The Alpha’s Ultimate Command: Rise of the Invisible Luna

Chapter 1- The Mark of the Pack The scent of wet earth and pine needles had always announced the arrival of a storm, but tonight the air in the woods seemed thicker somehow. Clutching the worn woolen shawl more closely around her shoulders, Elena kept her eyes glued to the muddy path in front of her. She hauled a heavy wooden basket overflowing with newly scrubbed linens from the pack house; an hour and a half ago was the proper time to finish this task, had it not been for the senior pack members “generously” assigning her extra work. In the Bloodmoon Pack, a wolf's ability was all that counted. Nineteen year-old Elena was not able to shift and in the eyes of her pack members, she was seen as anything from pity, to disdain; an outcast, a defect, an anomaly, a human, in an apex predator's nest. "Look at her still dragging laundry baskets like a peasant," sneered Chloe from the front porch of the pack house, with a gaggle of girls just as rude as she was gathered around her. "Hey Elena! You be sure to get those sheets clean before our Alpha shows up tonight; we don't want his precious ceremony contaminated by your amateur standards." Ignoring them, Elena pressed her lips together and hurried past, their usual barbs, even tonight, prickling her skin, but also something else, in the air. The atmosphere was buzzing with the tension and the electricity of his return; his coming home after three years. Alpha Kaelen was not just a name, but an legend; an infamous legend for some. He was the brutal warrior who slaughtered packs and had expanded the Bloodmoon Pack's territory across most of the northern lands for the past three years. Whispers said the wolf who had come back was the largest Alpha the pack had ever known; a wolf who was without mercy. And tonight, he would officially return to take his place as Supreme Leader of the pack, as well as find his intended Luna at the Mate Ceremony. Elena picked up her pace, intent on making a quiet retreat through the back door before the pack's fanfare announced his arrival, but as she reached the bottom step of the kitchen, a piercing howl split the night. The howl pierced Elena’s skin, vibrated her very bone. Every pack member stopped dead in their tracks; the woods went completely silent. Even Chloe and her clique's snickers vanished as their faces turned chalk-white, awe mixed with absolute fear. Then from the shadows of the forest, a massive, dark beast, covered in pitch-black fur, with piercing amber eyes emerged. The air in the courtyard grew heavy, crushing lungs with pure power, forcing every pack member onto their knees. Elena's heart hammered a desperate rhythm in her chest; her eyes locked on the creature, as if commanded. Her limbs refused to cooperate, even though she knew she should avert her eyes or bow in respect. The beast stalked back and forth, and with a flash of black fur and the sickening crack of bone, the animal dissolved. Kaelen. The figure of a dark-haired man with a stern, angular face and dark, storm-tossed hair stood in place of the wolf, Broad shoulders stretched under a thin, muscular chest, marred with scars. He tossed a black leather jacket over his bare torso, and the amber eyes swept over the kneeling crowd, bored. His gaze drifted from the pack elders, the Beta, and settled squarely on the steps of the back door. The second Elena’s eyes locked with his, an explosion of heat blast Elena’s chest. It was a sudden force that knocks the wind right from Elena’s lungs. Elena’s senses lit up with the scents of rain, mint and woody rich cedar. Elena’s legs wanted to fall from under her feet. Kaelen stop, sniffed the air. Elena eyes narrowed into dark predatory slits and the easy expression had evaporated completely from his face. There was a wave of terrifying possession instead of the languid demeanor that filledElena with a chill creeping upElena’s skin. Kaelen came towards Elena. He walked slow, each measured step never leaving Elena’s eyes. “Alpha Kaelen,” the Beta stated while immediately stepping in the way of Kaelen, head bowed. “Welcome home. The elders want you in for preparation” Kaelen grumbled low, his jaw tight, Elena was sure the Beta could see the glare of anger inKaelen’s eye. “Prepare the ceremony now,” he growled in a voice so low it was like a roll of thunder. Kaelen strode past the gawking crowd, into the doorway of the pack house, leaving a suffocating aura in his wake. “Oh my Goddesses, what was that?” Elena finally exclaimed, leaning her elbows on the railing. “Why was Kaelen looking at me?” “Why am I having all of these heats in my body after a brief look?” “Hey,” a voice shouted from inside the pack house. “What are you doing standing there? “Get inside!” screeched the pack’s cook. “We have a thousand people to feed before the bonfire is even lit!” Elena cleared her throat, hurried inside and tried to shed the ghost of the mint and cedar smells. I was an anomaly, impossible to think that Kaelen would notice Elena,let alone thatKaelen would want something Elena would do anything to provide him. For the remainder of the evening, Elena lost herself to the constant, rhythmic work of chopping, slicing and polishing until her hands ache, avoiding the eye of anyone who might be a reminder of her standing in life. The moon crept higher into the sky, long distorted shadows of the trees dancing along the edge of the woods surrounding the bonifre where it licked at the edge of the night. The Mate Ceremony was about to begin. Drums thundered their slow enticing rhythm as the young, unbonded females of the pack lined up around the roaring fire wearing their best dresses. Chloe stood at the forefront, strutting and preening, convinced that she would be selected by the Alpha. Elena was at the very end, hiding in the gloom of the trees along the perimeter, watching from the edges of the crowd that had gathered for the celebration. Kaelen strode from the massive doors of the pack house, dark shirt clinging tight to his torse and muscles,Firelight danced across his rugged face as he looked like some kind of dark forest god, the powerful werewolf scent heavy and intoxicating. He approached with a deliberate gait to the center of the ring of females. His amber eyes scanned the eagerness in their faces. The air hung silent and still, save for the cracking and popping of the fire. Elena flinched back instinctually as she yearned to disappear into the surrounding dark. As her heel struck the soft earth, Kaelen’s head jerked back towards her. A deep, guttural growl, unlike that of any human, ripped from his chest. Kaelen’s wolf was awake. And it was staring right at her.