Chapter 4
925 Words
The Alpha's New Mate
The silver wolf ran swiftly through the ancient forest, its massive paws barely makinstoodsound against the forest floor.
Moments later, a burst of golden light surrounded its body.
Where the wolf had stood, a figure emerged.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Powerful.
His black-and-gold royal cloak rested heavily over a tailored black suit, and a golden crown, engraved with ancient runes, gleamed beneath the morning sun.
This was Kael Draven, the Lycan King.
The most feared ruler in the werewolf world.
Behind him, Commander Ronan and six Royal Lycans knelt respectfully.
"Your Majesty."
Kael's golden eyes remained fixed on the path Selene had taken.
"She almost died."
Ronan lowered his head.
"We arrived in time."
"No."
Kael's voice was calm, but dangerously cold.
"They should never have reached her."
The commander's face paled.
"My apologies, Your Majesty."
Kael said nothing.
For centuries, the Royal Lycans had protected the bloodline of the Moon Queen.
Yet the last surviving heir had lived her entire life in suffering.
She had been rejected.
Humiliated.
Cast aside.
Unforgivable.
A dangerous aura spread from Kael's body.
The surrounding trees trembled.
Even the birds fled.
Ronan exchanged uneasy glances with the guards.
Whenever their King became this angry...
Someone always paid the price.
---
Far away...
Selene continued walking through the forest.
She couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious silver wolf.
Why had it protected her?
Why had it bowed before her?
Nothing made sense anymore.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rushing water.
She stepped into another clearing.
Before her lay a breathtaking lake.
Its crystal-clear surface reflected the bright afternoon sky.
She knelt beside the water to wash the dirt from her hands.
The instant her fingers touched the lake...
The water began to glow.
Silver ripples spread across its surface.
Selene jerked her hand back.
"What...?"
The glow disappeared.
She stared at the lake in stunned silence.
"Am I imagining all this?"
A soft feminine voice echoed through the wind.
"You are awakening..."
Selene shot to her feet.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Only silence.
She searched the clearing, but there was no one.
Goosebumps covered her arms.
"I'm hearing voices now."
Little did she know...
It wasn't a hallucination.
It was the voice of the Moon Goddess.
Watching from the treetops, Kael saw everything.
His expression softened.
"The awakening has begun."
For the first time in many years...
The Lycan King smiled.
Kael stood motionless on the thick branch of an ancient oak, his golden eyes never leaving Selene.
The voice she had heard confirmed what he had suspected.
The Moon Goddess herself had begun guiding her.
"The prophecy is unfolding," he murmured.
Commander Ronan landed silently beside him.
"Your Majesty, the council has arrived at the palace. They're demanding your return."
Kael didn't move.
"They can wait."
"The elders are worried."
"They've been worried for five hundred years."
Ronan fell silent.
No one dared question the Lycan King twice.
Kael's attention remained on Selene.
She looked exhausted.
Her dress was torn from running through the forest.
A strand of silver-blonde hair clung to her face as she knelt beside the glowing lake.
Despite everything she had suffered...
She hadn't broken.
She was stronger than she knew.
"She's exactly as the prophecy described," Kael said quietly.
"Broken... but unbowed."
---
Selene rose to her feet.
The strange voice had disappeared, but the crescent-shaped mark on her wrist continued to glow faintly.
"I need answers," she whispered.
She wandered farther into the forest until she reached the ruins of an ancient stone shrine.
Time had worn away most of the carvings, but one symbol remained untouched.
A crescent moon surrounded by seven stars.
The moment Selene stepped inside, the symbol burst into silver light.
A wave of energy swept through the shrine.
Images flashed before her eyes.
A magnificent palace.
A throne carved from white crystal.
A queen wearing a silver crown.
And standing beside her...
A king with brilliant golden eyes.
Selene gasped and stumbled backward.
The vision vanished.
"What was that?"
She touched her forehead.
"My imagination..."
But deep inside, she knew it had felt real.
---
High above the shrine, Kael closed his eyes.
He had felt the ancient magic awaken.
"The Moon Shrine has accepted her."
Ronan looked shocked.
"Then there's no doubt anymore."
"There never was."
Ronan hesitated before asking, "When will you tell her who she really is?"
Kael watched Selene from afar.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because she's still grieving."
He remembered the pain in her eyes when the rogues had surrounded her.
The humiliation she'd endured.
The loneliness she'd carried for years.
"She needs time to become the woman destiny intends her to be."
"And if Alpha Kingston finds her first?"
Kael's expression turned cold.
"He won't."
A powerful golden aura erupted around the Lycan King.
The surrounding forest bowed beneath its overwhelming pressure.
"The Alpha rejected her."
His voice was calm, yet filled with absolute authority.
"I never will."
Far away, in the Crescent Moon Pack...
Kingston stood on the balcony of the Alpha House, staring toward the forest.
An unbearable ache gripped his chest.
His wolf paced restlessly inside him.
"She's getting farther away."
Kingston clenched the balcony railing.
"I know."
For the first time since the rejection...
Fear settled into his heart.
Not fear of losing his position.
Not fear of the elders.
But fear that he had already lost the only woman fate had ever chosen for him.
And somewhere deep within the enchanted forest...
Fate smiled.
Because the rejected Luna's journey had only just begun.
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