Luna Betrayed by Her Alpha

The hospital wing doors slammed open three hours later.

I didn't look up. I knew that footfall, heavy and confident, the stride of someone who owned everything he touched. The scent hit me next—wine, expensive cologne, and underneath it all, jasmine. Halle's jasmine.

Adriel burst into the room, his face a mask of concern that would've fooled me yesterday. Maybe even this morning.

"Alondra!" His voice cracked with what sounded like panic. "Moon Goddess, I came as soon as I heard—"

He moved toward me, arms outstretched.

I flinched.

The movement was instinctive, violent. My chair scraped backward, and I pressed myself against Ava's bedside, putting her body between us. My wolf snarled, a sound that never made it past my throat but rattled through my bones.

Adriel froze. Hurt flashed across his face. "Alondra, what—"

"Don't." The word came out raw. "Don't touch me."

His expression shifted, confusion replacing concern. "I don't understand. There was an accident, a maintenance issue with the solarium—"

"An accident." I tasted blood. I'd bitten my lip without realizing it. "Is that what she told you?"

"Halle explained everything." He stepped closer, and the jasmine scent grew stronger. It was in his hair. On his skin. "She tried to get you out, but the doors were jammed. She had to run for help—"

"She locked us in." My voice shook. "She activated the vents. She wore the Moonstone Pendant while she watched us burn."

Adriel's face went blank. "That's... you're confused. The silver poisoning—"

"I mind-linked you." The words came faster now, harder. "I screamed for help. Your mother was dying, and you blocked me."

Something flickered in his eyes. Guilt, maybe. Or calculation.

"I was in a training session," he said. "Alpha business. I couldn't be disturbed—"

"You were with her." I stood, my legs trembling but holding. "I felt it through the bond. I felt everything."

His jaw tightened. The false concern melted away, replaced by something colder. "You're hysterical. The trauma has made you—"

"Your mother almost died because you were too busy screwing your mistress to answer your Luna's call for help."

The words hung in the air between us. True and terrible.

Adriel's face darkened. His Alpha aura rose, pressing against my skin like a physical weight. When he spoke, his voice carried that special resonance, the one that made wolves submit whether they wanted to or not.

"Silence, Luna!" The Alpha Tone crashed over me like a wave. "You are hysterical!"

My wolf yelped and cowered. My knees buckled. The mate bond, that golden thread I'd been trying to ignore, flared to life and yanked me down. I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. My body locked in place, frozen by the combined weight of his rank and our bond.

I knelt there, trembling, hating him. Hating myself more for being unable to resist.

Then I heard it.

A growl.

Low. Deep. Bone-vibrating.

It didn't come from me. It came from the bed behind me.

Ava's eyes snapped open.

Not the warm brown I knew. Silver. Brilliant, metallic silver that seemed to glow in the dim hospital light. Her frail body tensed, and despite the oxygen mask, despite the IV lines and monitors, she sat up.

The growl grew louder.

Adriel stumbled backward. "Mother—"

"Kneel." Ava's voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It carried a weight that made the Alpha Tone sound like a child's tantrum. Ancient. Absolute. Undeniable.

Adriel's legs gave out. He crashed to his knees, his face going white with shock.

The pressure on me vanished. I gasped, sucking in air, my wolf surging back to consciousness.

Ava swung her legs over the side of the bed. Elena rushed forward, but Ava waved her off. Those silver eyes never left Adriel's face.

"You used your Alpha Tone on your mate," Ava said quietly. "On the woman your mistress tried to murder. On the Luna who begged you for help while I was dying."

"I didn't know—" Adriel's voice cracked. "I didn't know you were—"

"Lycan." The word fell like a stone. "Yes. I hid it to protect you. To give you a chance to be worthy of the title you inherited."

She stood, and despite her hospital gown, despite the silver burns still healing on her skin, she looked like a queen.

"You have failed."

Ava turned to Elena. "Summon the Council of Elders. Immediately."

Elena's eyes widened, but she nodded and moved toward the door.

"You can't—" Adriel tried to stand, but Ava's silver gaze pinned him in place. "I'm the Alpha. I forbid—"

"You forbid nothing." Ava's voice cut through his protest. "Lock down this wing. No one enters or leaves without my permission."

The Lycan warriors from the rescue stepped into the doorway. Six massive figures, their eyes glowing amber in the fluorescent light.

Adriel looked at them, then at his mother, then at me.

For the first time since I'd known him, I saw fear in his eyes.

Good.