Chapter 3:The Luna They Never Expected
957 Words
I woke to soft knocking.
Blinking against the morning light filtering through the curtains, I sat up, momentarily confused by the thick furs, the warmth, the silence.
Right. I’m not in Moonstone anymore.
I wasn’t in a cold servant’s room, or on the floor by the packhouse kitchen. I was in a real bed. A clean, warm room. And this was… Nightfang Pack.
The knock came again.
“Come in,” I said, pulling the blanket over my chest.
A tall woman entered, holding a tray. She was dressed in black and silver — clearly a Nightfang warrior — but her features were soft, kind.
“I’m Mira,” she said. “Beta Kieran sent me. I brought you food, and the healer is waiting outside.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, still unsure how to act.
Mira placed the tray in front of me and studied me for a moment. “You’re the omega from Moonstone, aren’t you?”
I tensed.
Her expression didn’t change, but something flickered in her eyes. “You’re braver than most who cross into our territory.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“And yet… here you are.”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure how to read her.
After a moment, Mira nodded once. “I’ll send the healer in.”
A few minutes later, a soft-spoken older woman came in, her eyes gentle. She treated the scrapes on my arms, asked a few quiet questions, and left without pressing me.
No one demanded explanations. No one shouted orders. No one mocked me for breathing.
It was unsettling.
---
Later, I wandered outside.
The Nightfang Pack was training in the clearing. Warriors moved like shadows — graceful but brutal, each blow calculated. I kept my distance, watching silently from under the hood of the cloak Kieran had given me.
“Lila.”
My name came from behind me, deep and firm.
I turned to see Kieran standing near the edge of the forest. He wore a black shirt rolled to the elbows, revealing arms carved like stone. His gaze swept over me like a storm checking for weakness.
“You slept well?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Good. Come.”
I hesitated. “Where?”
He started walking without answering. I followed.
---
We walked down a narrow path through the trees. It was quiet except for the soft crunch of leaves beneath our feet.
“Everyone’s watching me,” I finally said.
“They’re watching me,” he replied. “Because I brought you in. And because I didn’t reject the bond.”
I glanced at him. “But I did.”
Kieran stopped walking.
He turned slowly, his golden eyes piercing. “You didn’t reject it. You’re afraid of it. There’s a difference.”
I looked away. “It’s too soon.”
“I’m not rushing you,” he said. “But I won’t lie either. I feel the bond. I feel you. Every second you’re near.”
My heart beat faster, traitorous.
“I don’t want to belong to someone again,” I whispered. “Not like before. Not if I’ll just be tossed aside.”
Kieran stepped closer. “You won’t be.”
I looked up at him. “How do I know that?”
“You don’t,” he said simply. “But you can stay here. As long as you want. Mate or not.”
My throat tightened. “Why are you being kind to me?”
“I’m not kind,” he said. “I’m fair. And I don’t waste what the Moon Goddess puts in my path.”
---
We stopped at a cliff overlooking the valley. The wind carried pine and earth and the faintest touch of frost. Kieran stood beside me, silent.
“There’s a war coming,” he said finally. “The Moonstone Pack made too many enemies. They’ve grown arrogant.”
“And you want revenge?” I asked.
He looked at me. “I want justice.”
“And where do I fit into that?”
Kieran didn’t answer right away. “That depends. What do you want, Lila?”
The question stunned me. No one had ever asked that before.
I turned my eyes to the sky, trying to find words.
“I want to be more than what they called me,” I said. “I want to feel like I matter.”
“You do,” he said, instantly. “You will.”
His voice wasn’t tender. It was firm. Steady. Unshakable.
It didn’t feel like comfort.
It felt like truth.
---
Back in the camp, whispers followed me like shadows.
Some called me "Alpha’s Mate." Others simply stared.
One girl brushed past me with a hiss, “She’s not one of us.”
I lowered my eyes. My presence made things tense, uncomfortable. I didn’t belong — yet again.
Later that night, as I sat alone by the fire in my room, I wondered if I’d made a mistake by staying.
There was a soft knock at the door.
I didn’t answer, but it opened anyway.
Kieran stepped inside, his expression unreadable. He carried something in his hand — a small, silver ring etched with a crescent moon.
“This was my mother’s,” he said. “She wore it when she ruled as Luna.”
I stared at the ring.
“I’m not her,” I said, shaking my head.
“No,” he replied. “But you’ll be stronger.”
He placed it on the table and turned to leave.
Before he closed the door, he looked back and said quietly, “They’ll fight you, Lila. But one day, they’ll follow you.”
Then he was gone.
- Writer
