The Rejected Luna’s Twin Alphas

Chapter 7: The Blood-Stained Altar

The morning of the wedding arrived with a sky, the colour of a bruised plum. I stood on a ridge overlooking the Black Mountain Cathedral, my silver hair whipped by a wind that smelled of impending snow. Beside me, Silas adjusted the hilt of his sword, his expression grim.

“The Silver Hunters have taken positions on the rooftops,” Silas warned. “They aren’t here for the ceremony, Elara. They are here for an execution.”

“Then we will give them a spectacle instead,” I replied, my fingers tracing the cold metal of my daggers. “Leo, Liam, stay with Silas. If I give the signal, you don’t look back. You head for the northern border.”

“We aren’t leaving you, Mama,” Leo said, his golden eyes glowing with a stubborn fire. “We are the Kings of the North. Kings don’t run from hunters.”

I looked at my sons, pride and terror warred in my chest. They were only five, yet they stood with more dignity than the Alpha who had sired them.

Inside the cathedral, the air was thick with the scent of lilies and expensive perfume. Killian stood at the altar, looking like a man walking toward a guillotine. Sienna was a vision in white lace, though the triumph in her eyes was sharp enough to draw blood.

“We are gathered here today,” the Pack Elder began, his voice echoing through the vaulted ceiling, “to unite the Nightshade and Valerius bloodlines.”

“I object.”

The two words weren’t loud, but they carried a frost that killed the lilies instantly. The heavy oak doors of the cathedral didn’t just open; they were blown off their hinges by a concussive blast of silver mist.

I walked down the aisle alone. I wasn’t wearing a gown this time. I wore leather armour the colour of midnight, my silver hair braided back like a crown. Every step I took left a trail of ice on the red carpet.

“Elara!” Sienna shrieked, clutching her bouquet so hard the stems snapped. “Guards! Kill her! She’s a rogue attacking a sacred ceremony!”

The pack guards hesitated, looking at Killian. He didn’t move. He was staring at me with a mixture of agony and hope that I refused to acknowledge.

“The only thing sacred here is the truth,” I said, stopping at the base of the altar. I pulled a crystal vial from my belt and tossed it at the Elder’s feet. It shattered, releasing a pungent, chemical odour. “That is the synthetic wolfsbane used to poison the late Luna five years ago. It carries the signature of the Valerius labs.”

“Lies!” Sienna’s father shouted from the front row, his hand reaching for a concealed weapon.

“And this,” I continued, holding up a data-chip Silas had recovered, “is the log of the override that sent my transport van into the ravine. It was sent from a terminal in the Valerius estate, using a spoofed Alpha code.”

The murmurs in the crowd turned into a roar of outrage. Killian turned to Sienna, his golden eyes burning with a terrifying light. “Is it true? Did you try to kill my mate and my children?”

“They weren’t your children!” Sienna spat, her mask of perfection finally cracking. “They were omegas! Mistakes! I did what was necessary for the pack!”

“You did what was necessary for your father’s greed,” I said, my voice rising.

Suddenly, the stained-glass windows of the cathedral shattered inward.

The Silver Hunters.

They dropped from the rafters, dressed in tactical gear with crossbows loaded with silver-tipped bolts. But they weren’t aiming for me. They were aiming for the twins, who had just appeared in the doorway with Silas.

“No!” Killian roared, shifting halfway into his wolf form, his muscles ripping through his suit as he lunged to shield the boys.

I didn’t wait for him. I closed my eyes and tapped into the very core of the Silver Lineage, the power of the moon itself.

The temperature in the cathedral didn’t just drop; it plummeted to absolute zero. A dome of solid ice erupted around the twins and Silas, thick enough to stop a tank. At the same time, I sent a wave of freezing mist toward the rafters. The hunters didn’t even have time to scream before they were turned into statues, frozen mid-air, before they could pull their triggers.

I turned back to the altar. Sienna was trying to flee, but I raised my hand, and a shard of ice pinned her dress to the floor.

“You wanted a blood-stained altar, Sienna,” I said, walking toward her, my nails lengthening into silver talons. “But it won’t be mine.”

Killian stood over the Elder, his wolf panting, his gaze fixed on the ice dome where our sons were safe. He looked at me, and for the first time, he saw not just the woman he lost but the Queen he could never have.

“End it, Elara,” Killian growled, his voice a mix of human and beast. “Do what I was too weak to do.”