The Alpha's Unclaimed Luna

Chapter 3: A Human Who Shouldn’t Exist

Rafael’s POV

“Alpha, she’s finally awake.”

Those four words hit me harder than any sharp object ever could. I was already on my feet before Mateo finished speaking. “Where?”

“Your chambers,” he said, trying so hard to keep pace with me. “She’s asking many questions.”

Of course she was. There's no way she would stay calm without trying to find out what's going on around her.

Elena Navarro didn’t strike me as the kind of woman who woke up quietly in a den full of wolves and politely waited for answers, instead of requesting them herself.

I gently pushed open the door, causing her eyes to snap to mine instantly.

“You,” she said hoarsely. “You’re back.” Relief hit me so hard to the point my knees almost buckled, but no one noticed.

“Yes,” I replied, forcing my voice to stay calm. That was Alpha strong, unshaken. “I’m here for you.”

She pushed herself up on the bed, then all of a sudden, she froze as she took in her surroundings. From the stone walls, to the heavy pelts, the scent of wolf crowding the air.

“This isn’t a hospital,” she said slowly.

“No.”

“This isn’t my village either.”

“No.”

“And judging by the way you’re all staring at me like I might explode…” Her gaze passed me to where two guards stood stiffly by the wall, waiting for instructions. “I’m guessing I’m not supposed to be here, nor one of you.”

Mateo shifted uncomfortably. “Technically...”

“Out,” I ordered.

He hesitated for a few seconds. “Alpha..”

“Out. Right now.”

The guards followed without question. They knew better than to argue with me. Mateo stubbornly lingered just long enough to murmur, “The Council’s gathering.”

I nodded once, indicating I heard him so he could go. Then, in a few seconds, it was just us.

Elena hugged her knees to her chest like a baby, warming my heart through the gesture. “You knocked me out.”

“I caught you,” I corrected quietly, not ready for her argument.

“You let me pass out.”

“Your body couldn’t handle the bond awakening all at once, that was what happened.”

She stared at me for a few seconds. “You keep saying that word ever since I met you.”

“Bond.”

“Yes. Like it’s a normal thing people say before breakfast.” I took a slow breath, but not to scare her. “For us, it is.”

Her jaw tightened in anger. “I’m not one of you.” I crossed the room, stopping just in front of the bed she was lying on. “You are without realizing it.”

“No,” she snapped, not ready to accept. “I don’t grow fur. I don’t howl at the moon like you do. I don’t...”

“You survived a rogue wolf attack not long ago,” I cut in. “Human bodies don’t do that.”

Her eyes widened on realizing that I was telling the truth. “What attack are you talking about?”

The door suddenly flung open. “Where is she?”

Lucia Navarro stormed in like a force of nature, and I recognized her immediately, her eyes blazing uncontrollably, gray-streaked hair pulled back tightly. The moment she set her eyes on Elena, her fury became doubled.

“You i***t,” she hissed angrily at me. “Do you have the slightest idea what you’ve done?”

Elena blinked in confusion. “Aunt Lucia?”

Lucia froze when she heard her muttering her name calmly.

“Elena,” she breathed fast, then wasted no time in rushing forward, gripping her shoulders. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did they...”

“I’m fine,” Elena said, though her voice did not show that, but shaking slightly. “I think.”

Lucia rounded on me immediately, in great fury. “You went ahead and exposed her.”

“She wandered into my territory, without any guard” I replied evenly. “Bleeding, and marked.”

Lucia’s face became pale. “You saw the scar on her,” she whispered.

“I felt it before setting my eyes on it,” I corrected.

Everywhere became quiet. Elena looked between us. “You’re both doing that thing again.”

Lucia closed her eyes, almost at the edge of snapping. “What thing?”

“Talking like I’m not in the room, when I can hear the both of you.”

I straightened up, to explain more to her. “She’s staying.”

Lucia’s head snapped up, suddenly agitated. “No.”

“She cannot leave here, at least for some time,” I said firmly.

“You don’t get to decide what happens in her life!”

“I do,” I snapped back, getting pissed off by her over controlling character. “She’s under my protection now.”

Elena’s gaze landed on me. “Excuse me?”

I turned to her, to explain, though I was tired of doing that. “There are laws.”

“I don’t care about your laws, it doesn't concern me,” she shot back. “I want to go home.”

Lucia grabbed my arm, but in warning. “Rafael, listen to me. If the council realizes that...”

“They already do, no need to panic over that, at least for a few more seconds,” came a cold voice from the doorway.

Diego? He leaned against the frame of my champion, arms crossed, eyes gleaming, though I readable, but I knew he wasn't satisfied.

“She’s awake,” he said. “And that is making the whole pack feel her now.”

Elena stiffened on realizing the impact her presence had gotten. “Feel me how?”

Diego’s smile was sharp. “Like a spark in...”

I stepped forward instantly, cutting in before he could finish. “You will watch your tone.”

He raised a brow, and didn't back down. “Or what, Alpha? You’ll deny what we all sense?”

Lucia hissed at our little argument. “This was never meant to happen in the first place.”

Diego’s gaze landed immediately on her. “So you knew about that.”

Elena turned to her aunt for answers. “Knew what?”

Lucia hesitated, the question weighing her down. That hesitation might have cost us everything.

“She’s human,” Diego said loudly. “Or she was. And our Alpha has claimed her.”

“I haven’t claimed her,” I growled, halfway to breaking his neck.

“You forgot that you marked her with your energy,” Diego shot back, adamant in proving his point. “The bond doesn’t lie, and has never lied”

Elena’s breath seemed to cease for a second. “Claimed… how?”

I looked at her then...this time, really looked. I saw how pale, confused, and terrified she was, but still standing strong.

“My pack is bound by alliances,” I said carefully. “I am obligated to take a mate from a rival pack to prevent war.”

Her eyes darkened on hearing that, like she understood me. “And I’m… inconvenient.”

Diego laughed out in Mockery. “That’s exactly one word for it.”

Lucia rounded on him in fury. “You will not use her as a political tool, and that's final.”

“She already is, even without realizing it.” Diego replied smoothly. “And that's happening whether she wants it or not.”

Elena stood abruptly. “Stop that right now” Every voice was cut off because of hers.

“I don’t know what any of this means, nor do I care,” she said, her chest rising rapidly. “But I can feel it within me, that something is wrong somewhere. Something that isn't supposed to change, is changing.”

Her hand flew to her wrist, at that place with the mark. “No,” Lucia whispered in a calm voice. “Not yet.”

I saw how Elena reacted, as pain rolled off uncontrollably. I could even feel it through the bond, how hot, frantic, and spiraling it was.

“Elena,” I called her softly. “Look at me.” She obeyed without a word, her eyes still glowing gold.

Diego swore under his breath, but I heard him. “Impossible.”

Elena gasped, doubling over in panic. “Rafael...something’s happening...”

Her bones began cracking, though not fully. It was just halfway.

Her nails elongated, and before we knew it, claws started tearing through her skin. A low growl escaped from her throat, the raw, terrifying, and powerful kind.

Lucia screamed in panic. “She’s shifting!”

I caught Elena as she collapsed into my arms, her body caught between human and wolf, trembling violently.

Diego stared in confusion, awe and horror battling on his face.

“A human who shouldn’t exist,” he murmured to me. “A mate who will start a war soon enough.”

Elena’s eyes met mine, and it was wild, burning, and I could tell how scared she was.

“Rafael,” she whispered to me. “What am I?”

Before I could answer, the shift started all over her body again.

And the pack howled in sensing her.