CHAPTER 6 : " The Alpha's Temptation "

The fortress had never felt so suffocating.

Selene paced the edge of her chambers, the cool stone beneath her feet doing little to tame the heat rising in her blood. Her body ached..not from pain, but something far more maddening.

Something primal.

The magic she unearthed in the Moonborn vault hadn’t quieted. It pulsed beneath her skin, humming in her veins, a rhythm that matched the thundering pull of her wolf. Every night since, she’d felt... hunted by her own instincts.

And the worst part?

They all led her to Ryker.

He was everywhere.

His scent ;dark pine, steel, and danger lingered in her halls. His presence stalked her every move. His eyes, when they met hers, made her feel like the only prey in a forest full of predators.

He hadn’t touched her.

Not since the night she bled.

Not since the night she saw him look at her like she was something sacred. And something he wanted to destroy.

She hated it. Hated that she wanted him, too.

Worse, that she needed to feel something other than betrayal.

Tonight, the ache tipped into fury.

She stormed down the corridor, passing stunned warriors, her aura flaring like wildfire. She knew where he would be.

And she had made a decision.

Ryker stood in the training yard, shirtless, bathed in moonlight. His body moved with lethal grace as he struck again and again at a target dummy, blades flashing in both hands.

Selene watched him from the shadows watched the muscles ripple down his back, the tension in his jaw. He hadn’t slept. Hadn’t fed. Like her, he was unraveling.

"Why do you run from me?" Her voice cut the silence.

Ryker froze.

Slowly, he turned, sweat gleaming on his chest. “I don’t run, Luna.”

“You avoid me,” she said, stepping forward. “You look at me like you want to tear me apart. Then disappear.”

He held her gaze, voice low. “Because if I touch you, I might not stop.”

The air crackled.

She walked until they were chest to chest, heart pounding.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she whispered.

He leaned in, breath hot. “You should be.”

She reached for his hand and placed it against her neck.

“Then do it. Tear me apart.”

His control snapped.

Ryker slammed her against the nearest wall, mouth crashing to hers with devastating hunger. Selene gasped as he claimed her lips, his hand tangling in her hair, the other gripping her thigh and lifting her effortlessly.

She wrapped her legs around him, grinding her core against the hardness she found through his pants. She moaned ...sharp ... wild... as his teeth grazed her bottom lip and his tongue slipped inside.

“You’re playing with fire,” he growled.

She grabbed his jaw, forcing his eyes to hers. “Then burn me.”

He growled; low, deep, almost inhuman, as he carried her through the door into the shadows of her private chambers.

Ryker dropped her on the bed, looming over her like a storm ready to break. His eyes glowed faintly gold.

“Take it off. ” he ordered.

Selene’s hands moved slowly, deliberately. She peeled off her robe, then her tunic, baring inch after inch of creamy skin. Her plum breasts heaved with breath. She stood before him in nothing but moonlight.

“Like what you see?” she teased, but her voice trembled.

Ryker stepped forward, grabbing her chin.

“I want to ruin you.”

“Then do it.”

With a growl, he pushed her back onto the bed and dropped to his knees, spreading her thighs. She gasped as his hot breath met her slick folds, the first brush of his tongue sending lightning through her spine.

“ Ryker! ”

He didn’t stop. His tongue moved with ruthless precision, licking, sucking, teasing, until she was crying out, writhing, trembling under his mouth.

Then he pulled back.

“No,” she whimpered. “Don’t stop.....”

He smirked. “You want more? Beg for it ! " 

Selene’s pride warred with her desire. But the need drowned it.

“Please,” she whispered. “Ryker… I need you.”

That was all it took.

He tore off his pants in one motion, and her breath hitched. He was massive.... every inch of him taut! hard! ready...!

He hovered over her, rubbing the tip of his length against her soaked entrance.

“This changes everything,” he warned.

She met his gaze. “Then let it.”

And he slammed into her.

She cried out...pain, pleasure, everything,...as he filled her to the hilt. He moved slowly at first, letting her adjust, then faster, harder, claiming her body like a man starved.

Their wolves surged beneath the surface, growling, howling, merging with every thrust.

Selene arched, nails raking down his back.

He slammed deeper. “You feel that?” he growled. “That’s mine.”

“Then take it! ”

Their rhythm built to a crescendo...hot, wet, primal. Her climax crashed into her like a wave, her walls pulsing around him.

He roared her name, spilling inside her as she convulsed beneath him, both of them losing themselves completely.

They lay tangled together, sweat-slicked and panting.

Ryker stroked her back as she pressed against his chest.

Neither spoke for a long time.

Until Selene whispered, “You’re still hiding something.”

He stiffened.

“I felt it,” she continued. “When we....connected. There’s a part of you you’re still keeping from me.”

He exhaled, voice thick. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

He pulled away, sitting up.

“There’s something inside me, Selene. A darkness. I wasn’t just a rogue....I .... I was bred in blood. I was trained by the Dark Council before I escaped.”

Her blood ran cold. “The Council that murdered my mother?”

He nodded.

“I was their weapon,” he whispered. “Until I refused to kill a child. So I ran. They’ve hunted me ever since.”

Selene sat up, eyes wide. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to lose this. You. Us.”

She stared at him.

“You still might.”

A howl pierced the night. High-pitched. Distress.

Selene bolted from bed, heart racing.

Another howl...closer.

A third, inside the fortress.

She grabbed her robe, Ryker right behind her.

They ran into the corridor.

Chaos.

Blood on the stone. Bodies. Guards dead. A sigil carved into a wall, glowing red.

Ryker’s face turned white.

“No,” he breathed. “It’s them.”

“Who?”

“The Dark Council.”

And then....

The sound of a child screaming.

Selene’s wolf surged.

They ran toward the sound, only to find the nursery door wide open.

Inside, a baby from the village lay in a cradle.

But on the wall behind it…

Were words scrawled in blood:

> “The Moonborn Queen has awakened. Now we come for her throne.”