CHAPTER TWELVE
1445 Words
The room was dim, lit only by a single candle. Rain drummed against the windows, drowning out any sound from outside.
Tuna leaned over the table, fingers drumming against the wood. Across from her, the lost wife sat stiff, eyes sharp with anger.
“Your people came back empty again. No sign of Her" Tuna spoke out
“They’re useless. We’ve scoured every inch, and can't find her” The Lord's wife sneered angrily
"we can't find her doesn't’t mean safe. The Moon Goddess said she’s close." Tuna replied.
That means she’s still in our territory.”
The lost wife stood, pacing.
:
“If the Alphas find her before we do, we’re dead. All of it—gone.” the Lord's wife said as she paced around.
“Then we don’t wait for them. We send someone else. Someone faster. Someone who won’t ask questions.”
Tuna spat out with a determined look
She paused, then smirked.
“We find her first. And this time, we don’t bring her back.” Tuna grinned.
“We kill her.” Lord's wife shrieked
“We end her before the prophecy can start. Before those six Alphas tear each other apart…"Tuna said smiling.
The Lord's wife nodded slowly, a cold smile forming.
“Send the best tracker we have. Tell him we want proof.” the Lord wife moves with hesitation .
“And when he finds her…” Tuna spat
.Both “She dies.”
They exchanged a look. The candlelight flickered across their faces as they smirked, already picturing it done.
The forest was quiet except for the rustle of leaves under Laura’s boots. She crouched low, gathering herbs, her focus sharp—hunting and testing her own limits out here alone.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy, catching in her hair, making her look almost unreal against the green and shadow.
That’s when Desmond saw her.
He’d been tracking deer, but stopped dead when he caught her scent. He hadn’t forgotten her. Not since the day he watched his mother beat her, helpless and bleeding on the floor. That image had stayed with him since then.
He lowered his bow slowly and stepped out from behind the trees.
“Hey.” Desmond whispered.
Laura froze, turning. Recognition hit, then wariness.
“You’re even more beautiful than I remember.” Desmond said out this time.
Laura said nothing, just gripped the knife at her belt tighter.
“I’ve been looking for you. Not to hurt you. I… I can’t stop thinking about that day. I should have stopped her. But I won’t fail again. I love you, Laura. Let me protect you. Please.” Desmond kneels begging Laura.
Laura’s expression didn’t soften. She took a step back, eyes cold.
“I don't want anything to do with you. And Why would I trust you ? " Laura said holding her breath.
“Because I’m not my mother. Because I’d die before I let anyone touch you again.”
Desmond stood up held his chest and spat out those words.
: “No, I don't need your help". Laura spoke out
She turned and walked away, leaving him standing there in the clearing, the words he’d waited years to say hanging in the empty
The court was silent, heavy with tension. Desmond sat , unhappy and sad.
It was the second day since Desmond met Laura at the forest and won't stop thinking about her.
He stood before the throne, jaw tight, eyes cold. At his signal, Laura was brought forward. Servants trailed behind her, arms full of expensive gifts—silks, jewels, gold—laid at her feet in an attempt to win her favor.
But he didn’t look at her .
Desmond spoke out
"Let them say what they want about the Goddess and her mate. Let them root for her.”
“I don’t care what destiny says. I’ve found the one I love.”
Desmond gaze never left Laura.
“I choose her. Not fate. Not the court. Her.”
The room erupted in murmurs, shock rippling through the maids.
Laura stood still, unreadable, as he stepped down from his place—defying everything for her.
" Have told you I don't want anything to do with you sir.let me leave.
Laura said.
Desmond confused why Laura was rejecting but wants to do everything to win her love .
" Since you don't want me now ,Am going give you time.
He Moves his and gestured her to leave.
The moon goddess decree still falls like a thunderclap, and six Alphas hear their fates rewritten in one breath.
Each Alpha's sat quietly in each of their court thinking about the the moon goddess prophecy.
Jayden:breathes in ambition. The mate. With her, I break the balance. I become untouchable.His eyes gleam with the hunger of a throne she’s been waiting for. he wants her for himself but he has to find her
Henry:already knows. A savage grin cuts his face. *Found you. Say no, and I’ll take you screaming if I have to. Destiny bends to will.He doesn’t hunt for love—he hunts to own.
Raymond:sees legacy. The moon Goddess’s prophesied mate in my pack?
One of the strongest Omega in his lifetime.
My name will outlive the moon itself. He’s counting the crowns he’ll wear.
Nathan: doesn’t hear the prophecy. He hears Laura. he doesn't know anything all care is about her.
While the others scheme, his chest tightens with fear and fury. They’re coming for you. All of them.* He doesn’t care about the Goddess, the mate, or the war it starts. He only cares that he gets to her Laura.
Desmond: stands apart, ice in his veins. He doesn’t want the mate. He doesn’t want the power, the claim, the chaos. None of it.
Why? Because while the others chase destiny, Desmond is still falling.
He’s in love with Laura. And love doesn’t share.
He doesn’t want anyone else touching what’s his—not the Alphas, not the prophecy. His loyalty is a blade pointed outward.
Alexander: doesn’t even flinch.
Unborn, unmoved, uncaring. The mate, the war, the blood about to be spilled—it means nothing to him.
He doesn’t care who claims her. He doesn’t care who dies for her.
To Alexander, it’s all noise. He’s above it, beyond it, untouched by the storm that’s about to consume the rest.
**Six Alphas. One woman.
Three see a weapon. two sees a lover. One sees nothing at all.
The torches burn low, casting long shadows across the stone floor of the court. The air is too still. Too heavy.
TUNA stands in the middle of it all, but she isn’t still.
Her fingers flex at her sides like she’s itching for a blade that isn’t there. Her chest rises and falls too fast, breath shallow, uneven. She paces—three sharp steps forward, a pivot, three steps back. Again. Again.
The courtiers watch from the edges and don’t dare speak.
“I can’t—” she cuts herself off, jaw clenching.
Her eyes dart around the room like she expects him to materialize from the walls.
"Mate"
The word hisses in her skull, over and over, drowning everything else out.
Her blood is boiling. Not with desire. Not with longing.
With something uglier. Hungrier.
She stops abruptly, fists clenched so tight her knuckles go white. “Where are you?” The words tear out of her, low and ragged.
It’s not a plea. It’s a hunt call.
Every nerve in her body is screaming. *Find her. Now.*
The bond pulls at her gut like a hooked line, dragging her forward even as her mind recoils. She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want them to see her.
Because the moment they picture her face—whatever face she wears in this life—all they see is red.
*Kill her*
The thought comes clean, cold, and instant. No hesitation.
Before words. Before recognition. Before the bond can trick her into weakness.
She’ll find him, look him in the eye, and end it before it starts.
Her lips curl in something that isn’t a smile. “You don’t get to ruin me again.”
A servant shifts nervously by the door. She doesn’t even look.
All she feels is the pull, getting stronger by the second. Closer.
she is here. Somewhere in this territory. Breathing the same air.
Tuna exhales a shaky, furious laugh. “Good.”
Her eyes gleam in the torchlight, wild and sharp.
“Run, then. Or don’t. It won’t matter.”
The court holds its breath.
Because the moment she finds her, she isn’t walking out alive.
- Writer
