The Alpha Who Loved Too Late-His Lost Luna

Rowan was obsessed with me. Madly, irrevocably.   It almost made me regret the day I decided to drag his injured body back to my hideout. He had been bloodied and weak, shifted into his wolf form as he lay on the floor. It took me a lot of effort to take him back, but I couldn't just leave an injured fellow wolf out in the woods to die.   Little did I know that one act would change the direction of my entire life.   According to him, the moment he opened my eyes to see me, he decided: “No one else. Only you.”   And he was serious. He took me away from he Alpha I was to be mated to. And to win me over, he imprisoned me for three years in a private, warded villa hidden deep in his territory—far from his pack, far from anyone. Every day, he tried to court me with gifts, attention, even tenderness.   But I never loved him. He was my abductor and there was no way I would ever want him.   But now... he had a substitute. A she-wolf named Maria. She was from his pack and from the videos I received from Rowan, she looked frighteningly similar to me.   They had been flaunting their bond for months—running through the forest together, curling up in front of the hearth in the Alpha’s den. The rumors were everywhere.   To provoke me, Rowan would sometimes forward me mind-linked visions—flashes of him and Maria nestled together, laughing, kissing.   Today was one of those days.   I sat in the courtyard trying to focus on the peace and quiet, but faint mental echoes of his latest memory with Maria flashed through the mind-link.   Until, I heard noise from outside the villa.   I frowned. Rowan wasn’t due to visit for another few days. But I wasnt hallucinating. There were voices and footsteps.   "Didn’t Alpha Rowan say this place is off-limits?"   "He did. I heard the last wolf who peeked through the fence got his paws shattered and his eyes clawed out."   "Then why the hell are we here, Maria?"   "Because he loves me. He won’t mind. I want to see what he's hiding in here so badly."   I froze. My chest tightened. Someone was heading this way.   They had no idea what they were walking into.   I knew better than anyone: Rowan didn’t just guard me. He hoarded me. I wasn’t allowed to go outside and no one was allowed inside.   At first, he was only jealous of other males—ranked wolves or not.   Once, a curious omega caught a glimpse of me through the curtains. The next day, Rowan crippled him and wiped his memory clean before sending him into exile.   Later, when Rowan saw me smile—just a casual smile at one of the housemaids, he dismissed every servant in a jealous rage. Since then, he’d done everything himself—bringing food, changing bedding, brushing the dust from the windows.   No one was allowed to lay eyes on me but him. If they came in, they wouldn’t just be in danger. They’d die and he'd see to it himself.   I jumped to my feet, rushing to the door, hoping—foolishly—to warn them before it was too late.   But the moment I opened it, I saw someone who looked almost the same as me. It surprises me.   Before I could speak, her hand struck me hard across the face.   “Who the hell are you?” she snarled. “How dare a rogue like you pretend to be me and hide in Rowan’s villa? You think you can seduce my Alpha? I’ll rip you apart!”