Lyon stood alone in the open field, every sense sharpened to its peak.
The night wind carried familiar scents—soil, grass, the distant presence of his pack—but beneath it all was something new.
Something that did not belong.
His chest tightened as he inhaled again.
The scent was faint, fragile… and achingly incomplete.
A mate.
The realization struck him like a blow. How could such a thing awaken now? After years of emptiness. After he had accepted the truth that the Moon had passed him over.
Before he could steady his thoughts, the air shifted.
A gray wolf emerged from the shadows, its steps unhurried, almost confident.
It was smaller than Lyon, lacking the sheer power of an Alpha, yet Lyon's instincts screamed danger. This wolf did not rely on strength alone.
Manipulation clung to it like a second skin.
A voice slid smoothly into Lyon's mind.
"Oh dear, dear… such confusion. Betrayal, disbelief—yet was that happiness I sensed just now?"
Lyon's expression remained cold, unreadable.
"Don't be absurd" the voice continued mockingly.
"Mates do not simply appear anywhere."
The gray wolf stopped several paces away, studying Lyon closely, as though waiting for him to react. But Lyon gave nothing away.
His silver eyes were empty of emotion.
The wolf scoffed.
"Mate-less Alpha" it taunted, baring its teeth.
It attacked without warning.
The field erupted as the gray wolf lunged forward. Lyon reacted instantly, meeting the assault with equal force.
Claws slashed, bodies collided, and the impact shook the ground beneath them. Lyon countered hard, sending the gray wolf flying several feet away.
The attacker rolled, barely managing to regain its footing.
Lyon stood tall, seemingly unaffected—save for a few shallow scratches along his side.
Insignificant.
Or so he believed.
The gray wolf lifted its head slowly, a knowing gleam in its eyes.
"Careless" it murmured through the mind-link.
Lyon felt it then—a strange warmth spreading from the scratches.
Subtle at first. Easy to dismiss.
The gray wolf attacked again.
This time, Lyon was slower.
His counter landed, but not with the crushing force he expected. Confusion flickered through his mind as the gray wolf twisted away with unnatural ease.
The warmth sharpened.
Pain spread through his veins, heavy and invasive. His limbs felt weighed down, his senses dulled as though a veil had been drawn over them.
Poison.
The realization came a heartbeat too late.
The gray wolf laughed.
"Did you truly believe I would challenge an Alpha unprepared?"
Lyon staggered back, teeth clenched as his wolf growled in fury inside him.
He forced himself to stand, but his balance wavered.
Before the gray wolf could strike again, a thunderous snarl split the night.
Seven wolves burst from the surrounding forest.
They had found him.
Chole led the charge.
The dark-furred wolf slammed into the gray wolf with brutal force, driving it away from Lyon.
Chole was large and powerful, his movements precise and lethal—every bit the warrior Lyon trusted to guard his back.
The remaining six wolves spread out instinctively, forming a defensive circle around their Alpha.
Among them stood Jackson, Lyon's Beta, his posture tense, eyes blazing with fury.
The gray wolf skidded across the ground before regaining its footing, clearly surprised.
"Ah… reinforcements" it sneered.
"The loyal ones arrive at last."
Chole growled low, placing himself squarely between Lyon and the enemy. His eyes flicked briefly to Lyon—and his blood ran cold.
The Alpha's stance was wrong.
Weakened.
"Alpha" Chole spoke through the pack link, his voice tight. You're injured.
"I'm fine" Lyon replied automatically, though the strain in his mental voice betrayed him.
Jackson stepped closer, nostrils flaring as he caught the unfamiliar scent beneath the blood.
"Poison" Jackson snapped. "That's not normal venom."
Chole's eyes darkened with fury.
"You used poison" Chole growled at the gray wolf.
The wolf's grin widened. "A necessary measure. Your Alpha is formidable—but even he has limits."
It backed away slowly, eyes locked on Lyon.
"The Moon has already chosen" it added softly. "And when the bond awakens fully… his weakness will deepen."
Before any of them could react, the gray wolf dissolved into shadow, its presence fading unnaturally into the night.
Silence fell.
The moment Lyon's knees buckled, Chole knew something was terribly wrong.
He tightened his grip around Lyon's arm, steadying him as the Alpha fought to remain upright. The poison burned through Lyon's veins, clashing violently with his wolf, disrupting the natural balance that had always anchored him.
Chole's mind raced.
There was only one possibility.
"Alpha… Chole reached out through the pack link, his voice sharp with urgency. "Did you take the elixir?"
For a brief moment, Lyon did not answer. His breathing was laboured, his jaw clenched as another wave of weakness washed over him.
"I did" Lyon replied finally, his voice strained but clear. "Before I left the territory".
Chole's heart sank.
Then why— Chole stopped himself, already sensing the truth as he inhaled again.
The poison's scent twisted unnaturally through the air, darker and more aggressive than any venom he had encountered.
Jackson stepped closer, watching Lyon carefully. "What elixir?" he asked.
Chole didn't take his eyes off Lyon. "The stabilizing elixir" he said grimly. "The one meant to strengthen an Alpha during celestial shifts."
Jackson's expression hardened.
"The Blood Moon."
Chole nodded once.
The poison undid it, Lyon continued through the link, anger simmering beneath his pain. It neutralized the elixir's effect… and the Blood Moon amplified everything.
That explained it.
The Blood Moon was no ordinary lunar event. It magnified instincts, heightened bonds, and weakened barriers that normally kept fate at bay. For an Alpha already on the brink of awakening a mate bond, it was dangerous.
Jackson joined them, scanning the tree line for any remaining threat.
"Easy" Chole murmured, lowering Lyon carefully to the ground. "The poison's spreading."
Lyon exhaled sharply, frustration flashing through his eyes.
"I underestimated him."
Jackson shook his head. "No. He planned this. The poison masked itself until combat."
Lyon's legs finally gave out.
Chole was at his side instantly, supporting his weight before he could collapse completely.
Chole clenched his jaw. "We need to get him back to the pack—now."
As they lifted him, Lyon's gaze drifted toward the forest once more.
That scent returned.
Faint. Fragile. Calling to him.
His mate.
And for the first time, surrounded by his warriors, Lyon realized the truth:
Whatever the Moon had chosen for him would not come without a price.
Once inside the pack's territory, the healer was sent for. Within moments, he arrived, kneeling beside Lyon.
His hands glowed faintly as he hovered over the Alpha, assessing the damage.
"Poison" the healer murmured.
"Corruptive. It attacks more than the body—it disrupts magic. The elixir is gone from your system.
Only my intervention can stabilize you now… and only the bond can anchor you."
Lyon's silver eyes flickered weakly. "The bond…" he rasped. "I… I can feel her, but she does not…"
The healer's gaze softened. "You are already mated with her. She is carrying your child. The poison and the Blood Moon masked the bond long enough that you did not feel it… until now. I have stabilized you after the poison nearly claimed you. Without magic, you would have fallen completely. The bond alone could not hold."
Shock and awe swept through Lyon. "I… didn't know…"
"Yes" the healer said quietly. "Now you do. Now you must claim her. The bond is waking in you first, but she will soon feel it too."
Lyon's wolf growled low, surging instinctively toward what it recognized as its own. "Then she's mine. And no one will touch her—or our child."
Jackson smirked, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Carrying your pup, huh? No wonder the Blood Moon left you so… distracted."
Lyon shot him a glare that could cut steel.
Jackson leaned closer, grin widening, wicked and unapologetic.
"Relax, Alpha. I'm just saying… you're looking a little… tempted now."
Chole pinched the bridge of his nose. "You really are impossible."
But Lyon didn't answer. His silver gaze was fixed on the horizon, burning with clarity. The Blood Moon had revealed the truth.
His mate, his child, and the bond that could no longer be ignored were now his to claim.
And he would—whatever it took.
The pack had begun settling around Lyon as he slowly regained his strength, the healer's magic still faintly lingering over his body.
Yet despite the relief of surviving, a storm of confusion churned inside him.
Lyon's silver eyes darted over the faces of his pack—Chole, Jackson, the others. Their concern was palpable, but he couldn't focus on them, couldn't handle questions or explanations right now.
"Everyone…" Lyon's voice was low, strained. "Leave us. I… I need… alone."
Chole's brow furrowed. "Alpha—"
"No" Lyon snapped, sharper than he intended. His wolf growled low, warning beneath his skin. "Now."
Reluctantly, the pack obeyed, filing back to their positions but keeping a watchful distance. Lyon's mind was spinning, heart racing.
The mate scent, the Blood Moon, the healer's magic—it was all too much.
Once alone, Lyon turned toward the healer, who had remained quietly nearby. The healer's calm presence was a balm against the chaos in his mind.
"I… I don't understand" Lyon admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "She… she's carrying my child. But… how? I didn't—"
The healer studied him carefully, eyes reflective. "No, Alpha. You did not know. You were unaware."
Lyon's silver eyes widened, confusion deepening. "I… I didn't… I never… How could this happen without me even knowing?"
The healer inclined his head. "It was the Moon Goddess, Alpha. She guided you. At the time—when you were… in a vulnerable state—your consciousness crossed into the Veil of the Goddess. It is a sacred realm, one that opens only to those chosen by her bond. What occurred there… was her design."
Lyon shook his head, disbelief and frustration warring in him. "I… I never entered any… realm. I didn't do anything. I was—"
"The Goddess does not need your intent" the healer interrupted gently. "Even without your understanding, she acted through you. In that realm, the energies of the bond aligned. That is how your mate now carries your child. Your body, your soul, your bond—all were instruments of her will."
Lyon's wolf stirred beneath his skin, confused and restless. He felt the pull of the bond, fierce yet disorienting, and the thought of what had happened in the Veil made his head spin.
"I… I don't understand any of it" he muttered. "It doesn't make sense. None of it does."
The healer placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "The Moon's ways are not meant to be understood fully by mortals.
You are the chosen Alpha, and now the bond has awakened in you first, before she even knew.
The child she carries is the result of her design, not your conscious action. That is why you feel the bond before she does."
Lyon closed his eyes, trying to slow his racing thoughts. He felt untethered, as if the world had shifted beneath him, leaving him off-balance.
He was strong, an Alpha—but he had never faced something like this: a bond so potent, so deliberate, that even he could not control it.
"Everything… everything I feel… it's not real?" he asked finally, voice raw with confusion.
"Everything you feel is real" the healer said softly. "But the circumstances… they were guided. The Moon Goddess has chosen her path for you. The bond, the child, the awakening—they are all her design. You did not act consciously, but her will was enacted through you. That is why the Blood Moon intensified your instincts and confusion—it revealed what the Goddess intended."
Lyon opened his eyes slowly, silver glowing faintly in the dim light. His mind was a storm, his body exhausted, but beneath it all was a single, sharp truth: he had no idea how to process this.
The healer's gaze remained calm, unwavering. "Rest now, Alpha. Soon, clarity will come. But for now… know this: the bond is yours to understand first. She will awaken to it in her own time. And when she does, the Moon's design will continue."
Lyon simply nodded, still trembling from shock and confusion, his wolf restless but silent for once. He felt… powerless.
And for the first time, he realized that being an Alpha, even one chosen by the Moon Goddess, did not mean he could control everything.