The Alpha Luna’s True Mate

The Alpha Stranger

Elira

The silence in the throne room was so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. Leon and Ares just stood there, staring each other down like two predators trying to decide who was going to tear the other apart first.

Nobody moved. Nobody even breathed.

Leon looked like he wanted to murder his brother right then and there, his jaw locked tight and his breathing heavy. Ares didn't even blink, his massive frame standing like a brick wall between me and my husband's unhinged fury.

After what felt like an eternity, Leon finally broke eye contact, a strange, dark look flashing deep inside his eyes.

He didn't look at Ares again. Instead, his sharp gaze swung over to me, locking onto my face for a prolonged time.

It was the longest he had actually looked at me in months, his blue eyes scanning my face with a mixture of confusion, intense anger, and something heavy I couldn't quite name.

Then, without saying a single word, he scooped Nyra up into his arms, turning his back on us completely. Nyra buried her face in his neck, letting out one last pathetic whimper as he carried her out of the room, his heavy boots slamming against the floor until the doors clicked shut.

The moment the he was gone, the crushing weight of his alpha pressure vanished, leaving the room feeling entirely empty.

"Get out," Ares said, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly rumble as he looked at the royal guards. "All of you. Return to your posts outside the residential wing."

"Yes, General," the lead warrior muttered, looking visibly relieved to escape the absolute disaster of a situation.

The soldiers filed out quickly, leaving just the two of us standing in the center of the massive, echoing hall.

Suddenly, my knees felt like jelly, the delayed adrenaline rush from the confrontation washing over me all at once. My balance vanished, and I wobbled hard on my feet, my vision going a little blurry around the edges.

Before my knees could hit the marble, a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around my upper body, catching me securely mid air.

Ares pulled me tight against his solid chest, his scent of dark cedar and ash instantly filling my head and making my frantic wolf calm down inside me.

"I have you," Ares muttered, his voice surprisingly soft as he kept his grip firm around my waist. "Can you walk?"

"I think so," I breathed, my hands automatically reaching up to grip the fabric of his dark jacket for support. "Just give me a second."

He didn't let go of me. Instead, he kept his arm hooked securely under mine, leading me slowly out of the throne room and down the quiet back corridors toward my private quarters.

When we finally pushed the bedroom doors open, Mona was already there, pacing back and forth with an anxious expression on her pale face.

"Oh, thank the goddess!" Mona cried out, rushing forward the second she saw us walk in. "Your Majesty, I heard the screaming from downstairs but I couldn't leave. Are you alright? Did he hurt you? What did she do?”

"I am fine, Mona," I said, letting Ares guide me down onto the small velvet sofa near the fireplace. "Just a bit tired."

Mona looked at Ares, her eyes widening slightly with respect and gratitude before she turned back to me.

"You look so pale, Your Majesty," Mona said quickly, wiping her hands on her apron. "I am going to rush out to the kitchens right now to get you something warm to eat and drink. You need your strength."

She didn't even wait for my answer, sprinting out of the room and closing the heavy oak doors softly behind her.

The room fell back into a heavy, quiet stillness, the fire crackling softly in the hearth as Ares stood a few feet away from my couch.

I looked down at my hands, my fingers twisting the fabric of my skirt as the memory of Nyra's bloody arm flashed through my head.

"Ares," I mumbled, my voice barely above a whisper in the quiet room. "I really didn't do anything to Nyra. She grabbed the blade and cut her own arm just to make Leon hate me."

"I know," Ares said simply.

I looked up, meeting his intense golden gaze. "You know? You weren't even in the room when it happened."

"I don't need to be in the room to know who you are, Elira," Ares replied, his voice deep and completely steady. "You don't have a cruel bone in your body. She does."

Hearing him say that made a lump form in my tight throat, a strange mix of relief and intense emotion washing over me.

He trusted my character without a single piece of proof, while my own husband had been ready to throw me into a dark cell without a second thought.

"Thank you," I whispered, my voice shaking slightly. "For standing up to him."

"You don't ever have to thank me for that," Ares said, taking a step closer, his eyes burning with that familiar, dark intensity that always made my heart race. "As long as I am in this palace, nobody is throwing you in a hole. Not even the king."

The brief, breathless moment between us suddenly snapped as the door handle jiggled loudly.

Mona came bursting back into the suite, carrying a silver tray loaded with hot tea and a plate of fresh bread and soup.

Ares instantly took a step back, his entire posture shifting back into that cold, emotionally restrained military general mask.

"Eat something, Your Majesty," Ares said, his voice returning to a formal, polite tone that felt completely distant compared to a moment ago. "You need to rest."

"I will," I said, offering a small, weak smile as Mona set the tray down on the coffee table.

Ares turned toward the exit, nodding briefly to my maid.

"Good night, Elira," Ares said quietly, his hand resting on the heavy brass door handle as he paused.

He didn't leave immediately. His dark gaze lingered on my face for a minute too long, his eyes tracking the expression on my face with longing before he finally stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.

"He is a good man, Your Majesty," Mona murmured softly, handing me the hot cup of tea. "A truly good man."

"I know," I sighed, sipping the warm liquid as I tried to banish the memory of his golden eyes from my mind.

I ate a few bites of the soup, but my appetite was completely gone after everything that had happened in the throne room.

Mona helped me change out of my gown into a simple cotton nightshirt before she finally retired to her own small room down the hall, leaving me alone in the dark.

I lay under the heavy blankets for hours, staring up at the dark canopy of the bed, unable to clear the absolute chaos out of my mind.

Sometime past midnight, after the entire palace had grown completely dead silent and everyone had retired to their rooms, the heavy latch on my bedroom door suddenly clicked.

My body went rigid as the door swung open, a tall shadow stepping into the moonlit space of my bedroom.

It was Leon.

He walked into the room we were meant to share, his boots making no sound against the thick Persian rugs as he approached the edge of my bed. He didn't look like the proud king right now. He looked volatile, unstable, and dangerous.

I sat up slowly, clutching the blanket up to my chest as I glared at him through the darkness.

"What do you want, Leon?" I asked, my voice cold and sharp. "I thought your place was in the western wing now."

Leon didn't answer my question. Instead, he leaned down, his face stopping just inches away from mine, his blue eyes looking wild and crazed in the dim moonlight.

"Do not ever do what you did earlier again, Elira," Leon threatened, his voice dropping into a dark, terrifying hiss that made my skin crawl. "Do you understand me?"

"I told you, I did nothing to her," I said, refusing to let him see me blink.

"I do not care about your excuses," Leon snapped, his fingers clenching into tight fists at his sides. "If you defy me like that in front of my brother again, I will make you regret the very day you were born. I will strip everything from you, Elira."

He stared at me for a few more agonizing seconds, his breathing harsh and uneven, before he suddenly straightened up.

He turned around and slipped out of the bedroom once more, slamming the door shut and leaving me alone in the freezing quiet.

I sat frozen in the dark, staring at the empty doorway while my mind spun out of control.

I wondered what had made Leon change towards me so much over the years. He used to be the boy who protected me from the cruel nobles, the friend who watched over my every step when we were kids.

Now, he was a volatile stranger who looked at me with nothing but hatred and obsession, and I couldn't understand how everything had gone so horribly wrong.