Chapter 4: Return to the Alpha's Domain
1103 Words
The sun was just beginning to rise when we left the cabin.
I didn't want to go.
But I couldn't say no—not when Aiden looked up at Kael like he'd found a hero in him.
And not when Kael made it clear: he wasn’t giving up on either of us.
He didn’t force me. He didn’t chain us or command it like some brutal Alpha.
He just stood there, offering his hand.
Aiden grabbed it first.
And my heart broke in silence.
Now, the SUV roared down the forest roads, sleek and tinted like a beast in motion. I sat in the backseat beside Aiden, while Kael rode up front with one of his enforcers—no words spoken between us since we left.
My fingers fidgeted against my jeans. Every second brought me closer to the territory I’d vowed never to return to.
The Crescent Blood Pack
The forest gave way to civilization too fast.
High black gates parted without a sound, guarded by massive wolves and stone-faced sentinels with rifles slung over their shoulders. Beyond them stood the Crescent Blood Pack’s compound—part fortress, part palace—nestled deep in the mountains where no human dared tread.
It hadn’t changed.
The obsidian walls still shimmered faintly with ancient wards, the towering central manor still loomed like a dark crown, and that same pulse of raw power thrummed through the air. Every tree, every stone, every brick radiated Kael’s dominance.
Aiden pressed his face to the window. “Is this a castle?”
Kael turned slightly in the front seat. “It’s home.”
Not yet, I wanted to say. Maybe not ever.
The car rolled to a stop in the round courtyard. Several pack members were already waiting—warriors, servants, advisors. Their faces were tight with curiosity and calculation. And when I stepped out of the car with Aiden clutching my hand, all eyes locked on us like we were prey entering a den of predators.
Their gazes drifted to Kael.
He didn’t speak.
He didn’t have to.
His presence alone silenced the courtyard.
I squared my shoulders. I may have left in secrecy, but I would not return in shame. I was still a Luna by blood, still a mother, still someone they had no right to judge.
Kael walked to us slowly. “Come inside. You’ll stay in the Luna’s wing.”
My breath caught.
“I’m not your Luna.”
“Not yet.”
He turned and began walking without waiting for agreement.
I stared at his back, cursing him. Cursing my heart.
Aiden tugged my hand. “Can I see the inside?”
I nodded numbly and followed Kael into the building that once felt like a prison.
The Luna’s Wing
The halls smelled of cedar, stone, and ancient power. Portraits of past Alphas lined the corridors—Kael’s included. His painting stared down at me with cold eyes, a painful contrast to the man walking just a few feet ahead.
We were shown to a vast suite with polished floors, vaulted ceilings, and a balcony overlooking the forest. It was luxurious—more than Aiden or I had ever known.
Too much.
“This was your room,” Kael said, pausing at the threshold.
I didn’t answer.
Because I remembered it too well.
I remembered the nights tangled in silk sheets, the whispered promises, the heated kisses against the glass windows while stars watched. I remembered the morning I fled—pregnant, terrified, and still stupidly in love.
Kael stepped back. “Take time to rest. We’ll talk when you’re ready.”
Then he was gone.
I sank into the velvet couch, my heart pounding, the scent of him still lingering in the air.
Aiden explored every corner of the suite, his excitement bubbling over. “There’s a bathroom as big as our cabin! And a room with a giant bed! And a secret door!”
I smiled weakly. “Just don’t go too far.”
“I won’t,” he said, then came to sit beside me. “Is he gonna be mad if I don’t call him Dad right away?”
My heart cracked.
“No, baby,” I said gently, brushing hair from his forehead. “He’ll wait. Just like he waited to find us.”
“But he looks sad.”
I blinked. “He does?”
Aiden nodded. “In his eyes. He’s big and strong like a hero in a story, but... he looks like he got broken.”
Out of the mouths of babes.
I pulled him close. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
Later That Night
I couldn’t sleep.
The moonlight poured across the sheets, and Kael’s scent clung to the linens no matter how many times I told myself it meant nothing.
I rose quietly and padded to the balcony. The forest was alive with sound—wolves howling in the distance, the night wind whispering secrets between trees.
And then I felt him.
I turned before I even heard the door open.
Kael stood in the shadowed hallway just outside the suite, his shirt unbuttoned at the throat, his eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
“I couldn’t sleep either,” he said.
I should have told him to leave. That this wasn’t his place anymore.
But instead, I whispered, “He said you look sad.”
Kael’s brow furrowed. “He did?”
“He sees things. Feels them. I think he got that from you.”
Kael stepped closer. “He’s amazing.”
“He is,” I said. “And you missed all of it.”
“I know.” He swallowed. “I can’t change the past, Amara. But I can fight for the future.”
“And if I don’t want to come back to this life?”
His voice lowered. “Then I’ll make you want to.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“You can’t charm your way back in, Kael.”
“I’m not trying to charm you,” he said, stepping even closer. “I’m trying to remind you of who we were. Of who we could still be.”
We stood there, heartbeats thundering, the bond between us flickering like lightning on the edge of a storm.
“You still smell like mine,” he whispered. “Do you feel it? Or am I the only one losing my mind?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I did feel it.
Every godforsaken pull.
But I couldn’t fall again. Not yet.
Not until I knew he wouldn’t destroy us all over again.
- Writer
