Moonbound: The Alpha’s Secret Mate1

Pack Of Shadows

The trees seemed to blur around them as they were pulled deeper into the woods by Kade at the pace only a trained Alpha could achieve. Lira stumbled behind him, her hand continuing to tingle from the energy released through her when they’d been attacked. That sound continued ringing in her ears, “She awakens and the first moon’s blood returns.” It hadn’t seemed human. Or even living. “Kade,” she gasped, heart racing. “Who was the voice? What’s it mean?” He did not slow down. “It means we don’t have time. We’re vulnerable. And they’re aware that you’re now awake.” “I’m not awake,” she snapped. “I don’t even know what I am!” Kade came to an abrupt stop and she almost bumped into his back. He spun around, his expression fierce but not unfriendly. You’re the final living heir of the Moonborn royal house. You weren’t due to awaken until your strength matured. But the curse which pursued you for eighteen years? It’s finally caught up. “And you knew?” she said, taking a step back. “You knew who I was all this time?” “Yes,” he replied simply. “And I’ve waited for this very moment since the day you were concealed from us.” Lira gazed at him, comprehension dawning on her. “You’re not only an Alpha. You’re a protector of the bloodline.” He nodded his head ever so slightly. “One of four. And the last survivor.” Before she could answer, the woods opened before them and a ridge appeared. Down below it, in the heart of the valley, flickered lights through the mist—torches, fires, and stone and dark wooden cabins. Kade’s pack “The lands of Ashenfang,” he told them. “Home.” Lira’s legs almost buckled beneath her. Stepping in through the valley did not feel like being at home. It reminded me of the start of something ominous, weighty, and predestined. Already she could sense the eyes on her. Watching her. ⸻ Later that evening. The moment Lira crossed the pack grounds, the atmosphere charged like static in the air. A dozen wolves—most in their human form and all dressed in black or gray—materialized out of the darkness. Some dipped their heads in respect toward Kade. Others stared at Lira directly in a look of suspicion and something even darker: fear. “Then she’s the girl?” someone whispered. “The one from the prophecy?” “She smells… differently.” He took a step forward. “She’s under my care now. She will be trained. Respected. And obeyed.” A low growl emerged from the rear of the crowd. “You don’t speak for all of us, Alpha,” a man said, entering the circle of light from the torches. He stood feet from Alpha’s bulk, his physique heavy and lean like a bear’s, his neck covered in scars and his dark hair streaked by silver threads. His eyes met Lira’s with absolute disapproval. “She’s unshifted and untested. She’s not like us.” “She’s not just one of us,” Kade answered. “She’s Moonborn.” Whispers spread through the pack. The scarred man snorted. “And we’re just expected to accept this? What evidence do we have?” Before Lira could even blink an eye, the locket on her breast throbbed—and the earth below her glimmered. A symbol materialized in the earth, inscribed in glowing silver light. A crescent moon encased in flame. Gasps echoed all around. The man’s face went white. “That symbol has not appeared since—” “Since the previous Moon Queen died,” Kade concluded. “And now it’s returned. To her.” The man went quiet. Lira’s knees buckled once more. All she could think about was having a warm bed, a glass of water, and her grandmother returned. Instead, she harbored a prophecy looming over her head, cursed wolves on her tail, and a pack practically tolerating her life. Happy birthday to me, she reminded herself. ⸻ Soon enough, in the Alpha’s lair “Rest,” he said, guiding her through a small space and into a private chamber within his lodge. It was warmer than she anticipated—furs, candles, bookcases, and a very large window overlooking the forest. “You’re staying here?” she inquired. “Until we determine what’s next for you, yes,” he said. “This chamber is warded. No cursed can penetrate it.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, she said, “Why are you doing all this for me?” Kade did not immediately reply. He walked over and retrieved something from a locked chest. A small piece of old parchment. He gave it to her, It was a prediction. In ancient script and her name in blood at the bottom was written. “You were betrothed to the Alpha King of the Shadow Realm,” said Kade softly. “And he’s arriving to collect.” Lira’s breathing caught. “But if he discovers you before you discover him…” Lira looked deeply into the parchment in her shaking hands. The ink glimmered softly in the candle’s light, but it was not the ink which halted her breathing. It was the last line—the line inscribed in blood. “The moon will reawaken in the belly of flame, and the darkness will take her if the beast from within stirs.” “This… is about me?” she whispered softly. Kade nodded slowly. “Your birth was prophesied. The final Moonborn. You were kept secret in order to keep you from the Alpha King of the Shadow Realm. He thought you were dead.” “But now I’m awake,” she whispered, her tone empty. “He’ll be searching.” “He already is.” Silence hung between them. The lodge groaned beneath the wind and the old sorcery. Lira jumped up from her seat and began pacing the room. “This can’t be my life. I was going to college. Get a good job. Maybe even fall in love with a normal person—not be bargained for by a cursed king like a sacrifice.” “You were never normal,” said Kade. “You were never safe.” She spun on him, anger blazing in her eyes. “Why did you wait so long to look for me? Why now?” Kade’s jaw was set hard. “Because I was seventeen when your family was killed. I could not save them. I failed your mother.” Her heart froze, “My mother—?” “She was a Moonborn,” he whispered. “The last true queen. And she trusted me with your life.” Lira ached as if she’d just gotten a punch in the face. All this time she’d thought her parents’d died in a car wreck. If Kade were telling the truth… “Why did nobody tell me?” “They believed it would keep you concealed. Your magic would remain dormant until your eighteenth birthday unless forced by danger. Tonight… you activated it. And the moment you did so, he sensed it.” “The Alpha King?” Kade’s expression darkened. “Malrick. The oldest cursed Alpha in existence. He used to be one of us—until he made a bargain with the void.” Lira sat down slowly once more. “So what now?”, “You’ll train. You’ll shift. And when the moment arrives… you’ll fight.” “I’ve never fought anyone at all in my life.” “You will,” he vowed. “For the instant he gets here, the only barrier between him and the destruction of this world—will be you.”⸻ The next morning… Lira awoke with a scream. The dream had been so real. She stood in a meadow of silver grass beneath a sky stained crimson. A black wolf—huge and fear-inducing—pursued her. Yet she did not fear him. In the dream, she ran shoulder-to-shoulder with him and not away from him. Her paws, now—that’s what made it so strange—hit the ground as she kept his pace. As he stood and came toward her, his eyes blazing gold. She recognized those eyes. Kade. But when she gazed down at her reflection in the lake… she was not simply a wolf. She glowed. She was crowned in light. Then—darkness. And pain. A whisper in the void:

“Mine.” Now, in the Alpha’s den, she lay in bed drenched in sweat. The locket had scalded against her skin overnight. The mark on the floor—the Moonborn crest—now stood faintly imprinted upon the wooden floor as she moved about everywhere she went. Her abilities were increasing. So was another thing as well. Outside the den… The pack training had already begun. Kade stood in the middle of the clearing without a shirt on, his body riddled with claw marks already beginning to heal. He fought two of his best warriors simultaneously, his movements precise and deadly. Injured or not, he overpowered them both easily. Lira observed from the shadows as her stomach knotted. She could no longer deny it. The tug between them wasn’t adrenaline or fear. It was fate. Something stronger. Deeper. More dangerous. But even so… she feared what she would become. “Stare for a moment,” a quiet voice sounded from behind her. “He may think you like him.” Lira spun around. A girl about her age leaned against a tree, arms crossed. She had bright silver eyes and braids laced with feathers. “I’m Raven,” she explained, smiling. “Beta’s daughter. And don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Lira blinked. “You’re not afraid of me?” “Should I?” Raven’s brow shot up. “Last night you reduced a cursed creature to ash. That’s rather awesome.” “I don’t even know how I did it.” Raven pushed against her shoulder. “Well, if you’re going to make it here, you’re going to be needing friends and training.” “Are you doing both?” Raven smiled. “Why not? The prophecy states the Moonborn Queen ascends with a silver-eyed shadow. That’s most likely me.” Lira finally laughed for the first time in days. Elsewhere… away from Ashenfang… The dark hallway burned with black flame. Shadows bowed as a tall figure entered—a man with long hair the color of midnight, his chest marked with ancient runes. His presence was suffocating, magnetic, violent. He sat upon a throne made of bone and iron. The messenger shook in his presence “My lord… the girl… she has awakened.” The man smirked. And the room dropped several degrees “Good,” Malrick replied. “Then the game starts.” He held a piece of parchment aloft. Lira’s face met his own. “Soon,” he whispered softly. “You will recall who you belong to.”