Winter Waning : Dark Of The Moon

All hail the Alpha King

•Ruelle•

The day had begun to give way to night's approach – the sun falling submissive behind the snowcapped mountains and the moon taking center stage in the darkening sky. I overlooked the perfect sight from a castle window, admiring the dizzy swirls that plunged the deep forest bellow into darkness – the deep forest where a great battle would be held.

The night after would host the Blood Supermoon, the rarest eclipse and the summoning of a crowning. Powerful packs from near and far gathered on our ancestral lands and sovereign kingdom, Moongarde, each putting forth their best tribute to partake in trial that would determine the next Alpha King.

“Ruelle,” My father and alpha called, “Come along, Rue, or we will be late for the gathering.”

Turning to him, I saw his signature smile that somehow used to make me feel at ease, regardless the situation, but that night I don’t think I could’ve been easily soothed.

I was Lunar Tides' only heir, a woman – a girl. A sad fate fell upon Lunar Tides and they raised me as the alpha male I should’ve been, filing out my roles and strength beautifully as any boy could have – better if I’d say so myself. Though my future was most certain. I was to fill the role until my mate was found and then he would rise to take my place.

I feared for us both that night. My father was a strong and admirable man but also very old, his share of battles long fought, and he hardly stood a chance of winning the trials. In his absence not only would I feel sadness, but the burden of having to find a mate that could lead our people.

I didn’t want a mate, I never have. I quite despised the idea of being forced into love and then, being the woman, forced into submission – a feeble supporter beside a man only there to spread my legs, bear his pups, and praise his power. Outdated and disgusting but apparently unavoidable.

“I don’t like crowds,” I said as we made our way through the halls.

“A queen should thrive on an audience.”

“But I am not a queen.”

“Not yet, but you are my princess,” father flattered with fondness in his aged, emerald eyes, “And you most certainly look the part.”

I scowled at the excessively extravagant dress that weighed heavy on my body, far different from my usual battle-ready attire that perfectly framed me.

“Why must I entertain this, father?” I said before we entered the main gathering hall where a rowdy feast was being hosted, “You’ve been brought here for your death, even mother couldn’t bear the trip to witness your end. Why must I put on a show to appease these brutes who wouldn’t accept me as the Alpha that I know myself to be – these brutes who would command an attendance in your execution – “

“Rue,” Father whispered in an authoritative tone and I looked down like a wounded pup, restrained by his stronghold position, “this is not an execution. It’s a great honor to fight for the crown, an honor I gladly accept as the leader of Lunar Tides and as your father,” he said and cupped my burning face, “You are bold and powerful. You have all the properties of the spirit but you are – “

“A woman?”

He placed a kiss on my forehead, “Yes, a great one at that, and our pack is blessed by the gods to have you. I have in good faith that you shall lead well and true if I am to perish under the blood moon, and I believe with all my soul your destined will be the finest alpha – if not, I don’t think he will survive your wrath.”

I chuffed at his remark and straighten my posture, holding my head up high as father linked his arm again with mine, and we glided into the hall. I would put on my best face but only for him, it could be last decent memory and I’m wasn’t about to dull it with sadness and ramblings had before.

The fear for my father’s life only deepened as we passed the threshold and my eyes fell upon the several dozen pack leaders and heirs filling the vast, dimly lit room. They jousted and joked in an oddly playful air as if they weren’t going to murder one another in the hours to come, and they all appeared strong and highly capable.

I was almost the only female here aside from the Luna women accompanying their mates. I despised the lot – just look at them swoon, the mindless bunch. I often question my talent to loath; I just think we should be held to a higher standard – after all, it is said a goddess bloomed us into creation.

Goddesses, that’s what we are and what we should be held to – I mean how could one not praise the masterful rises and falls of a woman’s body, they are truly picturesque and rarely can’t be compared to something of nature’s beauty.

Men on the other hand, and more specifically wolves are more than often savages – born fully into the beast, displayed perfectly in that moment as they celebrated rough and loud in royal company.

Sinking deeper into the festivities, I was suddenly hit by a cool draft – a tingling sensation waking on the surface of my skin and spiraling into the heat of my veins turning my blood cold. I tended up.

“What is it?” father asked at my side.

“A pull. A scent,” I murmured idly while still deeply entranced.

I felt him perk up at my side and blinked over at him to glance his wise gaze sweeping the room excitedly. The mates pull, it was there.

I drew in a sharp and dramatic breath through lips that gave way to a slight tremble. Not this. Not now – I thought.

Guided by the pull I abandoned my father’s side and tangled into the crowd, my eyes sharply sought out the one I am bound to, the one I could already feel as if touching my bare skin.

It was a short merge into the thick of drunken comrades till I spotted him, a man of stature with obsidian black hair like mine and the body frame of a strong warrior, with a height that could even exceed my own. His face, however, was hidden from me, clouded over by an entertainer latched to his lips.

My heart fell a little as I watched from the short distance – my destined hungrily groping that woman’s near bare body, so consumed he barely noticed my approach. Barely.

His hazel gaze lifted to meet mine in a swift motion and a gasp escaped my dry throat – I recognized him. Alpha heir Lucius of Silver moon, infamous for his less than honorable ways.

A sort of sickness misplaced the desire and longing desperate in my woken core and I stumbled a little before my father’s familiar grasp stabilized me. His gaze was quick to follow my own and I heard as a sigh pushed through his lips.

“Oh no,” he muttered nervously, sensing my coming resistance.

Oh no, indeed.

…

“He’s a w***e and a barbarian!” I exclaimed, pacing a path into the carpet of my suites floor.

“At least speak with him,” my father requested from a safe distance, “the mate bond is never wrong.”

“It is this time – I will not succumb to that beast! Another Alpha at that – don’t you see the problems it could raise!”

Lucius' reputation far surpassed him – he was widely recognized for his charm that chanted women from numerous packs to submit and unlock like unhinged doors. If that weren’t bad enough, Silver Moon was notoriously dominant – a good number of their heirs claiming the throne from an extensive background of winning wars with brute force. Lucius was no exception. He was powerful and he didn’t spare any opportunity to exert that power. He would definitely challenge me.

“Give him a chance, Rue. The bond is known to tame the beast,” father tried, “I trust the goddess knows what she is doing.”

“I can not.”

“You can and you will,” he commanded and I froze in my tracks, his order crippling my mobility. “For your sake, for mine and the future of your pack.”

I turned slowly to face him, a chill pulsed in my crumbling spine. He was right – as the Alpha, he thought with his mind rather than his heart, and so must I.

With a deep breath and a brief shut of my eyes, I looked to him and nodded in acknowledgement. Fixing myself and smoothing my hair, I revived my excellent posture and begin the walk off the plank, passing my father without another word and venturing off into the settling castle.

I questioned the passing servants and guards on my mates whereabouts, half maddened that the bastard didn’t come find me his damn self, but pressed on regardless, guided by a sweet handmaiden that had been tending to the honored guests.

I held my most ladylike poise as we neared his chambers, despite the weakness forming in my knees. The pull was strong, stronger than I could deny, and grew as I reached his den.

“I can manage from here,” I excused the girl, “Thank you.”

She took her leave after the bow of her head and I waited till I was alone before bridging the final gap. I only managed a step before Lucius' door flung open and he emerged in the threshold, tall and well-built form filling the frame.

“Good evening,” I managed in my calmest tone.

“Good evening, Lady Ruelle,” his voice was tinted with nerves but also confident, “I imagined you had fled the citadel after the way you fled the party – thought I’d give you the time.”

I gulped then cleared my throat, “I was surprised is all, I never expected - "

“Me?” he grinned devilishly and I quaked a little.

“This wasn’t a good time,” I said and stepped back but Lucius rushed for me and caught my arm, sending a dozen sparks shooting through my tempered skin.

“No, it’s perfect. Please, come in,” he gestured to his chambers.

I remained hesitant, rooted to the spot as I peered into his private room. I’m wasn’t sure if I want to be alone with him – not like that, it felt too intimate but I was putty in his palm as he guided me into the candlelit quarters.

Within his room I was not at ease, muscles seizing as he closed the door and sealed us away from the outside world. I imagined he meant to claim me quickly like all mates tend to do and the thought had me oddly fearful.

I was hardly a girl anymore – seventeen years in mundane life but much older in my own reality where age was significantly slower to grab. I was hardly an innocent either, I had dabbled in love and killed on the battlefield, but standing in the presence of my destined, I was as feeble and pure as a doe caught in the wild.

“A drink to relax?” Lucius offered, “You look like you could do with one.”

“I’m alright.”

Lucius chuckled and poured himself a drink regardless, “I imagined Ruelle of Lunar Tides to be more fierce and warning.”

My head snapped in his direction and I raised a brow, “You’ve heard of me?”

“I’m sure everyone knows of you. The lone heir of Alpha Roldan and Luna Lovette, raised like a king and warrior. The women have written few to many a song of you.”

A small smile taunted the corner of my lips and I looked back to the far corner of the room. Songs they should write – I was the flower that blossomed into a tree able to withstand storms.

My smile faded with a shudder as Lucius approached behind and gently trailed his fingertips down my bare arm before nearing my ear to whisper, “Alpha queen,” he breathed on my skin and my heart pounded in my ears.

I immediately burst forward and nearly tripped over my own feet trying to escape his spell. He only laughed all the more.

“Calm down, little mate,” he said into crystal while taking a sip of liquor.

“I’m not little,” I said boldly, trying to straighten up.

“So I can tell,” he marveled with a playful smile on his strong face, “You’re obviously built like an alpha, are you sure you didn’t consume your male twin,” he teased and reached for my arm.

“Don’t mock me!” I cut him off sternly and stole from his grasp, but he only moved quicker and caught me rather at my waist, curving his hand into the arch of my back and pulling me flush against his chest.

“I’m not mocking,” he said and his breath fanned warm against my skin from the closeness of our faces, “While other men might find you intimidating, I see only my perfect compliment, a woman to match my pride and strength; and I do so love a challenge.”

I was shuddering in his embrace as he forced me backward, the bed curved into the back of my knees and I plonked back onto the cotton mattress. 

“You’re not mad?” I asked with a gulp, “It’s unheard of – two alphas being mated – I’m sure it will be very conflicting.”

“No, it’s refreshing actually – most she-wolves would already be naked before me, the submissive within crumbling any will they may have.”

“I am not most,” I declared spitefully and Lucius breathed a laugh that boiled my blood a bit – of course he’d doubt me like everyone else. He probably believed he’d gain the upper hand regardless of my standing.

“You aren’t,” he said and cupped my chin, forcing my gaze up into his as he stood over me, “I rather see the greatness we’d climb together,” he paused and relished in thought, “Our clans would become one and rise as one to superior, and I’d rule over the strong while also ruling over the sovereign kingdom – all with the beautiful alpha queen at my side.”

His side? I don’t want to rule by his side, I want to rule!

“You’re confident you will win?”

“There is no doubt,” Lucius declared and forced me further back as he crawled onto the bed, broad frame hovering over me and blocking light.

I watched with small tremors vibrating through my body as he pinched the strings of my corset and slowly drew the bow free, making easy work of undoing the lacing. I was fighting back the urge to overthrow him – I am a dominant, I don’t belong on the bottom.

As my corset fell free and allowed me to breathe full, Lucius cut off my air again by invading my mouth with his own. The taste of liquor mingled on our tongues. His hand came up to tangle with my hair, forcibly pulling my head back into the sheets and I was flat on my back and at his mercy.

His free hand seized the adventure, exploring the mountains and valleys of my overheated body that clenched and convulsed under his weight, and as his fingers trailed to the split of my thighs I moaned against his lips before drawing back.

“You can’t claim me tonight!”

“No?” he asked with a stunned expression, stupefied by my audacity.

“No,” I said firmly and propped myself up onto my elbows, “Even if you’re sure you will succeed tomorrow, there is a chance the ground will claim you and I will not be tethered to the dead.”

He sighed and sat up, “as my mate and a stand-in pack alpha, I can respect you for now – but you are fighting the bond.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. I can feel your body yearning and smell your arousal, Ruelle, it is driving me mad,” he growled and I witnessed the darkening of his already dark eyes, “You’re going to make life hard for us both, I can tell.”

“You said you enjoyed a challenge, well here is your first. Prove yourself to be a man and prove yourself to me.”

Lucius appeared offended by my rejection, “Women don’t deny me.” – guess it was a first for him.

“Well,” I heaved and sat straight up. “you will also have to start denying women – as an alpha yourself, I’m sure you’re aware we don’t take kindly to sharing.”

He continued to eye me out with rising suspicions as if I were a witch attempting to steal his manhood. He sais nothing more, just staring, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Guess this is turning out to be more of a challenge than you had hoped,” I teased.

Lucius shook his head slowly then closed in on me again, palms planting on either side of me as he tried to assert dominance over me with his height – it worked but only slightly.

“Once the trial is through and I claim my crown, I will hunt you down in fur and blood and take you as a wolf in the blessed woods of our ancestors,” my core clamped and vibrated as he spoke, thrills spiraling inside me. “we will be bonded in body and soul and you will surrender to me, after that you should be no challenge at all.”

My heart sunk and the chaos of emotions deepened all the more. I was enraged by my power warning to be stripped and defiled, but at the same time lustful and yearning. This wasn’t at all what I planned and really threw a spanner in the works.

“We shall see,” – three words all I could manage and I stood again to neaten up before taking my leave.

Lucius didn't stop me and I was glad, or else I believed, I may fall under his spell again and I couldn’t have that, not with what was to come.

I had made that journey with one mission in mind and my mates rising had nearly deterred me, I almost succumbed. A problem rested on my shoulders as I sunk back through the citadel, a problem I’d have to face on my own without guidance from my father. I was thankful Lucius did not claim me then and there because then my problem would be a lot worse – it would be much harder to kill him in the trials.

I was there for the crown, not for a mate nor to serve the crown by his side. I was an alpha queen and I planned on becoming the Alpha king.

•●•

The moon was near bloodied in the nightmare sky and a thousand howls hollowed out the vast and dark forest. I was frightened but short of doubt for myself.

Father was probably already wondering where I was as he prepared to take off into the woods. I was not there to see him off. I couldn’t have the elders protest, I had chosen to prove myself rather in action and emerge the champion – after that, they’d have no choice.

The night air was cold against my skin and only intensified my nervous shivers as I stood at the forest outskirts and shed my cloak for the climb ahead. It was almost time for the alarm to sound and send warriors unfurling through the trees, I couldn’t be caught off guard when that happened – standing downwind so they wouldn’t pick up my scent.

I heard them howl from their separate posts, my father’s cry to the moon distinctly familiar and close by – I could reach him in time to withdraw his position as the Lunar Tides tribute.

The horn sounded. It had begun.

Striped bare, I charged into the night and my flesh gave way for black fur, my brilliant wolf bursting to the surface as I flew through the air and began eating up the ground under my strong four paws. Wind rushed through my thick coat and the towering trees passed by in a violent blur as I quickly closed ground and zoned in on my first prey – a crimson wolf stalking the plains. I gave him no chance to react and lunged without warning.

It was a short battle. He was most likely young, his wolf stature smaller than my own. I gave him the chance to kneel with a shattering growl but he persisted and I went for the throat. I wasn’t there to play with children.

My first token has been collected, the stain and scent of his blood strung from my razor collection of teeth. That trace of his blood would be enough to present to the king, proving my kill or overpowering – that trace of his blood and the blood of just under fifty more alphas and heirs.

The eclipse had appeared and left and still the trial went on. I hadn’t reached my father yet and begun to fear the worst while I fought and clawed my way through a dozen or so wolves in my path.

By then my dark fur was slick with red – no one would concede to me and for that they took their last breaths. I treaded further into the night as the air took on a new silence, a sort of mourning for the dead that laid littered through the ever-reaching battleground.

The trees all looked the same to me then in the depths of the forest and it was becoming harder to see while my body grew considerably weaker from the few assaults I took.

I heard light tread on the fallen leaves and brittle branches scattered on the forest floor and snapped my strong jaw in the direction of the sound. His scent hit me and my guard faltered – father.

‘Ruelle!’ He bellowed within the walls of my mind and a snarl clattered his sharp teeth, ‘What are you doing in these woods!’

‘I’m claiming my right!’

Father’s grey wolf stomped his strong paws sternly, kicking up dust and I almost cowered before him.

‘You have no right here!’

‘The law says nothing of a woman partaking in the trial – only that it should be the clan’s strongest and virtuous warrior. I am that warrior father! You are the one with no right to these grounds. Your rule should’ve passed to me when I came of age and would of if not for outdated beliefs – have I not proved myself worthy countless times – ‘

‘Ruelle!’ he interrupted, ‘Leave at once!’

I held my ground, stomped my paws, and lifted my heavy mane up high. I would not be forced back, not by anyone.

‘Someone has to fight for Lunar Tides as you clearly haven’t been,” I growled and regarded his fur and scent untainted by battle.

‘I do not desire the crown.’

‘Then step down. Please.’

My father softened at my tone, his weak legs hinging a bit and he stumbled back. It was good he hasn’t fought, not only for his health but for the case I would raise to the council that I received no help from an allied party.

The wind changed direction and I smelt an attack before I saw it, lifting my gaze to the racing blur of white fur that struck contrast against a black sky. My reaction was little too late. The white wolf crushed down on my father and they struggled till I heard the snapping of bones.

I was paralyzed, pads of my paws rooted to the frosted soil as I watched the grey fur of my father breathe its last and crumble to the ground.

The white wolf let out a curdling howl before turning to me and releasing a low growl. He lunged while I was stunned still and abandoned of breath – almost reaching me before being torn from the air and slammed to the ground by another.

I instantly sensed my mate, in his beast form with a similar obsidian coat to my own and a white underbelly. He pinned my father’s killer and dust surged around them in a smog while they collided like a yin and yang, till my mate claimed the kill and broke from the symbol.

His dark eyes finally came to fix on me all while a breathless pant heaved his chest, and he slowly lapped the blood from his lips.

“I said after the trial, Ruelle,” Lucius spoke as his fur fell to the ground and from it appeared a man.

I couldn’t manage a word, shifting back and remaining seated and curled up atop my fallen coat with my gaze still lingering on my father’s deceased wolf. A single tear strained from my eye.

“I planned to allow him to concede,” he said upon following my gaze.

I stifled a sob, “Thank you.” I murmured softly, “for that I will allow you the same opportunity.”

“What?”

“Heel,” I uttered in a single breath and rose to my feet, the cold air hardly a bother to my heated, bare skin.

“You must be joking,” he scoffed in surprise.

I looked to him with unflinching nerve, clenching my jaw and fists with a hope in my heart that he’d take the deal, “I will claim Alpha king, a good eighteen have already fallen to me and you shall as well if you do not heel – I am the strongest, this is my right.”

Lucius blinked in astonishment before his eyes narrowed down on me and a low growl rattled in his blood-coated chest. I was turned weak as he marched for me and pressed me to a tree, bark scratching at my back and his swelling manhood pressing into my stomach.

“I could take you right now and diminish your inflated ego. You are living in a dream, Ruelle, and it’s time to wake up.”

“In front of my dead father,” I spat in a belittling tone, “You truly are a beast!”

His lips pressed into a hard line then a smile woke on his face, “I am and I’ve given all the respect I could muster, but I won’t be held for a fool any longer.”

His tight jaw snapped open and his canines elongated – red-stained teeth with a piercing promise, and I couldn’t contain myself, shoving him from my body before he could make his claim. I changed swiftly into my wolf.

Lucius mimicked my action and sprouted his black fur again, and like a crack of thunder, we collided in battle. He was a formidable opponent, stronger than anyone I had already faced and I was already half tired and depleted at that point.

The snapping of jaws and slicing of claws resound in the deep hollow of the forest, neither one of us letting up – I thrashed his face and left a few brutal red streaks in his flesh and he managed the same to my side. He tried hard to land a bite but I wouldn’t let him, focusing fully on his snout.

I wouldn’t surrender to their traditions. I wouldn’t surrender to destiny. I’d die before I gave my power for love, forced or chosen. My resolve was titanium-clad – I would own the throne and whoever defied me would die!

Pushing my energy to the limit, a growl ripped from my chest and I clamped my jaw down, teeth of steel penetrating the soft of Lucius' side and he howled in pain.

He yelped like the wounded animal he was when I finally released him from my hold and he cowered away under my authoritative snarl.

Concede! I snapped and hissed in warning, delving my emerald gaze into his soul and urging his surrender. Lucius recoiled in pain, eyes searching mine before finally falling to the ground as he hesitantly bowed his head in submission. 

…

The finish line was dimly lit by rows of lanterns leading out of the forest, through the small town and up into the citadel walls. People stared from the sidelines and whispered amongst themselves as I made my way up the scared path in my beast form, fur dripping with blood that turned the snow bellow a deep pink.

I climbed the stairs with the slightest limp and staggered forward to the great hall, stopping before the door and shedding my animal skin. The servants were baffled by the sight of me – hesitant to bestow the champions cloak. My red skin that steamed in the icy air was covered by the ceremonial cape and I then stepped forward into the hall, gasps escaping the council members, royals, alphas and mates, and even the king himself.

I relished in their reaction, a smile played on my full lips as I lifted my fingers to my blood-soaked hair and smoothed it down slickly.

“What is the meaning of this?” an elder councilman bellowed, his voice filling the hall and forcing it silent.

“I have won,” I announced at the top of my voice, “I have fought and won!”

The council erupted into aggravated chatter but was swiftly silenced by the king himself as he holds up a jeweled fist. He rose from his thrown, the great expanse of his coat made from the furs of fallen kings, trailed behind him as he made his way over to me and I met him halfway, matching his intensity.

He studied me for a moment before meeting my gaze, “You defeated forty-eight alphas?” he questioned.

“Twenty-eight – the rest were already downed or kneeled like your son.”

He furrowed his brows before looking past me and I followed his gaze to the alphas and heirs who forfeited their rights, neatly seated in the back of the hall. Lucius was among them, his wounded face still brightly on display. There was the slightest pang in my chest before I returned my attention to the king.

He began to circle me, “What of her father?”

I was about to speak when a watcher stole my turn, “Dead, milord, he had no claims on his scent.”

“My father excluded himself from the battle long before it began,” I said, glaring at the watcher who dared speak over me.

The king paused behind me and leaned in to draw a deep whiff of my scent, recalling everyone who had fallen to my bite – my father and his killer among them.

“You killed your father?”

“I claimed his token, not his life.”

“The girl is mad if she believes she can claim the right to the crown!” a council member exclaimed and I gritted my teeth at being called a girl.

“All the greats were once called mad,” I said as calmly and confidently as I could manage.

“You stole this opportunity, you should have never been on the grounds in the first place – we blessed the tributes and I for one do not recall your attendance – “ another old and retired king spoke.

“I know the laws!” I cut him off and turned to face the Alpha king, “Raised as the Alpha I am, I was taught every law and not one of them states that a female can not rise to kingship, not one speaks of blessings or attendances – it all comes down to who claims the victory, that is all!”

The king was pensive for a moment before finally breathing a laugh, “That is all.” he said and slowly lifted his gaze to the hollowed out sky roof.

I followed him to the sight of the moon still full in the night sky and shining generously down upon us, fixed like a spotlight. I then watched his unreadable expression as he conversed silently with the Lunar gods, probably requesting that they gave him the strength to strike me down where I stood.

The king finally settled on me again, looking me up and down before turning his attention to our awaiting audience, “Morrighan accepts.”

With his words spoken the hall erupted again with chatter and shock, council members trying to voice their objections over the buzzing crowd and the entire room was a swarming nightmare of noise.

“Silence!” the Alpha king shattered the voices into a thousand pieces, “The all mother has spoken and I am in agreement. Ruelle of Lunar Tides, daughter of Alpha Roldan, gods rest his soul, and champion of the triall has proved herself as well as shown the traits of the wolf goddess herself – fierce on the battlefield and merciful with her enemies, her people.”

He reached for his cloak and drew it from his body, throwing it over me and I almost collapsed under the intense weight of nearly a hundred wolves resting on my back. This was it – the weight carried by a king.

His hands settled on my shoulders before he bowed his head in acceptance, “All hail the Alpha king!” he said then stepped back and knelt before me.

The air forced from my lungs at the sight of the hundreds in attendance all following in his suit, each taking the knee and lowering their heads.

“All hail the Alpha king!” they said in unison.

The former king lifted his gaze to me again then up to the moon that blessed me brightly from above – “Long may she reign.”