The Alpha's Rejected Mate Is Back For Revenge

Chapter 4:The first command

*Chapter 4: The First Command*

The hall smelled of blood and iron. Mine and Kael’s.

I stood on the dais where my father used to stand, looking down at the pack that had knelt to me minutes ago. Kneeling was easy. Loyalty was harder.

“Luna,” Elder Mara stepped forward, her voice steady but her hands trembled. “The ceremony… it must be completed before moonrise. The pack needs to hear your first command.”

My first command. The words felt heavy.

I glanced at Kael’s body, still lying on the stone. The silence of the hall pressed on me. Every wolf was waiting. If I hesitated now, they’d smell weakness.

“Take him,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “Burn what’s left. He betrayed the pack. He doesn’t get a grave.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Two warriors stepped forward, dragging Kael’s body toward the outer courtyard. The sound of his claws scraping stone made my stomach turn, but I didn’t look away.

Elder Mara nodded slowly. “Harsh. But just.”

“Justice isn’t pretty,” I replied. “And neither am I anymore.”

The elder studied me, then lowered her head. “What of the others? The ones who aided him?”

That was the real question. Kael didn’t act alone. There were whispers, names I’d heard in hiding. If I started naming them now, I’d start a war inside the war.

“Not yet,” I said. “First, we secure the pack. Post guards on every gate. No one leaves or enters without my word.”

“And the border patrols?”

“Double them. If our enemies know I’m back, they’ll move fast. I want to know before they reach the walls.”

Mara’s eyes gleamed with approval. “As you command, Luna.”

The title still felt foreign on my tongue. But hearing her say it made something settle in my chest.

The doors to the hall creaked open. Cold air rushed in, carrying the scent of pine and rain. Through the opening, I saw the sky darkening. Moonrise was close.

“One more thing,” I said, stepping off the dais. The pack parted for me instinctively.

I stopped in front of the young wolf who’d first challenged me when I returned. Kade. He was still on one knee, head bowed, but his eyes flicked up to meet mine for half a second.

“You doubted me,” I said quietly.

“I was wrong,” he answered.

“Good. Wrong is fixable. Dead isn’t.” I held out my hand. “Stand. You’re on border patrol tonight. Don’t die.”

He took my hand, surprised, and rose. “I won’t, Luna.”

As I walked out into the courtyard, the pack followed. Not behind me, but with me.

The moon broke through the clouds.

And for the first time in five years, it felt like it was mine again.

But in the shadows beyond the walls, something moved. Something that wasn’t wolf.

They’d heard I was back.