12.The Alpha of Silvermoon
1741 Words
The war drums did not stop.
Their rhythm echoed through Bloodridge mountain like a heartbeat before battle—deep, steady, merciless.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Aria climbed the stone staircase from the underground chamber beside Darius while cold dread tightened in her chest with every step.
Above them waited three Alpha packs.
And one of them belonged to the man who ruined her life.
The fortress corridors were chaos.
Warriors rushed through the halls carrying weapons and armor. Messengers sprinted between towers. Wolves snarled somewhere beyond the walls while heavy iron gates groaned shut across the main entrances.
The scent of fear thickened the air.
Bloodridge was preparing for war.
Darius walked ahead of everyone now.
Commanding.
Dangerous.
His injured shoulder no longer seemed to matter. Every warrior moved aside the moment he appeared, lowering their heads instinctively as his presence filled the fortress like an approaching storm.
Aria noticed the way they looked at him.
Not merely loyalty.
Trust.
Even in panic, Bloodridge followed him without hesitation.
Kael walked several steps behind them, silent and tense. Blood still stained the side of his dark shirt where the silver-forged blade had cut him. Mara had forced a temporary bandage around his ribs while muttering that she would rather save an i***t than clean one off the floor later.
Kael had almost smiled at that.
Almost.
Now his blue eyes remained fixed ahead as though already preparing for the confrontation waiting outside.
Because his father was here.
Alpha Ronan of Silvermoon.
Aria’s stomach twisted painfully at the thought.
Darius suddenly stopped walking.
Everyone behind him halted instantly.
“What?” Mara asked.
Darius looked toward one of the fortress windows.
The sky outside had darkened unnaturally.
Clouds rolled over the mountains in thick silver-gray waves despite it being barely afternoon. Snow spiraled violently through the air.
Aria felt the shift immediately.
Magic.
Not weather.
Selene’s words echoed in her head.
The full moon weakens the seals.
Darius looked at her without speaking.
He felt it too.
A younger warrior rushed toward them breathlessly.
“Alpha, the council chamber is ready.”
Darius nodded once.
“Bring the representatives inside.”
The warrior hesitated.
“All of them?”
Darius’s eyes hardened.
“All.”
The Bloodridge council chamber looked like something built for kings who expected betrayal.
Massive stone pillars lined the circular room. Black banners embroidered with silver wolves hung from the high walls. A long obsidian table stretched through the center beneath iron chandeliers burning with blue fire.
Every entrance had armed guards.
No one trusted anyone here.
Aria stood near the far side of the chamber beside Mara while Darius took his place at the head of the table.
Kael remained standing against the wall rather than sitting.
Separate.
Unwelcome.
The giant doors opened.
The first Alpha entered surrounded by guards wearing dark iron armor.
Alpha Cedric of Ironfang.
Aria recognized him immediately from old council gatherings. He was enormous, broad even for an Alpha, with dark skin marked by old battle scars crossing his jaw and throat. His black beard had streaks of gray now, but his eyes remained sharp and predatory.
Cedric looked at Darius and grinned humorlessly.
“Bloodridge still smells like arrogance.”
Darius didn’t react.
“Ironfang still smells like wet dogs.”
Mara coughed suspiciously hard to hide a laugh.
Cedric barked one sharp laugh before taking a seat.
Interesting.
Not allies.
But not enemies either.
The second Alpha entered more carefully.
Alpha Elias of Gray Hollow.
Older.
Dangerously intelligent-looking.
His silver hair was tied neatly behind his back, and unlike the others, he wore no visible weapons. That somehow made him more unsettling.
His pale eyes landed on Aria instantly.
Not lust.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Aria’s pulse quickened.
Elias bowed his head slightly toward her.
“Moon-blessed.”
The chamber became still.
Darius’s expression darkened instantly.
“You will address her by name.”
Elias looked mildly amused.
“Of course.”
But he did not apologize.
Then the final doors opened.
And the air changed.
Alpha Ronan entered Silvermoon like a king entering conquered land.
Tall.
Imposing.
Silver threaded through his dark hair now, but it only made him look colder. His blue eyes were identical to Kael’s except harsher somehow—like Kael before softness ever touched him.
The moment Ronan saw Aria, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
Kael straightened instantly beside the wall.
“Father.”
Ronan barely glanced at him.
Disapproval flickered briefly across his expression at Kael’s injuries before his attention returned to Darius.
“So,” Ronan said calmly, “the rumors were true.”
Darius remained seated.
“That depends which rumors you heard.”
Ronan’s gaze shifted toward Aria again.
“The Moon Queen lives.”
The room went silent.
Aria hated how easily he said it.
Like discussing weather.
Like she wasn’t standing right there.
Darius’s voice became ice.
“She is not a title for you to claim.”
Ronan finally looked directly at him.
“And yet you claimed her quickly enough yourself.”
The tension in the room sharpened instantly.
Kael moved away from the wall.
“That’s enough.”
Ronan’s gaze snapped toward his son.
“You don’t speak here.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
Aria saw the flicker of old wounds between them immediately.
Not physical.
Worse.
Darius noticed too.
Interesting.
Ronan turned back toward the table.
“The Order has returned,” he said flatly. “Three villages near the eastern territories were slaughtered last night.”
The room froze.
Even Mara went still.
Cedric frowned deeply.
“Slaughtered?”
Ronan’s expression remained cold.
“Entire bloodlines.”
A chill spread through Aria’s body.
Lucien.
The Order.
They had already begun.
Elias folded his hands calmly.
“They search for the gate.”
Ronan looked toward him sharply.
“You know more than you admitted.”
Elias did not deny it.
“I know enough to understand what happens if the Eclipse reaches the crown first.”
Cedric slammed one massive hand against the table.
“Then destroy the damned thing.”
“We cannot,” Darius said.
Cedric looked deeply irritated by that answer.
“There is always a way.”
“No,” Aria said quietly.
Every eye in the chamber turned toward her.
Her pulse jumped but she forced herself not to retreat.
Selene’s memories still lingered faintly inside her mind like echoes trapped beneath water.
“The crown is tied to blood magic older than the territories,” she continued carefully. “Destroying it may destroy the seals beneath Bloodridge entirely.”
Cedric frowned.
“What seals?”
The chamber lights flickered suddenly.
At the same moment—
A deep growl echoed through the fortress.
The sound vibrated through the floor itself.
Several guards reached for their weapons instantly.
Kael’s face darkened.
“The guardian.”
Ronan looked sharply toward him.
“The what?”
Mara looked exhausted already.
“Oh good, now we get to explain the ancient underground monster.”
Cedric blinked once.
“The ancient underground what?”
The chamber doors burst open before anyone could answer.
A terrified warrior stumbled inside.
“Alpha!”
Darius rose instantly.
“What happened?”
“The lower tunnels—”
The warrior’s face had gone pale.
“Something broke through the inner gate.”
The growl sounded again.
Closer this time.
The entire chamber shook.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Aria felt the power beneath Bloodridge surge violently.
Hungry.
Awake.
Ronan immediately stepped toward her.
“We need to move her.”
Darius stepped directly between them.
“No.”
“She is the target.”
“She is not leaving Bloodridge.”
Ronan’s eyes turned lethal.
“You would risk every wolf in this fortress for one girl?”
The words hit Aria like a slap.
One girl.
Not person.
Not Aria.
Just a risk.
Darius’s voice became terrifyingly calm.
“You mistake me, Ronan.”
The room went deathly still.
Darius looked at him with cold fury.
“I would burn every kingdom on this continent before handing her over to men like the Eclipse.”
Aria’s breath caught painfully.
The sincerity in his voice shook something inside her.
Ronan noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
Then he looked toward Kael.
Understanding flickered briefly across his face.
And disappointment followed immediately after.
Kael saw it too.
His expression hardened.
“You knew,” Kael said quietly.
Ronan looked at his son.
“Knew what?”
“About her.”
Silence answered.
Kael laughed once bitterly.
“She grew up in our territory. You knew exactly what she was.”
Ronan’s jaw tightened.
“I suspected.”
Aria felt suddenly cold.
“You let me believe I was nothing.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Ronan finally looked directly at her again.
For the first time since entering the chamber, something human crossed his expression.
Regret.
“Aria—”
“No.”
Her voice cracked sharply.
“Don’t suddenly pretend you care now.”
Pain flashed across Kael’s face.
Because he knew.
He knew she wasn’t speaking only to Ronan.
The growl beneath the fortress erupted louder.
Then came screams.
Everyone froze.
One.
Two.
Three.
The sound of warriors dying echoed faintly through the stone corridors below.
Darius moved instantly.
“Mara, lock down the upper halls.”
She nodded sharply.
“Already moving.”
“Cedric, Elias—get your guards to the eastern corridors.”
Cedric grinned fiercely while standing.
“Finally.”
Elias rose more calmly.
“This fortress grows more interesting by the hour.”
Darius looked toward Kael next.
A pause.
Then—
“Protect the western tower.”
Kael blinked slightly.
Not because of the order.
Because Darius trusted him enough to give one.
Kael nodded once.
Without argument.
Then Darius turned toward Aria.
His expression changed immediately.
Softer.
Not weak.
Never weak.
But human.
“You stay with me.”
Ronan stepped forward instantly.
“She shouldn’t go near the lower tunnels.”
Aria looked directly at him.
“I’m done letting people decide where I belong.”
Ronan fell silent.
Good.
Darius extended his hand toward her.
No command.
A choice.
Aria stared at him for one heartbeat.
Two.
Then she placed her hand in his.
Warmth rushed through her instantly.
The bond pulsed sharply between them.
And somewhere beneath Bloodridge—
Something ancient answered.
- Writer
