The Lost Beta 25 - Bound by Fire and Blood

The moonlight hung low on the Moonshadow Pack grounds illuminating it. Emily's heart raced as the vision disturbed her sleep, in the cold air her breath became hazy. Broken memories of treachery, blood, and fire pushed its way to the surface as she trembled as a searing. Alexander drew her close and wrapped his arms around her from behind sensing her discomfort. The cold perspiration that was trickling down her neck clashed with his warmth. Even though her senses indicated otherwise, she hoped the sight was just an illusion.

"You were there... in the fire," she mumbled. "You were bleeding. You said my name."

Alexander stiffened. "That night," he said quietly, "I thought I lost you. I fought my way back from death... for you."

Emotionally they were troubled. Emily faced him in an instant and searched his eyes for confirmation. As she did, a flash of silver glinted in the dark behind them. Someone was watching. Alexander’s head snapped toward the trees, his Beta instincts fully awakened. Emily felt her wolf stir beneath her skin.

"We’re not alone," she said.

A person they believed to be Alexander's older brother Lucien, long deceased, emerged from the shadows. He had been banished for treachery years before and was once a highly regarded warrior. It was terrible to see him now, shrouded in power and black energy. Emily held her ground despite a small buckling of her knees.

"Brother," Lucien spoke with a smooth, threatening tone. "Did you genuinely believe I would be absent eternally?" 

With a soft growl from his throat, Alexander moved a step ahead. "You should’ve stayed in the grave fate gave you."

Lucien's eyes flicked to Emily. "Ah, and you... The rogue princess who remembers nothing. But I do. I know what you are. What you carry."

Emily’s skin crawled. Her wolf snarled within. Lucien's words coiled in her thoughts like toxic vines. "Emily, your history is catching up to you," Lucien remarked, smiling before disappearing into the jungle, regardless of Alexander's attempts to shield her. You won't make it through it either."

Emily tried forgetting the experience back at the pack home, but her thoughts were disintegrating. Her mother's voice, the pungent aroma of ash and lavender, and the chants of the rebellious elders were all coming back to her in violent flashbacks. Each piece cut deeper than the last.

She switched on the tap and looked at herself while I was in the restroom. Her reflection was unfamiliar. She saw strength, yes, but also fear, a fear that she was more dangerous than she’d ever understood.

Alexander entered quietly. "You’re spiraling," he said.

"Wouldn’t you, if everything you knew was a lie?" She lost her temper. Then, more subtly, "I'm afraid of my former self. What if... I'm her again?"

He cupped her face. "Then I’ll love her, too. No matter who she is."

Her resolve cracked. They sought comfort in each other's realities as their lips connected, not with fire but with desperation.

Elder Mariam called them to the hallowed space beneath the temple later that evening. Her aged eyes shimmered with hopelessness and sorrow. She held an old book in her hands, covered in red leather.

She put the book between them and said, "Emily, this book contains your truth. The lineage of the lost Alpha Queen, your mother."

Emily’s fingers trembled as she opened it. The pages were covered in ancient runes, pulsing faintly in her touch. As she read, visions bloomed behind her eyes, her mother leading rogue warriors, her father slain by Alpha Derrick, the betrayal that razed their kingdom.

Tears dropped down her eyes. "They killed my people. Buried our name."

Mariam nodded. "You were hidden to protect you. But now... your blood calls to the past. And to vengeance."

Alexander's fists clinched. After that, we reveal the truth. Together.

There was a lot of tension between Emily and Alexander in their private room. She paced around, too emotional to stay still. On the left side of the bed he perched and watched her with a frustrated and yearning look on his face.

"A penny for your thoughts," she implored.

He got up. "Emily you don't understand, I want to feel your heart close to mine beating beautifully." The challenges you faced are more than you can bear, and I don't want to be a burden to you.

"Your presence is heaven to me." She stepped within him and said, "Touch me like I’m fire."

The sheer heat of passion, truth, and anguish sparked their kiss. Barriers broke, clothes slid away. There was only the language of flesh and soul, no room for fear. They had an eager, hungry, and unspoken promise-filled connection.

With their hearts racing, they rested intertwined together.

"You'll have to bring me back if I should fall into darkness."

"No," Alexander said. "If you fall, I’m falling with you."

Morning broke with chaos. A scout burst through the doors with news that shook the pack, Gamma Royce, once a loyal warrior, had turned. He’d freed several rogue prisoners and vanished into the northern forest.

"We trusted him," Alexander growled. "He trained beside me. He was supposed to protect her."

Emily’s heart sank. "He knew about the prophecy. About me."

A secret meeting was called. Tensions soared as old allegiances were questioned. Panic spread through the ranks. No one was above suspicion anymore.

Elder Mariam warned, "This betrayal is just the beginning. A storm brews in the shadows, and it knows your name."

Emily stood, her voice clear. "Then let it come. I’m done hiding."

In order to regain her title and unlock her complete abilities, Emily must face the Trial of Flame, a historic ceremony that was formerly designated for Alpha successors. In the holy glade, a ring of flames encircled her.

She moved ahead, heart racing, gaze fixed on the blaze. The flames carried the whispers of her forebears. The memories that ignited inside her caused her body to burn, not the fire itself.

She saw her mother’s death. Her birth was hidden by witches. The cursed dagger buried in her chest to suppress her powers.

Her scream tore through the night, but she didn’t fall. Instead, the fire turned blue.

The audience let out a gasp.

Her eyes were full of ancient power when she came out. She was no longer just Emily.

She was the Queen Returned.

War drums echoed. The traitors had allied with Lucien and Alpha Derrick. Their combined forces were marching.

Alexander prepared the warriors, while Emily addressed the pack. Her voice carried strength and fury.

"They want our land. Our blood. Our silence. But we will give them none."

The warriors howled in support. Bonds were reforged. Old wounds were cast aside.

In the war room, strategies were drawn. Emily would lead one flank. Alexander the other. They would strike like thunder.

She turned to him, voice steady. "Win or lose, we do this together."

"Always."

Nightfall cloaked the land when the enemy struck sooner than expected. Fires erupted along the northern border. Screams shattered the quiet.

Emily raced into battle, her power thrumming in her veins. She fought like a flame, wild, beautiful, and deadly. Alexander cut through enemies like a blade of vengeance.

But then she saw him, Lucien. Standing across the battlefield, smirking.

He lifted a hand and whispered something.

Emily’s body froze. Pain exploded in her chest. A rune branded itself over her heart.

"It’s begun," Lucien whispered through the bond only she could hear.

As darkness pulled at the edge of her mind, Emily collapsed, the runes on her skin glowing violently.

---

Alexander reached her just as her body hit the ground, glowing blue and gold, pulsing with ancient magic Her eyes snapped open and they weren’t hers anymore.

They were the eyes of the Alpha Queen reborn.

And she didn’t recognize him.