Beyond The Alpha's Reach

Episode 5: The Moon’s Mark

*Selene’s POV*

I had believed my wolf was forever lost to me.

From when I fled from Marcus and from his pack, my wolf had fallen silent, retreating deep inside of me, like it had sought protection from pain. At first, I thought it must be grief, grief from a severed mate bond, a life left behind. Then I convinced myself it was fear, my wolf cowering from the threat that I could be dragged back into the nightmarish life I barely survived.

But recently some things have changed.

Wherever Damian was, a low hum vibrated beneath my skin. My wolf stirred, not fully waking but moving as if it was drawn to him. At first, it was a sort of lingering awareness, an anxiety I could not shake off. I was convinced it was just nerves; the eternal nervousness while living within someone else's territory, under the scrutiny of a suspicious Alpha.

But it was not only my nerves.

My senses honed in on him. Everything became more vibrant and more powerful. I could smell him, even when he was not in the room. His voice resonated through me, kindling a flicker I thought was buried long ago.

I hated it.

I hated how my body was betraying me. I hated how my wolf was desperately clawing at the walls I had created to keep it from answering that unspoken call from him. I pushed the feeling deep and reminded myself why I was here.

Lily.

The only thing that mattered to me was my daughter's safety. The only reason I tolerated his cold stares, his interrogations, his shadow looming in every one of my moves.

He was nothing like Marcus, his cruelty was more subtle, his control quieter but still effective. While Marcus attacked with fists and venom, Damian used silence and suspicion, but I knew all too well about the cruelty of alphas and Damian was no different.

Yet his name whispered through my wolf in the quietest of moments.

I thought it could be hidden. I thought it could be ignored.

Until the ceremony.

The Stone-claw Pack full moon celebration honored the Moon Goddess; a time for the pack to unite under the moonlight and strengthen their bonds. I had planned to hang back, fading into the shadows as I always did. But Eleanor insisted I go.

"It'll be good for Lily," she said, brushing a soft hand over my daughter's curls. "She needs to see this is home. That she is safe here."

I couldn't fault her for that.

So I integrated within the pack members. There was music and a lot of dancing, drums beating a solid rhythm, wolves danced and shifted, and the air was filled with laughter.

Lily twirled in the grass, laughing. I felt hope, this could be enough. We could build a life here; if only I could keep my past from catching up to us.

But then I felt it.

A change in the air, a pull such as gravity drawing me toward the heart of the gathering. My breath caught, my wolf suddenly alert, and my body began moving before my mind could acknowledge it.

Damian stood at the center with his pack gathered around him. His eyes were closed as he led the ritual.

But as I approached, they snapped open.

His direct stare found my eyes and at that nanosecond, everything around me vanished.

At that moment, my wolf pushed aggressively toward the surface. I found it hard to breathe.

The drums faded, and the pack's voices faded to silence as Damian's face reflected discomfort, pain, and hunger.

His body trembled, and with a shot of freezing fear, I understood he was losing control. His wolf was surfacing, fighting against his human form, desperate to answer the call between us.

"No," I whispered.

But it was too late.

Damian’s body contorted. He had begun transforming. The pack recoiled, some gasping, others moving to intervene.

I glanced down and saw the Moon Goddess's mark shimmering on my skin—a crescent-shaped glow, mirrored on Damian's chest.

Fated mates.

The realization hit like a punch.

I stumbled back with my wolf howling in my mind. This is what she had longed for. This could not be happening. I'd already had a mate and had already suffered under the bond.

I wouldn't, couldn't be bound to another alpha.

Damian's wolf retreated almost as quickly as it had risen. He shuddered as he got control of himself back. His eyes burned into me with mixed feelings of rage and something else, something I couldn't afford to know.

I ran. Just like I did with Marcus.

My gasping breath grew more ragged as my wolf tried to claw its way out from inside of me, aching in despair to go back to him.

But, I wouldn't.

I couldn't.

Not again.

I had just fought off Marcus. I had scratched and clawed so hard to scrape a mere freedom for Lily and me. I couldn't give Moon Goddess, fate, or whatever else this cruel joke was, the satisfaction of chaining me to another man.

I stumbled over roots, my knees brushing against the dirt, but I kept pushing. I breathed through the fire in my lungs; I kept going even though my body said otherwise.

Not until I was free.

There was a rustle behind me, some whisper of a movement; I turned and pressed my back against a tree. My heart raced, I didn’t know what to do.

And then he was there.

Damian stepped forth from the shadows with his expression unreadable, breathing somewhat heavy but controlled. He neither spoke nor moved to approach me.

This was clearly a bond neither of us wanted.

"This is something you cannot run from," His soft-serpent voice sank deep into my bones with its low growling tone.

I answered "Yes" with a shaky voice. "I already have."

His jaw clenched while his golden eyes brightened. "You once had a partner I know… but this, this bond is different. You know this."

No. I shook my head as much to convince myself as him. "I will never be owned. Not by you, not by anyone. I know Alpha’s like Marcus… and you’re no different.”

After what I had said, his calm façade was broken. He moved closer and my body naturally followed the attraction between us.

"You can reject me all you want, Selene," he said with a voice dangerously smooth, "but you will never belong to another."