THE ALPHA'S FORGOTTEN LUNA

Chapter 5

The alarm tore through the night like a scream.

Aurora froze, the sound vibrating through her chest. From the distance came the clash of metal, the howl of wolves, the thunder of boots pounding across stone.

Damian's head snapped toward the east courtyard. His wolf surged beneath his skin, a raw, commanding energy that made the air vibrate.

"Stay here," he said sharply.

But Aurora was already moving. "No. I can help-"

"You're not trained!"

Her eyes flashed silver. "I'm not helpless either."

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then he cursed softly, stripped off his jacket, and tossed it to her. "Stay behind me. If anything happens, run to the northern gate."

He shifted mid-step, his body elongating, muscles rippling under moonlight as his black wolf burst forth-massive, lethal, breathtaking. The transformation was smooth, fluid, natural.

Aurora's breath caught. She had never seen a shift so powerful. His fur shimmered like onyx dusted in silver. Every line of his body radiated dominance.

Then he leapt, disappearing into the chaos below.

Aurora's pulse thundered. The moon above flared brighter, and something inside her stirred-ancient, wild, awakening.

She followed.

⸻

The courtyard was chaos. Rogues-twenty, maybe more-had breached the eastern wall. They moved with unnatural coordination, their eyes glowing crimson.

Aurora ducked behind a fallen column as two warriors clashed near her. One screamed; the other fell.

A rogue lunged at her, jaws snapping. Instinct surged white light erupted from her palms, blasting the creature backwards into the walls. He slumped, unconscious.

Aurora stared at her hands, trembling. The light faded, but its warmth lingered under her skin.

"What was that?" Mae's voice came from behind her, breathless and terrified.

"I don't know," Aurora whispered. "But it felt... right."

Mae grabbed her arm. "The Alpha's surrounded. You have to help him!"

Aurora didn't think. She ran.

⸻

Damian fought like the storm itself-each movement calculated, brutal, perfect. But there were too many. The rogues weren't ordinary wolves; their strength was unnatural, their scent corrupted.

Kellan's voice echoed through the link. They're not from Kane's pack. These are blood-bound.

Damian's fangs bared. Blood-bound wolves meant dark magic-wolves enslaved by forbidden rituals. Only one witch could command such power.

Liora.

The name filled him with a cold, familiar rage.

A blade slashed across his side, hot pain searing his ribs. He turned on his attacker, snapping the rogue's neck with a single strike.

But the next moment, he froze.

Across the courtyard, Aurora stood beneath the rising moon, surrounded by six rogues. Her hair whipped in the wind, silver strands glowing like threads of light.

"Aurora!" he roared.

One rogue lunged. Aurora's body moved before her mind caught up. The light came again-stronger this time-blinding white that tore through the air like lightning. The rogues were thrown backward, their bodies collapsing into stillness.

When the light faded, she was glowing.

Her eyes gleamed silver-white. Her skin shimmered faintly. A crescent mark burned on her wrist, pulsing in rhythm with the moon overhead.

Every wolf in the courtyard stopped. Even the air seemed to bow.

Damian's wolf fell silent inside him, not in fear-but in reverence.

She wasn't just powerful. She was divine.

After the battle, the courtyard reeked with blood and smoke. Warriors tended to the wounded once and others dragged rogue bodies to the pyres.

Aurora sat on a stone steps, shaking her hands still faintly glowing.

Damian approached, shirt torn, blood streaking his chest. Despite the wounds, his gaze was steady, burning into hers.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said quietly.

"I couldn't let them hurt you."

He crouched in front of her, eyes dark with something between awe and fear. "You used Luna magic."

"I didn't know I could."

"You shouldn't be able to. That kind of power-it belongs to royal bloodlines."

Aurora blinked. "Royal...?"

He hesitated. "Your wolf isn't ordinary, Aurora. She carries something ancient. Something lost."

"I'm no one," she said weakly. "I was raised in the slums, treated like dirt-"

"Then how do you explain this?" His hand brushed her wrist. The mark pulsed brighter at his touch. "Do you think fate gives this kind of power to no one?"

She flinched at the intensity in his voice.

"You're not ready to see what you are," he said softly. "But I've seen enough to know you're the one the prophecies spoke of."

"The white wolf," she whispered.

"The Moon's Chosen," he confirmed.

The words hung heavy between them.

Aurora shook her head. "If that's true, then why can't I remember my past? Why does everything before last year feel like a blur?"

Damian looked away. "Because someone didn't want you to remember."

Before she could ask what he meant, Kellan appeared, bruised and breathless.

"Alpha-there's something you need to see."

⸻

The three of them walked through the wreckage to where the rogues had fallen. One body lay apart from the others, its chest branded with a sigil-a black serpent coiled around a crescent moon.

Damian stiffened.

Aurora's breath caught. "You recognize it."

"Yes. It's the mark of the Shadow Coven."

"Witches?"

He nodded grimly. "They serve Liora. She was once part of our council. Until she betrayed us."

"Betrayed you how?"

"She tried to resurrect the old bloodlines using dark rites. When I stopped her, she swore revenge. She's been hunting something ever since-a relic of royal power." His gaze flicked to Aurora. "Or someone."

Aurora's heart pounded. "You think she's after me."

"I know she is."

⸻

Hours later, the mansion lay quiet again. The fires had been extinguished; the wounded rested. But sleep refused to come.

Aurora stood in the courtyard, staring at the moonlit mountains.

Every instinct told her to run-to escape before she brought more danger to this place. But another part of her, the one that had glowed with power and purpose, whispered that leaving would be betrayal.

She didn't hear Damian until he was beside her.

"You should rest," he said.

"I can't."

"Because of what happened?"

"Because of what it means." She turned to face him. "You think I'm some kind of chosen one, but I don't even know who I am."

His eyes softened. "You're the woman who saved my pack. That's enough for tonight."

She searched his face. "You're not afraid of me?"

"I'm terrified," he admitted. "But not of you-of what I might do to keep you safe."

The honesty in his tone made her chest tighten.

He stepped closer, the distance between them shrinking until she could feel his breath. "You feel it too, don't you? The bond?"

She didn't answer, but her silence was confession enough.

His hand lifted, hovering near her cheek, as if afraid touching her would shatter something sacred. "Every time you're near, my wolf kneels," he whispered. "And that terrifies me more than any enemy ever could."

Aurora's heart raced. "Why?"

"Because I've spent my whole life controlling everything-and you make me want to surrender."

The words broke something open inside her. For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then the moon shifted behind the clouds, dimming the world, and Aurora stepped back.

"I can't," she breathed. "Not now. Not when I don't even know what I am."

Damian's jaw clenched, but he nodded. "Then I'll help you find out."

Her eyes widened. "You will?"

"I'll summon the seer at dawn. If anyone can unlock your past, it's her."

Aurora exhaled shakily. "Why are you doing this for me?"

He smiled faintly. "Because the moon doesn't make mistakes. And because... whether you accept it or not, you're mine."

The words vibrated through her like a chord struck deep in her soul.

She looked up at the moon-full, radiant, watching. Somewhere deep inside her, her wolf stirred and whispered a single word that felt older than time.

Mate.

But as night stretched on, far beyond the Blackthorn lands, a lady watched from the shadowed tower.

Liora's eyes glowed violently as she traced her fingers over a crystal orb swirling with moonlight.

Aurora's face shimmered within it.

"So," she murmured, her smile cold. "The lost princess lives."

Behind her, cloaked figures knelt.

"Prepare the ritual," she commanded. "Before the next full moon rises, I want her power-her crown-her blood."

Lightning split the sky, and the orb dimmed.

Back at the Blackthorn mansion, Aurora stirred in her sleep, unaware that the fate of every pack now pulsed beneath her skin.