Moonblood: The Wolfless Alpha

Chapter 5: Betrayed by Blood

POV: Nixie

The room whirls around me as I see the glint of the Execution Blade in my brother's hand. But the slashing stroke wasn't delivered by him—it came from the figures stepping out from behind him.

Trixie. My cousin. Her grin twisted like a cutting knife, sweet on the surface but laced with poison. And Hunter—my mate, my Alpha—the man that I had given my heart, soul, my life to. He was standing next to her, not me.

I blinked, my chest hungry for air. "Hunter?" My voice cracked. I breathed in, hoping he'd step forward, curse at the insanity, put himself between me and the edict. That's what a mate did. That's what love was supposed to do.

Instead, he raised his chin, icy and unforgiving. His eyes glided over me, not with love but with disdain. "You should've stayed away, Nixie. You bring shame to this pack by being here."

The words cut deeper than any blade. I shifted backward, the earth beneath me unsteady. "Shame? I've given everything—"

"You gave us weakness." Trixie said, poisonous words twisting through the clearing. She folded her arms, her eyes glinting. "Did you really think we'd let you keep your title for the rest of forever? A wolfless Luna is just dead weight."

Her words echoed back what I'd lived in fear of my whole life, the fear I fought every day. But to hear them coming from her lips—with Hunter standing silently beside her—was worse than any beating, worse than any taunting.

Hunter's gaze grew icy. "Trixie told the truth. You've been sneaking off into the woods, hanging out with vampires. Lying to our own pack. You sold us out first."

The accusation made my heart stop. I shook my head, panicky, demented. "That is not true! I never—" My throat closed up. I had been in the woods. I had met Vlad. But not as they were suggesting. Not as a traitor.

Trixie took a step forward, her head c****d the same way a predator will tease prey. "We all saw you rushing into the trees, Nixie. Did you think no one would see? Did you think you could keep the secrets safe forever? I have merely reminded Hunter of what was already obvious."

Her sneer spread wider. "You do not belong here in this pack. You never did."

Every single word pulled at the threads of my heart until it tore apart. I searched for even the faintest shadow of doubt, a whisper of the man who used to bring reassurance into my skin in moonlight. But there was nothing. Only resolve.

The connection between us—the intangible cord binding Luna and Alpha, mate to mate—stretched tight, then tore, ripping in my chest. My legs nearly gave way under the agony of it.

"You think she more than me?" My whisper was husky, on the verge of cracking.

Hunter remained silent. He didn't have to say a word. His silence spoke for him.

Behind him, the Council wolves shifted, restless, restless. They had gotten their desire—a death by treachery. But this wasn't about politics. This was about my blood. My mate. My family.

I swallowed thickly, the betrayal raging hotter than the fear of dying. "You chose her," I spat, the words as acrid as ash. "You both decided to destroy me."

Trixie grinned broader, happy. Hunter's jaw clenched, but he didn't move. He didn't lie.

Something inside of me broke—not my wolf, not yet, but something deeper within. A steel edge hammered out of pain. They thought I would break. They thought I would bend. But if this was the end, I would not go quietly.

The wind shifted, carrying the beat of more paws pounding closer, the pack closing in like a storm. The noose constricted.

Trixie leaned forward, her heat spilling onto my ear. "It ends tonight, cousin. You'll die as you lived—wolfless. Unworthy. Alone."

Her insults seared me, but before I could strike back, a howl tore the night asunder—closer than I expected, raw and desperate. The Council wolves snarled, hackles raised.

Hunter's hold on the Execution Blade tightened. His cold eyes locked onto mine. "Run if you dare," he said. "It'll make the hunt all the better."

My heart raced. Betrayed by love. Betrayed by blood. Now hunted by all.

I spun around, every muscle ready to make the choice that would decide whether I would live—or die—before daybreak.

Trees loomed ahead of me, black and endless, but a mesh of tearing earth and screams resonated behind—my pack, my hunters, my killers.

I ran. My lungs burned, my feet bruised raw with blood on the earth, but I ran nonetheless. Thorns tore at my arms, my legs, tangled in my hair, but I didn't decelerate. Otherwise, I died.

The forest echoed with the crash of pursuit. Growls tore the night, savage and hot. They weren't chasing me as family—they were chasing me as prey.

And yet, cutting through the ragged noise of my own breath, I heard her. Trixie. Her laughter slid through the chaos, bitter and triumphant. "Make it fun for us, cousin! Keep running!"

Her voice urged me faster, even as my muscles were screaming. Anger, acid-tipped and keen, burned the terror away. She had taken everything. My home. My mate. My kin. My existence. And she wanted to make everyone watch me die.

Betrayal sliced through me like claws, biting deeper than the splintering wood tearing at my skin. Hunter's face flashed through my mind—his eyes cold, his lips sealed as Trixie cursed me. He hadn't defended me. He hadn't even hesitated.

He chose her.

The bond between us was to be sacred, unbreakable. And now I knew the echo of its shattering, the hollow agony of something that had been whole, now shattered and bleeding.

I swayed, regained my footing, and made my legs keep moving. My eyes brimmed with tears, hot and insistent, but I would not let them fall. Not now. Not when survival demanded everything.

A howl ripped through the darkness, closer this time—Hunter's. My stomach twisted up with agony at the sound. He was enjoying this. The hunt. My terror. My demise.

I couldn't escape from them forever. They were faster, stronger. They had wolves. I had nothing.

Nothing but my will.

I sprinted off the trail, into thick thicket. Breathing shuddered in my chest, every gasp slicing like knives. I clung to a tree, panting, struggling to be quiet.

Darkness moved with life. Wolves tore past, growling, pursuing. I kept my eyes closed, still, praying the blackness would keep me safe.

Then—"Nixie."

Hunter's breath. Close enough it caressed my skin like a ghost.

I froze, my heart hammering in my throat.

He stepped into view, his wolf form massive and glowing under the moon, fur pale gold. His eyes gleamed with the same cold fire I’d seen when he raised the Execution Blade.

He shifted into human form, muscles flexing, knife in his hand. The mate who had kept me safe in the curves of his arm now stood bare-chested under the light of the moon, blade drawn to kill me.

I attempted to speak, although my voice was shaking. "Why, Hunter? Why her? Why betray me for her?"

His expression did not change. "Because she is strong where you are not. Because she can give this pack a future. You never could."

The words cut deeper than the knife ever could have.

I swallowed the sob in my throat. "I was your mate."

"You were a mistake."

The bond within me howled, tearing piece by piece. My chest heaved and fell, but I would not give him the satisfaction of my tears.

Behind him, Trixie advanced, smugness seeping out of her in waves like perfume. "Don't look so shocked, Nixie. Did you really think love would be sufficient to maintain power? You were always going to fall. I simply gave you a shove."

She moved closer to Hunter, her hand tracing his arm, possessive, claiming. And he let her.

The world revolved on its axis, the betrayal searing within me. My blood. My mate. Both of them against me.

My legs trembled, yet I lifted my chin, burrowing strength into my voice. "If that is the future you have chosen, then so be it. But you should realize this—one day, truth will burn your lies. And when it does, it'll burn you both."

Trixie simply laughed. Hunter's grip on the blade became tighter.

The roar of other paws thundered through the clearing as the Council wolves ringed, their eyes aglow, slavering for the kill.

Hunter pulled out the Execution Blade, its silver flashing in the moonlight, sharp and deadly. My heart was racing, muscles frozen, waiting for the blow.

And then—

Howling ripped through the darkness. Not Hunter's. Not Trixie's. Not any wolf I knew.

It was deeper, older, tasting of something untamed and illegal. The ground trembled beneath our feet. The pack bristled, ears back, hackles raised.

Hunter paused, knife an inch from my heart.

The darkness along the clearing's edge deepened, consuming moonlight. A figure took shape in shadows, pacing slow and deliberate.

I couldn't breathe.

The pack backed away, fear creeping through their ranks. Even Hunter's eyes faltered with doubt.

The figure emerged from the darkness—tall, hooded, eyes fiery red.

A vampire.

And he was looking straight at me.