The Alpha Blessed Luna

CHAPTER 4: THIS IS NOT MERCY

I had expected him to strike immediately.

That was how men like him worked. No hesitation. No wasted breath. Just violence, swift and absolute.

But instead, he did nothing as I watched on.

Watched as Meka, the great Lycan King, straightened, almost casually, as if the outcome had already been decided and we were merely playing out the final moments. There was no rush in him. No tension. Just quiet certainty.

It unsettled me more than if he had attacked.

“You’re out of your depth,” he said, his voice calm, almost conversational, as though we weren’t standing in a forest that devoured the living. “You can feel it, can’t you?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I could.

Not fear. Not exactly.

But awareness.

The kind that told you, deep in your bones, when something stood far above you on the food chain.

I wanted to concentrate all my energy in staying alive at that moment before the Krackans found us.

My job is to slow him down, stall and when the Krackans come this way I find a way to escape.

But first I had to face him.

He took a slow step forward, eyes fixed on me.

“You’re strong,” he continued. “Stronger than most wolves I’ve encountered. That much is obvious. But strength alone…” A faint, almost pitying smile touched his lips. “It won’t save you from me.”

I forced a smile.

“I don’t need saving. Didn’t your spy tell you how I killed four of your assassins?”

He removed his sword from his sheath, as if to say I don’t need it and you are going to die.

“You know, it is only Lycans that can shift forms in the Wild Forest.”

That crushed me.

“Like I said, your strength ain't saving you today.”

He let out a low terrifying laugh.

I kept my focus on him.

My grip tightened around my sword.

“I don’t need it to,” I replied, even as my pulse betrayed me.

His gaze sharpened slightly, like he found that amusing.

“I will rule the Seven Packs, and over the Seven Kingdoms,” he went on, his voice gaining a quiet intensity. “Every Alpha will kneel. Every territory will fall under my command. What I started tonight…” his eyes flickered briefly, knowingly, “…was only the beginning.”

My thoughts shifted fast to Cally.

The thought struck like a spark, but I forced it down before it could spread.

That part of me was still too raw.

Too broken.

Meka shifted then.

And everything in me snapped into readiness.

He moved.

He was fast for his size.

So fast that my body barely had time to react before instinct took over. I pivoted, raising my sword.

But he wasn’t coming for me.

He passed me.

A blur of motion and power.

And then—

A sound.

It was wet, violent, and final.

I turned sharply, my breath catching as I saw it.

A Krackan.

Or what was left of it.

Its massive, twisted form lay crumpled on the forest floor, its body torn open in a way that made it clear the fight hadn’t even lasted a second.

Meka stood over it, his hand still dripping with dark blood, his expression unchanged.

Like killing it had meant nothing.

Shock rooted me in place.

He… saved me.

The realization didn’t sit right.

Didn’t make sense.

Slowly, cautiously, I lowered my sword, my eyes narrowing as I looked at him.

“Why?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.

He glanced at me over his shoulder, almost annoyed that I had to ask.

“You’re mine,” he said simply.

I frowned, not understanding.

His gaze hardened slightly.

“My kill,” he clarified. “Not theirs.”

Something cold slid down my spine.

That wasn’t mercy.

That was ownership.

“I didn’t save you,” he added, turning fully toward me now. “Don’t mistake this for kindness.”

I swallowed, my fingers tightening around my weapon again, though the urgency had shifted.

“Then why not finish it?” I pressed.

For a moment, he didn’t answer.

Then he exhaled, his expression growing distant, almost thoughtful.

“Enough wolves have died tonight.”

The words caught me off guard.

Not because of what they meant.

But because of how he said them.

No regret.

No remorse.

Just… fact.

“This changes nothing,” he continued, his voice returning to that same cold steadiness. “When I decide to kill you, I will.”

A chill ran through me despite myself.

Then his head tilted slightly, listening.

And I realized—

We weren’t alone.

“You hear that?” he murmured.

I did.

More movement.

More than one.

We knew that the Krackans always moved in groups.

We needed a solution and we needed it fast.

The forest shifted in a way that made my skin crawl.

“The Krackans won’t ignore this,” he said, gesturing briefly to the dead creature at his feet. “We’ve drawn attention.”

My heart started to race again, but this time for a different reason.

“How many?” I asked quietly.

“Enough.”

That was all he said.

Then, without another word, he moved quickly, efficiently dropping to the ground and beginning to dig into the earth with his bare hands.

For a second, I just stared.

Then reality snapped back into place, and I sheathed my pride along with my questions, moving to help him.

The soil was loose enough, though still stubborn. We worked in tense silence, carving out a shallow pit just deep enough to conceal us if we stayed low.

It wasn’t much.

But in a place like this… it might be enough.

“Get in,” he said.

I hesitated only for a fraction of a second before lowering myself into the narrow space. He followed immediately after, pulling loose earth and debris over us, leaving only the smallest gaps for air.

And then—

There was stillness.

He was too close.

Far too close.

I became aware of everything at once.

The confined space.

The darkness.

And him.

I was lying against the most feared Lycan in all Seven Kingdoms.

I could feel the heat of his body through the thin barrier of air between us. The solid press of muscle. The slow, controlled rise and fall of his chest.

Every inch of him felt… deliberate.

Built.

Power coiled beneath skin that had clearly been shaped by countless battles.

My breath hitched slightly before I could stop it.

This was insane.

This was the man who had just tried to have my mate killed.

The man who still intended to kill me.

And yet—

My body was reacting in ways I didn’t understand.

Or didn’t want to.

I shifted slightly, trying to create space where there was none, but it only made me more aware of him.

His arm brushed mine.

My pulse spiked.

Focus, Emily.

Focus.

I forced my thoughts away from him, from the unfamiliar and unwelcome awareness building in my chest.

This wasn’t safe.

This wasn’t anything close to it.

This was survival.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

A sound shattered the fragile control I had managed to regain.

Voices, I think it's mumbling.

They were low and close by.

Too close.

I stilled instantly, my breath catching as I strained to listen.

Movement above us.

Boots against earth.

And then—

Krackans.

A group of them.

I could hear them clearly now, their voices sharp, alert.

I was shocked that I could interpret their mumbling.

“They were here,” one said.

“The Krackan didn’t die on its own.”

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

They were searching.

For whatever had killed it.

For him.

For us.

I didn’t dare move.

Didn’t dare breathe too loudly.

Beside me, Meka was completely still, his presence shifting into something colder, more dangerous, like a predator waiting for the exact right moment to strike.

And for the first time since this all began…

I realized something worse than fear.

If we were found in this position—

There would be no explaining it.

No escaping it.

Just death.

For both of us.