Alpha lost Luna

Ruin

“I…” My voice came out a squeak. I cleared my throat, trying to sound like I had even an ounce of the composure he did. “My father… he’ll…”

Stefan’s lips quirked with a shadow of a smile that didn’t reach his intense eyes. “The moon doesn’t ask for permission to shine. And neither do I. A simple walk. Nothing more.”

Nothing more. The lie was so effortless and yet the attraction towards him was undeniable. It was the same force that had made me spill the ale, the same heat that had flooded me at his touch.

After a lifetime of being the invisible, clumsy girl, this terrifying attention was a drug I was suddenly desperate to taste.

I took his hand and a warmer and deeper energy than the first, shot straight up my arm.

He closed his fingers around mine firmly and led me away from the torchlight, away from the noise and the judgment, into the silent waiting embrace of the woods.

For a few minutes, the only sounds were the crunch of our feet on the fallen leaves and the thumping of my own heart.

“It’s quieter out here,” he broke the silence. “Easier to think.”

“Or harder,” I blurted out then immediately wanted to kick myself.

He chuckled warmly.

“Depends on what you’re thinking about, I suppose. I realize I made a rather rude demand without even knowing your name.”

I kept my eyes fixed on the path ahead.

“It’s Ana.”

“Ana,” he repeated and my name had never sounded so good. It rolled off his tongue like something precious. “A strong name. It suits you.”

I almost snorted. No one had ever called me strong before. Clumsy, yes. A disgrace, constantly. But never strong. A little bubble of unexpected laughter escaped me.

“You might be the first person to think so.”

“Then the people here are fools,” he said and the casual certainty in his tone made my breath catch.

I was so distracted by the sound of his voice and by the way his thumb absently stroked the back of my hand that I didn’t realize he’d stopped until I nearly walked into him.

I looked up with my question dying on my lips. The moon shone directly on us bathing everything in silver. His expression was serious again.

“You have a leaf,” he murmured with his voice dropping to a whisper. “In your hair.”

Before I could move, he reached out. His fingers, surprisingly gentle, brushed against my temple, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear and I shivered with my whole body going still.

He didn’t move his hand away. Instead, he cupped my cheek with his thumb stroking my skin.

“So beautiful,” he whispered.

All I could do was stare with my lips parted and my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. This was it.. this was the moment Rodica had mocked me for even dreaming about!

He leaned in slowly, giving me every chance to pull away but I didn’t. I was rooted to the spot like a moth mesmerized by a flame.

Then his lips were on mine..!

It was my first kiss and it ruined all other kisses that would ever come after, because nothing could ever compare to this!

It started soft and questionably.. then it deepened with his arms wrapping around me, pulling me flush against the hard wall of his chest. It wasn’t gentle anymore.. it was hungry, demanding and I met him with a desperation I didn’t know I possessed.

I kissed him back like I was drowning and he was air!

When he finally pulled away, we were both breathless.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered with his forehead resting against mine. “I didn’t mean to be so… rushed.”

I couldn’t form words. My entire body was buzzing alive with a need so fierce it scared me. All I could do was nod in a desparete movement.

His wolf growled in his throat and kissed me again and this time there was no hesitation.

His hands roamed my back and down my sides, leaving trails of fire in their wake. One hand slid up, cupping my breast through the thin fabric of my dress and I gasped into his mouth at the sensation of pleasure shooting straight to my core.

“Oh…” was all I could manage.

He broke the kiss with his eyes dark with a fire that made my knees weak.

“Tell me to stop, Ana.”

I should have. By the moon, I knew I should have. But the thought of stopping, of going back to my dull lonely life after tasting this… it was unbearable.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered with my voice trembling.

That was all the permission he needed.

What followed was pure sensation! The cool forest floor against my back, the overwhelming heat of his skin against mine, the weight of him and the scent of him everywhere!

There was a brief sharp pain that made me gasp but it was swallowed by his kiss, quickly replaced by a building pleasure so incredible it stole my breath.

I clung to him shamelessly as he thrust into me repeatedly and it was the most alive I had ever felt. This powerful enigmatic Alpha was mine,in this moment and I was his.

When it was over, we lay on the ground, panting and staring up at the full moon through the canopy of leaves.

A dreamy, satiated haze settled over me.. this was it.. the best thing to ever happen in my painfully dull life.

I turned my head to look at him with a soft smile touching my lips.. and that’s when it hit..

A brutal searing white-hot wire connected my soul directly to his, stealing the air from my lungs.

I knew what it was! The bond! The mate bond!

My eyes went wide and I gasped, turning fully to face him with my heart swelling with a joy so fierce it was painful.

Him?? It was him! The Moon Goddess had given me… him!

The joy died a swift and brutal death!

The look on his face was horror and then it darkened into rage and I recoiled from the hatred in his eyes.

“When,” he hissed venomously, “were you planning on telling me?”

My mouth opened and closed.

“T-telling you? I… I just felt it too! I swear!”

He shot up from the ground, snatching his clothes violently.

“Not that, you foolish girl!” he snarled, gestured at me like I was something filthy he’d found on his boot. “This! When were you going to tell me you’re just a damned Omega?!”

My soaring heart plummeted, shattering on the forest floor and all the warmth from moments ago turned to ice in my veins.

“I… I’m sorry,” I stammered, scrambling for my own dress with my hands shaking so badly I could barely function. “I didn’t think...”

“You didn’t think!” he roared, yanking his pants on. “No, you didn’t! You let me… I just…” He looked genuinely sickened. “I f****d an Omega! And now the Moon Goddess, in her infinite cruelty has mated me to one? I only felt it after!”

He finished dressing and turned to me and I saw it coming before it did.

“I, Alpha Stefan of the Bucharest pack, reject you, Ana, as my mate!”

The words weren’t just heard.. they were felt like a razor-sharp blade slicing through the brand-new bond in my soul. I cried out, doubling over as a pain worse than any physical wound tore through me.

“Never speak of this,” he spat with every word dripping with contempt. “To anyone. If you value your pathetic life, you will forget this night ever happened!”

And without another glance, he turned and disappeared into the trees, leaving me alone with the shattered pieces of the bond and my own devastating humiliation.

I sank to the ground with the sobs wracking my body. Of course.. of course this was my fate.

I was always the bullied.. always the weakling and always the disappointment. Why had I thought even for a second, that I could have something beautiful? The greatest night of my life had turned into the worst in a matter of seconds!

I don’t know how long I lay there, curled into a ball of misery. Hours, maybe. The moon began its slow descent and I was empty and hollowed out. I just wanted the pain to stop!

A slow deliberate crunch of leaves nearby came to my hearing.

I didn’t open my eyes and I didn’t care. Maybe it was Rodica, coming to twist the knife. Maybe it was my father, finally here to punish me. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a wild beast.

Please, I prayed to any god that might be listening.. let it be a beast. Do me this one favor. Make it quick. End it all.