🐺 THE ALPHA'S MOONBORN MATE

ELARA'S POV The first thing I noticed was the car. Black. Expensive. Parked beneath a broken streetlight with its engine running, even though there wasn't a single person inside. The second thing I noticed was the man standing beside it. He was watching me. I slowed down. He didn't look away. Neither did I. Something about him made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. He was dressed entirely in black, tall enough that even from across the street, he looked intimidating. His face was partially hidden by the darkness, but I could make out the sharp line of his jaw and the coldness in his eyes. I should have turned around. I didn't. That was my first mistake. I continued walking. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I passed the car. The man moved. I heard footsteps behind me. My heart immediately picked up. I glanced over my shoulder. He was following me. "Can I help you?" He didn't answer. I walked faster. So did he. Okay. This was officially terrifying. I reached into my pocket for my phone. Before I could pull it out, a hand covered my mouth. I barely had time to gasp. An arm wrapped around my waist and dragged me backward. I kicked. Hard. The man holding me grunted. I bit the hand over my mouth. He cursed and loosened his grip for half a second. I screamed. "Help!" Another pair of hands grabbed my arms. "Stop fighting." I kicked again. "Get off me!" "She's awake." "Obviously I'm awake!" I struggled harder, but there were too many of them. Three men. Maybe four. I couldn't tell. Everything happened too quickly. Someone pulled a hood over my head, plunging me into darkness. Panic slammed into my chest. "Where are you taking me?" No answer. "Who are you people?" Still nothing. I heard a car door open. Then I was pushed inside. I stumbled onto a leather seat. The door slammed shut. "Wait!" I reached for the handle. It didn't move. The car started. My breathing became uneven. This couldn't be happening. People didn't just get kidnapped in the middle of the city. At least, not people like me. I was nobody. I didn't have enemies. I didn't have money. I didn't have anything worth kidnapping me for. So why me? "Let me out!" One of the men sitting beside me grabbed my wrists. "Stay still." "Are you insane?" I fought against his grip. "You're kidnapping me!" "I know." The casual way he said it made my blood run cold. I froze. For several minutes, the only sound was the engine. Then I heard another voice from the front. Low. Calm. Dangerously calm. "Is she secured?" "Yes, Alpha." Alpha? What? I swallowed. The voice continued. "Good." I couldn't see him, but somehow I knew that was the man who was in charge. "Where are you taking me?" I asked. Silence. I tried again. "Who is this Alpha?" No response. I laughed nervously. "Okay. Great. Very helpful." The car continued moving. I had no idea how long we'd been driving when it finally stopped. The door opened. Someone pulled the hood from my head. I blinked against the sudden light. And forgot how to breathe. We weren't in the city anymore. A massive estate stood before me. Stone walls. Tall iron gates. Dark windows. The place looked less like a house and more like a fortress. "What is this place?" No one answered. I was dragged out of the car. "Let go of me!" I twisted violently. This time, I managed to break free. I ran. I made it approximately six steps. A hand caught the back of my jacket. I was pulled backward so fast that I nearly fell. "Where do you think you're going?" I turned. And finally saw him. The man from the street. The one whose voice I'd heard in the car. He was even more intimidating up close. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. A face that looked carved rather than born. But it was his eyes that stopped me. They were an unusual shade of grey. Cold. Focused. Unforgiving. He looked at me like I was nothing more than a problem he needed to solve. "Let me go." He stared at me. Then he looked toward one of the men. "Is this her?" The man nodded. "Yes, Alpha." My stomach twisted. "Yes, I'm what?" Kael's eyes returned to me. For the first time, something flickered across his face. Confusion. It disappeared almost instantly. "Take her inside." I stared at him. "No." His eyebrow lifted. "No?" "I'm not going anywhere with you." "You already came." "I was kidnapped!" "I know." "You keep saying that like it's normal!" For a moment, nobody spoke. Then something almost resembling amusement appeared in his eyes. Almost. "You talk too much." "And you kidnap too much." One of the men behind me coughed. Kael's expression hardened. "Take her inside." I backed away. "No." He stepped toward me. I stepped back. He stepped forward again. My back hit the side of the car. "Listen carefully," he said quietly. "You are going inside." "And if I don't?" His eyes held mine. "You will." I hated how calm he was. I hated how certain. And most of all, I hated the strange feeling that came over me when he stood this close. Not attraction. Not exactly. It was something else. Something I couldn't explain. Like my body recognized something my mind didn't. I pushed the thought away. "What's your name?" His expression didn't change. "Kael." Just Kael. No explanation. No surname. Nothing. I stared at him. "Well, Kael, you've made a terrible mistake." His jaw tightened. "What?" "I don't know who you think I am." "You don't have to." "Actually, I do." I crossed my arms. "Because I'm pretty sure kidnapping the wrong person is a very serious mistake." Silence. Kael looked at me. Really looked at me this time. His expression slowly changed. His eyes narrowed. He turned toward the man beside him. "Bring me the photograph." The man immediately pulled out his phone. Kael looked at the screen. Then at me. Then back at the screen. Something was very wrong. "Alpha?" Kael didn't answer. He stepped closer. I instinctively moved away. His eyes remained fixed on my face. Finally, he spoke. "What's your name?" I frowned. "I already told you." "Tell me again." "Elara." His expression went completely still. I felt a chill crawl down my spine. "Elara what?" "Elara Vale." Kael stared at me for several seconds. Then he looked at the photograph again. The color seemed to drain from his face. "No." I swallowed. "What?" He lowered the phone. "You aren't her." My heart stopped. I stared at him. "What?" He looked at his men. "You brought me the wrong woman." Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. And suddenly, the terrifying truth settled over me. I hadn't been kidnapped because someone wanted me. I had simply been mistaken for someone else. Which should have made me feel relieved. Instead, when I looked at Kael's expression, relief was the last thing I felt. Because he didn't look like a man who was about to let me go. He looked like a man who had just discovered a problem far more complicated than the one he'd intended to solve. And somehow— I had become that problem. To be continued…