Stolen by the Triplet Alphas: The Luna's Revenge

8. Night Meet

AVERY

I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed. It had been a while since I fell asleep so fast. I felt comfortable, even in this strange place. The bed didn't feel like a rock under my back.

Comfort didn’t last long, though.

The darkness of sleep twisted quickly into something colder, something darker.

I was back in Elkmoon. In the clearing. The night of the attack, which broke my family into a million pieces.

I was standing at the edge of the woods, my eyes wide, desperated, begging for someone to come save me. But no one would. Not this time.

I could hear the screams first—familiar voices, torn apart by pain and panic. The crackle of fire, the rustle of paws through leaves that echoed like thunder. My feet were bare on the forest floor, running, slipping, bleeding. The pain only pushed me to run faster. But no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't run away. I was stuck.

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop.

And then, through the dense canopy of tress, I saw my mother.

She stood with her back to me, facing down a rogue wolf, her hands glowing faintly with magic I never got to understand. Not many wolves had magic, but she had. Even though it was only faint, it was still mesmerizing.

Her hair was loose, tangled from fighting, her clothes soaked in blood that wasn’t hers. She looked like a warrior. Like someone who’d give her life without hesitation.

“Mom!” I screamed, but my voice barely reached her.

The rogue lunged toward me, knowing he wouldn't win against my mother. Another one came from behind.

I was too slow to shift. Always too slow.

They came at me all at once, teeth bared, maw opened, drooling at the sides. I saw my death in their eyes, but my mom was faster than me. Her magic hit the first one, but she was barely standing.

She saved me... and she died for it.

Her body hit the ground before I could blink, torn apart. Three massive wolves stood over here, teeth stained with herr blood.

Her eyes were open, glassy. Her mouth parted, like she had one last word for me, but couldn’t get it out.

And then—

They all turned to me.

And their faces changed.

They morphed.

Fur melted to skin. Snouts shortened. Eyes turned gold. Familiar.

Too familiar.

Kylen. They all looked like Kylen.

His grin stretched too wide, teeth stained red.

“You should’ve picked me,” he said, voice low and mocking. “You are mine, and you'll pay the price for your defiance.”

I woke up with a gasp, shaking, sweating.

It was only a nightmare, but it felt like a bad premonition. An omen for something looming.

If my parents had lived that night, if I weren't too slow too shift if my mother didn't jump into save my life... my world would have never changed.

I wouldn't have jumped straight into a mating bond with Kylen, blindly believing in his promises. I wouldn't have taken Kylen as my mate. I would have lived, like how I was supposed to. I would have finished my college and university. I would have become a doctor. Not just a Luna... who was forced to be an arm-candy for Kylen.

I had been a perfect Luna, but that wasn't who I was, was it? He changed me to fit his image, fit his reputation, and I let him. That was my biggest mistake. I let him do whatever he wanted, and now he wanted to f**k Jessa and Lyra, and he expected me to follow along, like I had been doing.

Sighing, I rubbed my pounding head.

My sheets were tangled around my legs, soaked in sweat. My heart slammed against my ribs like it wanted out. My throat felt like I’d swallowed sand, dry and aching. I sat up, clutching the edge of the bed with trembling fingers. The silence of the room was almost worse than the noise in the dream.

I needed water.

Shoving the covers off, I stood on shaking legs. My knees wobbled slightly, but I made it to the door. The hallway was dim, lit by moonlight spilling through the windows. The pack house was quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed against your ears and made you hyperaware of your every breath you took.

My feet padded silently over the floor as I made my way downstairs. A few turns, and I was in the dining room. I noticed a refrigerator there when I had my dinner.

I stepped into the doorway.

And froze when I saw Shade leaning in front of the refrigerator, the slight glow in the dark illuminating his naked chest and back, showing off the big tattoo of a phoenix on his back.

I gulped when he stood up, pulling out a tray of ice cubes from the inside.

I gulped. Should I just silently walk away? He didn't look like he noticed me yet.

Shirtless.

Goddess, he was shirtless.

A scar sliced down the left side of his chest, pale and jagged against tanned skin. His hair was damp, like he’d just come from a shower. I shouldn't have stared... I had lost the window to escape.

"Are you done staring?" his voice was as gold as the glass of whiskey in his hand. He didn't turn to look at me, though.

"The phoenix is gorgeous," I whispered, taking a step closer to see the details. It was like my limbs were controlled by a puppet master. I wasn't doing it myself. I knew that much. "Like art," I said, my fingers trailing down the wings, and he shuddered under my touch. "Beautiful, like something that came out of a faraway land." I ran my finger along his spine where the phoenix's feathery tail curved.

"What the f**k are you doing?" His voice was a raspy gasp. "Avery..." he said my name like a curse. I knew I should stop. I knew I shouldn't touch him like his body belonged to me. But I couldn't stop. I didn't.

"Admiring the tattoo," I breathed, my body pulled by a strange magnet. It felt like I didn't have any control over my own body, my own mind. Everything was attuned to him, wanting more of him, needing more of him.

His heart raced, and I heard it loud and clear.

I leaned closer until my lips were against his skin.

He let out a low growl, deep and unfiltered, and whirled around to face me fully. His eyes were glowing in the dim kitchen light, burning with fury… and something else I couldn’t quite name.

I instinctively took a step back, pulse spiking. The tension between us was like a taut wire pulled to the brink. My body had been caught in the strange pull of him, but now I was yanked back to reality by the harsh edge in his voice.

“What the hell kind of game are you playing?” Shade snapped. “Do you think you can seduce all of us and then escape?”

My stomach twisted.

Escape?

That wasn’t even on my mind. Not when he was standing so close.

“I wasn’t trying to escape,” I said, voice low, trying to stay calm, even though my chest was heaving. “And I sure as hell wasn’t trying to seduce anyone.”

He scoffed, stepping toward me. “No? Then what was that back there with Blaze? Laughing like you’ve known him forever, leaning in like that and playing him like a f*****g fiddle and—”

“Are you jealous?” I interrupted, eyebrows shooting up.

“Don’t flatter yourself," he hissed, but I saw the way his blue eyes darkened.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not. You think I planned to be here? That I wanted this?” I snapped, throwing my hands up. “I didn’t ask to be kidnapped. I didn’t ask to be dragged into some twisted pack politics. And I definitely didn’t ask to be accused of murdering someone I didn't even know.” I was shaking now, thinking about what Thier said about Amelia, and how I killed her.

Fuck these guys.

Shade’s jaw clenched, the muscle ticking like he was trying to hold something in.

“You already tried with Blaze,” he hissed, voice tight. “Now it’s my turn? And when is it Thier’s turn, huh? You some kind of—”

“Oh, shut up,” I growled, stepping closer, my voice cracking with emotion.

“You think I want this?” I spat. “You think I want any of you?”

Shade’s lips curled. “You don’t? Could’ve fooled me. The way you look at me like I’m the only thing in the room—”

“Get over yourself!”

We were close now; too close. He was all heat and breath and hard muscle, tension rolling off him in waves. His chest rose and fell like a storm was building inside him.

“And you,” I said, jabbing a finger at him, “walk around like you’re above everyone else, like your anger and grief gives you the right to treat me like I’m filth under your boot.”

“I don’t treat you like filth—”

“Then what do you call this?” I gestured between us, feeling my voice start to crack. “Dragging me here like I’m some bargaining chip, then throwing accusations in my face because you’re too much of a coward to admit you feel something?”

His eyes flared. “I don’t feel anything. Not for you.”

“Liar.” I scoffed.

Silence crashed between us. Heavy. Electric.

I didn’t know who moved first. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was me. All I knew was we were too close—breaths mingling, our emotions spiraling between hatred and something far more dangerous.

His eyes dropped to my lips for half a second as his fingers curled around my shoulder.

Just one heartbeat.

And then he jerked back like he’d been burned, jaw clenched, hands fisting at his sides.

“Everything about you is f*****g poisonous.”

“f**k you, Shade,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

Shade turned sharply, back to me again, like if he didn’t he might do something reckless. Something we both might regret.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I said again, quieter this time. “And I sure as hell didn’t ask for you, ask to feel any of this.” I grit out, my body burning. "I didn't ask to be used like a pawn in whatever game you want to play with Kylen. I didn't ask. You took me."

He saved me, but it was still painful to stand here, feeling helpless all over again.

That seemed to hit him harder than anything else I’d said. His shoulders stiffened.

"Now what? What do you want with me? Do you want to kill me like you accuse me of killing that girl? Do you want to hurt me? Do it then.

“I'm not going to kill you.”

“Oh. Should I be grateful?" I hissed. "What then? Torture?”

“I don’t torture women.”

I snorted. “Progressive and psychotic. Look at you, covering all the bases. So what exactly was your plan?”

He looked like he had no f*****g clue.

Useless.

"The big, bad Alpha had no f*****g idea, right?"

"Shut up."

"f**k yourself, Alpha. Oh, and just so you know, I wasn't the one flirting with Blaze." I tilted my head, letting the venom drip from my words. "He was the one doing all the flirting. But of course, he’s hot. What did you expect me to d. Not look? He was shirtless. And he is gorgeous. I’m only a girl."

A low, guttural growl rumbled from his chest. Before I could blink, his hand was on my throat—fingers curling around it, firm but not tight. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to remind me who he was.

Who I was dealing with.

"I told you to shut up," he said, voice low, dangerous.

My breath caught.

Not in fear. But something else. Something far more confusing.

My pulse roared against his palm.

"And I told you," I whispered, my voice cracking with defiance, "to go f**k yourself."

His eyes darkened, something raw and almost feral behind them. His jaw clenched.

I swallowed hard, heart hammering.

He loosened his grip slightly. Just slightly. But he didn’t move.

Neither did I.

The air between us was charged.

And in that moment, I knew two things with absolute certainty.

He hated me for the power I had over him.

I hated how much I wanted him to lose control.

We stood there, not moving, his hand still around my throat, his gaze still burning through mine.

I licked my lips, and his eyes followed the move.

It was like we were in a stalemate.

We didn't want to back off, but we didn't want to lean in and give in to the need, either.

Wait? Why the hell did I come here in the first place?

"Water..." I gasped.

I needed water. Now more than before.

He blinked and stepped back, his fingers finally leaving my throat, making me almost miss his touch.

"What?" he whispered.

"I came for a f*****g glass of water," I bit out, curling my shaking fingers under my t-shirt.

“Help yourself.” He gestured toward the sink, stepping aside.

I walked past him, careful not to brush too close. But even so, I could feel the heat rolling off him. And he smelled unfairly good. I filled a glass, hands trembling slightly, and took a long drink. And another. This thirst... was a burning feeling at the base of my throat.

When I turned around, he was still watching me, or more like glaring at me.

“If you are done, go back to bed,” he said, his voice low and commanding.

I leaned against the island counter, narrowing my eyes at him

"Who died and made you my master?" I bit out, crossing my arms. His gaze slipped to my breast, which I realized was too pronounced, and Courtney's t-shirt barely helped hide it. It was thin.

"Don't antagonize me. Otherwise, I might go back on my word and just... kill you." His voice was matter-of-fact, and there was no trace of amusement in his words.

I swallowed, trying to ignore the heat pooling in my chest. “Is this your thing? Intimidation, and brooding silence followed by a vague death threat?”

Shade tilted his head. “I don’t brood," he said it like that was the thing that mattered the most in everything I had said.

I arched a brow. “Really? You literally just stood in the dark, drinking like a haunted warlord. That’s peak brooding.”

A beat of silence.

“I was enjoying the quiet,” he muttered. "Before you came. For someone who was kidnapped, you sure act like you own my pack."

I shrugged.

"Now you're sulking, because of your bad decisions. I am blameless in all of this."

He stared at me, jaw tight, like he was trying to decide whether to be amused or offended. Then, unexpectedly, he let out a short laugh. A real one.

And something in me… shifted. Just a little. And I tugged it back quickly, tying it back in place.

Even if I was attracted to him, I knew I didn't want anything more out of it, except maybe satiating this deep desire. Physically. Only physically.

He looked at me like I was a puzzle he hadn’t figured out yet. Like he wanted to. And I hated how part of me kind of… wanted to let him.

I looked away first.

“You done watching me like I’m your midnight snack? If you're not going to eat... you shouldn't look either,” I said, stepping back toward the doorway, pretending I wasn’t flustered, pretending my heart wasn't trying to jump out of my throat.

Shade didn’t answer right away. I could feel his gaze on my back.

“You should get some sleep,” he said finally. "And not wander around like a freaking ghost that can't shut up.

I paused at the doorway, one hand on the frame, then glanced back over my shoulder.

"Do you know, you’re very bad at flirting," I said.

Shade raised an eyebrow, just slightly. "Who said I was flirting with you?"

I shrugged. "Just saying—if you were, you’re doing a terrible job. Growling, grabbing throats, accusing me of murder? Not exactly smooth."

He took a slow step forward.

"Funny. I didn’t know I needed to flirt with someone I kidnapped."

I gave him a tight smile. "Guess I just assumed you’d at least try to make my stay... memorable."

His eyes dropped to my mouth for half a second.

"Maybe I should tie you to your bed?" he asked, voice a deep growl.

And I shuddered.

oh, I did.

And my wolf did with me.

___