Chapter 4 up
The Blood Moon still hung high in the sky when the silence shattered into chaos.
Whispers spread like fire racing across dry grass.
“Alpha Dravaryn…” “The God of War…” “He claimed the daughter of Alpha Ardhavarna…”
I was still standing in the arms of the man who was now officially my mate—Alpha Kael Dravaryn. The bite on my neck still burned, not merely a wound, but a mark. The bond was alive. Pulsing. Sending currents of energy through me unlike anything I had ever felt before.
My wolf… was no longer silent.
She moved steadily within me—large, powerful, and proud.
I breathed softly, trying to steady myself. The world around me felt different. Sharper. Clearer. I could hear the heartbeats of the pack members surrounding us. I could smell the scent of their emotions—shock, anger, fear.
Kael slowly released his arm, but he remained at my side. His position shifted slightly in front of me—protective. Dominant.
His gaze swept across the wide courtyard of the Ardhavarna Alpha family estate.
On the stone altar, Liam stood frozen. His hand still held Namira’s, but his face was pale. His jaw tightened, his eyes burning with anger and… something else.
Regret?
My father stepped forward, his Alpha aura exploding across the courtyard.
“Alpha Kael,” his voice boomed. “What is the meaning of this?”
Kael did not look intimidated in the slightest.
Instead, he stepped forward once, standing level with me. The Blood Moon’s light reflected crimson in his eyes.
“The meaning is simple,” he replied calmly. “I claimed my mate.”
Another wave of whispers rippled through the crowd.
My father clenched his fists.
“She was promised as part of an alliance,” he said coldly.
I flinched.
Part of an alliance.
Still.
Kael glanced at me briefly before returning his gaze to my father.
“An alliance means nothing without the will of the Moon Goddess,” he said firmly. “And her wolf accepted me.”
All eyes turned to me.
I could deny it.
I could say this was a mistake.
But my body would not lie.
The bond was strong. Real. As if two souls had always been meant to meet on this very night.
Liam stepped down from the altar.
“I don’t approve of this,” he said sharply.
Namira stood behind him, her face pale, yet her eyes burned with hatred as she stared at me.
Kael lifted one brow.
“You don’t need to approve,” he said lightly, though danger edged his tone. “This isn’t about you.”
The auras of the two Alphas collided in the air. The pressure of their power forced several pack members to step back.
I felt a protective instinct rise inside me.
Not for Liam.
For Kael.
The realization startled me.
Liam looked straight at me.
“Airin,” he said, his voice softer than before. “This doesn’t have to happen. If you don’t want this, I can stop it.”
I almost laughed.
Stop it?
Like he stopped his promise to me?
“I’m no longer the one you chose, Liam,” I replied quietly but clearly. “You already made your choice.”
His face tightened.
Namira stepped forward.
“She just accepted whoever was willing to take her,” she sneered. “Because no one here wanted her.”
Her words stung.
But not as deeply as before.
Because now, I wasn’t standing alone.
Kael moved so fast Namira didn’t even have time to react. In an instant, he was standing in front of her, his gaze freezing like ice.
“Repeat what you said,” he said softly, yet his voice carried a real threat.
Namira stepped back.
Liam immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her.
“Don’t touch my Luna,” Liam growled.
My Luna.
The words sounded strange now.
Kael smiled faintly.
“Luna?” he glanced at Namira once. “Claim her first before you dare call her that.”
Silence fell across the courtyard again.
The Blood Moon began slowly moving past its peak. Time was running out for the ceremony.
My father raised his hand.
“Enough,” he said sharply. “This is not a battlefield.”
Kael turned to him.
“No,” he agreed. “But if necessary, I wouldn’t mind turning it into one.”
The threat was unmistakable.
Several Ardhavarna warriors tensed, ready to move.
But before the situation could erupt into a fight—
Something happened.
A surge of energy flowed from inside me.
Heat stronger than before spread from the mark on my neck through every vein in my body.
I dropped to one knee, gasping.
“Airin!” Kael’s voice changed for the first time—laced with panic.
The pain wasn’t like the bite.
This was deeper.
Wilder.
My wolf rose fully.
I could see her in my mind—silver fur gleaming beneath the red moon, eyes the same as Kael’s: gold streaked with fire.
She stood tall. Powerful. Massive.
Not a weak wolf like Rosemary had claimed.
A long roar tore from my lips before I realized it.
It wasn’t a human sound.
It was a wolf’s howl.
Everyone froze.
The energy bursting from me spread like a shockwave. Some pack members were even pushed back.
Slowly, I stood.
The pain vanished, replaced by a strength I had never felt before.
I looked at my father.
“My wolf has awakened,” I said quietly.
Rosemary’s face drained of color.
Namira stared in disbelief.
Liam stood motionless, looking at me like I was a stranger.
Kael gazed at me with something I had never seen in his eyes before—
Pride.
“I told you,” he murmured, low enough only for me to hear. “You’re not weak.”
Tears filled my eyes again, but this time not from sadness.
From realization.
All this time, I had been waiting for acknowledgment.
From my father.
From Liam.
From the pack.
When the strength had always been inside me.
The Blood Moon finally began to fade.
Time was almost over.
Kael extended his hand once more.
“You can stay here,” he said softly. “Or you can come with me as Luna of Dravaryn. The choice is yours.”