Chapter four: Alpha's rules
1441 Words
Seraphina woke with a scream trapped in her throat.
She sat upright, her chest heaving.
For several seconds, she had no idea where she was.
Then she remembered.
The forest.
The rogues.
The silver light.
Kael.
And the voice inside her head.
Wake up, little moon.
Her breathing quickened.
She looked around.
She was lying on an enormous bed covered in dark-gray blankets. Tall windows stretched along one wall, allowing pale morning light to spill into the room.
The room was beautiful.
And terrifying.
Dark wood covered the walls. A fireplace burned quietly in the corner, although there was no firewood inside it.
Above the fireplace hung a massive black wolf's head carved from stone.
Its eyes appeared to follow her.
Seraphina slowly pushed the blankets away.
She was wearing a loose black dress that definitely wasn't hers.
Her heart sank.
She remembered the forest.
She remembered Kael carrying her.
She remembered the fortress.
Then everything became blurry.
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
Pain shot through her feet.
She looked down.
The cuts and scratches from the forest were gone.
Completely.
Seraphina stared.
"That's impossible."
A knock sounded.
She froze.
The door opened.
Kael walked inside.
He had changed clothes.
A black shirt hugged his broad chest, with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. His dark hair was slightly damp, as though he'd just showered.
He looked irritatingly calm.
Seraphina immediately stood.
"Where am I?"
"Nightfang."
"I know that."
She pointed toward the door.
"Where exactly?"
"My private quarters."
Her eyes widened.
"Your—"
"Relax."
"I am not relaxing!"
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"You're safe."
"I'm in the bedroom of a man who dragged me away from my home."
"I saved you from six rogues."
"You also kidnapped me."
"I brought you here because you would have died."
"I could have gone somewhere else."
"Where?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Kael stepped closer.
"You have no family."
Seraphina's expression hardened.
"I have a pack."
"A pack that left you alone in the forest."
Her jaw tightened.
"They didn't know."
"They knew."
She stared at him.
"What?"
Kael's expression remained cold.
"The people who raised you knew what you were."
A chill ran through her.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then tell me!"
Her voice echoed through the room.
"Tell me what I am!"
Kael studied her.
For a moment, something almost gentle appeared in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"I don't know."
Seraphina laughed bitterly.
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
He walked toward the window.
"Twenty years ago, your mother disappeared."
Seraphina's heart clenched.
"You said she was killed."
"I said I didn't kill her."
"Then what happened?"
Kael looked out at the mountains.
"Your mother was part of the Vale bloodline."
"I know."
"No."
He turned toward her.
"You don't."
His voice was quiet.
"The Vales weren't an ordinary werewolf family."
Seraphina folded her arms.
"What were they?"
"Guardians."
"Guardians of what?"
Kael's eyes darkened.
"The Hollow Moon."
The words made the temperature in the room seem to drop.
Seraphina remembered the rogue.
She belongs to the Hollow Moon.
"What is it?"
"Nobody knows exactly what it is."
"That's convenient."
Kael ignored her sarcasm.
"Some believe it's an ancient spirit. Others believe it's a curse. Some believe it existed before the Moon Goddess."
"And what do you believe?"
He stared at her.
"I believe it wants something."
"What?"
"You."
Silence.
Seraphina shook her head.
"This is insane."
"I know."
"No. You don't understand."
She walked toward him.
"I woke up yesterday believing my biggest problem was being an Omega everyone hated."
She pointed at herself.
"Now I'm apparently the descendant of some ancient bloodline, my dead mother knew something about a Hollow Moon, six monsters tried to kill me, and the most feared Alpha in the world says I'm his mate."
Kael's eyes flickered.
"You are."
Seraphina glared at him.
"Stop saying that."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to hear it."
His expression hardened.
"Whether you want to hear it doesn't change the truth."
She stepped closer.
"And what exactly does being your mate mean?"
Kael didn't answer.
"Does it mean I belong to you?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"It means our wolves are bound."
"I don't care about the wolves."
His jaw tightened.
"You should."
"Why?"
"Because your wolf has already accepted mine."
Seraphina froze.
"My wolf?"
Kael nodded.
"You've never shifted."
"No."
"That's what you believe."
A strange sensation moved through her chest.
She suddenly remembered the voice.
The one she'd heard all her life in her dreams.
The one she'd always thought belonged to someone else.
Little moon.
Seraphina touched her chest.
"Why can't I shift?"
Kael's gaze remained on her.
"Because something has been keeping your wolf asleep."
"What?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
He stared at her.
"You don't give orders to me."
"Then stop treating me like a prisoner."
His eyes narrowed.
"You're not a prisoner."
"Really?"
She walked toward the door.
She grabbed the handle.
It didn't move.
She tried again.
Nothing.
She looked over her shoulder.
Kael said nothing.
"Open the door."
"No."
Her eyes widened.
"You just said I'm not a prisoner."
"I said you're not."
"Then open it."
"No."
"You're unbelievable."
Kael moved toward her.
"There are rules here."
"I don't care about your rules."
"You will."
He stopped directly in front of her.
His presence was overwhelming.
"Rule one," he said. "You don't leave this fortress."
Seraphina glared.
"Rule two. You don't go anywhere alone."
"I can take care of myself."
"I've seen you try."
She narrowed her eyes.
"I hate you."
Something flashed in his eyes.
"I know."
"Good."
"Rule three."
She waited.
Kael's voice became quieter.
"You don't go near the western border."
"Why?"
"Because the Hollow Moon is there."
Seraphina's stomach twisted.
"And rule four?"
His gaze dropped briefly to her wrist.
"You don't show anyone that mark."
She looked down.
The silver crescent had returned.
But this time, something was different.
There were tiny black veins spreading from it.
Seraphina's breath caught.
"Kael..."
He saw it.
His entire expression changed.
He grabbed her wrist.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
The mark pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then a sharp pain shot through her arm.
Seraphina cried out.
Kael immediately released her.
Her eyes turned silver.
For one terrifying second, neither of them moved.
Then Seraphina heard a voice.
Not in her mind this time.
It came from somewhere deep inside her.
He is lying to you.
Her eyes widened.
Kael stepped backward.
"What did you hear?"
Seraphina stared at him.
"Nothing."
His eyes narrowed.
"Seraphina."
"I said nothing."
She turned away.
She didn't know why she had lied.
But the voice had sounded frightened.
And somehow...
it had sounded like her.
---
That night, Seraphina couldn't sleep.
She sat beside the enormous window, staring at the mountains.
Nightfang was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
Thousands of wolves moved through the valley below.
Some patrolled.
Others trained.
Everywhere she looked, there were warriors.
Power.
Strength.
Order.
A world completely different from the one she'd known.
Then she saw him.
Kael.
He stood alone on a balcony across the courtyard.
Even from a distance, she could see the tension in his shoulders.
He wasn't looking at the fortress.
He was looking at the moon.
Seraphina watched him for a moment.
Then she heard something.
A howl.
Her entire body went still.
The sound wasn't coming from outside.
It was coming from inside her.
Her heart began pounding.
Her fingers curled against the windowsill.
"No..."
Another howl echoed through her mind.
This one was louder.
Closer.
Seraphina doubled over.
Pain ripped through her body.
Her bones felt like they were twisting.
She screamed.
The door burst open.
Kael stood there.
His eyes immediately changed when he saw her.
"Seraphina."
She couldn't answer.
Her body shook violently.
Her nails lengthened.
Her teeth sharpened.
Kael's face went pale.
"No."
Seraphina looked up.
Her eyes were completely silver.
A growl escaped her throat.
Kael took one slow step backward.
For the first time since she'd met him...
the Black Wolf looked afraid.
Seraphina's body arched.
A second heartbeat thundered inside her chest.
Then a voice whispered through the room.
Finally.
Kael stared at her.
"Your wolf..."
Seraphina screamed.
And the windows shattered.
Every wolf in Nightfang dropped to the ground.
Far beyond the fortress walls, something answered her howl.
Something ancient.
Something awake.
And Kael knew, with absolute certainty, that the girl standing before him was not simply the last surviving Vale.
She was the beginning of something the werewolf world had feared for centuries.
The Hollow Moon had found its vessel.
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