My Devil Alphas of Crimson Moon

Chapter Eight

-Unknown POV-

I sat in the garden, wondering if the Luna would ever wake up. The situation unfolding before me was confusing and unfathomable. The Alpha always came off as a well-mannered, caring, and compassionate man. The possibility of him committing such a heinous crime against the Luna is horrifying. The more profound concern that troubled me was that she didn’t want me to refer to her as the Luna. It didn’t make any sense because our last Luna demanded respect and had a terrifyingly authoritative aura about her that no one could miss.

She acted as though she didn’t know what a Luna was, which couldn’t be possible because she’s Alpha Damien’s mate. I sighed in frustration, wondering how she couldn’t know that. I know she’s human, any wolf around here can smell that, but why she hasn’t been in the packhouse and instead, held captive in a cell? Even with the crimes she committed by running away from the Alpha, it doesn’t warrant the treatment she’s received.

I also noticed that she doesn’t bear the Alphas mark, making the situation all the more confusing. I tried to reach out to Alex to see if he could give me any answers, but I still couldn’t mind-link him, which was a red flag because he’s my best friend and never avoids me, but it seems like he’s put up a permanent block from everyone in the packhouse. I heard a loud gasp come from inside, so I ran at wolf speed to get to the Luna, worried that something horrible might have happened.

-Anya’s POV-

The sounds of birds chirping woke me from my deep sleep, and I went to stretch my body, immediately regretting the decision as my body screamed out in pain. A gasp escaped my lips when I quickly remembered the previous night’s events unfold in my mind. I looked around, looking for the woman that brought me here.

I heard the door open, and a worry-stricken woman came into view. “Thank the Goddess you’re awake, Luna. I was worried you wouldn’t wake up.” Her features relaxed slightly, and she got me a glass of water that I greedily gulped down.

“Will you please just call me Anya?” I asked her, tired of being called Luna when I didn’t understand what it meant.

“That’s not possible, Luna. You’re my Luna, and it’s a sign of respect to refer to you by your ranked title.” She sat next to me and began to inspect my injuries.

“Can you please explain what this place is? What an Alpha and Luna are? I’m tired of not understanding anything.” I sighed and looked at her, begging for answers.

She looked down before looking into my eyes. “How is it that you don’t understand?” She asked with genuine curiosity. “You’re Damien’s mate; you should know all of this!” She said, clearly just as confused as me.

“Wait!” I exclaimed, startling her in the process. “I don’t even know your name!” I said, realizing I never attempted to ask even though she saved me.

She looked at me, surprised that I would even ask her such a question. “My name is Roxanne.”

I smiled, finally getting a good look at her now that I was starting to feel a little better. She had dark red, wavy hair that fell to her waist. She’s petite just like I am, maybe an inch shorter, and her bright green eyes were framed with dark, long lashes and plump pink lips. Her beauty was like nothing I had ever seen before, and her name suited her spunky personality, but I couldn’t understand why someone like her would help me.

“You don’t know what a Luna is?” She asked me, her tone showing her confusion.

I shook my head. “I don’t have any idea. I don’t know what this place is or have any clue as to what an Alpha, Luna, or mate is.” I said, looking at her, seeing a mix of emotions on her face.

“Do you know what we are? Myself, Alex, the Alpha?” She asked quietly.

I froze on the spot. “Did you say Alex? As in Alexander?”

She stiffened, and her eyes widened at my sudden question. “Where is he? Is he okay?” She sounded genuinely concerned.

“How do you know him, Roxanne?” I said, my tone becoming severe.

“He’s my best friend. He came to the pack at the age of 12 when the Alpha saved him from a rouge attack where he was the only survivor. Ever since then, we have bonded and became great friends. I’ve been trying to mind-link him, but I can’t reach him….” She said, trailing off into her thoughts while I tried to decipher what she just said when I remembered what happened to him.

“Roxanne, you mean to tell me that you hadn’t seen Alex at all since he left my cell before Damien tortured me?” If that was the case, then where did he go?

“What do you mean? He was there with the Alpha when you were in confinement?” She questioned, utter shock filling her voice.

I nodded my head. “Alex was the first person I saw after being brought here, and he frequently visited me, which Damien didn’t know apparently. He was visiting me yesterday, and Damien came by at the same time, which triggered Damien’s attack.”

Roxanne held her chin and looked as though she was in serious thought. “Luna, if you don’t mind me asking. How do you know Alex?”

“We worked at the same bar together for the past six months, and he was my boss,” I answered, wanting to understand what Roxanne was trying to figure out.

She looked at me curiously. “He never mentioned you before; that’s strange. He’s told me about Missy, so it’s weird that he would exclude you.”

“I’m not sure, Roxanne, but he kissed me right before Damien walked in, which triggered Damien to go ballistic. I thought he was going to kill Alex. But then he told him that as long as he didn’t mention any of the behavior that he witnessed to anyone; he would be allowed to have me in secret. Then Alex walked out of my cell, and Damien started torturing me.” I looked down at my body, seeing all the bandages that Roxanne must have covered me with after I fell asleep.

Her hands flew up to her mouth, muffling the gasp that left her lips. Before she had the opportunity to question what I just told her, I needed to know what was going on in this place. “Roxanne, I didn’t understand a word you were saying when you were describing your relationship to Alex. Why did you call this a pack? What’s mind-linking? What are rogues? I don’t understand any of this.” I said while my frustration continued to increase.

She took a few deep breathes before asking me the same question from before. “Do you know what we are?”

I c****d my head to the side, not understanding the question. My look of confusion gave her the answer she was looking for because she sighed. “This is going to come as a shock, Luna, and I need you to keep an open mind. Try to keep all your questions for when I’m done explaining everything. Okay?” She asked, looking at me with a severe face.

I nodded my head and got comfortable on the bed; Roxanne grabbed a chair and handed me a cup of warm tea and what she said next was something I never expected.

“We are werewolves, Luna. Damien is the Alpha, which is the highest-ranking position in the pack, matched only by the Luna. You two are mates, and a mate is essentially a soulmate that the mother Goddess chooses for us. Since you and the Alpha have mated, you became the Luna by our laws, even if you don’t bear the Alphas mark. Mates mark each other for enhanced s****l pleasure as well as letting other wolves know that you have a mate; think of it as your mate’s personal brand. Mind-linking is speaking to pack members through the mind and can only be done through the members in your pack. Rogues are werewolves who have either been banished or committed terrible crimes and have been forced to leave their packs and cannot go to other packs, not even their home packs.” Roxanne explained to me, taking in my expressions to gauge what I was thinking.

“When you say mated, you mean having s*x, right?” I asked her, feeling myself becoming faint.

“Well, yes, and since you’ve mated, that gave you the Luna title.” She explained.

“Does that apply even if it was never consensual?” The look on Roxanne’s face was pure horror, but she nodded her head.

“If I hold such a high rank, why was I forced to be in that cell while Damien abused me over and over again?!” I started to get frustrated and a strange sense of betrayal from the people who always turned a blind eye while I screamed in my cell.

Roxanne could sense my sadness and frustration, and tears started to form in her eyes. “Alpha Damien always told the story that you two met many years ago, and after mating with him, you tried to kill him and ran away, which is against our laws. He’s been trying to find you all these years, and eventually, you became known as the runaway Luna. So, when he finally found you, he put you in a cell because you broke the law and to ensure you wouldn’t run away again.”

Tears began to stain my cheeks again, taking in all this information. Then I remembered the tiny detail that they were all werewolves. How can she expect me to believe something like that? Everyone knows that werewolves aren’t real. This must be some gang that Damien and Alex are a part of.

“How can you expect me to believe something like that? Everyone knows that werewolves are nothing short of fiction.” I questioned her, wondering if I could really trust her after all.

“I can prove it to you; you just have to promise you won’t scream.” I looked up at her, thinking over the probability of this being true. After a few moments, I nodded, wanting to see if she was being truthful.

Roxanne closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, I gasped. Her bright green eyes seemed even more defined, with an emerald, green mixed into her naturally lighter green color. Her features seemed more prominent, and she opened her mouth to reveal her canine teeth had grown significantly longer and her nails grew longer, to a defined point.

I was mesmerized by her appearance. “And here I thought you were going to turn into an actual werewolf.” I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and shake my head.

Her features went back to normal, and she smiled at me. “I don’t have enough space in here to comfortably shift, Luna.”

I stopped laughing and realized she was one hundred percent serious. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Roxanne, does that mean I’m his equal?” I asked her while she looked at me.

She nodded her head, not understanding my question. “Roxanne, tell me about laws regarding mates.”

She was about to say something when a roar sounded throughout the grounds and caused her eyes to widen, and suddenly her features were riddled with fear. “Luna, he knows your gone!”

She ran over to a cabinet and forced a bottle into my hands. “Drink this, now!” She cried while removing the stopper out of the bottle.

I didn’t ask any questions and quickly drank it all, trying to keep it down once I realized how bitter it tasted. I choked and coughed a couple of times but managed to drink it all. My whole body began to tingle, and I looked at Roxanne with wide eyes, wondering if she had just poisoned me.

“It’s going to mask your scent Luna, so the Alpha can’t find you.” She answered quickly, sensing my concern. “It should cover the scent trail from the packhouse as well, but you can’t stay here. We have to get you out to the pack border.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Now that Damien knows I’m gone, do we even have time to get away?”

“You’ll have to ride on my wolf; her name is Blair. She won’t hurt you, but the ride won’t exactly be smooth since we are going to have to rush.” She said, grabbing a bag, putting extra clothes in it for herself, grabbing a second bag for me, and filling it with clothes, food, and water.

I nodded and took the bag she gave me. “I trust you, Roxanne.” She smiled at me and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the cottage, through the garden, and towards the tree line.

She handed me her bag and took her clothes off, making me blush at how beautiful she truly was. “I’m going to shift, okay? Blair won’t hurt you.” I nodded, and the sight before my eyes made my jaw drop.

Cracking sounds echoed through the air as her body began to elongate, and fur started to cover her entire body. She looked up at the sky as she shifted and leaned forward, landing on her front paws ever so gracefully. Now there was a big, burgundy wolf with white paws staring at me where Roxanne had been standing. Blair’s eyes had the emerald, green mixed with Roxanne’s lighter green which had me mesmerized again; then, she turned her head to look at me.

“Blair?” I spoke softly, unsure of how to approach a wolf.

She purred and bowed in front of me, allowing me to climb onto her back and gently grab her fur. “I’m ready, Blair.”

I braced myself for the painful ride that I was about to endure. Blair started walking towards the thicker part of the tree line, and she began to pick up the pace till she was sprinting through the trees, gracefully jumping over tree limbs and branches, snaking through vines and flowers.

I quickly realized how graceful Blair was and began to appreciate the beauty she held. “Blair, can Roxanne hear our conversation too?” She nodded her big head, and I decided to tell Roxanne my story about Damien. I told Blair about everything, and I saw tears falling from Blair’s eyes, wetting the fur around them.

Blair slowed down to a brisk trot and eventually a slow walk as we saw the trees began to thin, indicating the end of the pack territory. Blair licked my face, and she shifted back into Roxanne, who grabbed the bag with her clothes and quickly put them on.

“I’m so sorry, Luna, about everything. Alpha Damien always came off as a proper man and Alpha, but no one knows how he is. Alex didn’t even know how the Alpha was acting, and they are extremely close. In your bag are a set of house keys that belong to my townhouse that I keep as a safe house if anything ever happened to Alex or me.” She paused after sensing my fear that Alex might be there and bring me back to Damien. “He doesn’t know about the townhouse, Luna. Only I know about it. Here’s a burner phone with the location plugged in, and all you have to do is follow it. I wish I could go with you, but I have to go back to the pack, or Alpha Damien will know I helped you.” She handed me the phone with the GPS, ready to go.

I felt myself overcome with a sudden sadness at losing Roxanne now too. I hugged her and squeezed as tight as I could without worsening my injuries, hoping to see her again someday.

“You’ll be okay Luna, settle into the townhouse and make a new life for yourself. Everything will work out.” She said with a smile and gave me another squeeze. She finally let me go, undressed, shifted back into Blair, and ran off into the woods.

I let out a long sigh knowing that my immediate future was going to be rough. I started walking and followed the GPS. It said the townhouse was about a six-hour walk from here. I groaned as the realization hit me that it was going to take forever for me to get there, especially with my injuries. Something I had noticed though, was that my body wasn’t aching as much as I thought it would be after suffering at the hands of Damien. I pushed the thought out of my mind and hoped that the drink she gave me would mask my scent long enough to make it there, and Damien would be shit out of luck on finding me. I still had so many unanswered questions but started my long walk to my new life.