chapter 5
538 Words
The Alpha Who Rejected His Moon Queen
By MALLO Royale
Chapter Five
Your Highness
The forest fell silent.
Seraphina's heart pounded as she stared at the stranger before her.
His crimson eyes never left her face.
She took another cautious step backward.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
The man remained calm.
"I never make mistakes."
His deep voice carried the confidence of someone who had lived for centuries.
"You addressed me as..." She swallowed hard. "...Your Highness."
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"Because that is who you are."
Seraphina shook her head.
"No."
"I'm an orphan."
"I grew up in Blackwood Pack."
"I have no family."
"No title."
"No kingdom."
The stranger looked at her with quiet sympathy.
"That is what they wanted you to believe."
A chill crept down her spine.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, he knelt and picked up the silver pendant she had dropped during the attack.
The moment his fingers touched it, the crescent moon engraved on its surface glowed with soft blue light.
He held it out to her.
"This pendant belonged to Queen Selene."
"My mother?" Seraphina asked instinctively.
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The stranger's eyes widened slightly.
"Your heart already knows the truth."
Seraphina snatched the pendant from his hand.
"No!"
"My mother died when I was a baby."
"I don't even remember her."
"Exactly."
He took a slow step closer.
"Because someone made sure you never would."
Before Seraphina could respond, a sharp whistle echoed through the forest.
The stranger's expression darkened.
"They've found us."
Several black arrows shot through the trees.
He grabbed Seraphina and pulled her behind a massive oak.
The arrows struck the trunk with deadly force.
A dozen masked warriors emerged from the shadows.
Their armor bore the crest of Blackwood Pack.
Seraphina's eyes widened.
"They're..."
"Your former pack," the stranger finished.
"They weren't sent to bring you home."
"They were sent to make sure you never return."
The captain of the warriors stepped forward.
His voice rang through the forest.
"By order of Alpha Lucien Draven..."
"The exile, Seraphina Ashbourne, is to be captured."
"If capture proves impossible..."
He slowly drew his sword.
"...Kill her."
Seraphina felt the blood drain from her face.
Lucien...
The man who had once been chosen as her mate...
Now wanted her dead.
She couldn't believe it.
The stranger's crimson eyes flashed with fury.
"So..."
"The Alpha has chosen war."
A violent gust of wind swept through the forest.
Dark mist gathered around the stranger's feet.
The captain tightened his grip on his sword.
"Who are you?"
The stranger smiled—a cold, dangerous smile.
"You may tell your Alpha..."
His crimson eyes glowed like burning embers.
"...that the Vampire Kingdom does not surrender its Queen."
The earth shook.
One by one, cloaked figures appeared behind him, emerging from the shadows without a sound.
Each carried a crimson blade.
Each bowed their head toward Seraphina.
In perfect unison, they declared,
"Long live the Moon Queen."
Seraphina stood frozen.
She had no idea who she really was anymore.
But one thing had become terrifyingly clear.
The moment Alpha Lucien rejected her...
He had unknowingly declared war against an entire kingdom.
- Writer
