Betrayed By My Mate, Crowned By An Alpha.

The Alpha's mark

(Aria)

Three hours had passed since I walked out of Daniel's room, and I still couldn't feel anything except the cold emptiness where our bond used to be. I walked through the pack house, out the back door, and deep into the forest without me really thinking about where I was going. Now I sat on the smooth rocks beside the sacred moon pool, staring at my reflection in the still water.

The moon was full tonight, casting silver light through the pine trees. Pack legend said this pool was where the first Luna had received her gifts from the Moon Goddess. I used to think that was just a story. Now I wondered if any of the old stories were true, or if they were all just lies like everything else in my life.

Ember paced restlessly in my mind. She wanted to hunt, to fight, to run until her paws bled and her lungs burned. But I kept her contained, the way I'd learned to contain everything else about myself that was too wild, too strong, too much for people to handle.

"You're handling this better than most would."

I didn't jump at the deep voice behind me. I'd caught his scent on the wind five minutes ago. Pine and leather and something that made Ember sit up and take notice in a way that had nothing to do with submission.

"Alpha," I said without turning around. "Shouldn't you be inside dealing with the fallout from your son's little announcement?"

Kael Stone moved around the pool until he was facing me, his massive frame blocking out some of the moonlight. Even in human form, he commanded attention. Gray streaked through his dark hair, and scars crossed his arms and chest like a roadmap of battles won. His eyes were the color of storm clouds, which reminded of my Daniel's and right now they were studying me with interest.

"The pack can gossip without my supervision," he said. "I was more concerned about you."

"Why?" I asked. "I'm not your problem anymore. Daniel made sure of that."

"You've been part of this pack since you were fifteen. That makes you my responsibility whether you're mated to my son or not."

I finally looked up at him. "I don't need your pity."

"Good. Because I'm not offering any." He sat down on the rocks across from me, close enough that I could see the silver in his eyes. "What I'm offering is a chance to work off some of that anger before it eats you alive."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You're sitting here holding yourself together with pure willpower, but Ember is about to claw her way out of your skin. I can smell it on you."

He was right. Ember was getting harder to control by the minute, and the broken mate bond wasn't helping. Without that connection to anchor me, Ember felt wild and dangerous in a way she hadn't since I was a teenager.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked.

"Shift. Fight me. Let her out before she breaks something."

I stared at him. "You want to fight me? Right now?"

"Not me. Thunder wants to fight Ember. There's a difference." He stood up and started pulling off his shirt. "Unless you're too afraid."

That did it. Ember snarled in my mind, and I was on my feet before I could think twice about it. "I'm not afraid of anything."

"Prove it."

The challenge in his voice was unmistakable. Alpha or not, he was goading me, and it was working. I stepped back and let the shift take me. My bones stretched and reformed, my muscles expanded, and thick russet fur sprouted across my skin. In seconds, Ember stood where I had been, her golden eyes locked on the massive black wolf across from her.

Thunder was enormous, easily twice Ember's size, with silver markings across his chest that caught the moonlight. His presence pressed down on her like a physical weight, demanding submission. But Ember had never been good at submitting to anyone.

She launched herself at him without warning.

Thunder was ready for her. He caught her in midair and threw her aside like she weighed nothing. Ember rolled and came up running, circling him with quick, darting movements. She was faster than him, more agile, and she used every advantage she had.

The fight was brutal and beautiful at the same time. Thunder's raw power against Ember's speed and cunning. Every time he got close enough to pin her, she slipped away. Every time she thought she had an opening, his experience showed her otherwise.

They fought for twenty minutes before Thunder finally got her. He pinned her to the ground with one massive paw, his teeth at her throat. Ember could have submitted then. Should have submitted. Instead, she twisted and bit down on his leg hard enough to draw blood.

Thunder jerked back in surprise, and Ember rolled away. They stared at each other for a long moment, both panting. Then Thunder did something unexpected. He lowered his head in what looked almost like respect.

We shifted back to human form at the same time. I was naked, breathing hard, with dirt and leaves in my hair. Kael had scratches on his arms and a bite mark on his thigh that was already healing. We looked at each other across the small space between us, and something changed in the air.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted. "Thank you."

"Ember's stronger than I expected. Faster too."

"She's had to be."

We were standing too close now. I could see every scar on his chest, could smell his skin warm from the fight. My body was still tingling with leftover energy from the battle, and the way he was looking at me made that energy shift into something else entirely.

"I should go," I said, but I didn't move.

"Should you?"

His hand came up to touch my cheek, and I leaned into it without thinking. When was the last time someone had touched me like that? Like I was something precious instead of something to be managed?

"Kael..."

"I know," he said quietly. "I know this is complicated. I know you just got your heart broken. I know I'm too old for you, and I'm my son's father, and a dozen other reasons this is a terrible idea."

"Then why aren't you walking away?"

"Because I've been watching you for eight years. Ever since you turned eighteen. Wondering what it would be like if you were mine instead of his."

The confession hit me like a physical blow. "What?"

"You think I didn't notice? The way you light up when you fight, the way you handle challenges that would break other wolves, the strength you hide because you think it makes other people uncomfortable?" His thumb traced my cheekbone. "Daniel never deserved you."

"Don't," I whispered. "Don't say things like that."

"Why not? Because they're true?"

Before I could answer, his mouth was on mine. The kiss was desperate and hungry, Eight years of buried want exploding between us. I kissed him back just as fiercely, my hands fisting in his hair, pulling him closer.

We went down together onto the soft moss beside the pool. His hands were everywhere, mapping my body like he'd been thinking about it for a long time. Maybe he had. Maybe that's why Daniel had always seemed so insecure around his father, so desperate to prove himself.

"Are you sure?" Kael asked against my neck.

"Yes," I breathed. "Yes."

He was gentle at first, careful, but I didn't want careful. I wanted to forget everything that had happened tonight, wanted to lose myself in someone who saw me as strong instead of broken. I pulled him down and kissed him again, harder this time.

When he finally moved inside me, it felt like coming home. Like every broken piece of me was finally fitting back together. We moved together under the moonlight, and for the first time in hours, I felt whole again.

At the peak of our joining, something shifted. Thunder rose up in Kael's eyes, taking control, and before either of us could stop it, his teeth sank into my neck.

The marking bite sent electricity through my entire body. I could feel Thunder's presence in my mind, could feel the alpha bond snapping into place like a chain around my soul. Kael jerked back, his eyes wide with shock and something that might have been horror.

"What did we just do?" he whispered.

I touched the mark on my neck, feeling the blood and the already healing skin. "You marked me."

"I didn't mean to. Thunder, he..."

"I know." I sat up, suddenly very aware of what this meant. "I'm your Luna now."

We stared at each other in the moonlight, both understanding that everything had just changed. Again.