His Reluctant Luna

Chapter 4: What the Moon Reveals

Training began before sunrise.

Kael was waiting for me in the courtyard, arms crossed, expression unreadable. The morning air was sharp with cold, and my breath curled in white clouds as I stepped outside.

"You're late," he said.

"I'm exactly on time."

"I said sunrise. The sun is rising."

I glanced at the horizon. A thin line of gold was just beginning to creep over the treetops. "By about thirty seconds."

Kael's mouth twitched. "Thirty seconds is the difference between life and death in a real fight. Remember that."

He put me through drills for two hours. Basic stances. Footwork. How to fall without breaking my wrist. How to use my smaller size as an advantage instead of a weakness. By the time he called a break, my arms were shaking and my lungs were burning.

"Not bad," he said, handing me a waterskin. "For a human."

"High praise."

"Don't get used to it."

I drank and tried not to collapse. Kael stood watching me with those sharp golden eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

"You can ask."

"Elena. She was real, wasn't she? Not just a story."

Kael's expression didn't change, but something in his posture shifted. "She was real."

"What was she like?"

He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "She was kind. Too kind for this world. She saw the good in everyone, even when there was none to see."

"Sounds like a weakness."

"It was." He met my eyes. "It's also why the Alpha loved her."

I didn't know what to say to that. I looked down at my hands, raw and red from gripping the training sword.

"She had your eyes," Kael added quietly. "I noticed it the moment you stepped off the carriage."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because it's true. But you're not her." He paused. "And I don't think the Alpha wants you to be."

Before I could ask what he meant, a sharp howl cut through the morning air.

Kael's head snapped up. "Stay here."

"What—"

"Stay. Here."

He took off toward the sound, faster than any human could run. I watched him disappear into the treeline, my heart hammering.

I waited. One minute. Two.

Then I heard it — voices. Angry. Coming closer.

I picked up the training sword and moved toward the edge of the courtyard.

A group of wolves emerged from the forest. Five of them, carrying something between them. It took me a second to realize what it was.

A body.

A dead wolf, his throat torn open, his eyes still open and staring at nothing.

Kael was among them, his face grim. He saw me standing there and shook his head once — a warning. Don't come closer.

But I was already walking.

"Who is it?" I asked.

No one answered.

"Who is it?" I repeated, louder.

Kael looked at me. "One of the southern pack. The same one that challenged the Alpha yesterday."

"He came back?"

"He was sent back. As a message."

I looked at the body again. The wound in his throat wasn't a bite — it was a blade. Clean. Precise. Professional.

Someone had executed him and left him on Bloodmoon land.

"Why?" I asked.

Kael's jaw tightened. "To show that they know where we are. And that they're not afraid."

I found Damon in the war room.

He was standing over a map of the territory, his back to me, his hands braced against the table. He didn't turn when I entered.

"You shouldn't be here," he said.

"I know."

"Then why are you?"

I walked to the other side of the table. "Because if someone's coming for you, I deserve to know what I'm walking into."

He finally looked up. His eyes were tired — a deep, bone-weary exhaustion that made my chest ache.

"There's a war coming," he said. "I've known it for years. The southern packs have been gathering strength, waiting for a weakness. And now they think they've found one."

"Me."

He didn't deny it.

"Then unmarry me," I said. "Send me back. I'm not worth a war."

He laughed — a short, bitter sound. "It's too late for that. The moment I accepted you as my bride, you became a target. Sending you away would be a sign of weakness. They'd hunt you down anyway, just to prove they could."

I stared at him. "So I'm trapped."

"Yes." He held my gaze. "We both are."

A long silence stretched between us. Then, slowly, I felt something shift in my chest. Not fear. Something else.

"I'm not going to let your pack fall because of me," I said.

"I don't expect you to—"

"I said I'm not going to let it happen."

He looked at me. Really looked — like he was seeing me for the first time.

"What are you planning?" he asked.

I didn't have a plan. But I had something else. Something I hadn't told anyone.

"The night I arrived," I said slowly, "when I looked at the moon from my window — I felt something. A pull. Like it was calling to me."

Damon's expression shifted. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It was like... warmth. Energy. It made my skin tingle."

He was silent for a long moment. Then he said, quietly: "That's not possible. You're human."

"Then explain it."

He couldn't.

That night, I stood at my window and looked at the moon.

Full. Silver. Huge against the black sky.

I reached out my hand.

And the moonlight bent toward me.