The Alpha Who Rejected The Moonborn

The Mark

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The entire clearing had become unnaturally still.

I could hear my own breathing.

Slow.

Uneven.

Too loud.

The silver mark beneath my collarbone continued to glow through the fabric of my dress, pulsing with a strange rhythm that seemed almost synchronized with my heartbeat.

Moonborn.

The word wouldn't leave my mind.

I didn't know what it meant.

But everyone else apparently did.

The expressions surrounding me told me enough.

Fear.

Shock.

Suspicion.

And, in some cases, hatred.

I looked at Mira.

Her face had gone pale.

"You know what that means?"

She shook her head too quickly.

"No."

"Mira."

"I said I don't know."

She was lying.

I'd known her long enough to recognize it.

Before I could question her, Alpha Darius stepped forward.

The clearing immediately fell silent.

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't understand.

It wasn't simple anger.

There was something else beneath it.

Fear.

The same fear I'd seen in Kael's eyes.

"Everyone returns to their homes," Darius ordered.

No one moved.

He raised his voice.

"Now."

The crowd finally began to disperse.

But nobody was really leaving.

They were whispering.

Watching me.

Pointing.

I caught fragments as people passed.

"Moonborn..."

"Impossible..."

"She was supposed to be ordinary."

"What does this mean?"

"I thought they were extinct."

My stomach twisted.

I hated not knowing what was happening.

I hated even more that everyone else seemed to know something about me that I didn't.

I turned toward Kael.

He was still standing where I'd left him.

His expression was unreadable again.

The cold Alpha heir had returned.

I hated that expression.

I hated him.

At least, I wanted to.

It would have been much easier if I could simply hate him.

"You knew," I said.

His eyes met mine.

"Lyra."

"You knew."

He didn't answer.

I stepped closer.

"You knew what the mark was before I did."

His jaw tightened.

"Not here."

I laughed bitterly.

"Of course. Not here."

His gaze flickered toward the people still watching us.

"You're in danger."

I stared at him.

"Funny."

His eyebrows drew together.

"What's funny?"

"You rejected me in front of everyone."

My voice shook despite my efforts to keep it steady.

"You humiliated me in front of the entire pack. And now you're suddenly worried about my safety?"

His expression hardened.

"I didn't reject you because I wanted to hurt you."

"Really?"

"No."

"Then why?"

He looked away.

For the first time, Kael Draven seemed to have no answer.

I folded my arms.

"That's what I thought."

He stepped closer.

I instinctively moved backward.

His expression changed.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't move away from me."

I stared at him.

"You're joking, right?"

"No."

"You rejected me."

"I know."

"So I think I'm allowed to decide how close I want to stand to you."

His eyes narrowed.

"You don't understand what's happening."

"Then explain it."

"I can't."

I laughed.

"Of course you can't."

Kael looked toward his father.

Darius was speaking quietly with several guards.

Whatever they were discussing, it clearly involved me.

Kael lowered his voice.

"Go home."

"I am home."

"Then stay there."

"Why?"

He looked directly into my eyes.

"Because people are going to come looking for you."

A chill went through me.

"Who?"

He didn't answer.

"Kael."

Nothing.

"Who is coming?"

His expression darkened.

"People who believe the Moonborn should never have returned."

Before I could ask anything else, Darius approached.

"Kael."

The single word carried enough authority to make the surrounding guards straighten.

Kael turned.

"Father."

Darius looked at me.

"Lyra Vale."

I didn't like the way he said my name.

"Yes?"

"You will come with us."

I almost laughed.

"No."

His eyes narrowed.

"You misunderstand."

"No, I understand perfectly."

I stepped back.

"Everyone has spent the last ten minutes talking about me like I'm some dangerous creature. Nobody has bothered to explain anything. Now you're telling me to follow you somewhere?"

"You are safer under my protection."

"Your son just rejected me."

Darius glanced at Kael.

"That is irrelevant."

I blinked.

"To you, maybe."

Kael's expression tightened.

Darius continued.

"You don't understand the forces that have been awakened tonight."

"Then explain them."

Silence.

I looked from Darius to Kael.

Neither spoke.

That was it.

I'd had enough.

"I'll go home."

Darius's voice became colder.

"You will not leave."

Something inside me snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"No."

The word came out before I could think.

Darius stared at me.

I could feel the pressure building beneath my skin again.

The strange energy.

The same thing that had thrown the guards backward.

I didn't understand it.

But somehow, I could feel it listening.

Waiting.

Darius took a step toward me.

"Your mother should have known better."

Everything inside me stopped.

"What did you say?"

He froze.

For the first time, genuine surprise crossed his face.

Kael immediately looked at him.

"Father."

Darius recovered quickly.

"I said nothing."

"You mentioned my mother."

His expression became unreadable.

"Your mother is irrelevant."

"No."

I stepped forward.

"You don't get to say that."

My voice cracked.

"My mother disappeared when I was seven."

Darius said nothing.

"You knew her."

Still nothing.

"How?"

Kael looked between us.

Darius finally spoke.

"Your mother was a dangerous woman."

The words hit me like a slap.

"You knew her."

"Everyone in our world knew of her."

"Then tell me where she is."

Darius turned away.

"I have nothing more to say."

I grabbed his arm.

The instant my fingers touched him, the silver mark on my chest flared.

Darius stumbled backward.

His eyes widened.

For one terrifying second, I saw something behind his anger.

Fear.

Pure fear.

Then he whispered:

"Impossible."

Kael stepped between us.

"Father."

Darius looked at him.

"Get her out of here."

"Where?"

"Anywhere."

"Father—"

"Anywhere but here."

Then Darius turned and walked away.

I stared after him.

My hands were trembling.

Mira came rushing toward me.

"Lyra."

I turned.

"You knew."

She stopped.

"Knew what?"

"About my mother."

Her face changed.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me."

She swallowed.

"I wasn't lying."

"You knew something."

Mira looked down.

"I knew she wasn't ordinary."

My heart sank.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Mira."

"I swear."

She reached for my hand.

I pulled away.

For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure whether I could trust my best friend.

That realization hurt more than I expected.

"I need to go home."

Mira nodded.

"I'll come with you."

"No."

Her eyes widened.

"Lyra—"

"I need to be alone."

I turned before she could answer.

The path home felt longer than it had ever been.

Every step was accompanied by whispers.

Some people stared openly.

Others avoided my gaze.

Children were pulled closer to their parents when I passed.

I had lived in Mooncrest my entire life.

These people had watched me grow up.

Now they looked at me like I was something they were afraid to touch.

I reached the small house where I'd lived since childhood.

The door creaked open.

Everything looked exactly the same.

The old wooden table.

The faded curtains.

The small bookshelf.

My mother's photograph on the wall.

I stared at it.

She was smiling in the picture.

Young.

Beautiful.

Happy.

I had spent years trying to remember her voice.

Sometimes I was afraid I was forgetting it.

I touched the photograph.

"Who were you?"

A floorboard creaked behind me.

I spun around.

Nobody.

My heart raced.

I searched the room.

Nothing.

Then I noticed something.

The window was open.

I was certain I'd closed it earlier.

I walked toward it slowly.

Cold air entered the room.

And sitting on the windowsill was a small silver pendant.

I froze.

I knew that pendant.

My mother had worn it every day when I was little.

I picked it up.

There was a symbol engraved on its surface.

A crescent moon surrounded by three tiny stars.

My hands began to shake.

A folded piece of paper was attached to the chain.

I opened it.

There were only five words.

Don't trust the Alpha's blood.

My heart stopped.

A sound came from outside.

I turned toward the window.

A shadow moved between the trees.

I stepped closer.

"Who's there?"

No answer.

I grabbed the nearest object I could find—a wooden chair.

The shadow disappeared.

Then something moved behind me.

I spun around.

A man stood inside my house.

He wore a dark cloak.

His face was hidden.

I raised the chair.

"Get out."

He didn't move.

"Who are you?"

Still nothing.

Then he spoke.

"Your mother was right."

My blood ran cold.

"What did you say?"

"She knew they would eventually find you."

"Who?"

He stepped closer.

"The Dravens."

I tightened my grip on the chair.

"Why?"

"Because you're the last Moonborn."

I stared at him.

The words felt impossible.

"That's not true."

He reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a small silver blade.

I stepped backward.

"Stay away from me."

His voice remained calm.

"I didn't come to hurt you."

"Then why are you here?"

"To warn you."

"About what?"

He looked toward the window.

"They know you're awake."

A howl echoed through the forest.

The stranger turned toward the sound.

"They've already crossed the border."

I felt the strange energy inside me stir again.

"Who has?"

He looked back at me.

"The Bloodfangs."

The name meant nothing to me.

But the fear in his eyes did.

He stepped toward the window.

"You have until sunrise."

"Until sunrise for what?"

He paused.

"To decide whether you trust the Alpha who rejected you."

Then he disappeared into the darkness.

I stood frozen.

The silver pendant remained clenched in my hand.

Outside, another howl echoed through the forest.

This time, it was much closer.

And somewhere in the distance, a wolf answered.

A deep voice.

Familiar.

Kael.

He was calling for me.

And judging by the urgency in his howl—

he wasn't alone.