The Luna he chose

Episode2

THE ALPHA

Alpha Ronan Blackthorne.” The name echoed inside my head over and over again like it refused to leave. Of all the people I could have crashed into tonight… it had to be him. The most powerful Alpha at the gathering, maybe in the entire territory. Slowly I looked back at the man standing in front of me, at the golden eyes watching me, at the faint amusement playing at the corners of his mouth. He knew, he knew exactly what realization had just hit me. Heat rushed to my face.

“Oh my goodness,” I muttered before I could stop myself, one dark eyebrow lifted, I immediately wished the ground would open and swallow me whole. “You’re Ronan Blackthorne,” I said, as if I wasn’t stating the obvious. The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Of course, he was. The entire hall had already announced it.

A laugh escaped him, low, warm, and dangerously calm. And somehow that made everything worse.

“I’ve been called many things,” he said, “but never with that much horror.”

“I wasn’t horrified,” I shot back quickly.

His eyebrow rose a little higher.

I groaned under my breath. “Okay. Maybe a little.”

That earned another laugh from him, and I hated that I noticed how easy it was for him to laugh. Why wasn’t he intimidating? Cold? Terrifying like every Alpha story I had ever heard? Instead, he looked like he was enjoying this too much.

“I should go,” I said quickly, the words slipping out before I could think.

His smile faded just slightly. “Should you?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

I blinked. “No?”

The answer came too fast, too calm, like the conversation had already been decided for me. Around us, the crowd had started moving again, but I could still feel eyes on us. Whispering and Watching.

My skin prickled. Ronan, however, looked completely unbothered.

“You keep looking at the door,” he said suddenly.

I frowned. “What?”

“The exit,” he repeated, his gaze steady. “You’ve looked at it seven times since we started talking.”

Heat rushed to my face. “I have not.”

“You just did again.”

I groaned quietly.

His smile widened slightly. “Eight.”

To my absolute horror, a laugh escaped me.

A real one, unexpected and it caught even me off guard. Something in his expression shifted immediately, subtle but noticeable, like the sound of my laughter mattered more than it should have. That realization made me look away at first. Dangerous,Very dangerous.

“First gathering?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. “Is it that obvious?”

“A little.”

I sighed. “Great.”

“Don’t worry,” he added.

I looked up at him. “Why?” His gaze held mine.

“Everyone feels out of place their first time.”

Something in my chest tightened, because the truth was I didn’t feel out of place because it was my first gathering. I felt out of place because I had always felt out of place at home, in my pack. In my own family. The smile slowly faded from my face before I could stop it.

I looked away quickly. Unfortunately he noticed.

“Rough night?” he asked quietly.

The question caught me off guard.

I froze slightly. No one ever asked me that. Not even Maya and not because she didn’t care, but because she already knew, no one else ever looked close enough to ask.

I swallowed. “It was fine.” The lie sounded weak even to me. Ronan didn’t call it out, but he didn’t look convinced either. His gaze lingered for a moment, not invasive, just observant, like he was trying to understand something I hadn’t said, and somehow that made me uneasy. Because I wasn’t used to people looking long enough to see through me.“You don’t have to tell me,” he said gently. The softness in his voice nearly broke something in me. I looked away quickly before I would do something stupid like believe him, because if I looked at him any longer I might actually tell him.

About the dress, about Lyra, about my mother, about everything. Instead, I forced a small smile. “I’m okay.” He didn’t believe me, i could see it in his eyes, but he let it go. A server passed by with drinks, Ronan picked up two glasses and offered one to me. I hesitated for a second. “You don’t poison people, do you?” I asked quietly, his expression went blank for half a second. “I usually wait until the third conversation, he replied” The laugh that burst out of me was louder than I expected, I immediately covered my mouth in embarrassment. His eyes lit up, and for one brief moment, everything else disappeared. The crowd, the noise, the pressure in my chest, it all faded. The music, the constant knot that had been sitting in my chest since I arrived. For the first time that evening, I wasn't thinking about the dress, or Lyra my suster, or even my mother. I was simply standing there talking to a man who should have intimidated me but didn't. That realization alone was unsettling. I accepted the glass he offered and took a small sip. When I looked up again, I immediately regretted it. He was watching me. Not staring, Watching. Like he had noticed something and was quietly trying to understand it. My grip tightened slightly around the glass.

“Do you always look at people like that?” I asked.

One dark eyebrow lifted. “Like what ? He responded “

“Like you're trying to solve a puzzle.”

For a second, I thought I saw amusement flicker across his face.

“And am I solving it?” “I have no idea.”

“That’s honest.” The corner of my mouth twitched.

For some reason, the silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. Most silences were. This one simply settled between us naturally, as though neither of us felt any urgency to fill it. Then Ronan said, “You seem disappointed.” I blinked. “What?”

“That I'm not terrified.”

The words caught me so off guard that I nearly laughed into my drink. His expression remained completely serious, which

Somehow that made it worse.

“You noticed that?” “I notice most things.” The answer wasn't arrogant. It wasn't boastful. If for anything, it sounded like a simple fact. And for some reason, I believed him. “Well, you do have a reputation.” “So I've heard. “People talk about you like you're impossible to approach.” “And yet here you are.”

I stared at him for a second before a laugh escaped me. “Technically, I walked into you.” That finally earned a smile. Brief. Gone almost immediately. But real. A strange warmth settled somewhere in my chest. This has to be very dangerous because. I can't remember the last time a conversation had felt this easy. Ronan studied me for a moment before saying quietly, “You laugh more than you think.” The comment hit harder than it should have. I looked away at first, because people didn't usually notice things like that about me, most people barely noticed me at all. For a second, I almost told him everything. About the dress, about Lyra, about my mother, about how exhausting it was always being the daughter expected to understand. Instead, I forced a smile and lifted my glass slightly. “I'm not usually this talkative. ”His gaze remained steady.“That's not what I've observed. ”A laugh slipped out before I could stop it. “There you go again.” “Doing what?” “Observing.” That earned the faintest hint of amusement. Before either of us could say anything else, a familiar voice drifted across the hall.

“Serena?”

Everything inside me went still. I knew that voice. Unfortunately, I knew it very well, the warmth from a few moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling I knew far too well. Trouble. I knew exactly what was coming, the only question was

Did Ronan?