All Chapters of BENEATH THE BLOOD MOON: CLAIMED BY HER ALPHA: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

POV: SeleneBy the time I left the infirmary, night had fallen.The courtyard outside was lit only by the silver wash of moonlight and the scattered torches along the wall. My body ached not from fighting, but from hours of bending over cots, binding wounds, and carrying the weight of my own anger.I wanted my own chamber, my own space. But when I reached the stairs to the guest wing, rowan was waiting for me.---He stood with his arms crossed, a solid shadow against the torchlight.“Orders from the Alpha,” he said before I could speak. “You’re staying in her quarters tonight.”I stopped mid-step. “That’s not necessary.”“It wasn’t a request.”The words sank like a stone in my stomach. “Why?”Rowan’s gaze was unreadable. “Ask her yourself.”---I followed him in silence, down the main corridor, past doors carved with the crest of the crescent vale a rising moon cupped in two wolf heads. The deeper we went into the alpha’s wing, the quieter it became. No servants, no guards, only the

Night came down heavily over Crescent Vale. The alpha’s wing was eerily quiet, the massive stone corridors muffling sound as if the whole fortress itself held its breath. In luna’s chamber, the fire burned low, throwing faint golden light across the walls. Selene had been lying awake for hours, her mind tangled in knots.No matter how many times she closed her eyes, she saw again what she had discovered earlier—Luna’s scars - carved deep into her back and ribs. They weren’t the scars of a warrior who had merely fought battles. They were wounds of cruelty, lash after lash, deliberate punishment meant to break. Selene hadn’t dared ask luna about them, but the sight haunted her.What kind of past left those behind? she wondered. And why do I feel this ache for her, even after everything she’s done to me?Her thoughts dissolved when a low growl cut through the silence. Selene bolted upright. It wasn’t the warning growl of a wolf. It was raw, broken, almost like a whimper disguised as rage

The room still smelled of storm, sweat, fear, and the faint metallic taste of Luna’s rage barely contained. Selene sat in silence, her own heart pounding from everything luna had just confessed. She could still hear those words echoing in her mind. "I hate myself too much to believe it."It hurt. Not just because it revealed the torment inside the alpha, but because it showed selene how tightly luna had wrapped her pain around both of them.Selene turned, her expression hardening. “You can’t keep me caged forever, luna.”The alpha stiffened, shoulders drawn tight like armor slamming back into place. Her golden eyes flickered with unease. “Selene—”“No.” Selene stood, fire flaring in her voice. “You don’t get to confess your sins and then pretend nothing has to change. I’ve listened. I’ve tried to understand. But I’m not your prisoner. I won’t stay here bound by chains just because you’re afraid to lose me.”The words cracked through the chamber like thunder. Luna’s breath hitched, and

The courtyard had gone silent, except from the low whimper of wolves still recovering from their wounds. The air was thick with tension, each breath heavy, each gaze locked on the two figures standing at the center: the alpha, golden-eyed and seething, and the strange girl who dared to oppose her.Selene’s palms still glowed faintly silver, the residue of her healing power clinging to her skin. She hadn’t meant to spark this confrontation, not truly. But the words had left her lips before she could take them back, and now there was no undoing them.Luna’s lips curved into a smile slow, dangerous, mocking. “You want choice, selene?” Her voice carried across the courtyard like thunder. “Then prove you deserve it.”The pack murmured, ripples of disbelief and curiosity spreading through them. Never before had they seen anyone, let alone a human, stand against their alpha.Selene’s heart pounded. Fear clawed at her chest, urging her to step back, to apologize, to run. But something deeper,

Selene woke before dawn, her body restless, her mind racing. The prayers to the Moon Goddess she had whispered the night before had offered only partial relief. The bond between her and luna pulsed relentlessly, like a heartbeat that refused to slow. Each pulse carried luna’s presence, her dominance, her need, her desire, and Selene found herself trembling at its intensity.She rose from her bed in the healer’s wing, pacing the quiet room. Her fingers traced the silver amulet at her throat, a small charm gifted to her by her mentor, a tangible connection to her own magic. It was supposed to soothe, anchor her, remind her that she was not just a pawn in luna’s world.But even as she touched it, the bond flared. Luna’s essence pressed against her mind like a tide, warm and fierce, unrelenting. Selene stumbled back, gripping the edge of the table.“You feel it too,” Luna’s voice rumbled inside her head, closer than it should have been. “Every thought, every breath, every heartbeat. You’r