All Chapters of BENEATH THE BLOOD MOON: CLAIMED BY HER ALPHA: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Selene stood at the edge of the grand hall, heart pounding in her chest. The space was massive arched ceilings, black marble floors, and walls carved with the symbols of Crescent Vale's long forgotten lineage. Flames flickered in tall sconces, casting shadows across the gathered wolves.There were so many of them.She hadn’t known what Luna meant when she said ten thousand.Now she did.They lined the inner balconies and filled the circular atrium in a sea of black, gray, and silver uniforms. Sub-pack leaders in ceremonial robes. Warriors with bare arms crossed. Scouts with quick, lean builds. Elder wolves seated behind stone desks, whispering among themselves.But none of them looked at each other.They were all staring at her.Well, at them.Luna stood tall beside her, dressed in a simple dark tunic, hair braided back, golden eyes unreadable. Her presence alone was enough to command the room. Silent power radiated off her like heat from a storm.Selene felt it, too. That unnatural p

The morning light spilled across the Alpha’s wing in gentle beams, but the tension that lingered between selene and luna was anything but soft.Selene woke up alone in the oversized bed, the furs tangled around her legs. The room was still. Silent. For a moment, she wondered if luna had left to patrol or address the Council.A small breath of relief left her lips.Then she turned and found luna standing in the corner, arms crossed, golden eyes fixed on her like a sentry guarding treasure.Selene froze. “Have you… been standing there all night?”Luna tilted her head, eyes dark with something unreadable. “You move in your sleep.”“What?”“You cried once. Said my name.”Heat flushed Selene’s cheeks, but she stood anyway, shaking off the unease. “That doesn’t mean you had to stand there like a ghost.”Luna’s gaze didn’t shift. “I won’t let anyone take you. Not while you’re still unbound.”Selene bristled. “I’m not a possession.”“You’re mine,” Luna said evenly, voice like velvet over ston

The atmosphere in Crescent Vale shifted the moment selene stepped outside the archives.She’d felt eyes before furtive glances, whispers just out of reach, but now it was more than that. Every wolf that passed her on the winding paths of the inner court gave her space. Too much space. As if she carried something toxic or dangerous. They lowered their gazes, sidestepped her presence. A group of young sentinels who had been laughing by the training fields fell silent as she passed, their expressions shuttering.Selene’s skin prickled.She wasn’t sure what was worse being feared because of luna or being ignored altogether.Her stomach twisted as she made her way back to the Alpha Wing. The castle loomed in pale stone and glass above her, majestic and cold like the very woman who had claimed her. She hadn’t seen luna since that morning. The wolf had paced the balcony like a caged predator before vanishing without a word.Even now, Selene could feel the faint tug in her chest, a bond pulli

Selene had waited three days. Three long, careful, watchful days.She had memorized every guard shift, every route through the east corridors of the crescent vale stronghold. She knew which door creaked and which didn’t. She knew when mira checked the wards, and when luna prowled the halls in the dead of night, drawn by instinct, by that cursed bond neither of them asked for.And now, just before dawn, the halls were quiet.No patrols. No eyes.She moved silently, wearing nothing but a cloak over her nightgown. Her boots, borrowed from the armory, muffled her steps.Selene’s heart raced, but her thoughts were steady.Sje muttered, "I can’t breathe here. I can’t think when I’m around her. I have to go before I lose myself in her madness. "The outer gate was enchanted. That much she couldn’t change. But the old tunnel beneath the west wall was used for trade before luna’s return; it had been unlocked last week when mira and the scouts returned from a southern post.She had seen it.And

Night had fallen like a velvet curtain over crescent vale, and yet the stars remained hidden behind heavy clouds. The wind howled through the trees, rustling the ancient pines around the alpha’s wing like whispered warnings. Inside, the fire crackled gently in the hearth, casting golden light across the stone walls.Selene lay curled in bed, the bandages on her leg fresh, her mind far from sleep.Her thoughts spun in circles, luna’s touch, her vow to give selene her freedom, the odd tenderness in her golden eyes. None of it made sense. Not when that same woman had once been spoken of in fearful whispers across the sacred forest, a name mothers used to warn their children: Luna, the beast in chains.Now, that beast had wrapped her wounds.Selene sat up, tossing the heavy blankets aside. She couldn’t rest. Not until she understood. Not until she knew.She rose, her footsteps soft across the cold stone, and opened the door.Luna was sitting just outside, as she said she would. Her back r