THE ALPHA'S DESIRE

CHAPTER SEVEN

Leanna

It was the D-day. A week since I arrived at Moonblood. A week that I used to process my emotions, the loss of my goals that I fought hard to achieve, and the fact that I'd be serving my best friend turned enemy.

The dress stared back at me. The one Alpha Kale had given me in his office just that morning. He had said to wear it during the ceremony that night. How was I going to face Phoebe for the first time since the news in this?

It lay across the bed like a trap wrapped in silk. It was black, expensive, and tailored to seduce. Not like the uniform Emma had pulled out from the racks earlier. No. This one was... wrong.

It barely reached my mid-thigh. The neckline plunged just above where my cleavage would be if I had the courage to fill it out. Thin straps instead of sleeves. A slit climbing higher than what was appropriate for any maid, let alone Phoebe’s maid.

I ran my fingers along the fabric. It was soft and dangerous. And undeniably a command from him.

Why would he give me this? Why on such a day?

Was it a test? A trap?

I sat at the edge of my bed, knees pressed together, heart thudding. If I wore it, I’d be flaunting myself like a mistress instead of a servant. If I didn’t wear it... would he punish me? Kill me? I couldn’t afford to risk it.

Not with Mom still in Niddan. Not with everything I’d worked so hard to lift her spirit.

So, I reached for the safer choice, the modest maid uniform that covered me from neck to knees. The one I wore every day. The one that didn’t make me feel like prey.

That night, the palace buzzed with entertainment. The great hall had been transformed, moonlight spilled across glass chandeliers, gold-trimmed linens cloaked the long tables, and every important Alpha and Beta in the region seemed to be in attendance.

It was the To-Be Luna Introduction Ceremony. Phoebe stood at the center of it all, glittering in crimson silk, her long blonde curls flowing over her shoulders. She looked every bit the Luna she’d dreamed of becoming.

I stood at the back, like the help I was, tray in hand, avoiding everyone’s eyes, especially his.

But it was impossible.

Kale sat at the main table, regal and cold as always, until his gaze burned through the crowd and landed on me like a brand.

I felt it immediately. It was piercing, fuming and furious.

His eyes dragged down my body, narrowing at the high collar, the full-length skirt, the long sleeves—his jaw tightened like he wanted to rip it off me himself.

I fumbled the goblet on my tray, nearly tipping it. A few guests glanced in my direction, but I quickly composed myself.

My mind spun. Why did it feel like I had betrayed him?

He didn’t say I had to wear that dress. Not with words. Just… silent seduction and power.

Why was the universe so cruel?

Why pair me with a man who was promised to the girl I was supposed to serve? Why torture me with the pull of a mate bond I couldn’t even touch? With someone I had no chance with. Not with my wolf still refusing to come out since the rejection.

I didn't belong in his orbit. And yet, I couldn’t escape it.

"Oh, look who the cat dragged in?" I heard a familiar voice interrupted my thoughts as I stood in the kitchen arranging drinks.

"Not now, Phoebe..."

"Luna Phoebe," she corrected before turning to face me. "You should learn to start calling me that. We're no longer in Niddan, Leanna. Get used to it."

My hands shook as she said these words. I had tried hard to act like it didn't affect me but it was killing keeping quiet when these questions were eating me up.

"Did you..." She stopped in her tracks, raising her brow. "Did you ever wanted to be my friend? Like ever?"

My breath hitched as I waited for the answer. The one that would finally clear all doubts or shroud of confusion. And hell, Phoebe took her time to answer. I didn't know if she didn't want to answer or if she just didn't know what the answer was.

"Let's forget all that happened in the past, Leanna. We can never be friends. We are two girls in different worlds. There is no way you can ever fit in mine."

Those words were biting, causing tears to roll out of my eyes at a quick pace as I slid down the counter to sit on the floor. Huddled up like a wet rat, I sobbed hard. I'd lost my friend too.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a haze. Kale’s eyes never left me. Even when Phoebe held his arm, even when they posed for the cameras, even when she leaned in to whisper something flirty, he didn’t look at her. He looked at me.

"Tonight, we acknowledge that Princess Phoebe will become the Luna in two months after the wedding. This means you will accord her with the respect you would a Luna. She will protect you, guide the women and children and ensure the Alpha is pleased at all times." I almost puked when I saw the way Phoebe smirked at the last words.

It made me physically recoil.

That night, I sat in my small room, arms wrapped around my knees, trying to forget the way his eyes burned the back of my head.

A knock. "You have a message, Leanna."

I opened the door and collected a black envelope from a guard.

I stared at it for a long second before walking back to my bed to read it, heart already pounding before I even opened it.

"Leanna, You were given a uniform. You failed to wear it. You will kneel in it by midnight in your room. If you refuse, your mother will be arrested in Niddan for theft and punished by death. Choose wisely.

—K"

I dropped the letter like it burned. My hands trembled. My lips parted in horror.

"No…" I whispered, voice cracking.

I looked at the dress, still hanging over the chair now like it had been waiting all along. I could feel the pull of it. The power it held. Not in the fabric, but in the intention behind it.

A sob bubbled in my throat, but I swallowed it. If it meant protecting my mother, there was no choice. Midnight was coming. And I had to kneel.