The Alpha's Unclaimed Luna

Chapter 2: The Alpha Finds His Mate

Rafael

“Don’t you dare touch her.” The voice was so loud, ringing even through the chaos.

I blinked, my vision gradually returning. “I...I didn’t say you could talk,” I muttered weakly, trying to contribute, though I wasn’t even sure who I was talking to, or the people surrounding me.

“She’s now conscious,” someone else announced, and it was a sharp and curious voice.

“Barely,” Rafael replied instead.

Rafael? His name suddenly rushed to my memory.

“I can hear you very well,” I said, forcing my eyes open with much energy. “Which is quite unfortunate, because I would prefer to be dreaming than staying here with you.”

A soft, breathy kind of sound left him as I said that, almost classified as a laugh. “You have a strange sense of humor for someone surrounded by wolves, the ones you are not familiar with.”

That did it.

“Wolves?” I asked in panic. “What wolves are you talking about?”

“They’re my people, the ones I told you about” Rafael replied calmly. So calmly that it even felt strange. I pushed myself up immediately on my elbows. Well, that was a big mistake.

The world seemed to turn upside down, and there they were, the wolves, his people, everywhere that I turned.

There were many of them, some with gold, amber, silver glowing eyes, while others stood protectively near me. At another corner, I could see others staring with curiosity, though a few looked at me like I was a prey to be feasted on.

My breathing never remained stable throughout my stay there. “Rafael,” I whispered, quickly grabbing the front of his shirt without thinking. “Tell me I’m hallucinating, that everything will soon return to normal.”

His body went rigid the moment my hand touched him.

“I can’t,” he said quietly, still too calm.

“Then instruct them to stop looking at me like that, in such a horrible way!”

“Stand down ,” he ordered very sharply, his voice breaking down like thunder.The wolves froze instantly from that, every single one of them. My heart started pounding harder than usual. “You didn’t just say that,” I breathed very hard.

“I did,” he replied. “And they’ll obey me.”

A wolf stepped forward from nowhere, too tall even in human form when he shifted mid step. He has dark hair, a little scar cutting across his cheek, eyes burning with something ugly.

“Alpha,” the man started, inclining his head slightly. “You didn’t warn us about it.”

Rafael’s jaw clenched so tightly, that it almost broke. “I didn’t know.” The man’s gaze narrowed to me. Though slowly, assessing, and dangerously. “And this is her, the one you talked about?” he asked.

I became terrified. “This is me, not a thing.” His lips curled into a wolfish grin. “She talks if you don't know that.”

Rafael moved without warning, and before I knew what was happening, then stepped in front of me, blocking the man’s view completely.

“That’s enough for now, Diego.”

Diego? The name for no reason rang sharp in my head, and that was how Diego’s eyes flashed. “You feel it too, don’t you?” Rafael didn’t answer, and he had no intention of doing that, which was enough answer already.

I swallowed hard at everything that was going on. “Feel what exactly?” Diego laughed softly at that. “The bond.” The word alone started hitting me so hard.

“No,” I answered immediately. “No, no, no. You don’t get to say mysterious words like that without explanation.”

Rafael turned to me, eyes stormy. “Elena...”

“Don’t,” I snapped in fury. “Don’t soften your voice the way you are doing it. Don’t look at me like that, all you need to do is just tell me what’s happening.”

His throat worked out surprisingly. “You’re my fated mate.” The clearing went dead silent, and as I stayed calm there, my mind rejected the words instantly. “That’s not a real thing.”

“It is to us,” Diego said. “And it’s forbidden.” I looked between them all. “Forbidden usually means someone ends up dead.”

Diego’s smile widened like he just won an award. “She learns so fast.”

“Enough,” Rafael growled in anger. “She’s injured, and shouldn't be stressed.” As if summoned by his words, my wrist erupted in severe pain, to the point I almost blamed him.

I cried out in pain, clutching it as heat from it flowed through my veins like fire. “Rafael...something’s definitely wrong...”

He wasted no time, as he was beside me in an instant, hands hovering all over me, but torn. “I know. I know what it is.

“She’s marked.”

“The Moon chose her.”

“That’s impossible.”

Diego moved a step closer, eyes narrowing on me. “She’s human for crying out loud.”

“I was,” I gasped at the thought of that. “I think.” Rafael’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s not.” That sentence alone scared me more than the wolves surrounding me.

“What do you mean I’m not?” I demanded in curiosity.

Before he could respond, Diego decided to speak again, his voice sharp and deliberate. “Alpha, if the council finds out about...”

“They won’t,” Rafael snapped, cutting him off.

“They always do, and you know that.”

Their argument seemed to fade before me, because the pain intensified, making my vision blur. At the same time, my skin burned. I felt… stretched, like something inside me was trying to wake up, to manifest.

“Rafael,” I whispered, fear evident in my voice. “I don’t want any of this.” His hand finally closed around my wrist in an affectionate manner. Then, the pain eased, but just a little.

The contact made by his hand seemed to send a jolt through me. Not pain this time, but heat and awareness.

“I know.” He replied. Diego’s eyes darkened instantly on hearing that.

“There it is,” he murmured. “The bond reacts severely to touch.” Rafael released me like he had been burned by the touch.

“Take your eyes off her,” he snarled possessively.

“I can’t,” Diego replied calmly, though he wasn't calm. “Not when she threatens everything we have here.”

I stared at Diego, wondering what I ever did to him. “I don’t even know you.”

“You don’t need to,” he said. “You’re already a problem on your own.” Anger burned uncontrollably, even with the fear. “I didn’t ask to be dragged into your… wolf politics.”

Rafael looked at me sharply. “Politics?”

“Yes!” I shot back. “Because every time someone says ‘forbidden’ or ‘council,’ people usually end up dead.”

Diego chuckled in a silly manner. “She really is perfect.”

Rafael rounded on him. “You will not touch her.”

“I haven’t,” Diego replied. “, not yet.” That alone was an indication that I wasn't safe with him, in this strange place. Then, I felt the pain again, making me scream.

Rafael caught me as my legs wobbled weakly, almost falling, pulling me into his chest. His arms locked around me instinctively, possessive, desperate like his possession.

“Elena,” he said with a cracking voice. “Stay with me.”

“I’m trying,” I whispered, my tears spilling all over me. “Why exactly does it hurt so much?”

“Because the bond is awakening too fast,” he said. “You were never meant to find me this way.”

That kind of raised a hundred questions for me, unfortunately, I couldn’t ask them. My vision wasn't stable anymore. Then, the last thing I saw was Diego’s face...no longer amused, but calculating.

“She won’t survive this,” Diego said quietly. “Not without making a hard choice.”

Rafael’s grip tightened around me in fear. “She will,” he said fiercely.

“Or,” Diego added softly, “she’ll destroy you once she does.”

The darkness took over, and the final thing I felt was Rafael’s heartbeat...very strong, frantic...against my cheek as he whispered my name like a promise and a curse all at once.

Then everything went black.