The Alpha Blessed Luna

CHAPTER 5: YOU ARE STILL MY ENEMY

The earth above us breathed.

That was the only way I could describe it.

Each step of the Krackans pressed into the soil like a heartbeat, slow, heavy, and deliberate. I could feel them through my back, through the thin layer of dirt and leaves that barely concealed us. The shallow pit we had dug suddenly felt like a grave we had willingly stepped into. I hoped they couldn't see us or smell us. I have learned they have good sight and a great sense of smell.

I tightened my grip on my sword, my fingers stiff, my palm slick. I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare breathe too loudly. Even my heartbeat felt like a betrayal.

They were close.

Just too close.

A shadow passed over the thin cover above us, blocking what little light filtered through. Then came the sound, the sniffing.

It was low, deep and searching.

My chest tightened as one of them stopped directly above us. I could hear the shift of its weight, the scrape of its claws against the earth. It knew something was here.

It just didn’t know what.

I slowly turned my eyes, just enough to look at him.

Meka was already changing.

Not fully. Not yet.

But I could see it in the tension of his muscles, the way his jaw clenched, the faint shift beneath his skin as something darker threatened to surface. He was ready to tear through them if he had to.

And that was the problem.

We didn’t know how many there were.

Charging blindly would be suicide.

So we stayed still.

Together.

Waiting.

Time stretched.

Seconds felt like hours.

The Krackans moved around us, circling, sniffing, scraping at the ground in slow, methodical patterns. One of them let out a low growl, deep enough to rattle through my bones. I tightened my grip on my sword, ready to strike if the ground broke open above us.

But it didn’t. Funny enough, I understood what it meant, once again. Then again, this time louder, and they turned like they had found something.

Instead… the sounds began to fade.

One by one, the weight was lifted. The air shifted. The presence that had suffocated the forest slowly pulled away.

And then—

Silence came.

Real silence.

I didn’t move immediately. Neither did he.

We both listened, waited, making sure it wasn’t a trick.

Only when the forest remained still did I finally exhale, my body loosening in a way I didn’t realize it had been holding.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then I felt it.

His arms.

Strong, solid and real.

Pulling me in.

It wasn’t planned.

It wasn’t calculated.

It just… happened.

And I didn’t stop it.

I leaned into him, my forehead brushing against his chest, my breath uneven, my body still trembling from the tension. His hold tightened slightly, like he was grounding himself just as much as he was grounding me.

For that brief moment—

There was no war.

No betrayal.

No pack.

No king.

Just survival.

Just two people who had almost died.

I don’t know who moved first.

Maybe it was me.

Maybe it was him.

But the distance between us disappeared.

His hand came up to my face, rough but careful, tilting my chin just enough. My breath caught, my mind screaming for me to pull away—

But I didn’t.

His lips met mine.

Firm, unexpected, but dangerous.

And I kissed him back.

Not because it was right.

Not because I trusted him.

But because, at that moment, everything felt raw and real and uncontrollable.

And for the first time since everything fell apart…

I didn’t feel alone.

The moment shattered just as quickly as it formed.

He pulled back.

Not far.

Just enough.

Enough for reality to return.

His eyes locked onto mine, dark, unreadable, but no longer soft.

Controlled again.

Always controlled.

“You’re still my enemy,” Meka said, his voice low, steady, as if what just happened meant nothing.

The words hit harder than I expected.

I straightened slightly, my hand tightening again around my sword.

“Then why did you kiss me?” I asked quietly.

A pause.

Then—

“Because I wanted to.”

Just like that.

Simple, cold and final.

And somehow… that made it worse.

Because it meant it wasn’t a weakness.

It wasn’t a mistake.

It was a choice.

I stepped back fully this time, creating distance, forcing air between us again.

As I left, I heard him loudly.

"I know you can understand them."

I smiled to myself; no one could prove that.

I turned and looked at him for a moment longer from a distance, trying to understand what I was supposed to do with this—this tension, this confusion, this… whatever it was.

Then I turned away.

By the time I crossed into Whitewolf territory, something already felt wrong.

Something… restless.

The air carried tension, thick and sharp, like a storm waiting to break.

The moment I stepped into the clearing, heads turned.

They had been looking for me.

I didn’t have to ask.

Pink reached me first.

Her relief was immediate, written all over her face, but it was laced with something else—fear.

“Emily, where have you been?” she asked, her voice tight. “I told the pack you went into the Wild Forest. They’ve been searching for hours.”

Of course she did.

I gave a small nod, already moving past her.

“Good,” I said. “Then they’re already aware of what’s coming.”

She blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”

I stopped, turning to her fully now. There was no time to soften this.

“Prepare the banner carriers,” I said firmly. “Call the warriors. Full formation. We move as soon as they’re ready.”

Her expression shifted instantly.

War.

She understood that language.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“The Lycans are coming.”

The words settled heavily between us.

I didn’t wait for questions.

“Move, Pink.”

And she did.

The pack stirred quickly after that.

Messengers ran.

Weapons were gathered.

Voices rose, sharp and urgent.

I didn’t expect him to come to me.

But he did.

I am talking about Alpha Cally.

Waiting in our chambers.

Like nothing had changed.

Like I still belonged there.

The moment I stepped in, his eyes were already on me, sharp, questioning, controlled.

“Why did you order war preparations?” he asked.

No greeting.

No concern.

Straight to command.

I should have expected it.

Still, something inside me tightened.

“That’s what you want to start with?” I asked quietly.

A flicker of impatience crossed his face.

“Answer the question, Emily.”

There it was.

Not Are you alright?

Not Where have you been?

Not even What happened?

Just control.

I let out a slow breath, forcing myself back into focus.

“I met him,” I said.

Cally stilled slightly. “Who?”

I held his gaze.

“The Lycan King.”

There was silence.

The kind that meant something had shifted.

“He’s in the Wild Forest,” I continued. “Waiting. His warriors are on their way to join him. When they do, they’ll move on us.”

Cally’s jaw tightened.

“How long?”

“A few hours. Maybe less.”

His mind was already moving, calculating, adjusting. I could see it in his eyes.

And something inside me… snapped.

“That’s it?” I said, my voice sharper now.

His focus flickered back to me.

“What?”

“That’s all you care about?” I asked, stepping closer. “War formations? Timing?”

His expression hardened. “This is not the time—”

“No,” I cut in. “It is the time.”

Because if not now…

Then when?

“When were you planning to talk about it?” I continued, my voice shaking despite how much I tried to steady it. “Or were you not planning to at all?”

His eyes darkened slightly.

“Emily—”

“You don’t even look at me differently,” I said. “Not after what I saw.”

There it was.

Finally.

For a moment… just a moment… I thought I saw something shift in him.

But it was gone just as quickly as it came.

Replaced with something colder.

More familiar.

Controlled.

“My actions,” he said carefully, “do not change what is coming.”

I stared at him.

Not understanding at first.

Then—

Understanding too much.

“My… actions?” I repeated.

“That’s what you’re calling it?”

His jaw tightened again.

“My indiscretion,” he corrected, his tone measured, like choosing the right word would somehow make it smaller. “Will not stop a war, Emily.”

The words hit harder than anything else.

Because they weren’t defensive.

They weren’t emotional.

They were… dismissive.

Like what happened between us—

What we were—

Was secondary.

A side issue.

Something inconvenient.

Something to be dealt with later.

Or not at all.

“And what about us?” I asked quietly.

He didn’t answer immediately.

That silence again.

But this one…

This one had no weight.

Only absence.

“There is no ‘us’ if the pack falls,” he said finally.

And just like that—

Everything inside me went still.

Not shattered.

Not broken.

Just…

Empty.

Because now I understand.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he had done.

It wasn’t that he didn’t feel it.

It was that he had already decided…

It didn’t matter.

Not enough.

Never enough.

I let out a slow breath, stepping back.

Putting space between us.

“You’re right,” I said.

His eyes narrowed slightly, like he didn’t expect that.

But I wasn’t agreeing with him.

Not really.

Because the truth was…

There had been an “us.”

Once.

And he was the one who ended it.

Not the war.

Not the Lycans.

But him.