Broken Moon: The Rise of the Rejected Luna

Episode 4: The Predator’s Instinct

The atmosphere in the Silver City was suffocating. Even after Killian was led away to the guest quarters, his scent lingered in my throne room like a ghost that refused to be exorcised.

"You shouldn't have let him see the boy," Silas murmured, his hand still tight on the hilt of his blade. "An Alpha like Killian is a wounded beast, Elara. Wounded beasts are unpredictable. He will try to claim what he thinks is his."

"Let him try," I said, my voice cold, though my heart was a chaotic storm. Seeing Killian’s face—seeing the genuine agony in his eyes—had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. "Leo is the future of the Silver Moon. He is protected by ancient blood. Killian is just a man clinging to a dying pack."

But as I spoke, a sharp shiver raced down my spine. It wasn't the rejection bond. It was something else—a primal, maternal alarm bell.

"Where is Leo?" I asked suddenly, scanning the hall.

"He went to the training gardens with the tutors, Your Majesty," Silas replied.

I didn't wait. I turned and ran. My heels clicked against the marble, but soon I kicked them off, my feet hitting the ground with the silent grace of a hunter. The air felt wrong. The wind carried a scent I hadn't smelled in years—the cloyingly sweet, artificial perfume of the Northern Pack.

Selene.

In the guest wing, Killian sat on the edge of a silken bed, his head buried in his hands. His wolf was howling, a mournful, agonizing sound that vibrated through his bones.

Mate. Son. Mate. Son.

The realization was a poison and a cure all at once. Elara was alive. She was a Queen. And she had given him a son—a boy who looked so much like him it was like looking into a mirror of the man he used to be before ambition had blinded him.

"I have to get to them," Killian growled, standing up. "I don't care if she kills me. I have to make her understand."

Suddenly, his nostrils flared. A scent hit him. It was faint, but for an Alpha who had lived with a woman for five years, it was unmistakable.

Selene? What is she doing here?

Then he heard it. A high-pitched, muffled shout from the direction of the gardens. It was a child’s voice.

Killian didn't think. He didn't wait for permission. He shattered the glass window of his chamber and leaped three stories down, shifting in mid-air. A massive black wolf, larger and leaner than he had been five years ago, hit the grass at a full sprint.

In the gardens, Leo was cornered.

Two assassins in Northern Pack colors had already disabled his tutors with drugged darts. Selene stood in the center of the clearing, a wicked, silver-edged dagger in her hand. Her face was distorted with a madness that made her beauty vanish.

"You little monster," she hissed, stalking toward the five-year-old. "You were never supposed to exist. You are the reason Killian looks at me with disgust. You are the reason he whispers her name in his sleep!"

Leo shifted partially, his tiny claws extending, his golden-blue eyes flashing with defiance. "Go away, bad lady! My mommy will kill you!"

"Your mommy is too late," Selene snarled, lunging forward. "If I can’t have the Black Rock legacy, no one will!"

She swung the silver blade. Leo scrambled back, but his foot caught on a root. He fell, his eyes wide as the silver glinted in the sun, descending toward his throat.

THUD.

A mass of black fur collided with Selene, sending her flying across the garden.

Killian’s wolf stood over Leo, his hackles raised, a low, tectonic growl vibrating from his chest. He was a wall of muscle and teeth, positioned perfectly between the child and the threat.

I burst into the clearing a second later, my hands glowing with the silver fire of my royal magic. I froze at the sight: Killian, the man I hated, was shielding my son with his own body.

Selene scrambled up, her hair disheveled. "Killian! Get out of the way! That brat is a curse! He’s the reason she’s come back to destroy us!"

Killian didn't shift back. He didn't need to. He let out a roar that shook the leaves from the trees—a sound of pure, paternal fury. He lunged at the two Northern assassins who tried to intervene, his jaws snapping with lethal precision. In seconds, the garden was stained with rogue blood.

Selene backed away, her eyes wide with terror as she realized she had lost. She looked at me, then at the black wolf, and finally at the boy.

"You're both fools!" she screamed. "She'll never forgive you, Killian! You're protecting a son who doesn't even know your name!"

She threw a smoke pellet, a blinding gray cloud filling the garden. By the time I cleared the air with a wave of my hand, she was gone, fleeing toward the mountain passes.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Killian shifted back, naked and bleeding from several silver-inflicted cuts. He ignored his wounds, turning immediately to Leo. He reached out a trembling hand, then hesitated, pulling it back as if he feared he would burn the boy.

"Are you... are you hurt?" Killian rasped, his voice thick with emotion.

Leo looked up at the stranger. He saw the blood, the tears, and the eyes that matched his own. Slowly, the little boy reached out and touched the jagged scar on Killian’s shoulder—the one from the arrow five years ago.

"You're the man from the car," Leo whispered. "You saved me."

Killian choked back a sob, dropping to his knees. "I'll always save you. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you."

I stepped forward, my heart a battlefield of conflicting emotions. I wanted to scream at him to get away. I wanted to thank him. I wanted to kill him for making me feel something other than hate.

"Leo," I said, my voice trembling. "Come here."

Leo looked at Killian, then ran to my arms. I held him tight, buried my face in his hair, and finally looked up at the man kneeling in the dirt.

Killian looked at me, his soul bared. "You don't have to forgive me, Elara. You can execute me right here for breaking my exile. But please... let me stay long enough to ensure she doesn't come back. Let me be a shield for him. Even if he never knows who I am."

I looked at the blood he had shed for our son. For the first time in five years, the ice around my heart developed a tiny, microscopic c***k.

"Silas," I called out as my guard captain arrived with a dozen warriors.

"Your Majesty? Shall I take him to the dungeons?"

I looked at Killian. He didn't look like a proud Alpha anymore. He looked like a man who had finally realized what he had thrown away.

"No," I said, my voice firm. "Take him to the healer. And then... bring him to my private study. We have things to discuss that aren't about grain or borders."