The Injured Luna

Prologue: The Howl in the Dark The moon was high and cold above the misty pines, casting silver over bloodstained snow. Somewhere, far from the cries of the packhouse, a baby’s whimper pierced the night. A cloaked figure knelt in the forest, cradling the bundle tightly. “Forgive me, little one,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the infant’s brow. “Your destiny is bigger than this pain.” The baby, born of royal blood, was left under the protection of the Moon Goddess’s spell. Her name would be erased, her past buried—but the truth would one day rise. A princess lost, a Luna denied, an omega raised in shadows. That night, the Blue Crescent Kingdom fell. But a spark survived. And someday, it would set the world aflame. Chapter 1: The Omega’s Place Eighteen years later… Anna crouched by the kitchen hearth, scrubbing soot off the stone floor while the sounds of laughter and clinking glass echoed from the dining hall. She winced as a sharp pain shot up her arm—bruises from Beta Clara’s latest tantrum. The omegas always bore the worst of it. But Anna… Anna had always been treated as something worse than nothing. Unclaimed. Unloved. Beaten for breathing too loud. Mocked for her scent that never quite matched the pack. She didn't know why. She only knew pain. “Anna!” Clara’s voice snapped. “You missed a spot. And Alpha Marcus wants fresh wine. Now.” “Yes, Beta,” Anna mumbled, rising too quickly and bumping her head. Her long, tangled hair fell into her face. She kept her eyes down as she passed through the party. The hall fell quiet for a moment. Warriors and she-wolves turned to sneer at her. A nobody omega. Dirty. Weak. But one pair of eyes lingered longer. Up on the dais, a stranger sat beside the visiting alphas. Tall. Muscled. Black hair like raven feathers. Eyes that burned like molten silver. He didn’t sneer. He stared. Anna felt her breath catch. Her wolf stirred inside her for the first time in years. Mine. No. That couldn’t be. Omegas didn’t have mates. Not Alphas. Not someone like him. Yet as the stranger stood, the ground seemed to tremble. The moon pulsed above them. And Anna’s life was about to change forever. Chapter 2: The Alpha's Claim Anna rushed back to the kitchens, her pulse pounding. The stranger’s eyes had seen her. Not as a servant, not as a nobody—but truly seen. She pressed a hand to her chest where her wolf stirred again, unsure and wild. “Why did he look at me like that?” she whispered. Before she could gather her thoughts, the door to the kitchen slammed open. Clara stormed in, her heels clicking like thunder. “You embarrassed the pack,” she hissed. “Get back in there and apologize.” Anna opened her mouth to protest, but the slap came first. Her lip split. Blood filled her mouth. “Now,” Clara ordered. Anna stumbled back into the dining hall. But everything was different. The music had stopped. The stranger—that Alpha—was standing now, speaking to Alpha Marcus in a voice so low it made the walls vibrate. “She’s mine.” The words echoed across the room like lightning. Alpha Marcus stiffened. “You mean the servant girl? She’s nothing.” The stranger growled. A real, guttural, dominant sound that made even warriors back away. “Her scent. Her eyes. She’s mine. I am Alpha Richard of the Blue Moon Pack. And I claim her.” Gasps filled the room. Richard moved before anyone could stop him. He crossed the hall in seconds and stood before Anna, towering, his gaze soft now. Protective. “I’m taking you with me,” he said. Anna blinked up at him, confused, bleeding, and trembling. “Why?” “Because you are mine,” he said again. “And I protect what is mine.” Chapter 3: Taken by the Alpha Anna hadn’t spoken a word as she sat in the back of the sleek black SUV that whisked her away from the only home she’d ever known. Not that the packhouse had ever felt like home—it had been a cage. Now, she was in another kind of cage. One made of silence, leather seats, and the presence of a powerful stranger beside her. Richard hadn’t looked at her since they’d left. His jaw was tight, his scent stormy. She kept her arms wrapped around herself, unsure if she was being rescued or kidnapped. Finally, she whispered, “You made a mistake. I’m no one.” He looked at her then, fully, with those wild silver eyes. “Don’t ever say that again.” “I’m an omega.” He smiled—a sad, knowing curve of his lips. “You think that’s a weakness?” She didn’t answer. Richard leaned forward. “You’re more powerful than you’ve been allowed to be. And you’re not just an omega, Anna. I knew the moment I smelled you. You carry royal blood.” Anna’s eyes widened. “That’s not possible.” He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It is. And I will prove it.” They arrived at his territory just before dawn. Blue Moon Pack lands were nothing like her own. There were flowers blooming at the borders. Wolves ran freely across—