The Luna's Revenge: Chosen as his breeder, Born to rule

”Don’t you dare touch her,” the Alpha said, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.

”What is all this, Lucian?” Alpha Roran asked, his eyes narrowing.

”You can’t kill her,” Alpha Lucian said.

I stood there wondering why he was defending me. Why did he want me alive? When had I become that valuable? I thought everyone wanted me out of the way.

”I’m sorry, Lucian, you can’t stop a trial in session. Move out of the way!” Roran exclaimed.

”I can do what I want. You’re wrong,” Lucian said flatly.

Murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the energy wasn’t good. Nothing about this moment felt safe.

”Everyone, silence!” Alpha Lucian’s voice thundered across the square.

”I’ve determined that this wolf has committed a crime. I would like to take her as my asset,” Lucian announced.

The entire crowd went still.

Alpha Roran rose from his seat, visibly shaken.

”That’s not enough reason to spare her, unfortunately,” he said.

My heart hammered against my ribs at those words. I had already been making peace with death. Maybe putting an end to my misery would solve the lifetime of pain I had carried. At least, that was what I had believed. Turns out, I was wrong.

There was still hope for the dejected Selene of Bloodmoon Pack.

Across the square, my parents stood watching as my head teetered between life and death, and they said nothing.

”It doesn’t have to be enough. It’s what I want,” Lucian said again.

He didn’t even glance at me while saying it.

When Alpha Roran realized he could no longer push against Lucian, he signaled the soldiers to release me.

My heart wasn’t jumping for joy, and I wasn’t drowning in sorrow either. I simply didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t know what to look forward to.

Anything was possible now.

”On one condition, Lucian. She never comes here again. She’s yours and Winterwood’s property now. We don’t want a murderer among us,” Roran declared.

The crowd erupted behind him.

I had never truly had a family. Hands were raised all around me, blocking my view of my parents’ faces. I assumed they were relieved. Now they could love Astrid freely.

Speaking of Astrid, I spotted her standing with Draven across the square. They both got to walk free while I bled for a crime they committed. They were the murderers. I hoped the orgasms were worth it and they were satisfied in their secret, unholy arrangement. I wasn’t wicked by nature, but if I were, they would sink so deep into hell it wouldn’t even have a name for what they deserved. I could work on that.

For now, I had to embrace whatever fate was being handed to me.

The soldiers uncuffed me and handed me over. I was led to Alpha Lucian’s wagon. He still hadn’t made eye contact with me. He stepped into a separate car and we pulled away without a word.

No farewell from my parents. They simply let me go.

Winterwood wasn’t far from Bloodmoon, but one wouldn’t notice with how fast the cars moved. He had claimed me like he had been waiting to do so all along.

Within minutes, we arrived.

I was welcomed by the sight of trees so tall they rivaled giraffes in height. The air was cold. All of Morvaine carried a chill, but this side was more humid than anything I had ever known.

I pulled out my phone and checked Google Maps just to confirm where I was.

The driver parked in front of the palace. The car Lucian had been riding in stopped just ahead of us. I was helped out and escorted inside. Lucian still hadn’t spoken to me.

Everything inside was quiet. The people were composed and still. I couldn’t tell if it was their nature or if my arrival had muted them. I was seated in the sitting room with no explanation, no instruction. I didn’t know my purpose here. I was yet to find out.

Nobody greeted me. Nobody spoke to me. So I stared at my phone.

I scrolled through old photos. Months and years captured in still images. The most recent one was taken in the library back at Bloodmoon. I was with Cipher and we had been trying to figure out a way to archive all of Morvaine and Bloodmoon history into a single application. We had been exhausted by the research, and I had pulled out my phone just to capture the moment.

Mr. Cipher. That project was on hold now. I had been uprooted from everything. But maybe it didn’t have to stay that way. If Winterwood had a library, maybe I could continue. I hoped I would be allowed to.

”Ms. Selene.”

My name. Sharp and immediate.

I got to my feet and stepped forward. A male wolf had come for me. I followed him without knowing where I was being taken.

Questions flooded my mind. Could he want to kill me himself? Maybe Lucian wanted to do the job Roran couldn’t finish.

The walls of the passageway were lined with portraits of fierce wolves. They looked so real I half-expected them to leap from the frames and take a bite of whoever walked past.

The entire corridor was lit from one end to the other. It was more beautiful and serene than anything Bloodmoon had ever offered.

But my mind was divided.

I was brought into what I could only assume was the Alpha’s chambers. No ordinary room was that large. It spoke royalty in every corner, every detail.

I was left standing. The soldier who had escorted me stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him.

”Please, what am I...” The door closed before I could finish.

I stood there like a lost wolf. Which, honestly, spoke more of my reality than anything else could.

Then someone stepped out from an inner room.

Lucian.

He was enormous up close. Tall, broad, his biceps larger than my face. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and I wanted to look away but I couldn’t. I had never seen anyone like him this close.

He walked toward me. Each step he took, my heartbeat picked up pace.

”You know why you’re here, right?” he asked.

”I’m here so you can kill me yourself,” I said.

Fear had spoken for me.

He laughed. A deep, unbothered sound. ”You think if I wanted to kill you, I would give you the luxury of riding in my car?” He kept chuckling like the thought genuinely amused him.

I said nothing. I just needed to know my purpose.

Then his voice came again, sharp and direct.

”You’re my breeder. Take off your clothes.”

My ears rang. I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly. I didn’t move.

”You don’t understand what I said,” he repeated, his tone firmer. ”Take off your clothes. Now.”

I had heard him the first time. I knew exactly what a breeder was. I shouldn’t have expected anything close to bliss. I was still an object of exchange, the price undecided, with no room to negotiate.

I undressed slowly, the way someone peels back their composure during a medical examination, trying to hold onto the last thread of dignity.

Within moments, I was in the Alpha’s bed and he was over me. I shut my eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to look at what was being done to me. Not that I had a choice.

He undressed completely. I told myself not to look, but I peeked with one eye and caught a glimpse of him. The size of him made my throat tighten.

”I’m going to dig you with my machine today, and you’re going to enjoy it,” he said, his voice carrying the ease of someone who had just won something.

He started slowly, dragging his nose along my skin, trailing soft, deliberate kisses from the nape of my neck down to the tips of my breasts. I had never felt anything like it in my entire life. Every hormone I had surged at once.

Then he thrust into me. I didn’t see it. I only felt it. Pain, sharp and unexpected, as he pushed inside for the first time.

”Oh, you’re a virgin,” he said, sounding genuinely pleased. ”Nice.”

Which meant he was not. He had clearly been fucking other people long before I arrived.

All I could register were the sounds that came with each movement, the pressure, the friction, the way my body responded against my better judgment.

I tried to hold in my moan. I pressed it down as hard as I could.

Lucian lowered his mouth to my ear. ”Don’t hold it in. I like the sounds. Let it out.”

He shifted slightly and thrust harder. The moan broke free before I could stop it, louder than the last.

I was filled with something I had no name for. A kind of desperate pleasure I hadn’t asked for and didn’t know how to carry. I wanted more, but there was no way I could say it. I just hoped he didn’t stop.

The whole time, my eyes stayed shut. All I could think about was what I had become. My parents had handed me off without a second glance, and here I was, being claimed by a ruthless Alpha who cared only about what he wanted from me.

And still, some wretched part of me was enjoying it.