cold and suffocating that she had simply faded under it, growing quieter and weaker until there was nothing left. A few even said she had taken her own life—choosing death over a life beside him.

No matter which version people believed, they all ended the same way.

None of those rumors made me want to meet the man, let alone marry him.

“Isn’t he… a lot older than me?” I finally asked.

“Ten years,” my mother said briskly. Her lips curved into a satisfied smile. “He’s in his prime, Augustina. You should be grateful.”

Grateful.

The word lodged in my throat, sharp. Grateful for what? For being handed to a man I had never met? For being expected to walk into a life I didn’t understand, with children I hadn’t raised and a widow’s shadow hanging over every room?

"Why would he want to marry me?"

I'd never met the man; he didn't know anything about me either. And even worse, I didn't know the first thing about raising children.

“You’re from the Silverclaw Pack,” my mother said smoothly. “Your father is its Alpha. You know how beneficial the merging of two powerful bloodlines can be.”

“What about college?” The words rushed out before I could stop them. “I just started. I’m only in my second semester. How am I supposed to get married right now?”

My mother turned sharply toward my father, irritation flashing across her perfectly composed face. “I told you, didn’t I? You should never have let her go to college in the first place. It only puts foolish ideas in her head.”

Then she faced me, her gaze cool and instructive, as if addressing a child who had forgotten her place. “Your ultimate goal should be building a happy household, Augustina.”

I looked at my father, waited for him to say something, anything, to defend me.

He didn’t.

His eyes remained fixed on the glass of wine he was holding, the deep red liquid swirling slowly in his hand.

My chest tightened.

The last thing he had ever said about Kael Dravaryn echoed in my mind: ruthless, merciless—built like a predator that always kills.

And now he was handing me over to a man like that.

“When?” I asked.

I was proud of how steady my voice sounded, even as my stomach twisted violently. My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, restless, sensing the trap closing around us. Judging by the faint glow of satisfaction on my mother’s face, this conversation was nothing more than a formality.

“The day after your birthday,” she replied without hesitation.

A short, humorless breath escaped me. “I’m honestly surprised you waited until I was legally of age,” I said dryly.

“It’s not like the Silverclaw name is known for respecting laws when it’s inconvenient.”

My mother’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“You’d better lose that sharp tongue before you meet Alpha Kael,” she said coolly. “A man like him will not tolerate a disrespectful wife.”

Beneath the table, my hands curled into tight fists.

I had no doubt this marriage had been my mother’s idea from the very beginning.

She had always been scheming—always calculating ways to push our family higher in the ranks of the Netherland wolves.

Power, prestige, influence. Those were the only things that ever truly mattered to her.

Now, she smiled like she had just secured the crown jewel of her matchmaking career.

Rising from her seat, she smoothed her dress and said briskly, “I should start scouting venues before the other pack families snatch them up. This will be the wedding of the year.”

The words rang in my ears like a mockery.

She stepped closer and patted my cheek, the gesture light and dismissive, as if I were a prize-winning show dog she had just paraded in front of judges.

I didn’t bother hiding my expression.

When she noticed my lack of enthusiasm, her smile faltered, eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m not sure Alpha Kael will appreciate that sulking attitude,” she said coolly. Her gaze flicked over my hair. “Or that hairstyle.”

“She looks acceptable, Seraphina,” my father said, his voice firmer.

“Acceptable is not enough,” my mother replied coolly. “She’s young. Pretty, yes. But there’s nothing polished about her. Nothing womanly.”

I didn’t bother lowering my voice. “If Alpha Kael is looking for a woman,” I said, “he might consider not proposing to someone who still gets carded at pack events.”

My mother reacted as if I’d struck her.

A sharp gasp. Her hand pressed dramatically to her chest. My father cleared his throat—but the brief, betrayed curve of his mouth told me I wasn’t wrong. He found it amusing.

But she saw it. Her eyes snapped to him, all warmth vanishing. “You will speak to your daughter,” she said, each word clipped. “You know the kind of man Kael Dravaryn is. I warned you years ago—you indulged her far too much.”

Then she turned and left, her skirts whispering across the floor as she was leaving.

The room felt emptier for her absence.

My father remained standing, staring after her for a moment too long before exhaling.

His shoulders sagged. “Your mother believes she’s protecting you.”

I met his gaze. “She’s protecting her reputation.” My voice is steady now.

“How does handing me over to a man you once described as ruthless benefit me?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gestured toward the doors. “Come. Walk with me.”

Outside, the night air pressed close, warm and dense, heavy with the scent of stone and summer flowers. I slipped my arm through his out of habit.

“Kael isn’t old,” my father said quietly. “He’s thirty-five.”

I searched my mind for men in that age range, but nothing came clearly. I’d never paid attention to them—at least, not the ones from our world. Power-aged men blurred together in memory: voices lowered in council chambers, shadows at the edges of pack politics.

“Wasn’t High Regent Aldric Moonvein around that age?” I asked quietly.

High Regent—the overseer of all Alpha packs. And my uncle.

Aldric Moonvein was not a kind man. He ruled through pressure and consequence, through smiles that never reached his eyes. If Kael Dravaryn was anything like him—

I didn’t finish the thought.

What if he was a cruel, heavyset brute with lifeless eyes? A man whose presence filled a room not with authority, but dread?

I looked at my father, searching his face for reassurance or warning. Something.

His dark eyes softened. “Don’t look at me like I’ve betrayed you,” he said quietly.

“Being Kael Dravaryn’s wife isn’t the nightmare you’ve built in your head.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Cruel,” I said. “That’s the word you used once. Don’t you remember?”

A flicker of guilt passed over his expression.

“To his enemies,” he corrected. “To those who cross him.” He met my gaze steadily.

“Not to you.”

My breath caught. “How can you possibly know that?” The words came faster now. “His wife died suddenly. No one agrees on how. What if he killed her? Or what if he broke her down so completely that death felt like the only escape?”

My voice wavered at the end. I hated that it did.

I drew in a slow breath.

My father reached up and brushed my bangs from my eyes. His expression softened further.

“I’ve never seen you afraid before,” he said quietly.

Then he exhaled. Long. “Your uncle swore to me that Kael had nothing to do with Elowen Dravaryn’s death.”

I leveled him with a hard stare. “Do you even trust Uncle Moonveil?”

“You’ve said it yourself, he’s been tightening his grip on power for years.”

My father’s jaw flexed. “There are many things I should never have told you.”

I pressed. “And yet you did. So tell me how can he be so sure Kael will behave? You know the rules. No Regent ever interferes in another man’s household.”

My father’s hand settled on my shoulder. Heavy. Firm. “Kael knows what’s at stake,” he said quietly. “He won’t touch you if he knows what’s good for him.”

The words sounded empty the moment he spoke them. Once I married, my father would have no say in my life. None.

He was a careful man. A wise man. But even he would not risk his life against Kael Dravaryn. The Regent trusted Kael more than my father, more than anyone else alive. If it ever came down to it… my father wouldn’t survive a day.

I swallowed hard. I tried to steady my pulse. The truth was sharp. I had no allies here. No one would protect me.

“He’s coming tomorrow,”

I froze. Every breath caught in my chest. My hand pressed against the table for balance.

“What?”