THE ALPHA WHO REJECTED HIS LUNA

CHAPTER 3: THE THING IN THE DARK

The syringe did not touch Luna's skin.

Luna's body moved fast. Before she even knew what was happening. The same feeling that had gotten her into trouble in the ballroom now saved her life. Her hand snapped up. Grabbed the Draven man's wrist. She was strong. Stronger than she should be for someone her size. His bones hurt under her fingers. He made a hissing sound. The syringe fell to the ground, rolling into the dark.

"That's new," he said, breathing hard, staring at his wrist as it had surprised him.

"Get out of my territory, " Luna said. Her voice sounded wrong. It was deeper. There was another sound underneath it. It was like something was trying to get out of her throat.

Kade hit the Draven man hard. With all his Alpha strength. And the man fell against the railing. He did not fight back. He did not even look surprised.

"I got what I came for, " the man said, having trouble breathing, grinning up at Luna and Kade with blood on his teeth. "I wanted to see if Luna would change in front of you. I guess I have my answer."

"Change into what?" Kade's hands were clenched in the man's collar, his whole body shaking with anger. "What did Draven do to Luna?"

"Ask Luna, " the man said, looking at her with a gleam in his eyes. "Ask her what happens on the moon now. Ask her if she still remembers what she is."

Kade's grip on the man's collar loosened for just long enough. The man twisted free, jumped over the railing, and dropped two stories into the gardens below without stumbling. By the time Kade got to the edge, there was nothing, just some disturbed grass and a fading scent that did not smell like anything.

"Luna," Kade said, turning back to her. His face was pale. Paler than Luna had ever seen it before. "What did he mean?"

Luna was staring at her hand. Still curled from where she had hurt the Draven man's wrist. Her heartbeat sounded strange. Too slow, too fast, then something in between that did not make sense.

"Luna," Kade said, walking towards her slowly, his hands out as if she might run away. "Talk to me."

Luna did not know what to say. "I do not know what I am anymore," she said. Her voice was smaller than she wanted it to be. "I know what I used to be. A wolf. Simple. I used to be yours for a while before you took that back too."

Kade started to say something. Luna kept talking. "They took me three months after you rejected me," she said. "I was weak. Half-feral from the bond break. Easy to grab. They kept me in a facility for eleven months. I do not remember most of it. I remember waking up. I remember the full moon after. I do not have a memory of what happened during it. Just blood on my hands the morning that was not mine."

Kade made a sound. Something between a growl and a groan.

"Eleven months," he said, his voice empty. "I looked for you, Luna. I tore apart three territories looking for you. I need you to know that. I never stopped."

Luna laughed. "You rejected me. Then you looked for me?" she said. "That is very you, Kade. You do things halfway. Call it devotion."

Kade stopped himself. Closing his eyes. "It does not matter now," he said. "It clearly did not work. They got you anyway."

Luna said, "No, it worked the way they wanted it to. You rejected me publicly, so no pack in the territory thought to protect what already looked abandoned. You made me an easy target, Kade. You just did not know you were doing it."

The silence that followed was worse than anything they had said.

"There is something. The full moon is in four days." She said

"I know." He said

"You do not understand. Whatever they put inside me. It is not on the moon's schedule anymore. It is on its own. It is getting stronger every time something provokes it." She said.

As if her words were a summons, pain shot through her, sharp and electric. It dropped her to one knee on the ground. Kade caught her before she hit the ground, and the second his hands touched her skin, she felt it again. The bond, screaming.

"Luna, stay with me, " Kade said.

"Something is happening. Kade, it is not the moon. It is not supposed to be happening." She said

Her spine arched. Her nails got longer against Kade's arm, drawing blood. He did not even seem to notice. Somewhere, behind them, through the doors, Priya's voice rang out. Announcing to the guests that she had wonderful news to share with her fiancé.

Right as Luna Reyes began to change into something that had never existed in Ridgeback territory before.