Blessed Luna Rising

Chapter 5: Shadows in the Dark

The knock came again—firm, deliberate. My heart pounded as I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the door handle. No one ever came to my cabin. I was an outcast, a forgotten Omega, and after tonight, I had no doubt that my existence was even less significant to the pack.

And yet, someone was here.

I inhaled sharply, bracing myself as I yanked the door open.

A tall, broad-shouldered man stood on my doorstep, his piercing green eyes locking onto mine with unsettling intensity. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and the faintest hint of blood clung to his scent.

Ronan.

The Beta’s son. Cassia’s older brother.

My stomach twisted. If he was here, it wasn’t good.

“Selene,” he murmured, his voice low, unreadable.

I kept my expression neutral, though every muscle in my body was tense. “What do you want?”

He hesitated, glancing over his shoulder before stepping inside, closing the door behind him.

I should have been afraid. He was stronger than me, faster. But fear had long been replaced by something colder—survival.

His gaze flickered over me, something dark and knowing in his expression. “I saw what happened tonight.”

I flinched despite myself. The memory of Killian’s voice calling Cassia mate burned like acid in my veins. “Then you know I have nothing to say.”

Ronan exhaled sharply. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”

He stepped closer, and I fought the instinct to move back. “Cassia is my sister. I know her, and I know what I smelled tonight.” His jaw clenched. “That wasn’t her scent. It wasn’t hers to claim.”

A chill ran down my spine. “You…you believe me?”

He let out a humorless laugh. “I know you. You’ve never lied. And Cassia? She’s been acting strange for weeks.” He paused, studying me. “You need to ask yourself—who would benefit from stealing your scent?”

The answer was obvious.

Cassia.

She had always wanted power. She had been raised for it, trained for it. A Beta’s daughter, groomed to be a Luna. But without a powerful mate, she was just another high-ranking female with no real claim to the throne.

Unless she became the Luna by deception.

Rage coiled in my gut, burning away the numbness that had been suffocating me all night. I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms.

“I don’t know how she did it,” I whispered, my voice shaking, “but she stole my mate bond.”

Ronan’s gaze hardened. “And if she did, you need to take it back.”

I swallowed. “How?”

He was silent for a long moment before he spoke again, his voice quiet but filled with certainty.

“There’s someone who might have answers.”

I stiffened. “Who?”

His expression darkened. “The True Alpha.”

A shiver ran down my spine. The True Alpha was a legend, a name spoken in whispers—a wolf so powerful that even the Alpha King feared him. If anyone could uncover what had happened to me, it was him.

But finding him meant leaving the pack. It meant exile. It meant war.

And I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.

Yet, as I thought about Cassia wrapped in my mate’s arms, wearing my fate like a stolen crown, I knew one thing for certain.

I wasn’t going to stay here and be erased.

I was going to take back what was mine.

Even if I had to burn the whole pack down to do it.

Ronan’s POV: The Betrayal Runs Deep

From the moment I saw Selene standing alone in the shadows, her face a mask of pain as my sister basked in the glory of her stolen mate bond, I knew she had to disappear.

Cassia had always wanted more. More power, more status, more control. And I had always given it to her. Because that was my job—not just as her brother, but as the only one who understood what she truly deserved.

And she deserved to be Luna.

Selene was nothing but an omega, a forgotten healer who had no place in the hierarchy. The idea that she was fated to the Alpha King was an insult to everything we had worked for. Cassia was the one raised to stand beside him, the one trained to be Luna. The one who deserved to be at the top.

But Selene stood in the way.

She wasn’t supposed to suspect anything. When I knocked on her cabin door, I had expected hesitation, but not the fire I saw in her eyes. Even broken, even cast aside, she still had that stubborn strength that made her dangerous.

So I gave her exactly what she wanted—a reason to leave.

I played my part well, feeding her just enough truth to lead her into the trap. I confirmed her worst fears, planted the seed of doubt, made her believe she had no place here. And then I handed her the perfect escape—The True Alpha.

The legend of the True Alpha was powerful, but it was also a myth. If she ran into the wild searching for him, she’d never return. She’d be lost to the forest, the rogues, the brutal reality outside the safety of the pack.

And that was exactly what I needed.

Killian wouldn’t chase after an omega who had vanished. He would mourn the mate bond for a moment, but with Cassia already at his side, he’d move on. My sister would be by his throne, by his bed, and soon enough, she’d carry his heir.

Selene would be nothing but a distant memory.

So when she looked at me, eyes full of determination, and whispered, “I’m going to take back what’s mine,” I only smiled.

Because she wouldn’t be coming back.