REJECTED BY MY ALPHA,CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA KING

Leaving Moonridge

Chapter 3 :

I stared at the door.

Three knocks.

Then silence.

The warrior's warning echoed in my mind.

Before the Alpha finds out I'm here.

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.

"Who are you?"

"It's Garrick."

I knew him.

Garrick had served Theron for years. He was one of the few warriors I had always trusted.

But after tonight, trust felt like a dangerous luxury.

"Why are you here?"

There was a pause.

"Because you need to leave."

My stomach twisted.

"Why?"

"Because the Alpha didn't tell you everything."

I moved closer to the door but didn't open it.

"What didn't he tell me?"

Another silence.

Then Garrick said quietly, "The rejection wasn't entirely his decision."

My heart stopped.

I opened the door.

Garrick stood on the porch, breathing heavily.

His dark hair was damp with sweat, and his eyes kept scanning the forest behind him.

He looked frightened.

"Come inside," I whispered.

"No."

He stepped backward.

"If anyone sees me here, we're both in trouble."

"What are you talking about?"

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

He handed it to me.

I hesitated before taking it.

"What's this?"

"I don't know everything. But I know your name was discussed at the Alpha Council three days ago."

My eyes widened.

"The Alpha Council?"

He nodded.

"Theron received a sealed order."

"From whom?"

"I never saw the name."

"Then how do you know it had anything to do with me?"

Garrick's expression darkened.

"Because I saw your name."

My fingers went cold.

"Why would the Alpha Council care about me?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then tell me the truth."

He looked toward the forest again.

"The order said you could not become Luna."

My breath caught.

"So Theron was ordered to reject me?"

"I don't know."

"You just said—"

"I said there was an order."

He lowered his voice.

"I didn't say who gave it."

I unfolded the parchment.

Most of it was written in a strange formal script.

But one sentence was clear.

LYRA VALE MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CLAIM THE LUNA CROWN.

My heart hammered.

"Why?"

Garrick shook his head.

"I don't know."

I stared at the words.

"Did Theron know?"

Garrick didn't answer.

That was enough.

I folded the parchment.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"West."

"West?"

"There's an old border road beyond the Silver Ridge. Follow it until you reach the outer territories."

"Which pack?"

"None."

I frowned.

"Then where?"

Garrick looked directly into my eyes.

"Anywhere that isn't Moonridge."

A strange chill crawled down my spine.

"Why?"

His voice dropped.

"Because they're not just trying to keep you from becoming Luna."

He glanced toward the forest.

"They're trying to get rid of you."

My breath caught.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

He stepped closer.

"But someone was asking questions about you before the ceremony."

"Who?"

"I couldn't see his face."

"Then why are you warning me?"

"Because I saw what he did to one of the guards who refused to answer."

My stomach turned.

"Who was he?"

Garrick's expression became grim.

"He wasn't from Moonridge."

A howl sounded somewhere in the distance.

Garrick immediately stepped back.

"They're here."

"Who?"

He looked at me.

"Run."

Then he disappeared into the darkness.

"Garrick!"

No answer.

I stood frozen for several seconds.

Then Vespera spoke.

We leave now.

I grabbed my bag.

"But where are we going?"

Away.

I looked toward the window.

The forest was dark.

Too dark.

And suddenly, I understood something.

If I stayed until morning, I might not survive long enough to see it.

I packed quickly.

Two dresses.

A cloak.

Some food.

My mother's photograph.

And the small silver pendant she had left me.

I stopped when I saw it.

The pendant had always seemed ordinary.

A tiny crescent moon carved into silver.

But when I held it tonight, the strange mark beneath my collarbone began to burn.

I dropped it.

The pendant hit the floor.

A faint silver glow spread across its surface.

I stared.

"Vespera..."

Take it.

"Why?"

Because your mother knew.

My heart skipped.

"Knew what?"

But Vespera went silent.

I picked up the pendant.

My mother's face flashed through my mind.

Her final words before she died.

Never let anyone tell you that you're less than you are.

At the time, I'd thought she was comforting me.

Now I wasn't so sure.

I wrapped the pendant around my neck.

Then I looked around my room one last time.

This was where I had grown up.

Where I had cried after my first failed shift.

Where I had dreamed about becoming Theron's Luna.

Where I had believed I knew what my future would look like.

That girl was gone.

I opened the back door.

Cold night air rushed over me.

I stepped into the forest.

I didn't look back.

Not when I passed the edge of my village.

Not when the lights of Moonridge disappeared behind the trees.

Not even when I heard wolves howling in the distance.

I kept walking.

My chest still hurt from Theron's rejection.

But beneath the pain was something else.

A strange determination.

If everyone believed I was weak, then perhaps I would let them believe it.

For now.

I followed the old trail west.

Hours passed.

My feet began to ache.

The moon climbed higher.

I stopped beside a stream and knelt to drink.

My reflection stared back at me from the dark water.

Pale face.

Red eyes.

Tangled hair.

I barely recognized myself.

"You were never enough."

Theron's words returned.

I clenched my jaw.

"Maybe I wasn't enough for you."

I looked at my reflection.

"But I'll become enough for myself."

Vespera stirred.

Good.

I smiled bitterly.

"That's the first thing you've said that sounds encouraging."

She didn't respond.

Instead, her attention suddenly shifted.

Stop.

I froze.

"What?"

Don't move.

A branch cracked behind me.

I slowly turned.

Nothing.

Only trees.

Darkness.

Wind.

Then another branch snapped.

Closer.

My heart began pounding.

I reached for the small knife I'd taken from home.

A growl rolled through the forest.

Not human.

Not wolf.

Something else.

My wolf pushed against my mind.

Run.

I ran.

Branches tore at my arms.

My cloak caught on thorns.

I didn't stop.

Behind me, something crashed through the trees.

It was following me.

I ran faster.

My lungs burned.

The ground suddenly disappeared beneath my feet.

I screamed as I fell down a steep slope.

I hit the ground hard.

Pain shot through my shoulder.

For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.

Then silence.

I pushed myself upright.

Nothing was following me.

Maybe I'd lost it.

I looked around.

The forest seemed unfamiliar.

I had no idea where I was.

Then I heard it.

A howl.

Deep.

Powerful.

Commanding.

Every instinct inside me told me to bow.

My wolf went completely still.

I whispered, "That's the same howl."

Yes.

Vespera's voice trembled.

"Who is it?"

She didn't answer immediately.

Then—

The one we must never run from.

My brows furrowed.

"What does that mean?"

A second howl answered from somewhere beyond the trees.

Closer.

Much closer.

I pushed myself to my feet.

The moonlight spilled between the branches.

And there, at the edge of the forest, stood a group of black-clad wolves.

Their eyes were fixed on me.

At their center was a tall man on horseback.

I couldn't see his face clearly.

But I could feel him.

His presence pressed against my skin like an invisible force.

The wolves around him lowered their heads.

The man dismounted.

Then he began walking toward me.

One step.

Two.

Three.

My heart pounded.

I took a step backward.

He stopped.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then the wind shifted.

His scent reached me.

Cold rain.

Pine.

Something darker beneath it.

My wolf suddenly surged forward.

Pain exploded through my chest.

I gasped.

Vespera's voice echoed through my mind.

Not frightened this time.

Certain.

Mate.

I stared at the stranger.

"No."

The word barely left my lips.

The man lifted his head.

His eyes met mine.

Golden.

Intense.

And impossibly familiar.

He looked at me as if he'd been searching for me his entire life.

Then he spoke.

His voice was deep and calm.

"Lyra Vale."

My blood ran cold.

"How do you know my name?"

He took another step toward me.

"I've been looking for you."

My heart hammered.

"Who are you?"

His expression didn't change.

But the wolves behind him lowered themselves to the ground.

Every single one.

Then the stranger said the words that made my entire world shift.

"Kael Arden."

The Alpha King.

I had run from Moonridge to escape one Alpha.

I had no idea that I had just walked straight into the path of another.

And somehow my wolf was already calling him mate.