THE MOONLESS ALPHA'S STOLEN MATE

Into Enemy Territory

The forest did not feel empty anymore.

Lyra stood at the edge of Raven Hollow, staring into the darkness where the stranger had disappeared.

The mist moved slowly between the trees.

Nothing else moved.

No footsteps.

No voices.

No wolves.

Yet every instinct inside her screamed that she was being watched.

Mara stood beside her, breathing unevenly.

“Lyra.”

Lyra didn't answer.

Her eyes remained fixed on the forest.

The stranger's words repeated inside her mind.

They know you're awake.

She touched the mark beneath her collarbone.

It was still warm.

Not burning now.

Just warm enough to remind her that whatever had awakened inside her was real.

For twenty years, she had believed there was something wrong with her.

Her wolf had been weak.

Her body had been different.

She had never been able to shift properly.

She had spent years watching other wolves run beneath the moon while she remained behind.

Kael had called her weak.

The entire pack had believed him.

But the tower had told her something different.

The masked hunters had feared her.

And the stranger had looked at her as though he had seen something ancient hidden beneath her skin.

Lyra swallowed.

“I can't stay here.”

Mara looked toward the ruined village.

“I agree.”

“Not just Raven Hollow.”

Lyra turned toward her.

“We have to leave this territory completely.”

Mara's expression tightened.

“Where will we go?”

Lyra looked north.

Beyond the forest stood the mountains.

Beyond those mountains were territories neither of them had ever entered.

Territories belonging to wolves who did not answer to Blackthorn.

Enemies.

The thought made Mara hesitate.

“Lyra, you know what's north.”

“I know.”

“The Nightfall territory.”

Lyra's fingers tightened around the pendant.

The name alone carried a reputation.

The Nightfall wolves were not like the Blackthorn Pack.

They were stronger.

More isolated.

More dangerous.

Their Alpha was rarely seen outside his territory, but stories about him had spread through every northern pack.

Damon Nightfall.

The Moonless Alpha.

Some said he was ruthless.

Others said he was cursed.

There were even whispers that wolves who crossed into his territory without permission never returned.

Mara shook her head.

“We can't go there.”

Lyra looked at her.

“Why?”

“Because if the hunters are looking for you, the last place we should go is the territory of the most dangerous Alpha in the north.”

Lyra almost laughed.

Almost.

“They're already looking for me.”

“That doesn't mean we should walk into another danger.”

Lyra looked back at the ruins.

At the blood on the ground.

At the broken tower.

At the place where the masked figures had stood.

“If we stay here, they'll find us.”

Mara didn't argue.

Lyra turned north.

“We leave now.”

They walked until the ruins of Raven Hollow disappeared behind them.

The forest became thicker as they moved.

The path narrowed.

Branches scraped against Lyra's arms, but she barely noticed.

Her mind was too full.

She kept thinking about the tower.

The blood of the stolen moon shall awaken when the false bond is broken.

False bond.

Kael.

The rejection.

The voice.

The pendant.

Everything seemed connected.

But how?

She still didn't understand why Kael had rejected her.

She remembered the exact moment his eyes had met hers beneath the moon.

For one heartbeat, he had looked shocked.

Not disgusted.

Not cold.

Shocked.

Then something had changed.

His expression had hardened.

His voice had become cruel.

And he had rejected her.

But if the bond had been false, what had happened between them?

Was Kael responsible?

Or had someone forced him to choose?

Lyra hated that she still cared about the answer.

She had told herself she didn't need him.

She wanted to believe that.

But the wound was still there.

It wasn't only the pain of rejection.

It was the question.

Why?

A sudden chill moved through her.

Lyra stopped.

Mara nearly walked into her.

“What?”

Lyra raised a hand.

“Listen.”

Mara became silent.

At first, there was nothing.

Then Lyra heard it.

A distant sound.

Branches breaking.

Several footsteps.

Coming from behind them.

Mara's face changed.

“They found us.”

Lyra turned.

Dark shapes moved between the trees.

Too far away to see clearly.

But there were several.

Lyra's mark began to burn.

“Run.”

They sprinted.

They ran until Lyra's lungs burned.

Mara struggled to keep up.

Behind them, the footsteps grew louder.

“They're gaining!” Mara shouted.

“I know!”

Lyra pushed harder.

Her body felt strangely different.

She could hear everything.

The pounding of Mara's heart.

The snapping branches beneath their feet.

The distant movement of animals.

And the footsteps behind them.

She could even smell the hunters.

Cold iron.

Smoke.

Blood.

They were close.

Too close.

Lyra looked ahead.

The forest suddenly opened into a narrow valley.

A river cut through the rocks.

On the other side stood a line of black stones.

Beyond them, the trees were different.

Darker.

Older.

Lyra stopped.

Mara caught up, gasping.

“What is it?”

Lyra stared across the river.

A wooden marker stood between two trees.

The symbol carved into it was unmistakable.

A crescent moon surrounded by a black circle.

Mara's face went pale.

“That's the Nightfall border.”

Lyra looked behind them.

The hunters were coming.

There was no time.

Mara grabbed her arm.

“Lyra, wait.”

Lyra looked at her.

“We can't cross.”

“Why?”

“Because once we cross that river, we're in enemy territory.”

Lyra glanced at the approaching shadows.

“And if we don't?”

Mara didn't answer.

The footsteps grew louder.

Lyra took one step toward the river.

Mara followed.

“Lyra…”

“I'd rather face one enemy than ten.”

They crossed.

The moment Lyra's feet touched the opposite bank, the air changed.

Her mark went cold.

Completely cold.

The forest fell silent.

Lyra looked around.

No birds.

No insects.

Nothing.

Mara whispered, “This place feels wrong.”

Lyra nodded.

“It does.”

Then something moved above them.

Lyra looked up.

A black wolf stood on a ridge.

It was watching them.

Its eyes were pale silver.

Mara stepped backward.

“Lyra.”

The wolf didn't growl.

It simply stared.

Then another wolf appeared.

And another.

Within seconds, the ridge was covered with them.

Lyra's heart raced.

“They know we're here.”

One of the wolves suddenly lifted its head.

A howl echoed through the valley.

Another answered.

Then another.

Mara grabbed Lyra's hand.

“We need to go.”

But before they could move, a voice came from behind them.

“You already crossed.”

Lyra froze.

She turned.

Three wolves stood between the trees.

They shifted almost simultaneously.

Three warriors appeared where the wolves had been.

All three wore black.

The tallest stepped forward.

His eyes moved from Mara to Lyra.

Then stopped at Lyra's pendant.

His expression changed.

“You.”

Lyra's hand closed around the pendant.

“What?”

The warrior stared at her.

“Who are you?”

Lyra hesitated.

She didn't know whether to tell the truth.

Mara stepped forward.

“She is—”

“Lyra Vale.”

The warrior's voice was quiet.

Lyra's heart stopped.

“How do you know my name?”

The warrior didn't answer.

Instead, he looked toward the mark beneath her collarbone.

“You shouldn't be here.”

Lyra almost smiled bitterly.

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

The warrior's expression remained serious.

“This isn't Blackthorn territory.”

“I know.”

“If you crossed this border without permission, our Alpha has the right to—”

A howl interrupted him.

The warrior immediately looked toward the forest.

His expression changed.

“They're here.”

Lyra's stomach tightened.

“Who?”

The warrior looked at her.

“The ones following you.”

The hunters entered the valley less than a minute later.

They stopped when they saw the Nightfall warriors.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then the masked leader stepped forward.

“We have no quarrel with Nightfall.”

The warrior standing before Lyra laughed without humor.

“You crossed our border.”

“We are here for the girl.”

His eyes moved toward Lyra.

“She doesn't belong to you.”

The Nightfall warrior's expression darkened.

“You're mistaken.”

The masked leader looked confused.

“What?”

The warrior stepped sideways, placing himself between Lyra and the hunters.

“She crossed into our territory.”

The leader's eyes narrowed.

“We were ordered to retrieve her.”

“Then whoever gave you that order should have taught you where the borders are.”

The masked figures spread out.

Lyra's heart began pounding.

There were too many.

The Nightfall warriors looked prepared, but even they couldn't know how powerful the hunters were.

The masked leader raised one hand.

“We don't want a fight.”

The Nightfall warrior's eyes turned silver.

“Then leave.”

Silence.

The leader lowered his hand.

“No.”

Everything happened at once.

The hunters attacked.

The Nightfall warriors shifted.

Black wolves collided in the center of the valley.

Lyra stepped backward.

Mara pulled her behind a tree.

“Stay here!”

Lyra watched the battle.

The Nightfall wolves were fast.

Faster than the Blackthorn warriors she had known.

They moved with brutal precision, attacking together instead of individually.

But the hunters were prepared.

One of them pulled a strange silver blade from beneath his coat.

Lyra's mark burned.

She knew that blade.

She had seen something similar in her vision.

“Get down!”

Mara dropped.

The blade flew through the air.

It struck the tree beside them.

The bark exploded.

Lyra stared.

The weapon wasn't ordinary metal.

Dark energy moved along its edge.

The voice returned inside her mind.

Do not let it touch your blood.

Lyra's eyes widened.

“How do you know?”

The voice remained silent.

The hunter pulled the blade free.

His eyes locked on Lyra.

Then he smiled.

“She heard it.”

Lyra froze.

The hunter stepped toward her.

“She can hear the Moon's voice.”

Mara stared at Lyra.

“What does he mean?”

“I don't know.”

The hunter raised his blade.

“Take her alive.”

Two masked figures moved toward them.

Lyra's body reacted before her mind did.

Silver energy burst from her hands.

The attackers were thrown backward.

But this time, Lyra felt something different.

The power didn't feel wild.

It felt controlled.

As if something inside her was teaching her how to use it.

The mark beneath her collarbone glowed.

The wolves stopped fighting for a moment.

Every eye turned toward her.

The forest became completely silent.

Then a deep growl came from somewhere behind the trees.

Not from the warriors.

Not from the hunters.

Something else.

Something powerful.

Every wolf in the valley lowered its head.

The hunters froze.

Even the Nightfall warriors stopped.

Lyra slowly turned.

A figure stood at the edge of the forest.

Tall.

Motionless.

His presence seemed to crush the air around him.

She couldn't see his face clearly.

But she knew one thing.

He was not afraid of anyone standing in that valley.

The masked leader took a step backward.

“No.”

The figure began walking toward them.

One step.

Then another.

The Nightfall warriors lowered their heads.

Lyra stared at them.

They weren't bowing to the hunters.

They were bowing to him.

The stranger stopped several feet away.

His gaze settled on Lyra.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then his eyes moved to her pendant.

His expression changed.

Recognition.

Not surprise.

Recognition.

“You crossed my border,” he said.

His voice was deep and cold.

Lyra lifted her chin.

“I had no choice.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You always have a choice.”

The hunters suddenly moved.

The stranger didn't even look at them.

“Leave.”

One word.

The command struck the valley like thunder.

The masked figures staggered.

Several immediately dropped to their knees.

The leader fought against it.

“You cannot command us.”

The stranger finally looked at him.

The leader's body shook.

“You're right,” he whispered.

A pause.

“Because you won't be leaving.”

The stranger raised one hand.

The darkness behind him moved.

Lyra's breath caught.

She had never seen power like this.

The hunters vanished into the trees.

Not running.

Fleeing.

The stranger turned back to Lyra.

“You.”

Lyra swallowed.

“Yes?”

His gaze remained on her pendant.

“Where did you get that?”

“My mother.”

His expression hardened.

“Selene.”

Lyra's heart stopped.

“You know her.”

The stranger said nothing.

Lyra stepped forward.

“Tell me where she is.”

For the first time, something flickered across his face.

Pain.

Then it disappeared.

“You're asking the wrong question.”

“Then tell me the right one.”

He studied her.

A faint silver glow appeared beneath Lyra's collarbone.

His eyes narrowed.

“You awakened it.”

Lyra looked down.

The mark was glowing again.

“What is it?”

He didn't answer.

“Who am I?”

Still nothing.

Lyra's frustration rose.

“Everyone knows something about me except me.”

The stranger took one step closer.

“You are standing on the edge of a war you don't understand.”

Lyra's voice softened.

“Then help me understand.”

His eyes held hers.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then—

“You should be more afraid of the people who want to protect you than the people who want to kill you.”

Lyra frowned.

“What does that mean?”

But the stranger had already turned away.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

“Why did you let me cross your border?”

Silence.

Then he looked back.

“Because you didn't come here by accident.”

Lyra's heart skipped.

“What do you mean?”

His eyes darkened.

“The Moon brought you here.”

Then he walked into the darkness.

Lyra stood frozen.

The wolves followed him.

One by one, they disappeared between the trees.

Mara slowly approached her.

“Lyra…”

Lyra didn't move.

“Who was that?”

Lyra stared into the darkness where he had vanished.

She didn't know his name.

She didn't know why he had protected her.

She didn't know why every wolf in the territory had bowed when he appeared.

But somewhere deep inside her, her wolf had already recognized him.

Not as a mate.

Not as an enemy.

As something far more dangerous.

Someone connected to the truth she had been searching for.

Lyra looked down at her pendant.

It pulsed once.

Then the mysterious voice whispered inside her mind.

You finally found him.

Lyra's breath caught.

“Who?”

The voice answered.

The Alpha who knows what you are.

Lyra looked toward the darkness.

And for the first time since the night of the mating ceremony, she felt something stronger than fear.

Hope.

But she didn't yet understand the price that hope would demand.

Because she had just stepped into enemy territory.

And the enemy had not been waiting for her to arrive.

He had been waiting for her to awaken.