The Returned of the Cursed Luna

"We will never surrender!"

Leila's heart nearly jumped out of her chest at her father's roaring voice, her body trembling.

They were speaking through mind linking, so their enemies could not hear them.

"Father..."

She called out with tears running down her eyes. The moonlight was blocked up by the branches and leaves of the trees that swayed above their heads.

She had been pinned down, her knees sunk into the soil, her hair mangled and her clothes ripped to rags.

"Don't listen to him, we will do whatever you want...don't hurt our daughter!"

Her mother called out as she looked at her battered daughter and her side stood two bulky male wolves at her sides with one holding a silver knife mere inches away from her throat.

Her Father who had been forced to kneel next to her mother snapped his head to his mate.

"Where is your pride, your honor as a warrior Marline?!"

Why were her parents fighting in this situation?

"And where is your common sense, Rayson?"

She almost gasped out if not that she bit her lip.

Nobody, nobody, in the pack called her Father by his name, he was the Alpha and that title couldn't be swept aside.

Not even by his mate.

But what was the point of titles when a bunch of low-rank warriors had them on their knees like slaves?

"Leila..."

His tone softened as his eyes came to his daughter as she stared at them, still choked with pain to accept what was happening right now.

"Surely you must understand, I'm doing this for the pack..."

His voice got even lower.

"For us...what are we without our honor?"

To this Leila could not bear it anymore, and broke the mind link with her parents and finally spoke out even to the hearing of their enemies.

"Please...just forget about me and run away,"

"You better keep that tongue tucked in your mouth if you want to keep it!"

The taller, blond male that was holding the dagger said as hit her face immediately planting a bruise there, dragging back her hair then looked up at her parents.

"So your five minutes have elapsed, are we doing this the easy way..."

Leila could smell her sizzling flesh as the silver pressed against it.

"Or the hard way?"

How did it all come to this, she shut her eyes hoping that when she opened them she would find herself laughing with her friends as they swam in the lake after a hard day of training.

The smell of her Mom's pancakes at the pack’s picnic.

The laughter of her friends as they trained together.

When she peeled her eyes open, the only sound that filled her ears were the screams of her pack.

The only smell that filled her nostrils was that of the smoke as the fire ate up their homes.

And all she saw were her parents looking at her through her tears.

There was nothing...left, nothing.

The warriors had ambushed them when their guard was down, as they were preparing for the annual mating ceremony of the pack, and tonight was supposed to have been the night, Leila thought to herself as her heart clenched like someone was squeezing it.

She would have waltzed into the hall where the ceremony was being held, wearing her dazzling blue gown and her hair down in a wavy style with just a touch of mascara on her face.

Then amid the crowd, she would have smelt it, the most wonderful, alluring scent of her mate, and her heart would begin to race with wild abandon knowing that he must have smelt her too.

Her feet would have taken her a few more steps and then her eyes would have seen him.

Her other half.

Her soul mate.

Everything; the music, the clatter of plates, cutleries, and the chatter of others would become nothing but just background noise as they met and swallowed each other in a much longed-for embrace.

But none of that happened, not even close...

While she was pacing around looking for the one

It happened.

The warriors snuck in like cockroaches and soon the smell of blood rented the air, a night that was supposed to be one of celebration became one of pain and suffering.

While they didn't know how their defenses were broken through so easily; what was no mystery at all was who had sent them.

Alpha Dante.

Leila had only ever laid her two eyes on him once but even before then even a pup of five years knew who he was.

Cold, ruthless, and powerful.

That was how many described him.

With him, it was either you fell to your knees as his subordinate or you died resisting it. And one hot after, two weeks before the ceremony he had come to offer these two options to her Father

However, she didn't know it was him as that was her first time meeting him and her nose was clogged with snot when he approached her in the packed garden.

"Emmm..."

She could easily tell that he wasn't a member of her pack.

And that he was a sight for her sore eyes with how good he looked.

"Can I help you?"

"Well yes, I'm here to see the Alpha of this pack, and it seems I must have missed my way..."

He crossed his hand and his head fell but she was still almost standing on her tippy toes to look at him.

"Though..."

He looked at her in a way that made her body hot all over for another reason altogether.

"I can't say I'm too disappointed..."

He had seemed like the perfect gentleman, she never knew that there was a monster lurking behind that veil.

Now when the ambush came, her parents had planned for them to flee with some loyal warriors to get escort them. But along the way, it turns out they were not as loyal as her parents thought

As when they were far away from any help they turned their backs on them.

"Karl?"

Leila called out to one of the warriors that had been her friend from childhood.

"How...how could you?"

He brushed back his hair and groaned as he forced her to the ground, holding her with a silver knife to her throat.

"I have a mate...and a pup, Leila."

His mind linked with hers.

"I know how many packs have fallen to this Alpha...and I...don't here to lose the ones I love..."

"So you would betray your home?"

"What home?!"

He barked and she thought her head was about to explode.

"The only home I knew has been burnt to the ground...and I can't lose anymore..."

Then he spoke to her parents.

"You have five minutes to decide...either I slice your daughter's throat or you surrender to Alpha Dante!"

Five minutes passed with no conclusion from her parents.

"Well, I see you've made your choice..."

Leila shut her eyes and waited for the mind-numbing pain to come, then suddenly her face was bathed in blood.

But it wasn't hers.

When she peeled her eyes open again, she was quiet for a moment and then a heart-wrenching scream came from her throat when she found her parents getting ripped into shreds by their wolves that they had watched from pups.

"Stop!"

Karl dragged her back.

"Just close your eyes, Leila and it will all pass away..."

"Mom! Dad!!... Please stop this...!"

She watched as the golden brown and coal black wolves (Her mother and Father) fought with all they had until finally they were far too outnumbered.

And in moments they were both in pools of their blood.

Finally, she bit Karl's hand and ran towards them, limping because her left leg had dislocated when she was forced to kneel and she didn't have the energy to heal.

Her parents had shifted back to their human forms but she couldn't even recognize them anymore.

She howled out to the moon and anyone who heard it would know.

The Alpha and Luna had fallen.