THE ALPHA WHO COULD NOT HOWL

Poison

Kael's kiss still burned on my lips.

He had pulled away when he realized he was n***d, his face red for the first time ever. The Beta quickly threw him a wrapper. The hall was still kneeling. Nobody dared to look up at us.

"Get up," Kael ordered, his voice now with an echo — his wolf speaking with him. "No one kneels to my Luna without her permission."

Everyone stood slowly, heads still down.

Elder Okon approached, shaking. "Alpha... Mother Selene... we need to do the Luna ceremony now. Tonight is still Blood Moon. It's the only night you can complete the mate bond and make her officially Luna."

Mate bond? Complete?

My stomach dropped. I knew what that meant from pack gossip. To complete the bond... you have to...

"Marking and mating," Vanessa said loudly from the corner, her lip bleeding from where I threw her. She was jealous, her eyes full of hate. "If you mark the cleaner, Alpha, you will be tied to a wolfless weakling forever. You just got your wolf. You can have any powerful Alpha daughter. Don't waste it."

Kael growled, and Vanessa flinched. "One more word about my Luna and I will rip your tongue out, even if your father is an Alpha."

Vanessa went quiet, but her fists were clenched.

Selene whispered inside me, *"That girl plans to kill us tonight. Be careful what you drink."*

That night, the pack prepared a feast. I was given a real dress for the first time — white, beautiful. Kael wouldn't let go of my hand. Whenever someone came close, he growled.

"You don't have to hold me so tight," I whispered, blushing because everyone was watching.

"If I let go, you will disappear," he said quietly, so only I heard. "For 19 years I lived with no wolf, thinking I was broken. Now I know I was just waiting for you to make me whole. I am not losing you."

My heart beat so fast.

A maid brought us two cups of palm wine for the ceremony. "For the Alpha and his Luna. To bless your union."

Kael took his, but Selene screamed inside me: *"DON'T DRINK! POISON! WOLFSBANE!"*

I grabbed Kael's hand before he could drink. "Wait!"

I sniffed my cup. It smelled normal, but Selene's nose is better. Underneath, there was a bitter scent. Wolfsbane — poison that can kill a werewolf's wolf, or kill a wolfless person instantly.

I looked up. Vanessa was watching from across the hall, smiling.

She poisoned it.

Kael saw my face and understood. He didn't hesitate. He turned and threw his cup straight at Vanessa.

The cup hit her dress, spilling red poison wine all over her.

"YOU!" Kael roared, and he shifted halfway, claws out, fangs out. The whole hall shook. "YOU TRIED TO POISON MY LUNA!"

Vanessa screamed, "It wasn't me! It was... it was..."

But Elder Okon sniffed the spill on the floor and his eyes widened. "Wolfsbane! Pure wolfsbane! This would have killed Luna and killed your wolf, Alpha! Only an Alpha daughter would have access!"

Kael was already moving toward Vanessa, ready to kill.

I grabbed his arm. "Kael, don't! If you kill an Alpha's daughter, there will be war!"

He stopped, breathing hard, his silver-white eyes fixed on Vanessa.

"Take her to the dungeon," he ordered. "And send a message to her father, Alpha Marcus. Tell him his daughter tried to murder Selene Reborn. Tell him to come and beg for her life himself."

He turned to me, his claws gently touching my cheek.

"Are you okay, my Luna?"

And for the first time, I didn't feel like the wolfless cleaner.

I felt like his Luna. His equal. His blessed.

But Selene whispered, *"This is just the beginning, child. If one Alpha daughter dared, others will too. They will all want to kill the girl who stole the Alpha who could not howl."*