...Blood Moon Betrayal..
Elena woke to the damp, musky scent of moss and iron. Her wrists ached, raw from the thick rope that had cut deep into her skin. Every breath felt sharp, every heartbeat an echo of panic racing through her chest.
She wasn't in her room anymore. She wasn't safe. She was in a forsaken hunter's shack, shadows curling against the walls as moonlight slanted through the broken planks.
And there was Cassandra, crouched before her, a cruel smile dancing across her face.
"You're awake," Cassandra purred, tilting her head like a predator. "Good. I want you to understand… who ends you."
Elena tried to speak, tried to force the sound through her trembling throat, but her voice, still fragile from the Goddess's gift, refused her. A dry rasp, a hoarse whisper, barely escaped.
"Why…?" she breathed, each syllable a struggle.
Cassandra's eyes darkened with fury. "Because you don't belong here! You think the Moon Goddess chose you?" She spat at Elena's feet. "A mute, broken girl who can't even control her wolf? Lorenzo was always mine. He's meant for me!"
Her hand slipped inside her cloak, producing a small vial shimmering with a faint, ominous glow. Poison.
Elena's wolf thrashed violently in her chest, a silent scream of warning. But her body was weak. Her heat still lingered from the first shift, her strength incomplete, and her trembling made even reaching impossible.
"You'll drink this," Cassandra hissed, pressing the vial to Elena's lips, "and the Alpha will mourn. But soon, he'll realize he made a mistake choosing you."
...
Lorenzo's absence from the castle had not gone unnoticed. His wolf tore through the forest like a tempest, every sinew and muscle coiled for destruction. The bond thrummed violently, tugging him toward Elena, blazing like a beacon.
"Elena…" he growled, voice low and feral, golden eyes scanning the shadows. Every second she was away twisted the wolf inside him tighter, claws itching to rend the world apart.
Then, a faint trace of her scent, trembling and laced with fear and blood, hit his senses.
He sprinted, earth flying beneath his paws, each step closer to her like a promise: he would not fail.
.....
Cassandra's hands tightened around the vial as Elena's head jerked back, fear frozen in her wide, trembling eyes.
But before the poison could touch her lips, the door exploded. Black fur, golden eye,Lorenzo's wolf,burst into the shack like a storm.
Cassandra staggered back, eyes wide with terror. "Lorenzo" she gasped, but there was no mercy in the Alpha's gaze.
His claws ripped through the ropes, shredding the bindings with ease. Elena collapsed into the floor, trembling, her chest heaving as his body hovered protectively over hers. His growl vibrated through her bones, a sound that promised death to anyone who dared harm her again.
"Mine," he snarled, his voice half-man, half-wolf, a lethal echo that shook the walls of the cabin.
Cassandra tried to protest, trembling, but her words were weak against the feral storm he had become. One swipe of his claws sent the vial flying, smashing it against the wall. Toxic fumes hissed harmlessly into the air.
"You don't understand! She's weak! She'll destroy you, Lorenzo!" Cassandra shrieked, but the Alpha didn't hesitate.
Fangs bared, he knocked her away, leaving her crumpled, bloodied, and defeated on the floor. His chest heaved with rage, his golden eyes still glowing with unbroken fury.
"Touch her again," he growled, voice thick with wrath and warning, "and I will end you."
Cassandra whimpered, broken, and slunk into the shadows. She was gone. And Lorenzo's attention returned fully to Elena.
...
"Elena," he whispered, softer now, raw with desperate emotion. His hands, still trembling, cupped her face with a tenderness that belied the storm he had just unleashed.
Her eyes met his, tears welling, lips quivering. "You… found me," she breathed, her voice fragile but filled with everything she had been too afraid to say.
His thumb brushed her lips, tracing them gently, memorizing them as if she could vanish at any second. "Always," he murmured. "No matter what, I will always find you."
Her body leaned instinctively toward him, drawn by the bond that pulsed electric and undeniable. The heat between them thickened, primal and overwhelming, but instead of giving in, he pressed his forehead to hers.
"Not like this," he whispered, grounding himself, grounding her. "Not while you're afraid."
Her trembling eased slightly, and for the first time since the poison, since the ropes, since the nightmarish betrayal, Elena felt… safe.
Safe.
But burning.
And Lorenzo, ever the Alpha, was right there with her, holding the flames at bay,at least for now.
.....