Moonlight Awakening

CHAPTER EIGHT

8: The Rival

Elena woke to the sound of voices outside the cabin. Groggy and disoriented, she sat up, rubbing her eyes as the early morning sunlight streamed through the window. The warmth of the fire had faded, leaving only glowing embers in the hearth. A cool draft slipped through the cracks in the wooden walls, sending a shiver down her spine.

Then she heard it again. Raised voices. Tension thick in the air.

Elena pushed off the blankets and hurried to the window. The clearing outside was no longer quiet—dozens of wolves in human form stood in a loose circle, their postures stiff with unease. At the center stood Kieran, his golden eyes locked onto a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

Even from a distance, Elena could feel the tension crackling between them.

“Who the hell is that?” she muttered to herself.

She didn’t need to wait long for an answer.

Kieran’s voice rang through the clearing, cold and sharp. “You shouldn’t be here, Marcus.”

Marcus.

Elena’s stomach dropped. The wolf who attacked me.

She pressed her fingers against the wooden frame of the window, her pulse racing. Marcus exuded danger. His posture was relaxed, almost cocky, but his blue eyes held a quiet menace that made the hairs on Elena’s arms rise.

Kieran, by contrast, was rigid, his muscles coiled as if preparing for a fight.

“I came to talk,” Marcus said smoothly. His voice was deep, almost velvety, but there was an edge to it that set Elena on edge.

Kieran’s jaw clenched. “Talk?” he echoed. “Since when do you talk instead of attack?”

A slow smirk spread across Marcus’s face. “Things change.”

A ripple of unease passed through the gathered wolves. Lila, the silver-haired female from before, stepped forward. “You have no authority here, Marcus,” she said. “Leave before things get ugly.”

Marcus didn’t even glance at her. His gaze remained locked onto Kieran. “I have as much right to be here as any of you,” he said. “I come with a proposal.”

Kieran let out a low growl. “We don’t make deals with your kind.”

Marcus chuckled. “My kind? We’re the same, Kieran. You just like to pretend you’re better.”

Kieran took a threatening step forward, but Elias, the alpha and Kieran’s father, raised a hand. “Enough,” he said, his deep voice silencing the murmurs of the pack. “Marcus, state your purpose, and then leave.”

Marcus’s smirk widened. He glanced toward the cabin—toward her—and Elena felt a chill slide down her spine.

“I want the girl,” he said simply.

The clearing went deathly silent.

Elena’s breath caught in her throat. What?

Kieran moved so fast she barely saw him. One second he was standing still, the next he had Marcus by the throat, slamming him back against a tree with a force that shook the branches.

A collective gasp rippled through the pack.

Kieran’s voice was deadly quiet. “Say that again.”

Marcus, despite the fact that he was currently being choked, managed a smirk. “You heard me.”

Kieran’s grip tightened. His golden eyes flickered with something primal, something violent.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” he snarled.

Marcus’s hands came up, prying Kieran’s fingers from his throat. He shoved Kieran back just enough to breathe, brushing off his shirt as if nothing had happened.

“That’s the thing, though,” Marcus said, tilting his head. “She doesn’t belong to you either.”

Elena’s heart pounded so hard she thought it might shatter. She wanted to move, to run, to do something, but her legs felt glued to the floor.

Marcus dusted himself off and turned to Elias. “I challenge Kieran,” he said.

Another wave of murmurs spread through the pack.

Kieran let out a snarl. “You can’t challenge me,” he spat. “I’m not alpha.”

Marcus’s eyes gleamed. “No, but you will be one day. And when that day comes, I want your place.”

Elias sighed, his expression unreadable. “Challenges aren’t made on future ranks, Marcus. You know the law.”

Marcus’s smirk didn’t waver. “Then I challenge for the girl.”

Elena’s breath hitched.

Kieran went deathly still.

The silence was suffocating.

Elias’s sharp gaze flicked between the two men. “Elena is not a prize to be won,” he said sternly.

Marcus shrugged. “She’s already part of this world whether she wants to be or not. And we all know what she means to him.” He nodded toward Kieran. “But the bond isn’t complete, is it?” His blue eyes gleamed with something smug. “Which means she’s still free game.”

Kieran lunged.

This time, Marcus was ready. The two crashed to the ground, rolling in a blur of limbs and fury.

Elena finally snapped out of her frozen state. “Stop!” she shouted.

But no one was listening.

The fight was brutal—Kieran fought like a wild storm, his movements precise and deadly. Marcus, however, was just as ruthless, meeting him blow for blow.

The pack watched, tense and silent.

Elena couldn’t breathe.

Then, Marcus shifted.

One second he was a man, the next a massive wolf with thick black fur and glowing blue eyes. He lunged at Kieran with bared fangs.

Kieran barely dodged in time, rolling to the side before shifting in midair. His black wolf form was just as powerful, golden eyes blazing with fury.

The ground shook as they clashed.

Elena took a step back, her mind spinning.

This was real. This was happening.

She didn’t know the rules of this world, but she knew one thing: if Kieran lost, Marcus would take her.

And she wasn’t going anywhere with him.

Before she could think it through, she ran into the fight.

Gasps rang out.

Elena didn’t know what she was doing—she just knew she had to stop this. She threw herself between them, arms outstretched.

“STOP IT!” she screamed.

Kieran’s wolf skidded to a halt just in time to avoid slamming into her. His golden eyes flickered, filled with shock and something deeper—something wild.

Marcus, however, didn’t stop.

He lunged.

A blur of black fur knocked her out of the way, and then she heard a sickening crack.

Pain.

White-hot pain seared through her shoulder as she hit the ground hard. The world spun, and she barely registered the shouts around her.

“Elena!”

Kieran’s voice. Desperate. Furious.

She tried to focus, but her vision swam. Someone lifted her—warmth, strong arms. Kieran.

“Marcus, leave,” Elias’s voice rang through the clearing, ice-cold.

Marcus’s laugh was dark and amused. “I’ll be back,” he promised.

Then, footsteps. Silence.

Elena let herself slip into darkness.

When she woke again, she was in Kieran’s cabin.

His face hovered over hers, golden eyes filled with concern.

“You’re okay,” he murmured.

Her throat was dry. “What… happened?”

Kieran’s jaw clenched. “You almost got yourself killed.”

She winced, feeling the dull ache in her shoulder. “Did he…?”

“He’s gone.”

For now.

Elena swallowed. “This is my life now, isn’t it?” she whispered.

Kieran’s gaze softened. He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

“You’re not alone,” he said.

And for the first time, despite the danger, despite the uncertainty—

She believed him.