Carrying The Alpha Billionaire's Heir

Chapter 15 – Blood and Moonlight

Lucien’s POV

THE MOON hung fat and merciless above the Council grounds, its silver light painting the stone floor like a stage prepared for s*******r. The circle was set, ancient runes etched into the granite to contain the power of two Alphas. The Council sat on their thrones, silent and expectant, their judgment heavy in the air.

My wolf growled in my chest, restless, hungry for release. Kael Drevane stood across from me, shirt already stripped away, his body glistening in the lunar glow. He was every inch the predator he wanted to be—broad shoulders, thick arms, his stance radiating arrogance. His wolf prowled beneath his skin, just as mine did, but his smirk made clear: he thought tonight would end with my death.

“Lucien Thorne,” Kael called out, voice booming with the ritual cadence. “You stand challenged for your title. Fight and prove your worth—or fall, and surrender your bloodline to the stronger wolf.”

Every word was aimed at my unborn son. At Celina. At everything I had clawed from the dirt to build.

I clenched my fists. “You’ve wanted this for years, Kael. Tonight, you’ll regret reaching so high.”

The High Elder lifted his hand. “By blood and by moonlight—let the Alpha Challenge begin.”

The moment his palm dropped, Kael lunged.

He moved fast for his size, a brutal mass of muscle and fury. His fist cracked against my jaw, and stars exploded behind my eyes. The crowd roared—half the Council rose to their feet.

I staggered back but recovered, slamming my elbow into his ribs. The impact echoed through my arm like striking iron. Kael grunted but didn’t falter. He laughed, even, low and cruel.

“Slower than I remember, Thorne,” he taunted. “You’ve gone soft. Maybe the little human warmed your claws dull.”

Rage surged, hot and blinding. I drove forward, fists flying, blow after blow until one split his lip and another bloodied his cheek. He snarled, wolf flashing in his eyes, and slammed his forehead into mine.

Pain ricocheted through my skull. The scent of my own blood hit my nose.

Kael shoved me hard, and I hit the ground with a thud that rattled my bones. Gasps rippled through the crowd.

“Yield!” Kael barked, circling me like a vulture. “Save yourself the humiliation.”

My wolf howled inside, furious at the insult, clawing to be free. My muscles quivered, torn between restraint and instinct.

I rose slowly, wiping blood from my mouth, and met his gaze with a smile. “If you think I’ll bow to you, you’ve already lost.”

We collided again, fists giving way to claws as our wolves bled through our skin. His nails raked my chest, tearing flesh open in four vicious stripes. I snarled, seizing his arm, and twisted until bone cracked beneath my grip.

He howled—but instead of falling, he head-butted me again, and I tasted iron.

The crowd was screaming now, Council members leaning forward, watching every brutal exchange like vultures hungry for meat.

Kael’s wolf surged first. His body warped and expanded, fur exploding across his skin, bones shifting grotesquely until a massive gray wolf towered before me, eyes burning gold.

The circle trembled with his roar.

I staggered back. It had been years since I had shifted under the Council’s eye—years since I let the wolf rule me. Not since the bloodbath that had made me Alpha. I had sworn control, discipline, restraint.

But restraint was weakness here.

Kael lunged, his wolf’s jaws snapping. His teeth tore into my shoulder, ripping flesh and tendon. Agony lit my nerves like fire.

I hit the ground, blood soaking into the ancient stone. My vision blurred. For the first time in years, the edge of death loomed close, whispering how easy it would be to surrender.

Then—

“Lucien!”

Her voice. Celina’s scream cut through the chaos like a blade.

I lifted my head, and there she was beyond the Council’s guards—struggling against the arms holding her back, eyes wide with terror, hands cradling her belly as though shielding what was mine. Ours.

My wolf howled, surging like a tidal wave through my veins.

I let go.

The shift tore through me, bones breaking and reforming, skin ripping and healing in the same heartbeat. My claws burst forward, my body expanding, muscles snapping into new form until the obsidian black of my wolf stood where my body had been.

The ground quaked beneath my paws as I roared, the sound shaking the very stones.

Kael snarled, circling, but I lunged first.

Our bodies collided in a storm of teeth and claws. His jaws closed around my throat, but I twisted, raking my claws across his side, peeling fur and flesh in bloody ribbons. His yelp was drowned by my growl.

We slammed against the barrier runes, sparks of ancient magic flaring as our fury tested their strength. The Council shouted for restraint, but the moon demanded blood.

Kael bit down on my hind leg, bones crunching beneath his jaws. White-hot pain streaked up my spine. I collapsed for a heartbeat—just one. His teeth went for my neck, the killing blow.

No.

Not tonight.

Not while Celina carried my heir.

I snapped up, sinking my fangs into his shoulder, deep, deeper, until bone cracked in my jaws. His wolf shrieked and thrashed, trying to shake me free, but I held, ripping until half his shoulder tore loose in a spray of blood.

Kael stumbled back, weakened, his wolf staggering. He lunged in desperation, but I rose, towering over him, and with one last savage strike, I tore into his chest, claws sinking straight through fur and muscle.

His howl echoed, then faltered. His wolf collapsed to the stone floor, chest heaving, broken and beaten.

I stood over him, dripping blood—his and mine—my chest heaving with every breath. My leg trembled beneath me, barely holding. But I was still standing.

The Council rose as one.

“Enough,” the High Elder declared, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. “The challenge is decided. The Alpha stands.”

Relief surged—but then the Elder’s eyes flicked to Celina, to the swell of her belly, and his words carved deeper than any blade:

“Now the child is bound by blood. Any threat to him will be a declaration of war.”

The circle erupted in shouts, wolves pounding fists against the stone.

I swayed, blood pouring from my wounds. My wolf roared once more, a sound of triumph and warning, before the strength drained from my body.

The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me was Celina’s tear-streaked face, her hands reaching for me, and the promise of our son’s future written in fire across the Council chamber.