Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By Moonfire

Chapter 4: Blood Moon Rising

Luna's POV

The adrenaline from the shadow demon attack was finally wearing off, leaving me exhausted and shaky as I sat at the kitchen table with Sarah and Grandmother Sage. The silver light that had been pouring from my hands for the past hour was finally dimming, though I could still feel the power humming just beneath my skin like electricity waiting to be unleashed.

"Five demons," I said, staring at my hands in amazement. "I destroyed five shadow demons without even thinking about it."

"Your power responded to protect what you love most," Sage said, setting a cup of chamomile tea in front of me. "That's the mark of a true Moonfire - our magic is strongest when we're defending others."

Sarah was unusually quiet, sitting across from me with her own cup of tea growing cold in her hands. Finally, she looked up, her brown eyes troubled.

"Luna, those things... they weren't just random monsters, were they? They were specifically hunting you."

I nodded grimly. The shadow demons had spoken before I'd incinerated them, their voices like grinding stone and rusted metal. They'd called me "Moon Child" and "the awakened one," which meant that news of my power had somehow spread beyond our pack's borders.

"The supernatural community has ways of sensing major power shifts," Sage explained, seeming to read my thoughts. "When you awakened three months ago, every sensitive creature within hundreds of miles would have felt it. We've been living on borrowed time."

"So what happens now?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

Before Sage could respond, the sound of multiple vehicles pulling up outside made us all freeze. Through the kitchen window, I could see several SUVs with tinted windows, and my enhanced senses picked up the scent of multiple supernatural beings - not all of them wolves.

"Expecting company?" Sarah asked nervously.

A sharp knock on the front door answered her question. Sage stood slowly, her weathered face grave as she moved toward the entrance.

"Let me do the talking," she said over her shoulder. "And Luna, keep your power as contained as possible. We don't want to give them any more reason to see you as a threat."

I nodded, though the silver fire inside me was already responding to my anxiety, making the temperature in the kitchen drop noticeably. Sarah moved closer to me, offering silent support as we heard the front door open.

"Elder Sage Blackwood," came a cultured voice with a slight accent I couldn't place. "I am Viktor Ashworth, representative of the North American Supernatural Council. We need to discuss your granddaughter."

My blood ran cold. The Supernatural Council was the governing body that maintained order among all non-human species across the continent. They only got involved when something threatened the careful balance that kept our world hidden from human notice.

"Please, come in," Sage said formally, and I heard multiple sets of footsteps entering our home.

A moment later, three figures appeared in the kitchen doorway. The leader was a tall, pale man with silver hair and eyes the color of winter ice - clearly a vampire, given the way he moved with predatory grace and the faint scent of old blood that clung to him. Behind him stood a woman with the distinctive pointed ears and ethereal beauty of the Fae, her green eyes studying me with unsettling intensity. The third figure was another werewolf, but his scent carried the authority of an Alpha from a pack I didn't recognize.

"Luna Blackwood," Viktor said, his cold gaze fixing on me. "You've caused quite a stir in our community."

I stood slowly, drawing on every lesson in dignity and composure that Sage had ever taught me. "I haven't done anything to threaten the supernatural community."

"Haven't you?" The Fae woman stepped forward, her voice like silver bells with an edge of steel. "This afternoon's... demonstration... registered on magical sensors as far away as Los Angeles. Five shadow demons obliterated in seconds by someone who, according to our records, was nothing more than a talented pack healer three months ago."

"I was defending my family," I said, letting a hint of challenge creep into my voice. The silver fire inside me responded to my emotions, and I saw Viktor's nostrils flare slightly as he scented the change in my magical signature.

"And therein lies the problem," the unknown Alpha said, speaking for the first time. "Shadow demons don't hunt unless they're summoned or drawn by something specific. The fact that they targeted you specifically means someone very powerful wanted to test your abilities."

Sarah sucked in a sharp breath beside me. "You're saying someone sent those things after Luna?"

"Almost certainly," Viktor confirmed. "Which means that word of the awakened Moonfire has reached ears we'd prefer it hadn't. There are beings in this world who would kill to possess that kind of power, and others who would kill to prevent anyone else from having it."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "Are you saying I'm in danger?"

"My dear child," the Fae woman said, her expression almost pitying, "you're the most dangerous supernatural being to emerge in over two centuries. Of course you're in danger. The question is what we're going to do about it."

Viktor moved closer, and I had to resist the urge to step back. Despite his civilized appearance, everything about him screamed predator.

"The Council has discussed your situation at length," he said. "We have three options to present to you."

"I'm listening," I said, though my grandmother's sharp intake of breath suggested she already knew what was coming.

"Option one: You come with us voluntarily to a secure Council facility where you can learn to control your abilities under proper supervision. Your family will be relocated and protected, but you won't see them again until your training is complete."

The idea of being separated from Sarah and Sage made my power flare, and frost began forming on the kitchen windows. Viktor noticed but continued as if nothing had happened.

"Option two: You submit to having your powers bound by Council mages. You'd be able to live a normal life, but you'd lose access to your Moonfire abilities permanently."

"And option three?" I asked, though I suspected I didn't want to know.

Viktor's smile was cold and sharp. "We eliminate the threat before it can grow beyond our ability to contain it."

The kitchen fell silent except for the sound of my own rapid breathing. Sarah's hand found mine under the table, squeezing tightly as we both processed what we'd just heard.

"You're talking about killing me," I said, surprising myself with how steady my voice sounded.

"If necessary," Viktor confirmed without a hint of remorse. "The last fully awakened Moonfire nearly destroyed the balance between supernatural and human worlds. We won't allow that to happen again."

"That's enough." Sage's voice cut through the tension like a blade, and she moved to stand between me and the Council representatives. "You have no right to threaten my granddaughter in her own home."

"With respect, Elder," the Fae woman said, "this is bigger than pack politics. The Moonfire bloodline has been dormant for good reason. Its awakening threatens the stability of our entire community."

"Perhaps," came a familiar voice from the kitchen doorway, "but threatening her isn't the solution."

My heart stopped as Alpha Dante Shadowmere stepped into the room, his golden eyes immediately finding mine. He looked terrible - hollow-cheeked and exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes that spoke of sleepless nights. But his presence filled the room with the unmistakable authority of a powerful Alpha.

"Alpha Shadowmere," Viktor said, his tone carefully neutral. "I wasn't aware you had an interest in this matter."

"Luna Blackwood is under my pack's protection," Dante said firmly, and I felt my jaw drop in shock. Three months ago, he'd rejected me publicly for carrying "rogue blood." Now he was claiming to protect me?

"Interesting," the unknown Alpha said, studying Dante with calculating eyes. "Given your very public rejection of her as your mate, I wouldn't have expected such... loyalty."

I saw Dante's jaw tighten, but his voice remained steady. "I made an error in judgment that I intend to correct. Luna is a valuable member of our supernatural community, and she deserves the chance to learn to control her abilities without threats or coercion."

"And if she proves unable to control them?" Viktor asked. "If her power grows beyond safe limits?"

"Then I'll take full responsibility for the consequences," Dante said, his gaze never leaving mine. "But I believe Luna is stronger than you're giving her credit for. She destroyed those shadow demons to protect her family, not out of malice or a desire for destruction. That shows remarkable restraint for someone with her level of power."

I stared at him in amazement. This was the same man who had humiliated me in front of three entire packs, yet here he was, risking his own reputation and possibly his life to defend me.

Viktor exchanged glances with his companions, some silent communication passing between them. Finally, he turned back to me.

"Very well. You have one month to demonstrate that you can control your abilities without posing a threat to supernatural society. Alpha Shadowmere will be held personally responsible for your actions during this time. If you fail to meet our standards..." He didn't need to finish the threat.

"And if I succeed?" I asked.

"Then you'll be granted full autonomy, with the understanding that any misuse of your power will result in immediate Council action." Viktor's smile held no warmth. "I do hope you'll make the right choices, Miss Blackwood."

With that, the three Council representatives filed out of the kitchen, leaving behind a heavy silence and the lingering scent of old magic and barely contained threats.

"Well," Sarah said after we heard their vehicles driving away, "that was terrifying."

I turned to face Dante, my mind reeling with questions and conflusions. "Why?" I asked simply.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, looking more vulnerable than I'd ever seen him. "Because I was wrong about you. Because my rejection unleashed something I'm responsible for helping you control. And because..." He paused, his golden eyes intense. "Because I can feel your power calling to mine, even now. Whatever connection we had, it wasn't broken by the rejection. It was transformed into something else."

I felt the truth of his words resonate in my chest, where the phantom ache of our severed bond still lingered. But I wasn't ready to forgive him, not after everything he'd put me through.

"One month," I said, crossing my arms. "That's not very long to learn to control power that's been building for over twenty years."

"Then we'd better get started," Dante said, his expression determined. "Because I'll be damned if I let the Council hurt you, Luna. Not after everything I've already cost you."

As if in response to his words, my power flared slightly, sending silver light dancing across my skin. For the first time since the festival, I felt something that might have been hope stirring in my chest.

But hope, I was learning, could be just as dangerous as despair.