The Moon Queen and King of Alphas

Kaelis POV

The forest had always been kinder to me than people.

Trees did not whisper when I walked past. They did not stare too long at my eyes or lower their voices whenever I entered a room. The forest did not fear me but the wolves of Black Hollow Pack did.

Cold wind rushed through the pine trees as I drove my blade into the center of the training post hard enough for splinters to explode into the air. My breathing remained steady despite the sweat sliding down my spine beneath my dark cloak.

Again, I spun low across the frost-covered ground and slashed upward but faster this time.

The knife moved like silver lightning beneath the moonlight as instinct took over completely. Every movement felt sharper, stronger and dangerous tonight. . 

I ducked beneath an imaginary attack before slamming my elbow into the wooden post, it was a crack.

The entire thing snapped clean in half.

I froze instantly “Damn it” I said.

The broken post hit the ground with a heavy thud while silence settled around me.

A sudden wind began to blow my hairs on the back of my neck. A low growl stirred deep beneath my ribs.

“Easy, Nyxara” I whispered. That's my wolf's name. 

The wolf inside me quieted reluctantly, though I still felt her restlessness clawing beneath my skin.

Lately, she had been impossible to calm.

I crouched beside the shattered wood and exhaled slowly, trying to steady the frustration building in my chest. Training was supposed to help me control my strength, not expose it. 

If someone saw this…Then, a branch snapped behind me. I moved instantly.

The blade was already at throat level before the figure fully stepped into view.

Nyra Solis blinked down at the knife pressed dangerously close to her neck.

“One day” she said carefully “you’re actually going to kill me” She said, smiling.

I lowered the blade with a sigh “Then stop sneaking up on me”.

She stared at the broken training post behind me before looking back at me slowly “That’s the third one this week”

“I lost focus” I said.

“You shattered solid oak with your elbow” She added.

I shrugged and she groaned dramatically “You are deeply concerning as a person”.

A laugh almost escaped me, but I swallowed it down.

Nyra had always been the only person in Black Hollow who spoke to me normally. Everyone else treated me carefully, like they sensed something wrong with me even if they couldn’t explain what.

Maybe they weren’t wrong.

Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting silver shadows across the snow-covered forest floor. The cold should have bothered me, but my body barely noticed it anymore.

Another thing that wasn’t normal…

Nyra crossed her arms “You missed dinner again”

“I wasn’t hungry” I said quickly.

“That’s a lie” She said.

“Observation noted, My queen” I gave a mocking bow. I almost laughed. 

She rolled her eyes before tossing me a small cloth bundle anyway. I caught it easily.

The scent of roasted meat went straight into my nostrils, my stomach betrayed me with immediate interest “Hmm. Irresistible as always”.

Nyra smirked “Thought you said you weren't hungry?” she laughed but that didn't bother me.

I leaned against a nearby tree and unwrapped the food quietly while she watched me.

“You’ve been training every night” she said after a moment… “More than usual” she added.

I kept my eyes on the ground “I need the control”.

Her expression softened slightly.

Nyra knew better than most that something about me had always been… off.

She had seen the silver markings beneath my skin during full moons. Seen wolves lower their gazes around me instinctively. Seen Alpha commands fail to affect me properly.

She had questions but unlike everyone else, she never pushed too hard for answers.

“What happened this time?” she asked quietly.

I hesitated. Then I pulled back the sleeve covering my forearm.

Silver light shimmered faintly beneath my skin like veins made of moonlight.

Nyra inhaled sharply “They’re spreading?” She asked, shockingly.

“I realized that lately too” I responded.

The markings had first appeared when I was thirteen after a nightmare that left the entire cabin frozen solid around me. Back then, they only appeared during full moons.

Now they appeared whenever my emotions became too strong such as anger, pain and fear particularly.

Nyra stared at the glowing lines before meeting my eyes carefully “Have you told Alpha Ronan?”

I almost laughed “And say what exactly? ‘Hello Alpha, I might be possessed by moonlight?’”

“You know what I mean” She didn't find that funny. Obviously.

Yes, I did understand what she meant but there were some truths better left buried. My mother taught me that long before she died.

A sharp ache tightened unexpectedly in my chest at the thought of her.

I looked away quickly.

“Kaelis…” she noticed.

“I’m fine” I said.

Nyra gave me a look that clearly said liar, but she let it go, at least for now.

The wind shifted suddenly and both of us stiffened.

Voices echoed faintly through the trees from the direction of the village.

Nyra frowned “That’s strange”.

I was already moving.

The closer we got to Black Hollow, the heavier the tension in the air became. The entire village had gathered near the pack house, that alone was enough to make my pulse spike.

Black Hollow wolves avoided gatherings unless absolutely necessary. Most days people kept their heads down and focused on surviving another brutal winter.

Fear did that to people. Years of being the weakest northern pack had carved survival instincts deep into everyone here.

I pulled my hood lower as Nyra and I stepped closer.

Conversations immediately quieted.

Eyes turned toward me. Some were curious, some were wary and some were afraid but I ignored all of them.

I had spent my entire life pretending not to notice the way wolves reacted around me.

The whispers, the staring and the distance. The way they all say shits about me like I give a fuck ‘Monster, witch, cursed…’ those were the names given to me.

I’d heard all of it before.

Nyra bumped her shoulder lightly against mine and smiled “See? Everyone loves you”.

“Keep talking and I’ll let them sacrifice you first when winter starvation begins” I said to her. 

“That’s fair” she made a little laugh. 

A few reluctant smiles appeared nearby at that. Even exhausted wolves appreciated dark humor.

At the front of the crowd stood Alpha Ronan.

Unlike powerful northern Alphas, Ronan looked worn down by life more than strengthened by it. Gray streaked his dark hair and exhaustion shadowed his face.

Still, silence fell immediately when he raised a hand “We received a royal summons this morning” he announced.

Murmurs spread instantly. My stomach tightened. No one from the royal territories contacted Black Hollow unless something had gone very wrong.

Ronan’s expression darkened further “The Bloodmoon Gathering will take place in three nights”.

The crowd reacted immediately: Fear, shock and confusion. More like a mixed feeling.

The Bloodmoon Gathering was sacred among northern wolves. Powerful packs gathered beneath the Blood Moon to renew alliances, settle disputes and display dominance before the Alpha King.

Weak packs like ours rarely received invitations, which meant this wasn’t an invitation. It was an order.

“Attendance is mandatory” Ronan continued heavily. “Every northern pack has been commanded to appear at Moonspire Fortress”. 

A strange pressure twisted sharply beneath my ribs. Nyxara stirred violently inside me.

I frowned slightly. Why was my wolf reacting like this?

Then Ronan spoke the name I had spent years trying not to think about.

“Alpha Draeven Thorn personally requested full representation” he finished.

The air seemed to leave my lungs.

Draeven Thorn: The Beast King.

Stories about him traveled through northern territories like ghost tales whispered around fires.

The Alpha born from bloodshed. The ruler who crushed rogue uprisings before turning twenty. The man powerful enough to make rival Alphas kneel with a single command.

But it wasn’t the stories that actually unsettled me. It was my mother’s voice echoing inside my head “Never trust Alpha blood”. 

The memory hit hard enough to make me stop breathing for a second.

I was twelve years old again, sitting beside the fire while my mother gripped my face tightly. Her silver eyes were identical to mine and hers was filled with fear “No matter what happens, Kaelis”, she whispered urgently “stay away from Alpha wolves”.

At the time, I didn’t understand why she sounded terrified.

Now, I wondered if she had been preparing me for something all along.

“Kaelis?” Nyra’s voice pulled me back sharply.

I realized she was studying me with concern.

“You okay?” she asked.

Every instinct inside me screamed danger but I forced my expression blank “I'm fine”.

The meeting ended shortly afterward, though tension lingered heavily throughout the village.

Wolves whispered in uneasy clusters while others hurried back toward their homes before snowfall worsened.

I turned immediately “I’m not going” I said.

Nyra nearly choked “You cannot be serious”. 

“Watch me” I said confidently.

“Kaelis” she hissed, grabbing my arm, “refusing a royal summons could destroy Black Hollow”.

I clenched my jaw.

If it only affected me, I would already be halfway across the border by now but Black Hollow had suffered enough because of stronger packs and despite everything, these people were still mine.

Nyra lowered her voice “Why does this bother you so much?”

Because something terrible was coming, because my wolf had been restless for weeks and to top it all, because hearing Draeven Thorn’s name felt strangely familiar and deep down… some part of me feared this wasn’t the first time fate had tried to drag me toward him but I couldn’t explain any of that.

So instead I muttered “I have a bad feeling about this”.

Nyra snorted softly “You always have bad feelings”.

“Not like this” I replied.

This felt like standing at the edge of a cliff seconds before the fall. As the crowd slowly dispersed, I noticed something else: Several wolves kept glancing toward me strangely, again. 

One lowered his eyes too quickly when I caught him staring. Another instinctively stepped aside as I walked past.

A cold bitterness settled heavily inside my chest: “The world fears women with power” My mother used to say those words often too.

I never truly understood them until I got older and I realized people feared me even when I had done nothing wrong.

That night, sleep came slowly.

The wind rattled softly against my cabin windows while moonlight spilled silver across the wooden floorboards.

I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Nyxara paced restlessly inside my head “Something is coming”. 

I swallowed hard “What?” I asked but my wolf gave no answer.

Eventually exhaustion dragged me under and the dream began.

In my dream: 

‘I stood alone beneath a bleeding red moon. Snow covered the ground around me while cold wind tore through the darkness and wolves surrounded me silently, hundreds of them were watching and waiting. 

Then, the crowd slowly parted and a man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, broad-shouldered and dressed entirely in black. His golden eyes locked onto mine with terrifying intensity. My breath caught painfully and power rolled off him in violent waves.

“Mine” The voice slammed through my skull so hard I staggered backward.

The man stepped closer. Moonlight illuminated the scars across his hands. The sharp edges of his face and the terrifying beauty of him.

Suddenly, I knew exactly who he was: Alpha Draeven Thorn. Fear curled through my stomach instantly. His gaze dropped briefly to the silver markings glowing beneath my skin.

Then slowly… He smiled.

The moment he touched me… 

I woke up with a gasp.

Silver light exploded beneath my skin. Pain tore through my chest violently enough to steal my breath.

And deep inside me, Nyxara whispered one terrifying word “Mate”.