Fated to the Alpha I Feared

EPISODE 4: Dreams of Blood and Snow (Part 1/4)

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The snow came early to the mountains.

Aira stood on the palace's eastern training grounds, frost biting her cheeks, her hands wrapped in leather as she braced herself.

Across from her stood Kaelan — unflinching, silent, eyes cold.

He hadn't gone easy on her in training, not once. No matter how close their bond was becoming, he didn't let it interfere here.

"Again," he said.

Aira charged.

Her punch was fast, precise — and completely useless.

Kaelan side-stepped, twisted her wrist, and pinned her to the snow in one fluid movement.

"You're holding back," he growled. "Again."

She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. "Maybe I'm tired of being tossed around like a rag doll."

"You think the vampires will go easy on you because you're tired?" Kaelan snapped. "You're the Luna. They won't show mercy. And neither will I."

Aira's chest rose and fell. "You could at least pretend to like me."

Kaelan paused, just slightly.

"I don't train the people I hate," he muttered.

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

He hated this.

Not her.

Just this.

Watching Aira struggle with a power she didn't ask for. Pushing her, knowing she'd hate him for it. But it was the only way she'd survive what was coming.

And what was coming… was war.

The vampire attack at the banquet wasn't random. It was bait.

And Mirielle's visit?

A silent threat.

"You need to shift soon," he said, tossing her a water flask. "Your wolf is pushing harder every day."

"Believe me," she replied, wiping sweat from her brow, "I feel it."

Her emotions had been unstable all morning — bursts of anger, sudden hearing spikes, even her scent had started to shift. She was on the edge.

"Tonight," Kaelan said. "Under the moonlight. We'll try."

Aira froze. "Try?"

Kaelan nodded. "The first shift can take hours. Or days. Sometimes it breaks people."

Aira clenched her fists. "What if it doesn't happen?"

"It will," he said simply. "Because it has to."

POV: Queen Seraphina Black

In the Lunar Chamber, the Queen traced her fingers across an ancient tapestry—one older than the royal family itself.

Aira's bloodline.

Woven in silver and gold.

"Do you believe she's ready?" Aldric asked behind her.

"No," Seraphina said. "But that's not the point."

He stepped beside her. "She looks like Arwen."

Seraphina closed her eyes briefly at the name.

"She is Arwen," she whispered. "Stronger. Wilder. Unforgiving."

Aldric hesitated. "Have you told her?"

"No," she said quickly. "And I won't until I know she can handle it."

"She deserves the truth."

"She deserves to live long enough to hear it."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

Later that night, Aira found herself standing in the moon pool — a sacred clearing at the edge of the mountain cliffs, where royal wolves shifted for the first time under full moons.

The wind howled through the pine trees. The stars blinked above, sharp and cold.

Kaelan stood behind her.

"You sure?" he asked.

"No," she admitted.

He nodded once. "Then you're ready."

She closed her eyes.

And let go.

At first, nothing.

Then…

Pain.

Every muscle in her body spasmed. Her back arched. Her teeth clamped down on a scream.

Bones shifted. Skin burned.

And her soul—

Her soul howled.

POV: Unknown Dreamscape

She ran through snow.

Not as Aira.

But as something faster. Wilder. Pure silver fur brushed with streaks of moonlight. Her paws made no sound.

She was the wolf.

But ahead — a woman in a long red cloak stood in the clearing, holding a bloodied dagger.

Her face…

Was Aira's.

But older. Sharper.

"Don't trust the crown," the dream-Aira whispered. "They'll kill h

im before you awaken."

Aira blinked. "Kill who?"

The dream-Aira smiled sadly.

"You already know."

And the forest around her bled into red.

💨EPISODE 4: Dreams of Blood and Snow (Part 2/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The shift left her raw.

When Aira opened her eyes, dawn had barely broken over the horizon. She lay curled beside the moon pool, covered in a thick fur blanket, her bones aching, muscles trembling.

But everything felt… sharper.

She could hear the heartbeat of birds in the trees. Smell the dew on the leaves. Sense Kaelan's presence before he even spoke.

"You did it," he said softly.

She turned her head slowly.

He was sitting nearby, watching her — not with his usual guarded stare, but something warmer.

"Barely," she croaked.

"Barely is better than broken," he said, offering a hand.

She let him pull her up. The moment their fingers touched, the bond flared again — hotter than before. Her chest ached from it. A pull. A need.

"You're stronger now," Kaelan said. "But it doesn't get easier. Especially not for someone with your blood."

Aira stiffened. "What does that mean?"

He hesitated.

But before he could answer, a new voice echoed through the trees:

"Well, well. Didn't expect you to end up in a crown."

Aira turned.

And felt the world tilt.

"Caleb?"

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

Kaelan immediately stepped in front of her.

The boy who approached wore dark jeans and a hoodie, hands shoved in his pockets, but there was something too casual about him. Too confident for someone walking into royal land uninvited.

"I know you," Kaelan said slowly.

Caleb smirked. "We've crossed paths. I used to live nearby. Until her brothers scared me off."

Aira rushed forward, brushing Kaelan aside. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed your scent," Caleb said, voice low. "You're different. Your energy — it's not like before."

Kaelan's eyes narrowed. "You're not human."

"No," Caleb said. "Not anymore."

Kaelan reached for the hilt of the blade at his side. "Then speak before I rip your throat out."

"Relax," Caleb said, raising both hands. "I didn't come to fight. I came to warn her."

Aira's heart raced. "About what?"

"Your dream," Caleb said. "The red forest? The woman in the cloak? It's not a vision. It's a memory."

Kaelan growled. "How would you know that?"

Caleb's expression darkened.

"Because I was there."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The air froze.

"No," Aira whispered. "That's not possible. I was never there. That was just a dream. A hallucination from shifting."

Caleb looked at her, pain flickering across his face.

"You were there, Aira. You just don't remember it. They blocked your memories. All of them."

She staggered back.

Kaelan caught her. "Enough. Say another word and—"

"She has a right to know!" Caleb snapped. "Your royal lies won't protect her forever."

Kaelan's eyes flashed silver.

"This isn't your place."

Caleb stepped closer to Aira. "They took you from the old world. Hid you among humans. Your mother died protecting you — but she left something behind. A weapon. One only you can unlock."

Aira's voice trembled. "What kind of weapon?"

Caleb leaned in.

"One that can kill a god."

POV: Queen Seraphina Black

Far away, in the moonlit archives below the palace, Queen Seraphina felt the protective wards around Aira shift.

Something ancient stirred.

A seal… cracking.

She touched the rune mirror and whispered, "It's begun."

💨EPISODE 4: Dreams of Blood and Snow (Part 3/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The royal library was a maze.

Endless corridors of ancient tomes, scrolls that hummed with enchantments, and books that whispered when you passed them. Aira's boots echoed softly as she moved deeper into the restricted section, Kaelan close behind.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said.

She shot him a look. "Then stop following me."

"You're not supposed to be alone either."

"Tell that to your precious Queen."

Kaelan sighed. "She's trying to protect you."

"She's hiding things," Aira snapped. "So is everyone. Caleb shows up after vanishing for years, tells me I was part of a world I don't remember, and no one denies it."

Kaelan didn't answer.

Because he couldn't.

She stopped in front of a stone shelf marked with silver wolf carvings. Her wolf stirred inside her. A slow, curious hum.

She reached out — and a book slid free as if it had been waiting for her.

It was bound in dark leather, old and cracked, with one word burned into its cover.

"Moonbane."

She opened it.

The ink shimmered gold.

And what she saw…

Was her own face.

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

Kaelan watched as Aira flipped through the book with trembling fingers.

Images of war. Of werewolves bowing to a woman with white eyes. Of a blade glowing under moonlight, piercing a creature made of smoke and shadows.

The Luna of prophecy.

But the face wasn't just similar.

It was Aira.

"You're not the first Luna with that face," Kaelan said quietly.

Aira looked up. "What?"

"There was another," he said. "Years ago. The one who nearly ended the blood war. They say she vanished. Died in childbirth."

Aira's voice cracked. "My mother."

Kaelan nodded once. "And if the scrolls are right… she didn't just leave you a legacy."

He pointed at the page.

"She left you a weapon."

POV: Caleb Lysander

In the shadows outside the library door, Caleb leaned silently against the cold stone wall.

He heard every word.

Every piece of the truth that Aira wasn't supposed to learn yet.

Moonbane.

The blade that could destroy immortals. Hidden away. Locked by blood and memory. Only Aira could wield it — but only if she awakened the final piece of her mother's legacy.

Caleb closed his eyes.

He'd protected that secret for years. Killed to keep it from the vampires. Lied to keep Aira safe.

But now the palace wanted to use it. Use her.

Not if I can help it, he thought.

He slipped away into the shadows.

The next move would be his.

POV: Queen Seraphina Black

"You let her find the book?" the King's voice roared in the throne room.

Seraphina remained calm. "She was always going to find it. You can't bind a bloodline like hers forever."

"She's not ready!"

"She's more ready than we were at her age," Seraphina said quietly. "And the blade will respond only to her. We've done all we can."

A pause.

Then Aldric asked, "And

if she sides against us?"

Seraphina stared out the window.

"Then the wolves will follow her anyway."

💨EPISODE 4: Dreams of Blood and Snow (Part 4/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The book led her to a wall.

Literally.

Behind the last shelf in the Luna Archive, the pages of Moonbane whispered in her head. Not in words — but in instinct. A tugging in her blood. A pressure behind her eyes.

She placed her palm on the cold stone.

The wall responded.

Rings of light spun out from her hand, revealing an invisible seal. Runes etched themselves into existence — ancient, lunar, wild.

With a slow rumble, the wall sank inward, revealing a hidden passage.

Kaelan was at her side in an instant. "We shouldn't go in."

"Then don't," Aira said, stepping inside.

The tunnel descended sharply, lit only by her glow. Dust swirled in the air like it hadn't been disturbed in decades.

At the bottom… was a chamber.

Circular. Silent. Covered in carvings of wolves, moons, and blood. In the center stood a pedestal, and on it — a blade.

Not forged. Grown.

Like bone, like moonlight hardened into steel.

Her mother's sword.

Moonbane.

Aira stepped forward. Her fingers hovered just above the hilt.

Kaelan grabbed her wrist. "If you touch it, there's no going back."

She looked at him, breathing hard.

"I don't think there ever was."

And she closed her hand around the blade.

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

The moment she touched it, power erupted.

White light blazed around her, lifting her hair, her eyes glowing so bright Kaelan had to shield his own.

Then silence.

When the light faded, she stood perfectly still, blade in hand, moonlight dancing along the edge.

Kaelan stepped forward slowly.

"You activated it."

She nodded once. "It's a part of me."

He swallowed. "If the nobles find out—"

"They'll want to use me. Or control me."

Kaelan hesitated.

Then quietly said, "I won't let them."

She looked at him with something unreadable in her expression.

"I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"If they ever try to turn me into a weapon… You end it."

Kaelan's throat tightened.

But he nodded.

"I swear."

POV: Caleb Lysander

He stood outside the chamber.

He hadn't gone in. Couldn't.

Not because he wasn't allowed — but because something in that room hated him.

Rejected him.

The sword didn't just awaken for any blood. Only hers.

He leaned back against the wall, breathing hard.

Then a voice whispered from the shadows.

"You're late."

He turned.

A woman stepped forward, cloaked in deep red, face hidden by a hood. She smelled like snow and ash.

"I told you to keep her from the blade," she hissed.

"I didn't expect her to shift so soon," Caleb replied. "She's stronger than we thought."

The woman stepped closer. "Then we'll have to move faster."

"She trusts me."

"For now," the woman said. "But you know what must happen when she learns the truth."

Caleb's jaw clenched.

"She can't know what her mother really did."

The woman's voice turned cold.

"If she does, the entire realm will fall."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

That night, Aira stood on the palace balcony, Moonbane laid beside her like a sleeping dragon.

She stared up at the moon, heart full of questions, fear, rage, and something stronger rising beneath her skin.

Not power.

Purpose.

Whatever secrets they were keeping — she would find them.

Whoever betrayed her mother — she would face them.

And whatever fate the bond had in store for her and Kaelan…

She would decide that too.