Chapter 2 – Alpha’s Choice
1050 Words
The silvery, ruthless moonlight swept across Ronan's face. Standing on the elevated ridge above the bonfire clearing, he observed the distant flames fading away as the last attendees of the Choosing Ceremony dispersed.
Liora hovered close by, fingering the sleeve of his jacket in aimless circles. She added in a quiet, contented voice,
"You made the right decision."
"I know," Ronan said
The words had an ashy flavor.
Liora turned to look at him, a smile that barely reached her eyes curled her lips.
“However, you hesitated. I observed it.”
"No," he stated bluntly.
“I was taken aback. That’s all.”
She moved in closer. "Because the Moon picked her out."
Ronan tensed up. "What I see, the Moon does not see."
Liora studied him, her head tilted.
"And what are you thinking about ?"
He remained silent.
What was he supposed to say? That a part of him snapped open when the smoke reached out and attached itself to Naia? That in an instant, he had witnessed a thousand distinct futures, some bright, others gloomy, and each one was plagued by her gaze?
"She is weak," Liora whispered, cutting through his silence. “Everyone is aware of it.”
The Moon erred in judgment. Ronan was silent.
Liora added, approaching,
"She's no Luna. But I am. You are aware of all my support for you. I've struggled and battled for you, for this.”
Despite her elegance, beauty, and polish, he felt nothing when he looked down at her. He didn't experience the spark he was meant to with his partner.
Not the desire he'd been afraid to feel for Naia. The burden of a decision made too quickly, only.
He stepped back and murmured, "I have to go for a walk."
“Ronan—”
“I said I need to think”
Without waiting for her response, he made the quick and agonizing shift into his wolf, his muscles tensing up. He darted into the trees, his paws hammering the ground as his shoulders were covered in midnight-black fur.
However fast he went, he was always followed by the echo of Naia's face. That expression, which was one of shock, bewilderment, and betrayal, was as if he had ripped something holy from her bosom and dismissed it.
And he had.
**********
The scent of the pack waned as he ran beyond the border trees and into the woods. Every step knotted his thoughts. He thought of her, how Naia was always there, silent but present, in the backdrop of the pack. Not weak. Never to him.
She was smarter and more reserved than Liora. She didn't struggle to be seen. Simply put, she was a constant and invisible fire. And now he has extinguished her. He paused at a rocky ledge and backed off, panting.
Something shifted behind him.
"You looked horrible." Ronan twisted, tensed muscles.
Kade was his beta. Hardy and trustworthy. He never showed as much as he did.
"I thought you had returned home," Ronan said,wiping dirt from his arms.
“I had to follow you. Figured you’d need something to punch.”
Ronan did not respond.
Kade folded his arms and rested against a tree.
"All right. Do you genuinely believe she wasn't worthy?
Ronan frowned. "Don't start."
"I have no plans to start anything. I'm merely trying to fully understand what the hell happened tonight.
"I made a decision. For the group.”
"Bullshit." Kade spoke in a firm yet composed tone.
"You made your own decision. For Liora, even worse.”
Ronan tightened his jaw.
"Pay attention to it."
"You know she's poisoning your gut."
Ronan looked aside.
"Didn't you sense the connection?" Silently, Kade inquired.
"At least for a moment." He paused.
"Yeah," Ronan answered at last in a hushed voice. "I sensed it."
"And?"
"I was afraid of it."
Kade's eyebrows went up. "You….Scared of a bond?
Ronan's shoulders slumped.
“It was more than just a bond. It was her. She caught sight of me. Not as an Alpha, not as an heir. Only me.”
"And it's a bad thing then?"
Ronan didn't respond. He gazed off into the woods.
"Done," he whispered. “It's a broken bond.”
Kade gave him a prolonged glance.
"Bent objects don't always remain broken."
Kade started to leave before Ronan could inquire what he meant.
**********
Liora was back in the packhouse, waiting for him. As if she owned the space, she stood by the fire and murmured,
"I was worried."
"I needed air," he said rigidly.
"I understand." She put a hand on his chest and reached out.
"We have a future, Ronan. You and I. A powerful Luna is what the council desires. Someone who can stand by your side.”
He looked her in the eye. "They also desired the Moon to make a decision."
She grinned. "And she made a bad decision."
His stomach twisted at what she said.
Nevertheless, he nodded. Because it was the truth he had decided upon for the time being.
**********
Somewhere beneath the ruins, something shifted. Nythera held out a hand to Naia, and the air around her glistened. The darkness shuddered in awe.
Nythera remarked, "You've been broken."
her voice like honey tinged with fire,
"However, the fragments still know how to burn."
Naia's voice wavered. "What would happen if I accepted it?"
"They won't ever overlook you ever again."
Naia's gaze lowered to her hands, which had been too quiet, too soft, and too little. She looked up.
"I've had enough of being nothing."
"Then accept it."
Nythera moved out of the way to expose a tiny, black flame pulsing in the altar's center. After a single flicker, it remained motionless, waiting.
Naia took a step ahead. Her heart pounded. Pain surged through her when the fire touched her fingers.
Recollections, strength, like lightning piercing the sky, it crashed through her body.
Half wolf, half human, her howl ripped through the trees, pure, unbridled agony. Then there was quiet. New light glowed in her eyes when they opened.
**********
Ronan's heart slammed in his chest when he sprang awake in his bed at the same instant.
He sensed that something had changed, but he wasn't sure why.
It was coming for him, whatever it was.
- Writer
