Stolen Luna By The Rival Alpha

Seraphina 

The iron bit into my wrists. Every step I took sent a jolt of pain up my arms as the heavy chains dragged through the dirt, pulling my shoulders out of their sockets. Around me, the world was screaming. My pack was falling apart, but I didn't close my eyes. I didn't cry. I watched the shadows of men being cut down and heard the pleas of women in the dark.

I'm Seraphina Grace. To the rest of the pack, I was the Alpha's favorite girl. To Xandriel, I was a warm body and a set of hands to do the work his non-existent Luna should have been doing.

I wasn't a Luna. I was a slave in a pretty dress.

If this bloodbath was the price for my freedom from him, I'd pay it. Xandriel was a monster. He was cruel, beastly, and treated women like property. He had built a throne out of enemies, and today, those enemies finally came to collect.

The chains jangled, a cold and rhythmic reminder of my debt. I planted my feet, trying to keep my dignity even as the smell of smoke and copper filled my lungs.

"Xandriel is gone. But we have his Luna."

The voice was deep, unfamiliar. A rough hand grabbed the center of my chains and jerked me forward. I stumbled, my knees hitting the jagged rocks with a sickening thud.

"The coward ran," I thought. A bitter taste coated my tongue.

The man holding my leash stepped in front of me, forcing my head up. He looked young, but his eyes were hard and scarred by war. A Beta.

"He'll come back for her," the Beta said, looking over his shoulder at the man behind me. "He won't let his prize stay in our hands. That's going to make our Alpha very happy."

I looked him dead in the eye. My heart was thundering against my ribs, but I let my voice stay steady. "He isn't coming back."

The Beta narrowed his eyes. Most women in this world knew better than to speak without permission, but Xandriel had already broken everything in me that could feel fear.

"I'm not a Luna," I spat. "I'm not his mate. You think a woman can make a man like Xandriel soft? He doesn't care if I live or die. He's already halfway to the border."

The Beta shifted, his confidence wavering for a split second. "That changes things, doesn't it, Hayes?"

Hayes, the man standing behind me, didn't hesitate. He reached down and fisted his hand in my hair, yanking my head back until I was looking at the dark canopy of trees.

"She's lying," Hayes growled, his breath hot against my ear. "Every scout said the same thing. She's the only thing that bastard values. She's the key."

He didn't wait for a reply. He hauled me up by my hair and shoved me forward. I tripped over the hem of my torn dress, my bare feet slipping