Alpha’s Mistaken Luna

005

I sat at the edge of my bed, and whatever sleep I had left disappeared after her words. Celeste paced the room, and she hadn’t stopped moving since she told me what she wanted, like standing still might make her doubt herself.

“You don’t understand,” she said as she ran a hand through her hair. “This isn’t just some crush. This feels important, I can clearly picture it all in my head.”

Unease crept into my chest and settled there, and I already knew it wasn’t going anywhere. I understood more than she thought, and that was the problem.

My eyes drifted past her and landed on the framed photo sitting on my dresser. It was old, from years ago, back when we were both younger and everything felt simpler.Celeste had her arm wrapped around me, holding on like she was afraid I would disappear the second she loosened her grip. My dad found me in the lake when I was only a baby, and she never once made me feel like I didn’t belong here.

“I know you like him,” I said quietly.

She stopped pacing and looked at me.

“f**k yes. I’ve always liked him,” she admitted. “But now, if he really is what you say he is, an Alpha, then this could be my future, Yena. A real one . And it already feels like mine.”

The word stayed between us, heavy, pressing down on my chest. I swallowed before asking the question I didn’t want the answer to.

“And what about what he wants?”

She hesitated for just a moment, and then lifted her chin like she had already decided. “He doesn’t know what he wants yet.” She shrugged slightly. “I don’t think he does.”

It hurt more than it should have, mostly because I knew she was wrong. I knew the way Maximus looked at me, not at Celeste’s face but through it, like he was searching for someone else entirely and had already found her.

“He scares me,” I said instead.

Her expression softened as she sat beside me on the bed and took my hands in hers, warm and familiar, grounding me even when I didn’t want to be grounded. “I know. But I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t temporary. It’s just until we switch back, that I can be sure of .”

I stared at our tangled hands and remembered how she had held them the night I woke up screaming from nightmares, and how she held them again when other kids whispered and laughed about where I came from. Slowly, I pulled my hands free.

“If I do this,” I said, surprised at how steady my voice sounded even as something inside me cracked open, “I need you to promise me one thing.”

She nodded immediately, far too quickly.

“When this is over,” I continued, “you don’t blame me. No matter how it ends. No matter what he feels.”

Her smile wavered. “Why would I blame you?”

I didn’t say that it might be because we were about to play with his heart. Instead, I just looked at her and said, “Just promise.”

She nodded again. “I promise.”

She pulled me into a hug, and I hugged her back even though I had to force the smile that followed. Deep down, I knew what I had just agreed to wasn’t really my choice, but I wanted her to be happy, even if that meant swallowing everything I felt.

“I need to step out,” I said after a moment when she let go, and she gave me a look that said she wanted to ask more.

“It’s been a long day, and a lot has been revealed. My brain can’t keep up anymore,” I added, letting out a small laugh that felt hollow but softened the tension between us.

I had already changed into baggy pants and a jumper.

“I promise I’ll return your body in one piece,” I joked as we stepped into the hallway together.

“You better,” she said, laughing.

I waved at her and closed the door behind me before heading outside. The sky was pitch black as I walked down the street, still trying to get familiar with the area since we hadn’t moved here long ago. The unfamiliar streets didn’t bother me at first because my head was too crowded with everything that had happened today.

My sister’s choices weighed on me the most, along with the realization that the supernatural world actually existed, and now I had two different people telling me I wasn’t fully human.

I stopped and looked up at the moon, something I always did before going to sleep. My dad used to tell me the moon watched over me and took away my fear, but now I had a new one to add to the list. Maximus. A whole f*****g werewolf. I had no idea how I was supposed to make him fall for me, or why fate even thought that was possible.

I kept walking without paying attention, letting my feet carry me farther than I meant to go, until I looked around and realized I was several blocks from home in a neighborhood I didn’t recognize.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

The voice behind me made my body freeze. I turned slowly and saw two tall men leaning against the corner of a building, both heavily tattooed. One of them was smoking as he watched me with a crooked smile. The street felt suddenly too quiet, and my heart started pounding when I realized how empty it was.

“Want someone to walk with you, baby?” the other one asked, his eyes dragging over me in a way that made my skin crawl.

I felt unease, and my legs moved back on instinct. “No, thank you,” I muttered before turning and walking away as fast as I could.

I knew they would follow, and their laughter echoed behind me, low and ugly, growing closer with every step. My breath became ragged as I picked up speed and when I reached the edge of the street I bolted into the woods while my voice broke as I screamed for help.

I glanced back just as I turned and slammed into someone. Strong hands caught me before I could fall, gripping my arms too tightly, and panic rushed through me so fast it made my head spin. Another set of hands grabbed me from behind, and I fought and screamed until one of them clamped a hand over my mouth and I felt the cold press of a gun.

I squeezed my eyes shut as tears slid down my face and my heart raced so hard it hurt.

Then I heard it, a low, deep, feral sound rolling through the darkness.

Everything happened too fast after that. Growls filled the air while claws tore through the dark, and groans and screams overlapped until a gunshot shattered the night. I hit the ground hard, my body folding in on itself as I struggled to breathe, and somewhere behind me I heard heavy groans followed by a sound that twisted something deep inside my chest.

A wolf’s cry.

The men were gone, and their footsteps faded into nothing, but the wolf behind me hadn’t moved. My hands shook as I turned and pressed them over my mouth, and that was when I saw the blood and felt my stomach drop.

It took a second for the shock to fade enough for me to realize who I was looking at.

Greg.

He lay on his stomach, naked, blood dark against his skin, and a sharp gasp tore out of me when his eyes met mine. He tried to push himself up, letting out a low groan, but I couldn’t speak because my mind refused to catch up.

“H… hey,” he managed, his voice strained as he got upright and pressed a hand to his stomach where he’d been shot.

I moved closer without thinking. “Are you okay?” I asked, even though my voice shook.

He nodded, but pain tightened his face, and suddenly everything made sense. The growls, the screams, and the wolf cries all pointed to the same truth.

Greg was a werewolf.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” I asked, the words barely more than breath.

He looked at me with his jaw clenched. “Jenkins, now isn’t really the time,” he said, wincing. “I need you to do me a favor.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “Fuck.”

Then he looked at me again, his eyes hard and urgent.

“Call Maximus.”