THE LUNA THEY SACRIFICED

CHAPTER SIX

.....THE ALPHA CHOICE.....

(Riven’s POV)

"Say it again," I said, my voice low and sharp enough to cut through bone.

The guard fell to his knees so quickly that his forehead almost hit the stone floor. While his entire body was shaking.

"Al-Alpha... Bloodwing forces... they've crossed the outer borders," he stammered, struggling to breathe. "Alpha Kael is here.

"He's here."

There was instant silence. Then chaos ensued.

The courtyard, which had been filled with the sound of punishment and whispers moments before, fell into a strange, suffocating silence.

Even the wind seemed to pause.

My fingers tightened against the armrest of my throne.

"Kael."

Just that name carried destruction, bloodshed, and war.

My jaw tightened as I realized that, of course, he had arrived at my gates.

I slowly stood up, knowing that my mere presence would be sufficient to subdue everyone.

Even the Elders' expressions tightened with unease, but I saw fear beneath their pathetic calm masks.

"Gather the warriors," I ordered, my voice steady and controlled. "And prepare for battle."

"Yes, Alpha!" the guard exclaimed, scrambling away.

When he left, the tension changed.

The elders exchanged glances, and I recognized that look as that of cowards.

"They came sooner than expected..." everyone muttered.

"No," another whispered. “He warned us.”

Then Elder Maron took a step forward, his hands clasped behind his back and his voice careful.

"Alpha Riven...we must think carefully before engaging in war."

I slowly turned my head, locking my gaze on him.

"Carefully?" I repeated with a dangerously quiet tone.

His throat bobbed slightly. "Yes…

Bloodwing is not a pack to underestimate.

Their warriors are ruthless, and if we fight unprepared..." If?"

"If what happened?" I interrupted him while stepping down from the platform. "You speak as if war were optional."

Then another horn echoed again, this time much louder and closer.

The ground beneath my feet vibrated slightly.

They weren't just on our borders anymore.

They were approaching...

"They're here because of you," another elder whispered under his breath.

I heard it, and of course I knew.

My wolf stirred, and anger surged through my veins.

"Speak clearly," I ordered...

The elder hesitated and then swallowed. "You provoked Alpha Kael years ago, and he spared you because you promised him..." He paused, his voice tightening, "The next time he entered Harzdawood Land, you would fulfill any of his requests, and he would not leave empty-handed,” or he will take over the pack….

The memory flickered.

The battlefield, the bloodshed, the sacred circle ground, the victory, and Kael standing across from me while I made the promise.

I had laughed, mocked him, and boasted that if he ever dared return, he wouldn't take over my pack nor take something precious… or he would die trying.

My lips curled slightly, so he remembered.

“Very well then…let him try,” I said, my voice filled with dark amusement.

But the Elders did not share my confidence.

Elder Maron stepped forward again, more desperate now.

“No, Alpha. You don’t understand. We are not ready. Our warriors are not positioned; our defenses are weak. If we engage now…”

“We lose,” another finished bluntly.

A heavy, ugly silence followed.

My gaze darkened.

“you would have me surrender?” I asked.

“No,” Maron said quickly. “But… there is another option.”

Something in his tone made my wolf restless and dangerous…I didn’t like it.

“What option?” I demanded.

The Elders exchanged another look.

Then slowly… deliberately… Their gazes shifted, behind me and toward the center of the courtyard.

Toward her, "Nyra" is still chained and broken.

Still kneeling in her own blood.

For a moment, I said nothing, then I laughed, with a low, humorless sound. “No.”

Yet they didn’t back down….

“She is Luna,” even if she is… weak. She still holds that title, Maron said carefully. “She is… something precious.”

My expression darkened instantly.

“She is nothing,” only a liar and a disgrace.

I snapped,

“She carries a child,” he added.

That made my chest tighten just for a second.

I crushed the feeling immediately.

“That child,” Maron continued, “is a risk we cannot afford. Weak or not, its existence will raise questions. And now with Bloodwing here…” His meaning became clear, very clear, as my gaze slowly returned to Nyra.

She looked up at me then, her face pale, her lips trembling… but her eyes were still defiant, stubborn, and resilient even after everything.

“Please…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“Riven… don’t…”