Marked by The Moon

The Alpha's Instinct

Damon’s POV

The door clicked softly shut behind me.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe right.

The scent of her still clung to the air, mixed with smoke and pine—and me. My hoodie hung on her like a claim. A warning. And still, it wasn’t enough.

My wolf surged forward like a storm under my skin, claws scraping at the edge of control.

She’s wearing our scent. Claim her. Now.

No

She’s ours. She needs us. She’s hurting. Take her. Hold her. Mark her. Now.

She’s not ready, Thorne.

I forced a slow breath through my nose, locking my muscles against the primal ache twisting through me.

The bond buzzed like a live wire between us. I could feel her distress like it was stitched into my chest. The fear. The confusion. The cracks forming in everything she thought was true.

I knew what I saw in her eyes. Confusion. Fury. A girl unraveling everything she'd been taught—and something else she wouldn’t say aloud yet.

The bond was already pulling her closer.

You’re too soft. She’s ours.

She’s more than ours. And she didn’t even know the half of it.

I activated the link in my mind.

Kade. You there?

His voice answered instantly, rough and alert.

Yeah, Alpha. You good?

She’s awake. She listened to the voicemails. Her pack’s already reaching out.

A pause.

How bad?

Her friend’s worried. Carter knows. He’s not saying it, but he’s panicking.

Then we move up the timeline.

I nodded even though he couldn’t see it.

Tell Ava to shift the safehouse schedule. We’ll stay here tonight. You run a full sweep of the east perimeter. Don’t let anyone near the cabin unless I call.

Understood.

You’re sure it’s her?

I’ve never been more sure of anything.

Your wolf confirmed it?

The moment I saw her. He nearly took over right there in the clearing.

There was a pause. Then:

So... it’s her. A low whistle. Damn. That changes everything.

It already has. But no one else in the pack knows yet. You and Ava are the only ones I’ve told.

She know she’s yours?

Not yet. But she feels it. Her wolf is waking. The bond’s threading through her now. I can feel it.

And if Carter finds out before we move her?

Then Silverridge declares war.

Then we’d better move her. Kade’s tone shifted. Tactical. Steady. You want Ava to prep the fallback route, too?

Have her run it tonight. Quietly. Rotate the outer scouts but don’t mention the girl. If anyone asks, I’m here for treaty negotiations. Let them think I’m keeping secrets. They’re not wrong.

Kade exhaled sharply.

So it’s really true then. She’s a silver wolf.

Yes.

Moon help us all..

I cut the link.

The air was colder now, or maybe I was burning hotter.

I stared out into the treeline, jaw tight, fists clenched.

She had no idea who she was yet. No idea the blood that ran through her veins could unmake every law the packs had lived under for decades. No idea why the others would come for her—not to claim her…

…but to erase her.

The wolf inside me was still pacing.

She needs us. Now. Before they try to take her again.

I know.

Then stop waiting.

No.

A memory of her voice surfaced—uncertain, cracking: “I don’t know who I am anymore.”

She didn’t need an Alpha right now.

She needed a truth she could hold onto.

And she had no idea that the truth was her.

I looked up at the dark stretch of forest beyond the trees. Cold wind pressed against my skin. Somewhere out there, Silverridge was stirring. Hunting. Preparing.

If they came tonight, they wouldn’t find her weak.

They’d find her protected.

You’re waiting too long. What if we lose her?

We won’t. But if I claim her before she’s ready, we lose her anyway.

Thorne growled in frustration.

But he didn’t fight me.

Not yet.

Because even he knew—when she chose us freely, not out of fear, not because the bond demanded it, but because she wanted to…

That would be the moment the world would start to burn. And I’d let it.

And when the time was right—when she stepped into what she really was—

They’d kneel.