THE LUNA HE REFUSED TO CLAIM

CHAPTER 8 - When the Wolf Woke

Pain was the first thing I felt.

Not the sharp kind that made you scream—but a deep, spreading heat, like something ancient stretching awake inside my bones. I gasped, clutching the sheets as my body arched against the mattress.

My heart thundered.

Too fast.

Too loud.

It felt like it wanted to tear its way out of my chest.

“Stop,” I whispered, though I didn’t know who I was speaking to. Myself… or the thing clawing its way through my veins.

The whispers returned.

Not distant this time.

Not teasing.

They were inside me.

‘Let go’

My breath hitched. My skin burned, every nerve ending alive, screaming. My spine bowed as a sharp pressure rolled through my back, my arms, my legs—like my body was remembering something it had forgotten.

I cried out, biting my lip to keep from screaming.

Images flooded my mind.

Moonlight.

Blood.

A forest on fire.

A man’s voice shouting my name—

Calista.

I froze.

The name didn’t sound like a memory.

It sounded like a call.

‘You are late’, a voice said, smooth and feminine, threaded with power.

‘But you are here now’.

My breath caught.

“Who… who are you?” I whispered, tears slipping down my temples.

There was a pause.

Then warmth—soft and fierce—wrapped around my heart.

‘I am you’.

‘I am the part they buried’.

‘I am your wolf’.

My chest heaved as a sob tore free.

A wolf.

The pain shifted, rolling through me in waves until it settled low in my stomach, coiling tight—like a tether snapping into place.

Then it happened.

A scent filled my senses.

Steel.

Pine.

Cold night air.

My body reacted before my mind did. My pulse spiked, my breath coming shallow as something sharp and undeniable snapped into my soul.

A bond.

“No,” I breathed, panic rising.

“No—please—”

‘You asked why you feel wrong’, my wolf murmured.

‘Why your heart races when he enters a room’.

‘Why his presence burns and pulls and angers you’.

My hands curled into fists.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

But she didn’t stop.

‘Because he is yours’.

The room tilted.

My vision blurred as a face formed in my mind—cold eyes, sharp jaw, a presence that had haunted me long before tonight.

Kade.

I shook my head violently. “That’s not possible. He hates me.”

‘He denies you’, my wolf corrected.

That is not the same thing.

My chest ached, the bond tightening painfully, as if responding to my denial.

“He’s getting married,” I said hoarsely. “He chose someone else.”

A low, dangerous hum echoed in my mind.

‘He can lie to the world’.

‘He can lie to himself’.

‘But he cannot lie to the bond’.

Tears spilled freely now, burning hot as my body finally stilled. The pain faded, leaving behind something heavier.

Awareness.

Strength.

Truth.

“What does this mean?” I whispered.

There was a pause—longer this time.

Then, softly:

‘It means the Alpha of Nightclaw rejected fate’.

‘And fate does not forget’.

A sudden knock echoed through the hall outside my door.

My heart lurched.

The knock came again.

Not loud.

Not urgent.

Just… deliberate.

My wolf stirred, restless beneath my skin, but it wasn’t the bond pulling this time. It was something else—familiar, steady, restrained.

I pushed myself upright, my body still humming with leftover heat as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

“Who is it?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

A pause.

Then, “Rowan.”

I frowned.

I hadn’t expected him.

I crossed the room slowly and cracked the door open. Rowan stood there, arms crossed, his expression carefully neutral—like he hadn’t just felt something ripple through the pack.

But his eyes flicked over me once. Sharp. Assessing.

“You look like hell,” he said flatly.

“Good morning to you too,” I muttered.

“You okay?” he asked.

It didn’t sound like concern.

More like an obligation.

“I’m fine,” I said, even though my wolf scoffed at the lie.

Rowan hummed quietly, unconvinced.

“Alpha asked me to check on you.”

Of course he did.

The words settled heavily in my chest.

“Did he?” I asked.

Rowan’s jaw tightened just slightly.

“Don’t read into it.”

I almost laughed.

“Why would I?” I said. “He’s busy.”

Rowan’s gaze lingered on my face longer this time, his nostrils flaring faintly as if he was trying to place something that didn’t make sense.

“Something happened tonight,” he said slowly. “You felt it, didn’t you?”

My fingers curled around the doorframe.

“I felt a lot of things,” I replied.

Rowan studied me for another heartbeat, then stepped back. “Get some rest.”

That was it.

No accusations.

No explanations.

Just a look—one that said this isn’t over.

As he turned to leave, the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Where is he?”

Rowan paused.

I could tell he considered lying.

“He’s in his chambers,” he said finally. “And before you ask—no, you shouldn’t be going there.”

I didn’t respond.

Because my feet were already moving.

The hallway felt different now.

Every step echoed louder. Every scent sharper. Wolves passing by glanced at me longer than usual, their gazes lingering like they sensed something had shifted.

I ignored them.

The closer I got, the stronger the pull became.

Not violent.

Not overwhelming.

Just… inevitable.

I stopped outside Kade’s chambers.

The door loomed before me—solid wood, carved with the Nightclaw sigil. I’d been here before. Countless times.

But never like this.

My wolf paced restlessly.

‘Go’.

My heart pounded.

I raised my hand.

Hesitated.

Then I knocked.

Silence.

I swallowed and reached for the handle.

The door opened.

And everything inside me went still.

He didn’t look surprised to see me.

If anything… he looked angry.

Not at my presence—but at the truth standing between us.