There was no moon that night.
The sky was pitch black.
The cold wind bit deep into the bones.
Luna woke to the sound of howling, not ordinary howling.
War howling.
Luna’s heart hammered at once.
“Attack!” someone shouted from outside.
“The Whitefang pack!” Luna sat bolt upright.
Her still, flat stomach tightened with fear.
This was the first time the pack had been raided since she came here.
Her door was slammed open.
It was Kael.
His tunic hung half-open, a sword in his hand.
His eyes were glowing red, not with anger, but in his full Alpha state.
“Stay here,” Kael commanded.
“Lock the door.
Do not come out, no matter what happens.” “My Lord,” Luna called softly.
“Please be careful.” Kael did not answer.
He stepped out and slammed the door shut behind him.
Luna could hear everything outside, shouts, the clash of steel, the snarls of wolves.
She sank to the floor, curling her arms around her stomach.
Keep our child safe, she whispered.
But ten minutes later, the door was wrenched open again.
It was not Kael.
Two Whitefang warriors stood there.
They smelled of something alien, blood and frost.
“The omega,” one sneered.
“Our Alpha wants a prize.” Luna scrambled back.
“Stay back!” “Or what?” The man lunged.
Luna screamed.
She grabbed a vase from the side and smashed it against his head.
Shards of glass sliced her hand open.
The second warrior laughed.
“Feisty little thing, aren’t you?” He seized her by the hair and dragged her outside.
Chaos reigned in the yard.
Fires blazed everywhere.
Bodies lay scattered.
Blackmoon pack members fought back with all they had.
And in the center of it all was Kael.
He was locked in battle with the Whitefang Alpha.
Two Alphas.
Two monsters.
Kael was wounded, slashes across his chest and arm.
But he stood his ground, unyielding.
“LET HER GO!” Kael roared when he saw Luna being dragged away.
“Stay out of this,” the warrior holding her snapped.
He pressed a knife to Luna’s throat.
“One more step and this omega dies.” Luna could feel the cold steel against her skin.
My Lord…run…she whispered.
Kael did not run.
He laughed, a low, furious sound.
“Touch her, and I will make you regret ever being born.” The battle erupted anew.
In the chaos, the knife slipped from Luna’s neck.
The warrior’s attention wavered as he watched Kael crush the Whitefang Alpha’s throat with his bare hand.
Luna did not think.
She bit down hard on the man’s hand until blood flowed, then kicked him hard between the legs.
He howled and crumpled to the ground.
Luna turned and ran.
“LUNA!” Kael bellowed.
But it was too late.
An arrow flew from the rooftop, aimed straight at Kael’s chest.
Luna did not stop to think.
Her body moved on its own.
She threw herself forward and shoved Kael aside.
Thwack.
The arrow buried itself in Luna’s shoulder, not Kael’s chest.
Pain.
It burned like fire.
Luna sank to her knees, blood pouring freely from the wound.
“Time…stop,” she breathed.
The world fell silent.
Kael caught her before she could collapse.
“LUNA!” he screamed.
It was the first time he’d ever spoken her name with such raw, unmasked panic.
“Our baby.” Luna’s trembling hand pressed to her stomach.
“Save him…please…,” “Be quiet,” Kael choked out, his voice breaking.
“You are not allowed to die.
I will not let you.” He lifted her up in his arms and ran straight through the battlefield.
No one dared to stand in his way.
In the healing chamber, Elder Alden paled at once.
“The arrow is poisoned,” the Elder said.
“Whitefang venom.
If we do not pull it out now, she will be dead within an hour.” “Then pull it out,” Kael snapped.
“Now.” “But Alpha without an antidote, the pain will be unbearable…,” “DO IT!” Kael roared.
The Elder pulled the arrow free.
Luna screamed, a cry so sharp it seemed to shake the very walls.
Kael clamped his hand over hers, holding fast.
“I am here.
Look at me.
Do not close your eyes.” Luna sobbed.
“It hurts…My Lord.” “Hold on.
For our child.
Please…just hold on.” Three hours.
For three hours, Kael never let go of her hand.
When dawn broke, Luna burned with fever, the poison spreading through her veins.
The Elder shook his head gravely.
“We need Alpha blood.
Pure blood to neutralize the toxin.
But it will leave you weakened for weeks.” Kael did not hesitate.
He bit down hard on his own wrist and pressed the bleeding wound to Luna’s lips.
“Drink,” he ordered.
Luna drank.
It tasted of iron.
It tasted of him.
Slowly, the fever broke.
Her breathing grew steady once more.
When Luna opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Kael’s face.
He was deathly pale, exhausted, dark circles heavy beneath his eyes.
“You fool,” he rasped.
“Why did you take that arrow for me?” Luna gave him a faint, weak smile.
“Because you are the father of my child.” Kael stared at her for a long moment.
Then he bowed his head, resting his forehead against hers.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Thank you for saving my life.” Luna stared in surprise, he had never said such a thing to her before.
“You are not angry?” she asked softly.
“I should be,” Kael admitted.
“But I was far more terrified of losing you.” His words wrapped around her heart like warm sunlight.
Luna lay bedridden for two weeks, her shoulder bandaged tight, forbidden from moving a muscle.
All that time, Kael never strayed far.
He held his meetings in her room.
He ate his meals beside her.
He slept in a chair pulled close to her bed, his hand never leaving hers.
The Whitefang pack had been crushed completely.
Their Alpha had died by Kael’s hand.
Riven never returned after being exiled, word was he had gone far away.
One evening, when Luna was well enough to sit up, Kael stepped into the room carrying something in his hands.
It was her old shawl, the deep blue one she’d had since she was a child, the one that had been torn to rags.
“I mended it,” Kael said carefully, draping it gently over her shoulders.
“Don’t catch cold again.” Luna looked up at him, eyes soft.
“You’ve changed, My Lord.” Kael huffed, though there was no bite to it.
“Don’t get used to it.” But his hand came up to brush her hair back, gentle and full of a quiet, fierce love.
“From now on,” Kael said firmly, “you and the child will live in my chambers.
By my side.
No one will ever separate us again.” “But the pack laws…,” I am the law, Kael cut in.
“And I say you are mine.” Luna wept, not from pain this time, but from relief so deep it felt like it would break her heart.
Thirteen days remained until the deadline.
But no one was counting anymore.
Their bond had been forged not by ritual, not by force.
It was forged because Luna had chosen to protect Kael, and Kael had chosen to protect her.
That night, for the first time, Kael kissed her forehead before he lay down to sleep.
It was not a kiss of hate.
Not a kiss of lust.
It was a kiss of promise.
For all his terrifying, cruel reputation, Kael had a heart that could be soft.
He had truly changed, for Luna.
Or perhaps, not just for her, but for the child growing safe within her.
Luna’s heart swelled with joy at the sight of who he had become.
She prayed that nothing would ever come between them again, that they could finally live in peace.
But she would never know when hardship would find them once more, for life always had more trials in store.
Even so, Luna was grateful for the arrow that had struck her.
It had shown her the man Kael truly was, beneath all the anger and pride.
It was a change so extraordinary it left her feeling cherished, truly loved, by the Alpha who had once been her greatest fear.
She no longer felt afraid beside him.
Kael had become better, truly, undeniably better.
It was a change that needed no pretense, no games.
Every word, every touch, was nothing but sincere.