The Hated Luna Of The North

Rhiannon's Point Of View It was our third anniversary. A day meant to be filled with love and renewed promises, but instead, I was running for my life, being hunted down by people I trusted the most with the full moon witness to my pain. I groaned as Clayton's claws tore through me once again, my blood tainting the dried-up leaves and dirt. My nails dug into the earth, as more blood spilled from my mouth. I couldn't believe this was how I ended up dying after all. I felt my body writhe in pain from the effects of the aconite I had been wounded with. “Little miss perfect Luna,” My best friend, Emily sneered from the left, while my own chosen mate and Alpha of the Silver Cross pack came into my view from the right, his menacing dark eyes boring down on me like I was less than a piece of trash and not the woman he'd claimed he'd be in love with for eight years. I backed against the oak tree, unable to move another muscle. I couldn't even feel my wolf, Xena, anymore. The aconite we'd been wounded with had affected her badly, leaving me weak and unable to shift. “I swear by the moon goddess, you both won't get away with this. Sooner or later, they will discover the truth,” Before I could say anything more, Clayton gripped my throat, sinking his extracted claws into my neck. “The only thing everyone will know about the death of their beloved Luna will be that she was torn to shreds by the rogues. We'll avenge in your honor, don't worry, and after that, Emily, my true mate will take her rightful position next to me as Luna of my pack,” Our pack. I wanted to say, but his grip on my throat tightened, and I found myself choking, tears blinding my vision. Clayton and I had always been in love since we were sixteen. We were the perfect couple in the West. I was the only child of my beloved father, Alpha Falix Manning of the Silver Pearl Pack while Clayton was my father's best friend's son. Even though we weren't fated mates, we loved each other so much that we decided to take each other as chosen mates. It also helped that our fathers were best of friends, and after the roguish attack that killed both our fathers, we were all that we had, we sealed the rest of our lives together by marking ourselves and merging our packs. I should have known this was his plan after all. The moon goddess must be having a great laugh right now. My own chosen mate had been sleeping with my best friend for years, and yet I had no idea. Why couldn't I feel it? Xena should have felt their betrayal, why couldn't we? I looked him dead in the eyes. “Over my f*****g dead body,” I clenched my hand around his and pulled out one of the daggers in my boots. Even if I'd die tonight, it wasn't going to be without a fight. I was an Alpha blood, and I'd be damned if I let these bastards get it so easily. I slit his hand with my dagger, rolling off the tree, and running through the thick trees in the forest. I had to either get to the pack's village or buy enough time for the aconite to wear off from my body. But that thought was impossible as I could see Emily's brown wolf running through the thick forest from my peripheral vision, and Clayton shouldn't be far away. Just at that thought, sharp pains tore through my body as Clayton's claws pierced through me from the side again flinging me against the hard rocks close to the cliff. “Any last words my Luna?” Clayton shifted back into his human form, claws raised ready to rip my head off from my body. Tears slipped down from my eyes, and my lips parted to speak when the resounding echo bell rang throughout the forest. It was the pack's alarm bell. It only meant one thing, the pack was under attack. Clayton growled, his eyes pinned on me, and instead of running back to the pack, he lunged at me. I had resigned myself to my own fate, but suddenly the hairs on my skin rose. I could feel the sharp movements through the woods, the foul stench of danger lurking close. Before Clayton's sharp claws could successfully puncture me, unexpectedly and shockingly, he was hurled up by an invisible force and tossed against a tree. And the same thing happened to Emily's wolf before she could make a move. Suddenly, a familiar woman rushed out of the woods. Agatha. I sighed in relief. She was a friend of my father and a member of our pack. Her body was covered in blood, which for a second I figured wasn't hers, but as soon as she stepped closer, I could see the blood dripping from the side of her stomach. “Oh my goddess, Luna,” She rushed to me, fear in her eyes, but something told me it wasn't because of my situation. “Are you okay?” She inspected my wounds. “Can you shift?” “No, Agatha,” I confessed. “I was wounded with Aconite, but I have to get out of here, the pack—” Before I could complete my words, another resounding bell rang through the forest. “No. We have to get out of here first,” Her hands hovered over my largest wound and she began muttering some unfamiliar words hastily in a low whisper, and the pain from the wound began to lessen as it healed. I froze instantly. My eyes darted up just in time to catch her brown eyes glowing in the moonlit night. She was a witch. Agatha was a witch. Even though it was far from impossible, it was unbelievable. I'd heard a few witches were living in the West, but many of their kind were up in the North Central. I had never imagined there was a witch in my pack. She smelled like a wolf. She could see the questions in my eyes, but she only gripped my arm to pull me up. “I know you have questions, but now's not the time, Luna. We must get out of here. The pack is under attack,” “Rogues?” I groaned from the pain vibrating through my minor wounds as she led me through the forest. “Much worse. That's why it's paramount we leave now. I'm already weak as it is, and we can't risk another fight,” “What? I'm not leaving my pack—” “You don't understand. If they suddenly showed up after fourteen years, it means they know you're alive. And they are here to kill you. I've alerted my sisters, they'll be here soon, but before that, I must get you to safety—” Her words were cut off when an invisible force rammed into us, splitting us apart and causing me to crash against rocks. I could feel the warm blood trickling down my head and suddenly, a few figures emerged from the forest. They were all dressed in uniform red cloaks with their hoods over their heads. I could feel the insane amount of power radiating from them. No, magic. They were witches. “Run!” Agatha's voice filled with so much fear as it pierced through the night and sent a sick chill down my spine. I snapped my eyes to her to see her fighting against some witches. She was surrounded. And didn't stand a chance. I glanced to my left to see more witches heading my way. I wished I had Xena right now with me, I could take them, but not in my wounded state like this. Still, I couldn't leave Agatha. With a painful groan, I reached under my dress for the dagger strapped to my calf, taking it out in a futile attempt to lunge at one of the witches, but instantly, I felt the invisible choke hold around my neck, and like a ragged doll, I was lifted off the ground with magic and pinned against a nearby tree. “No! Rhia!” Agatha yelled, killing off a few witches that surrounded her, trying to get to me but there were too many. “No!” She screamed again, releasing a burst of magic that sent the witches around her flying as she started towards me. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when one of the witches stopped her midway and with a snap of her fingers, Agatha's heart ripped out from her chest. I stared motionless at the cavity in Agatha's chest as she fell to her knees, her brown eyes pinned to mine. “You… have… to… survive…” “It finally ends with her,” The witch whispered into Agatha's ears, and with a swift move, Agatha's head was detached from her body. I gasped, and with a snap of her fingers, I fell to the ground. Her lips curled into a sinister smile, and without muttering a word, she took out an odd-looking dagger with a red stone attached to the hilt. The witches gathered around, muttering a chorus of chants in an unfamiliar language. The more they moved closer, the more I felt a strange sensation within me. It was almost as if my body was heating up. My head was banging so hard on the verge of exploding. It was hurting so much that I found myself digging my hands into the earth, and my throat began to itch strangely. My body vibrated violently against the earth that was now trembling. I had no idea if this was still the witches doing but it felt as if something within me wanted to be unleashed. My head was yanked up by the witch who had killed Agatha, and the instant she pressed the glowing dagger to my neck, an overpowering force shook through my body, and I released a loud, destructive scream at the same time I felt the unmistakable kiss of death. Everything went dark for a brief moment. And then all I felt was a sudden coldness, even in my soul. Was I dead? I groaned, fluttering my eyes open but they shut from the exhaustion in my bones. I tried again, and they parted weakly and my gaze was stuck on the round red moon in the dark sky. A Blood Moon? It was almost impossible. A Blood moon was rare and uncommon. What the hell was happening? No, where was I? I glanced around but there was no sign of the witches or Agatha's body. Was this the afterlife? Was I really dead? I forced myself up into a sitting position, shivering. I found myself surrounded by whitish cold substances. Snow. But it wasn't possible again. It never snowed in the Western regions. Only the North was rumored to be blessed by nature from the Moon goddess. I was about to push up to my feet when I noticed the pool of blood that surrounded me. I was bleeding profusely from my head, and stomach. There were several claw marks on my stomach. But this hadn't been from Clayton and Emily. These were far worse. And my dress… it was different. I rose to my feet, grabbed the shawl from the ground, and wrapped it around my neck to warm myself as I moved to the lake close by. The instant I saw my reflection in it, I froze. My hand instinctively came to face and I gasped at the unfamiliar woman staring right back at me. This wasn't me. It felt completely like me but the face staring back at me wasn't mine. It was someone else. Before I could think clearly, a shudder rocked through me, and I could now feel the presence that lurked in the shadows. I lifted my head to find a huge wolf standing a great distance away, its glowing golden eyes on me. It growled viciously, almost angrily, starting towards me. Something inside me kicked, and without thinking, I started running into the woods, lifting the shawl on my neck to cover my face partly. I hadn't gone far when I heard a growl again and felt large, firm hands that definitely belonged to a man grabbing my waist and pinning me against a tree. His naked body pressed hard into mine, strangely setting my very own ablaze. A gasp left my lips. I wasn't sure if it was because of the glowing golden eyes that stared down at me, or the strange tingling sensation that shot through me, or maybe it was the fact that I recognized this naked man before me. Alpha Zade Ashford of the Crest Moon Pack, the rumored beast of the North. Then his lips parted, and with a growl almost like he was furious he said the one word I'd never thought I'd hear in my entire life. “Mate!” But this couldn't be real. I was dead in my pack in the West, but here I was in a body I couldn't recognize, and with the beast of the North glaring down at me like he was thinking of all the ways he could get rid of me. This certainly couldn't be real.