The Alpha’s Hidden Luna

“Tighten her up. I don't want the murderer to walk free before her execution." The order came through the pack square. The ropes cut into my wrists until I sank my teeth into the inside of my cheek to stop from crying out. The crowd liked pain. Especially when it was my own. I lifted my head so I could see the faces around me. Wolves. Hundreds of them. People from my childhood. People who had smiled at me once. Now they looked at me as if I were a plague. "Monster!" A rotten apple hit me on the shoulder. "You should die! Another one hit my forehead. Someone laughed. "Three years wasn't enough. The day she killed her parents she should have been put to death.” I shut my eyes. 3 years. I heard these words for three years. Killer. Beast. Fuck. “Each sunrise began with hatred. Tears I refused to show anyone closed out each night. Sometimes I thought they might be right. Maybe I did that. Maybe I had become the monster they all thought I was. Because I forgot. I tried and tried... That night was only shards. Blood. Fire! Screaming. * * * Then darkness. I woke up to dead parents. My wolf was gone. And my brother looked at me with horror in his eyes. From that day on... I stopped being Serena Vale. I became the girl everyone hated. “Look at her. My stomach tightened at the sound of a voice I knew. I opened my eyes slowly. Damian My big brother. Alpha of Silvermoon Pack. Dressed in black he walked toward the platform, each step calm and assured. The crowd at once lowered their heads. He looked like the powerful Alpha they admired. High. Good-looking. Respectful. If they knew the man behind that flawless smile. He halted in front of me. We both were silent for a moment. I searched his face for some sign… Anything A sign he still thought of me as his little sister. Nothing. Only coldness. "You're quiet," he said. I could hear only his voice, it was soft. I ran out of people who would listen to me. His eyes flickered. It happened so fast that I thought I had imagined it. "You should have confessed it years ago. "I can't confess to what I don't recall. His jaw clicked shut. 'You think anybody's going to believe that?' 'I thought my own brother would.' Quiet. A silence of death. Then he turned, stepping back, to the crowd. "Fellow wolves! His voice rang out across the square. "You all know why we are here today. Cheers erupted. “Silvermoon Pack has carried the shame of Serena Vale for three years. More yelling. “More hate. I dropped my head. Not because of embarrassment. Because I was sleepy. So tired. “She killed our former Alpha and Luna. The words hit my chest like a slammed door. “She betrayed her own flesh. Another roar from the crowd. “And today, …” Damian took out his sword. "...justice will be done at last." The blade shone in the morning sun. I was breathing slower. So this was all. After all that... This is where my story ended. I looked at the sky. It was weirdly beautiful. Blue bright. White clouds, soft. The same sky my mother would point to when I cried as a child. “Storms always end, Serena.” I smiled sadly. "I guess mine didn't. A little girl at the front of the crowd looked up at me. She couldn’t have been more than eight. "Mom..." she said behind her mother's dress. "Is she really bad?" Her voice was a trembling whisper. She pulled her daughter closer. Look at the monsters. Creature. Now children thought that as well. I shut my eyes. Perhaps death wasn't the worst thing. Maybe it was the daily rising to this hatred. Damian lifted his sword higher. "Anything to say? The entire square was silent. There were hundreds of eyes watching. I glanced at my brother. Then at the people I used to call family. "I..." My voice broke. I swallowed. "I didn't kill them." Quiet. Then the square roared with laughter. "Liar!" “She still won’t admit it!” "Kill her! Somebody had thrown a rock. It hit my cheek. Blood ran warm down my face. I didn't clean it off. What was the purpose? Damian sighed. "I gave you all the chances. "No." I stared right into his eyes. "You sentenced me before you even gave me a chance. For the first time ever... His smile died away. I saw rage. Rough Dangerous. "You never learn. He raised the sword up. Once my heart raced. Twice. And then... The quiet was broken by a deafening roar. All heads swung to the pack gates. The ground shook. Another yell Motor engines. Dozens of black armoured SUVs rolled in, in perfect formation. The vehicles stopped, like clockwork. The doors swung open. First came the warriors dressed in black. They wore the silver crest of the Blackthorn Pack on their uniforms. Each one was strong enough to take on ten wolves by himself. At once the crowd stepped back. Fear spread across the square. 'Blackthorn...' whispered someone. Then another voice was heard. "No..." "It can't be..." Then the last SUV came to a stop. The back door opened. A shiny black boot came down in the dirt. The man who came out didn't need anyone to say his name. Power was a living thing that enveloped him. Large. Wide shoulders. Black hair. Stone carved, sharp features. His black coat blew in the wind, as if even Nature was in awe of him. The square was a dead silence. No one was breathing. Nobody stirred. Even Damian dropped his sword. My heart started to throb. There was something frightening about him. It was not that he seemed angry. Because he seemed very calm. The calm that only a man with absolute power could have. He walked on slowly. Each step echoed in the silent square. The warriors behind him stopped a few feet away. He went on alone. Directly to the execution platform. At me. His dark eyes scanned the crowd. Freezing. Not impressed. Until... Mine met its. All the inside of me just stopped dead. For one brief moment... The noise was gone. The folk were gone. It was only him.... Staring at me. His expression changed just a little. Not sympathy. Not revulsion. Credits. His nostrils flared out. It was as if he had caught a whiff. A strange feeling shot through my chest. in my innermost being... There was movement. a small spark. A voice so soft I nearly missed it. ...Mate! I swallowed. No It was not possible. My wolf has been silent for three years now. The stranger got up on the platform. Damian finally found his voice. "Alpha Rylan... this is an internal Silvermoon affair. First. So this is him. Alpha Rylan Blackthorn The most feared Alpha of the werewolf world. The man all packs answered to. Rylan didn’t look up at Damian. His eyes stayed on me. Then he said, He spoke quietly. Deadly. "Untie her. Damian went stiff. 'She's a convicted murderer.' I don’t ever repeat myself. The temperature around us seemed to go down. No one moved. Nobody would. Rylan moved another step closer to me. His eyes never left mine. Then he said words that froze my blood to the marrow. But only those standing closest to him could hear. "Interesting..." His eyes narrowed. “My wolf has never been wrong. If she was the murderer, he slowly turned to Damian. His lips curved in a dangerous smile. "...then why is she my partner?"