The Alpha’s Mate Is A Blood Moon

Eliana’s POV

Branches whipped against her bare arms as she tore through the forest, her lungs burning, her legs aching, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when the pounding footsteps behind her were getting louder.

Her shaky breath came in gasps, every inhale laced with the sting of fear. Dirt clung to her face and smeared her arms. Her long auburn hair tangled around her shoulders, catching on low-hanging branches. She didn’t care, she just needed to move. To disappear!

She could hear their voices as they chased after her.

“Did you see that?” one of the men shouted behind her. “Her eyes!”

Another voice snarled. “She’s a Blood Moon. Get her! We have to catch her!”

No. No no no, if they got a hold of her it would be game over, goodness knows what they'd make her do.

She was a blood moon, a rare kind of werewolf born only when the full moon is red. She had the abilities to summon creatures called Lunaris beasts.

Eliana and her mom had always kept this a secret. But earlier today, something that wasn't supposed to happen, happened.

Her eyes had accidentally glowed red while she was in the marketplace and these men saw it, and now they were after her!

Blood moons were the only creatures whose eyes could glow red and so, they now know her little secret.

She pushed harder, her heartbeat thundering in her ears louder than the shouts behind her. Her hazel eyes darted through the trees, searching for any opening, any place to hide but it was too late. They’d seen her, they knew.

They saw her eyes glow bright red earlier, she couldn't control it.

The heavy thud of boots on wet leaves echoed through the dark woods. Shadows flickered under the twisted branches. The night sky above was thick with clouds, swallowing the moonlight whole. It was as if the forest itself wanted her caught.

Shit!

“Leave me alone!” she screamed, turning her head for just a second to glare at the men behind her.

But that was a mistake.

“She’ll be a great asset for the Alpha,” one of the men growled. “For our pack. Don’t let her escape!”

They were faster now.

She stumbled over a root, caught herself just in time, and then sprinted harder. Something in her pulsed, something hot and wrong and alive right beneath her skin. A strange glow flashed across her arms, fading just as quickly. Her breath hitched.

Not now, please not now. Her nerves were acting up, she was panicking. If she summoned these creatures now, it would be terrible.

She broke through a cluster of trees and her foot slipped on mud. She lost her balance down a small slope and crashed to the ground at the base of the hill. Pain exploded through her ribs.

But there was no time to cry, no time to think.

She scrambled to her feet, her chest heaving. But it was too late, something. No, someone was there

A dark figure stood just a few feet away, tall and motionless. His eyes locked onto hers, glowing faintly in the dark. A powerful presence rolled off him like heat.

“Found her,” he murmured, voice low and unreadable.

Eliana backed away, panic choking her. But her body refused to move fast enough. That strange heat surged through her veins again, and her vision tilted.

A scream caught in her throat.

Eliana’s vision swam as she came to, her head spinning from the fall. The forest was silent but only for a second.

Then boots crunched into the dirt, the rest of them were catching up!

The man stepped out of the shadows in front of her. He was tall, broad-shouldered, a jagged scar running across his brow. He was one of the ones who had been chasing her.

His eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction as he looked down at her.

He stepped closer, and before she could scramble away, his hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back roughly.

“Why would you run from your own pack huh?” he sneered. “So this was why you and your mother left the pack and became rogues. You should be honored, blood moon. You belong with us, with your people.”

She gasped in pain, trying to twist away, but his grip was iron.

“Imagine it,” he continued, his voice thick with feverish ambition. “You, standing beside our Alpha. You summon your beasts, those huge creatures that I've only read about in ancient literature. You and our Alpha will rule, becoming the strongest Alpha in the land. We'd be unstoppable.”

He leaned closer, his breath hot on her face.

“Don’t resist, come with us. Walk with us, it's where you belong.”

She clenched her jaw, fury rising like fire in her throat. Then fast and desperate, she twisted her body and sank her teeth into his hand.

“AGH!” he roared, stumbling back.

She scrambled to her feet again, but before she could run, two more men crashed into the clearing, breathless from the chase. Their eyes landed on her with vicious intent.

One lunged and kicked her hand, hard. A sharp, bone-deep pain shot up her arm and Eliana dropped to her knees, screaming.

“Leave me alone!” she gasped,tears threatening to fall from her eyes as glared up at them through strands of her tangled auburn hair. “I said leave me alone!”

She stared at each of them, her hazel eyes blazing with hatred. But they just laughed.

The man who had bitten earlier, took a step forward, pressing his hard spiky boots on her hand.

Eliana screamed as the excruciating pain spread from her hand to every part of her body.

He retrieved his foot and crouched to her level, he was Titus, gamma of her former pack.

“What are you going to do?” he taunted. “Summon your beasts?”

Another one snorted.

“You wouldn’t dare. You wouldn’t risk showing the world what you are. You know what would happen. More packs would come for you. More power-hungry freaks like our Alpha. You’d be hunted down like an animal.”

Eliana’s lips curled into a trembling snarl. “Don’t test me,” she growled, voice low and shaking with fury. “Don’t you dare.”

They scoffed again, like she was a joke.

Then Titus reached for her hair again but this time, his hand never reached her scalp.

Because…her eyes snapped at him, and they were no longer hazel.

They were red. Glowing, fiery, blood red!