The Alpha's Lost Luna

10

Rowan

I stared at Stuart for half a second after she fled. Then I moved. I ran. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. Instinct drove me forward as I burst out of the kitchen and into the hallway. The scent of her — something floral, soap and something uniquely her — lingered just enough to guide me.

I turned the corner and nearly ran straight into Heather. She stood there like a barricade, staring after Elizabeth with a look of pure disdain. It was like she had just stepped on something foul. Her blue eyes were narrowed as they flicked from the direction Liz ran to me, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

She opened her mouth and I growled. It was a low and sharp sound. A warning. I didn't have time for this. I didn't have the patience for this. I didn't have the restraint for this! Everything inside me was already stretched too thin. Pulled tight by confusion, anger, and something I didn't want to name.

"That mutt almost knocked me over! Aren't you going to do something, baby? Punish her!" She snapped.

I stared at her. Actually stared at her. Trying — failing — to understand how she could stand here whining about something so trivial when... when.... my jaw tightened.

"Heather, you are a more than capable wolf. If someone her size knocked you down, you need to up your training or your spacial awareness. What are you doing here anyway?"

Her expression faltered just for a second. "I wanted to find you and see if you wanted to..."

"No." The word came out harsher than I intended. Colder and final, but I didn't retract it and I didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed. "I wont say this again. We dated in high school. I have no interest in resuming that relationship now. I thought that was made clear before I left for the Academy."

Her lips parted, shock flickering across her face before it twisted into something petulant. Like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"There's someone else... isn't there?" She pouted.

My chest tightened. My mind flashed with the memory of wide haunted eyes. A trembling voice. A bruised cheek that wasn't there hours ago when I saw her running from my father's office.

"No," I lied. The word tasted wrong the moment it left my mouth and my wolf detested it. "And even if there was, it would be none of your damned business. I am more concerned with taking over my role here. I need you to hear me when I say this. We are not together. We will never be together again. You have a mate out there somewhere. You should go. Now."

I didn't wait for a response. I turned her shoulders, nudging her forward. Not gently. I stood there just long enough to make sure she walked away. Only then did I move again. Faster! Elizabeth was already gone. She was too fast. Faster than I expected. Faster than she should have been in her condition unless this was nothing new for her.

By the time I reached the gardens, I caught sight of her just as she leaped and shifted midair. White fur exploded across her body as she landed with impossible grace. Her small frame folded seamlessly into her wolf before launching forward into a fast-paced run! My breath caught. She was beautiful. But she was... too thin. Even her wolf was on the emaciated side.

Her ribs were faintly visible beneath the plush white fur. Her limbs were lean in a way that had nothing to do with agility and everything to do with lack. My chest tightened so sharply it almost hurt. Something dark and vicious surged up from deep within me. The reaction was violent and immediate.

"f**k!"

My hand fisted in my hair as I stared after her, watching her disappear down the path toward the shoreline. Every instinct in me screamed to follow. To chase. To catch. To... fix it. Fix her. The thought hit me like a blow and I went still. My jaw clenched as I forced myself to breathe through the surge of something dangerously close to possessiveness.

What the hell was that?

I stood there, rooted in place. Anger rolled through me in waves. At my father. At my mother. At Heather. At Elizabeth — for running. For not staying. For not... my thoughts cut off abruptly. That wasn't fair. None of this was fair. And the worst part? I didn't even understand the half of it.

I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling sharply as I tried to piece together the mess in my head. I meant what I told Heather. I needed to focus. Taking over as Alpha wasn't optional. It was inevitable. And if I wanted this pack to survive, I had to do it right. That meant control. That meant strategy. That meant choosing a mate carefully. A wrong choice could destabilize everything.

But... my thoughts snagged. What made someone the right choice? Status? Strength? Bloodline? My mind immediately rejected the last one. Because if that were true... Then what was wrong with Elizabeth? I frowned. Actually, I stopped and thought about it. And for the life of me... I couldn't come up with a single damned thing. Not one. Except her standing. Her title. Her place in this pack.

And the more I thought about that, the more it felt like complete bullshit. Everything I had learned about her in the span of a few minutes, everything I had just witnessed, didn't add up. It didn't sit right. It didn't make sense. Which was exactly why I found myself turning on my heel and stalking back toward the kitchens.

I walked fast and controlled — barely. I exhaled slowly as I stepped inside, relief flickering when I saw it was just Stuart at the oven. Alone. Good.

He looked up as I entered, his expression tightening almost immediately. Displeasure and wariness and something guarded coated his features. But he bowed his head. Respect. My wolf settled slightly at the gesture, though the tension coiled tight beneath the surface didn't ease.

I glanced around the room, ensuring we were alone before closing the distance between us. Up close, I caught the details. The bead of sweat forming at his temple. The slight tick in his jaw. The way his shoulders held just a fraction too rigid. He was nervous. Good. That I could work with.

"I need some clarity here," I said. My voice was even. "Why is she not allowed to eat in the dining hall with the rest of the pack?"

His response was immediate. "It's like she said. She has never been allowed that privilege."

Stuart's tone was harsher than I expected it to be, but his eyes... his eyes flicked toward the open doorway she had fled through, and something like heartache settled in his expression. He closed his eyes briefly before his body sagged a bit.

"I have cared for that girl since Gloria was murdered.as much as I am allowed to. I ensure she has something to eat. I try to make her workload here in my kitchens lighter. I... I cannot do much because I..."

"Because what?" I pressed. My patience was thinning, and my anger was growing. Fast.

He exhaled, his shoulders drooping slightly as if the weight of something long held pressed down on him.

"Because if I show my affection for the girl, I will be punished and if I am punished, then she will have no one. Let alone she will be punished too." Something in my chest twisted. Hard. He braced his hands on the counter and dipped his head. "I cared for Gloria. She was my best friend. I never understood why people were so horrible to Liz. Even when she first arrived. The hate toward an infant was confusing to me."

My stomach dropped. An infant. A baby. "And yet, you followed those orders?" I asked, quieter now. More dangerous. His jaw tightened.

"But we all have orders here."

"You're telling me you were ordered to hate her? Even as a baby? By who?"

"Not ordered to hate exactly," he said carefully. "It was more so implied that if we found ourselves on good terms with her, we would be punished tenfold. Gloria took the most lashings because of it. But she took one look at that baby girl when they found her on that beach, and she knew instantly... her path was to raise her and love her." He paused, breathing deeply before looking at me again. Really looking. "Why do you care?"

The question hit harder than it should have.

"She is a good girl. She doesn't look for trouble. She does more for this pack than anyone and has been punished more than anyone. Why do you think she is so skinny? Why do you think she is so skittish? Why do you think she is so withdrawn?"

I didn't answer. I didn't need to. Because I already knew. And the realization sat heavy like lead on my chest. This wasn't discipline. This wasn't structure. This wasn't hierarchy. This was abuse. The word echoed in my mind, sharp and undeniable. My wolf surged forward, anger spiking so fast it made my vision sharpen at the edges. Im sure they flashed with his presence with the way Stuart took a step back.

I turned away abruptly, dragging a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly through my nose. Control. I needed control and to calm down. I looked at the food laid out and gestured sharply.

"Plate."

Stuart hesitated for half a second. Just long enough to tell me he was questioning it, but he moved anyway. He loaded the plate. Roasted meat, vegetables, fresh bread. And then, almost hesitantly, a few cookies. I watched every movement. Watched the way he built it. Like it mattered. Like she mattered.

"I may not have paid attention when I was younger," I said slowly. My voice was quieter now, but filled with heaviness. "But I'm paying attention now." I met his eyes and held them. "I am not my father. I... I learned a lot during my time away. Elizabeth will not go hungry again. Not while I still have air in my lungs."

My words were final and a promise. Something shifted in Stuart's expression. It wasn't quite relief. Not quite trust but it was something close. He studied me — really studied me — searching for any sign of deception. There was none to find. Finally, he nodded and handed me the plate.

"She is a good girl," he said quietly. "She needs someone to look out for her and love her. I wont be around forever... and I had a feeling she will waste away, forgotten, without anyone to care." My grim tightened slightly on the plate. "I'm not ordering. I would never dare to... but I'm asking. As a loyal wolf to this pack... please don't let her slip through the cracks."

His voice faltered, just slightly. Silence stretched between us. It felt heavy like a weight of bricks sitting on my shoulders while I walked a tightrope.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, and if you do, I will gladly accept my punishment. But I don't have much up for change here." His gaze didn't waver. "Not after the way your father has run this pack. And the behavior I've seen your mother exude... Prove me wrong."

Something in my chest settled. It wasn't calm or peace. It was something harder and colder. More certain. My fingers tightened around the plate as I turned toward the door. A quiet and unspoken promise forming in the back of my mind. Not just to him. Not just to her. But to myself. I would. I would prove everyone wrong.