The Lycan's Ugly Luna

2. Not your Typical Alpha

Alpha Ziven Ironside

I am not your typical Alpha. I was brewed from the seed of the gods themselves.

The Ironside Pack has always been one of the most powerful in the continent, ruled for generations by my bloodline. My father, Errik Ironside, was its Supreme Alpha. He and my mother, Luna Elsa, were inseparable—or so it seemed. But my father was a jealous man.

During one of his long campaigns away from Feydor, my mother received a visitor. A man who looked just like my father, spoke like him, and carried his scent. She welcomed him into her bed, never realizing he was no ordinary man. He was a god in mortal skin. By morning, he was gone.

The result of that night… was me.

Formed in my father's image but when my father saw the strange color of my eyes, he knew I wasn’t truly his. He cast my mother and me out, forcing us to survive alone. But exile forged me. With my mother at my side, I learned the truth of my bloodline and discovered the storm brewing in me—the power of the gods.

Fate, however, has a way of circling back. I returned to Ironside and claimed what was mine. I became Alpha. I rule everything here with an ironfist… everything but one thing. Choosing a mate.

Yes, there is a Luna beside me now—Bianca. A figurehead, nothing more. She was chosen strategically, placed at my side to quiet the whispers and fill an empty throne. But she is not my mate. I have never known what it feels like to have one. My wolf was not bred for bonds or love. He was forged from storms and the wrath of gods. There is no softness in me for love.

I take who I want, when I want, because I am untethered. And though Bianca was meant to bear my heirs, no matter how many I bed, no matter how I try… no woman has ever carried my child.

This is my problem. I have brothers longing for my position, the whole pack and realm demanding an heir—it is a necessity. But I cannot give it to them because I have no mate, not until this day.

There she stands, an unusual scar smeared across her face. I don’t even need to look twice before my eyes light up, brewing a storm within me. Our Mate! Skoll, my raging wolf, growls. I try to keep him under control. Mark her! Mark her! he roars again.

“And this ugly one?” the slave seller sneers, but his words only make my wolf angrier. The fool keeps talking down on her, riling the crowd to laugh with him. The back and forth worsens it, and the fool is getting on my nerves.

I struggle to keep my anger in check. These people don’t know who I am. But my beta, Joffrey, senses it, so he steps in quickly to avoid bigger trouble.

“Why were you hell-bent on having her, Alpha?” Joffrey asks after we get back to the pack house.

“She’s different!” That’s the best I can say. I can’t tell them she is my mate. I can’t admit that the moment her eyes met mine, I wanted to kiss her cherry-pink lips and rip her clothes off her. It makes no sense! Why her?

Even after we settle in Manor Castle, I can’t stop thinking about her. Eloise... I mutter under my breath.

“My Alpha!” A voice interrupts my thoughts.

It is my Luna, Bianca.

“How was your exploit today?” she asks, trying to irritate me as usual.

“It went great. I brought back a spoil.” I smirk, hoping to annoy her as well.

“Why would you do that? You never bring them back, so why would you do that now?” I can already see my response riling her up.

“Because this one is special!” I said, watching as the veins popped up on Bianca’s forehead.

“I want to see her! What is so special about her that you would bring her back to our home?” she demanded.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be closer to you than you think.”

Just as we were speaking, Gloria brought her in, and damn—this I didn’t see before. Those accentuated curves. I don’t even know if the uniform was a good idea. It was plain—black skirt, crisp white blouse, apron tied around her waist. It wasn’t designed to look sexy, but on her it did. The blouse clung to her chest, the skirt hugged her hips, and the apron only made her waist look smaller.

Her red wavy hair was let down, and I guessed it was her attempt to hide that scar. But as she walked forward, my heart raced, and even my palms turned sweaty. What the hell is this?

I forced myself to keep composure, even though I could feel my eyes glowing again. They couldn’t know. She was not fit to be my Luna. My jaw clenched as I tightened my eyes shut until I regained control. When I opened them, her scent was stronger, flooding me.

“Wait—what is this?” Bianca finally found her voice.

“Alpha… Luna.” Gloria bowed her head. “This is Eloise—your new servant.”

“Is this a joke? Servants wear their hair up! What do you think this is, Eloise?” Bianca spat her name like poison. “A fashion parade?”

“I…I’m sorry, Luna,” Eloise finally spoke, her voice calm and smooth as the ocean.

“Pack your hair in a bun. Now!” Bianca commanded.

“Luna, she—” Gloria tried to defend her, but Bianca silenced her with a flick of her hand.

Eloise slowly gathered her hair, and with each strand pulled back, her scar was revealed. The moment Bianca saw it, she burst into laughter, loud as though someone had told her the funniest joke of her life.

“What’s so funny, Bianca?” I asked, anger rising at her behavior.

“Oh, nothing, my love. I see why you brought her home. What the hell is that?” Bianca burst into another round of laughter.

“You almost had me scared for a minute, my Alpha. But she’s damn ugly! That face is repulsive. What’s that scar? If I had such a face, I’d drown myself.”

“That is enough, Bianca!” I growled low not to show too much concern.

I turned to Eloise. “You are dismissed.” It was the only way to spare her from further humiliation. Still, the whispers among the servants had already begun..

“Oh, goodness…” Bianca clutched her stomach, still laughing.

I clenched my jaw. “Who cares about her face when she has a body like that?” The words slipped out, and just like that, Bianca’s smile faded into a scowl.

Our relationship has always been one of convenience. She knows we’re bound by requirement, not love, but she never stops acting like she owns me. Obsessed. Jealous. Clingy. She takes her title too seriously. And while she has her flings and I take my freedom, her need to stake a claim over me is irritating.

But her reaction tonight… that got under my skin. Especially because I saw Eloise’s face the moment Bianca’s words hit her. The pain in her eyes before she ran off—it riled something inside me that I couldn’t ignore.

As I left the hall and climbed the stairs toward my lounge, I could still hear the muffled whispers and snickers of the other servants. But it was Eloise’s reaction that stayed with me even though I try to brush it off.

I changed out of my clothes for a late meeting, but in the middle of buttoning my shirt. A strange sensation tore through me. My wolf stirred, but this was unlike the usual warning of danger. This was deeper, stronger—pulling at my chest.

My heartbeat accelerated, uneven, wild. The fabric slipped from my hands as I followed the invisible tug, my wolf’s instincts leading me to Eloise. From my terrace, I stood looking down at the pool.

What the hell is she doing? Taking a swim in her uniform? What a clown!

I stayed put, watching to see what ridiculous idea she had in her head. She lingered at the edge of the pool for a few seconds, then without hesitation, jumped in. For a moment, I thought maybe she was just hot and needed to cool off. But she didn’t resurface.

She started to thrash, arms flailing like someone who couldn’t swim. And then it hit me—she can’t swim. She trying to drown herself just like Bianca had suggested.

Help her, Skoll growled inside me, urging me forward.

I clenched my fists, fighting the impulse, hoping I was wrong about what she was doing. But then she stopped struggling altogether. She went still. Sinking. Her hand and hair vanished under the water.

That was it. My body moved before my mind.

Impulsively I jumped from the terrace, landing hard by the edge of the pool, and dove in. The cold water swallowed me whole as I reach for her grabbing her by the waist and yanked her up, forcing her head above the surface. With a single toss, I pulled her out onto the tiles.

Her eyes were closed. She Isn’t breathing.

I pressed my hands to her chest, pumping hard. Water spilled from her mouth, but she didn’t stir. I got desperate. I lowered my mouth to hers, forcing air into her lungs.

But the second my lips touched hers, I got lost when I felt her warm skin against mine

and the mouth-to-mouth became something a real kiss. Her lips are, warm soft, trembling, and then she kissed me back like a baby licking on something sweet.

I couldn’t stop kissing her under the full moon and she returned the kiss.

Mark her! I hear the voice within me.

There my eyes suddenly lit up and without thinking, my mouth begin to trail around her neck inhaling her scent deeply, her in deeply, with my fangs out, I dig into her neck ---marking her, as her soft moans vibrated in my ear and her hands fluttered against my chest trying to get out of my grip.

She struggled weakly, and that was enough to jolt me back. I released her instantly. Watching her almond eyes glow and so did mine eyes met, both glowing under the moonlight.

No words were spoken in that moment. I have never been short of words or clueless in my life. I got up and without thinking, I jumped back to the terrace where I came from to disappearing from her presence.