Luna’s Retribution: Claimed by the Rival Alpha

LYRA

I stared at the fire crackling in the hearth of the Red Crescent Pack’s meeting hall. The flames danced, their shadows flickering against the weathered stone walls, but they didn’t bring warmth—not to me. Around me, the room buzzed with murmurs, the tension in the air thick as an impending storm.

My half-brother Ronan stood at the head of the room, his towering form radiating authority he didn’t truly possess. His hazel eyes, so similar to our father’s, bore into the gathered crowd. Beside him, Sage, my half-sister, looked as regal and untouchable as ever, her lips curled into a faint, smug smile. It was the same expression she’d worn for years whenever she had the upper hand over me.

“This is what the pack needs,” Ronan declared, his voice echoing through the hall. “For the future of the Red Crescent Pack, for our survival, Lyra will marry Alpha Matias Dawnwood of the Silver Howl Pack.”

My heart dropped like a stone into the pit of my stomach. The murmurs erupted into whispers, but I barely heard them. My gaze darted to Ronan, searching for some sign that this was a cruel joke. Instead, his expression was set in stone—unfeeling, resolute.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Sage’s sharp voice cut through the din.

“You should be grateful, Lyra. Matias is an Alpha. This alliance will secure our pack’s future. Your future.”

Grateful? Grateful that they were selling me off like a bargaining chip? My wolf, Astra, stirred uneasily within me, her growl echoing in my mind. Fight back, she urged. But how could I? I was the daughter of a mistake, a reminder of my father’s infidelity—the Oakheart’s dirty secret.

“You can’t be serious,” I finally managed, my voice shaking. “Matias doesn’t even know me. And I don’t want this.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want,” Ronan snapped, his tone dripping with disdain. “This isn’t about you, Lyra. It’s about the pack.”

The pack. Always the pack. The same pack that had turned a blind eye to how Ronan and Sage treated me after our father’s death. The same pack that had let them treat me as an outsider, a burden.

I looked to Caspian, standing silently to Ronan’s left. His dark hair fell into his eyes, and his jaw was tight, but he said nothing. My heart clenched. I’d thought that maybe, just maybe, he would speak up for me. After all, he was more than my brother’s Beta. He was my secret, my love, the one person who’d ever made me feel like I belonged.

But Caspian’s silence was as loud as a betrayal.

“When?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“The ceremony will take place after the full moon,” Ronan said curtly. “Prepare yourself.”

My legs felt like lead as I stumbled out of the meeting hall. The cool night air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. The world around me blurred, my thoughts spiraling into chaos. How could they do this to me? How could he stay silent?

A rustle of movement behind me made me freeze. Astra’s ears perked in my mind, alert and ready.

“Lyra.”

I turned to see Caspian standing a few paces away, his expression shadowed.

“You didn’t say anything,” I said, my voice cracking. “You just stood there.”

“What could I say?” he asked, stepping closer. His voice was low, pained. “Ronan made his decision. I… I couldn’t risk it.”

“Risk what? Defending me?” I demanded, anger bubbling to the surface. “You’re supposed to love me, Caspian. Or was that just another lie?”

His hand reached out, but I stepped back.

“I do love you,” he said, his voice fierce. “But if Ronan finds out about us…” He shook his head. “You know what he’d do. To me. To you.”

I wanted to believe him, but his silence in the hall rang louder than his words now. My chest tightened, and I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

“We’ll leave,” Caspian said suddenly, his voice urgent. “After the full moon. Just a few more days. We’ll run, Lyra. Together.”

Hope flickered in my chest, fragile and fleeting.

“You mean it?” I asked, my voice trembling.

He nodded, stepping closer. “I swear it. Just hold on a little longer. I’ll make this right.”

The way he looked at me, the intensity in his dark eyes, made me want to believe him. To believe that maybe, just maybe, I could escape this nightmare. That we could find a way to be together despite the odds stacked against us.

But as I looked into his eyes, a chill crept down my spine.

Something felt wrong.

And I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of the storm.