Alpha's Forbidden Luna

PROLOGUE

I woke up because I heard someone calling my name.

At first I thought it was my mother. She sometimes checked on me at night, especially when I had trouble sleeping. But when I opened my eyes, my room was empty.

I stayed in bed for a few seconds, listening.

There it was again.

“Aria.”

I sat up.

My heart started beating faster. I looked around the room, but there was nobody there. The window was open though, and the curtains were moving because of the wind.

I almost got out of bed to close it when I felt something strange in my chest.

It hurt.

Not the kind of pain that makes you scream. It was more like something was pressing from inside, trying to get out.

I put my hand on my chest and waited for it to stop.

It didn't.

The pain moved lower, towards my stomach, and then suddenly I couldn't breathe properly. I fell out of bed and landed on the floor.

I don't know how long I stayed there.

When I finally looked down at myself, I noticed something on my skin.

There was a mark underneath my collarbone.

A small crescent moon.

I had never seen it before.

I touched it and immediately pulled my hand away because it was hot.

Then I heard a howl outside.

I froze.

It wasn't unusual to hear wolves at night. I had grown up around them. But this one sounded different. It was deeper and louder, and within seconds other wolves started howling too.

I got up and walked towards the window.

The whole forest looked different under the moonlight.

For some reason, I couldn't stop staring at it.

Then the door opened.

My mother stood there.

She wasn't wearing shoes and her hair was messy, like she had gotten out of bed in a hurry.

She looked at me, then at the mark on my chest.

Her face changed.

“Aria, where did you get that?”

I looked down.

“I don't know. It just appeared.”

She walked over to me and grabbed my arm.

“Did anyone else see it?”

“No.”

She looked relieved for about a second, but then she became even more worried.

“You need to leave.”

I actually laughed because I thought she was joking.

“Leave where?”

“Anywhere. Just get out of the pack.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

She didn't answer me.

Instead, she went to the window and looked outside.

I followed her gaze.

There were people gathering in the courtyard.

A lot of them.

And then I saw the man standing in the middle of them.

Ronan Blackwood.

The Alpha.

I had heard stories about him my entire life. Everyone had. He was the kind of Alpha people didn't argue with, even when they knew he was wrong.

I had never been this close to him before.

But the moment our eyes met, something happened.

My chest tightened again.

Only this time it wasn't pain.

It felt like recognition.

Ronan stopped walking.

His expression changed.

I didn't understand why he was looking at me like that.

Then I heard a growl.

It came from him.

No, not him.

His wolf.

And something inside me answered.

My mother grabbed my hand.

“Aria, don't.”

But it was already too late.

Ronan was staring at the mark on my chest.

His face had gone completely pale.

He took a step towards me, then stopped.

For a long moment, nobody said anything.

Finally, he looked at my mother.

“You knew?”

My mother didn't answer.

Ronan looked back at me.

And the way he said the next words made me realize that whatever was happening had nothing to do with a normal mate bond.

“She can't be my Luna.”

I didn't understand.

Then he said something that made my stomach drop.

“She is the forbidden one.”