Fated to the Alpha I Feared

💨EPISODE 5: The Red Cloak Lies (Part 1/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The envelope was black.

No wax seal. No scent. No return sigil.

It simply appeared on Aira's windowsill at sunrise — as if carried by shadows.

She didn't need to open it to know who it was from.

"The Vampire Court," she said, holding the letter carefully between two fingers.

Kaelan stood behind her, arms crossed, tension radiating from him like heat.

"They want you to come to them," he said flatly. "They're taunting us."

"No," Aira said, tearing the envelope open.

"They're daring me."

Inside, a single card:

> You carry the blood of a Queen and the scent of prophecy.

We invite you to stand before the Crimson Throne.

— Lady Mirielle Voss

Aira smirked.

"They're scared."

Kaelan's jaw clenched. "They should be."

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

He didn't like this.

He didn't like her walking into the lion's den — or worse, enjoying the idea of it.

"She's testing you," he said. "Poking at the fire."

"I am the fire," Aira replied.

He grabbed her arm gently. "Listen to me. The vampire court doesn't play games. They play wars disguised as banquets. They smile while drinking your blood."

Aira's eyes sparkled. "Then I'll smile back."

He stared at her. She wasn't the same girl who'd stumbled into the palace, confused and scared. She was changing — growing teeth, sharpening.

But even power could be bait.

"I'm going with you," he said.

"No," Aira replied.

Kaelan blinked. "Excuse me?"

"They invited me, not the Prince of Blackfang," she said. "If you walk in, it's war. If I walk in alone… it's power."

Kaelan stepped closer. "I'm not letting you go alone."

Aira stepped even closer. "Then trust me."

He searched her face.

And for the first time… he realized he did.

POV: Queen Seraphina Black

In the War Room, Queen Seraphina burned the second letter.

The one not meant for Aira.

The one signed in blood and sealed with a fang.

> Your daughter is waking.

Let her enter our court…

And she will never return.

She crushed the ashes between her fingers.

"If Mirielle harms her," she said, "I will raze their mountains."

King Aldric raised a brow. "You sent her anyway."

"She needs to see it," Seraphina said. "Needs to feel their hatred. That's how you forge a Luna — not with silk, but with fire."

"And if they strike?"

Seraphina's smile was ice.

"Then we strike back harder."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

As night fell, Aira dressed not in a gown — but in the armor of her ancestors.

Silver-lined leather. Moonsteel at her hip. The comb in her hair pulsed with old magic.

Moonbane stayed sheathed, but close.

She looked in the mirror and didn't see a girl anymore.

She saw a weapon. A mystery. A promise.

Outside her door, Caleb waited.

She blinked. "You're still here?"

He smirked. "You think I'd let you waltz into vampire territory alone?"

"I told Kaelan no."

"Yeah, but Kaelan follows orders. I don't."

She shook her head. "You're risking your neck."

He stepped closer.

"I've risked more for you."

She stared at him. "Why?"

Caleb's smile faltered. "Because I remember who you were. Before they wiped it all."

Her breath caught.

"What did they wipe?"

Caleb's eyes were full of shadows. "Memories that would break you."

Then he handed her a ring.

Silver. Plain. Old.

"What's this?"

He looked away.

"Your mother's. She gave it to me… to give back to you. When it was time."

Aira slipped it onto her finger.

The second she did—her vision burned white.

Flas

h.

A woman screaming.

A child wrapped in blood and silk.

A shadow in red watching from the forest.

And a whisper:

> She will return. She always does.

💨EPISODE 5: The Red Cloak Lies (Part 2/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The carriage door creaked open to a world carved from blood and obsidian.

The Vampire Court was nestled deep within the Shadow Mountains — a stronghold of ancient thrones and darker pacts. Mist swirled around the cobblestone courtyard, cold even for Aira's new wolf senses.

The palace ahead rose like a cathedral of bones.

Caleb stepped out first, eyeing the stone statues that lined the gate—each one a vampire impaled through the heart, mouths twisted in silent screams.

"Lovely decor," he muttered. "Always so welcoming."

Aira followed, head high. Her heartbeat was steady. Her wolf calm. But deep inside, something whispered:

Not everyone here is a stranger.

She could feel it.

The doors opened before she knocked.

Two guards in silver armor stood aside, their faces covered by crimson masks.

Lady Mirielle waited at the far end of the grand hall, her gown trailing like smoke across the marble.

"Welcome, Luna," she purred. "I've been dying to see you again."

POV: Lady Mirielle Voss

She looked even more like her mother now.

Same spine.

Same fury hidden behind those eyes.

Mirielle studied Aira's every step — the way she didn't flinch at the vampire guards, didn't lower her gaze. The blade at her side was obvious. A warning.

She's already becoming a Queen.

"Care for wine?" Mirielle offered, lifting a silver chalice. "It's… aged."

"I don't drink blood," Aira replied flatly.

Mirielle laughed softly. "Pity. You carry it."

"I came for answers. Not games."

Mirielle's smile widened.

"Oh, sweet girl. In this court, they're the same thing."

POV: Caleb Lysander

Caleb stood by the marble columns, arms folded, every muscle coiled. His eyes never left Mirielle.

He knew what she was.

What she'd done.

She had fed Aira's mother poison. Had hunted her like prey in the forest that night.

The same night he had tried to smuggle Aira out of the burning village.

The same night he failed.

He'd carried her through the flames, a baby drenched in blood and wrapped in torn silk. She had looked up at him, calm — even then. Silent.

She hadn't cried.

Not even when her mother's scream shattered the sky.

He clenched his jaw.

If Mirielle so much as breathed wrong—

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

"I want the truth," Aira said, stepping forward. "You knew my mother."

Mirielle swirled her chalice. "Everyone knew your mother. She was impossible to ignore."

"You betrayed her."

"I admired her," Mirielle said, voice silk. "But the High Council feared her. Too powerful. Too… unpredictable."

"She died protecting me."

Mirielle raised a brow. "Did she?"

Aira's stomach turned. "What do you mean?"

Mirielle stepped closer, whispering:

"She didn't die protecting you. She died because of you."

POV: Jaxon Estrada

Back at the palace, Jaxon — Aira's eldest brother — slammed the chamber door shut behind him.

"She's with vampires, Father!"

He paced like a caged wolf, fury in every breath.

"You should've stopped her."

General Estrada sat silently at the long table, fingers laced beneath his chin.

"She's not a child anymore," he said. "She made a choice."

"She's our sister," Jaxon growled. "She doesn't know what they are."

"She knows enough."

"No," Jaxon snapped. "She doesn't know what she is."

His father's gaze finally lifted. "And what is that?"

Jaxon's voice dropped to a whisper:

"She's a key."

"A weapon."

"Something not even you can control."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The words echoed in her head.

She died because of you.

"What did you do to her?" Aira demanded.

Mirielle smiled faintly. "I did nothing. Your birth killed her. Your blood. Your destiny."

Aira trembled, fury rising in her throat. "You're lying."

Mirielle leaned in.

"Then prove it. Unlock her final memory. Find the room they buried beneath the Blackfang Palace. The one no

one dares speak of."

She turned away.

"And when you do… you'll stop fearing me."

She glanced back, eyes glowing.

"You'll fear yourself."

💨EPISODE 5: The Red Cloak Lies (Part 3/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The mountains felt colder after the Vampire Court.

The shadows deeper.

Even the moon looked different—as if it too was hiding something from her.

Aira stepped down from the carriage and walked through the palace gates like a storm barely contained. Caleb had tried to speak to her, but she waved him off. Her mind was spinning.

She died because of you.

Mirielle's voice echoed like poison.

Could it be true?

Had her mother died not for her—but because of her?

Kaelan was already waiting in the courtyard, arms folded, lips tight. He didn't ask what happened.

He didn't need to.

"What did she say to you?" he asked anyway.

Aira's voice came out hoarse. "She told me to look under the palace. That there's a memory buried here. One my family has hidden."

Kaelan frowned. "There are hundreds of sealed rooms under this palace. Most of them haven't been opened in decades."

"Then we start opening them."

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

He didn't like this.

Secrets buried under stone were buried for a reason. Especially in Blackfang, where history was written in blood and sealed with magic.

But this wasn't just about curiosity anymore.

This was about Aira's truth.

Her origin.

So he led her to the old West Wing—the part of the palace closed off after the last war. Dust caked the floor. Magic clung to the air like ice.

They reached a hall lined with chained doors.

Aira stepped toward one.

It pulsed.

Kaelan grabbed her arm. "Not that one."

"Why?"

"Because that's the one room not even the Queen can open."

Aira looked at him.

"Then it's exactly the one I need."

POV: Queen Seraphina Black

She watched them through the moon mirror, heart pounding.

"They found it," she whispered.

King Aldric stepped into the room behind her. "Then you need to tell her."

"I can't."

"She's unlocking her mother's past without guidance. That's dangerous."

Seraphina turned.

"No," she said. "We're dangerous."

"She'll hate us if she learns the truth."

Seraphina's eyes shimmered with regret.

"She'll hate us anyway."

POV: Caleb Lysander

He stood on the upper balcony, watching Aira disappear into the palace's old wing.

He knew what she would find.

What it would do to her.

But she needed to find it.

She needed to remember.

Still… he wasn't the only one watching.

A presence moved behind him — soft, smooth.

He turned.

Jaxon stood in the shadowed corridor.

"Strange," Jaxon said, tilting his head. "A rogue wolf, trusted so close to my sister."

Caleb didn't blink. "She trusts me."

Jaxon smiled coldly. "That'll be your biggest mistake."

And with that, he walked away—leaving behind the bitter scent of betrayal.

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

The door wouldn't open.

Even with all the force Kaelan could summon, even when Aira tried pressing her palm to the seal, it held.

Until...

She whispered her mother's name.

"Arwen Estrada."

The door groaned. Magic fizzled. And the seal cracked down the middle.

The chamber behind it was silent.

Cold.

Inside, the walls were painted in moon symbols. A single bed sat in the center, and above it, carved into the stone in bleeding ink, were the words:

> She knew the world would fear her child.

So she made sure t

he child would forget.

Aira stepped forward, her breath trembling.

There, on the bed, lay a box.

And in it — her mother's diary.

💨EPISODE 5: The Red Cloak Lies (Part 4/4)💨

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

The diary trembled in her hands.

Not physically—but through her wolf senses, her soul could feel it pulsing with memory. With truth.

Aira opened the first page.

Her mother's handwriting was elegant but rushed. Ink smeared. Words scratched as if written in a storm.

> If you're reading this, my child, then you're already awakening.

Forgive me for the memories we took from you.

I only wanted you to live.

Aira's fingers curled tighter around the book.

> They feared your bloodline. Feared what you could become.

The day I carried you, I was hunted by wolves and vampires alike.

Not because I broke their laws —

but because I carried the power that could break their thrones.

> The blood of the Luna.

The voice of the First Pack.

The one born to destroy or to save us all.

The pages blurred as tears stung her eyes.

This wasn't just a legacy.

It was a curse.

> You were born under the Blood Moon, my little wolf.

The prophecy says your mate will fear you.

That love will become your test.

And betrayal… will awaken your full power.

Aira's breath hitched.

Betrayal?

> They will lie to you. Even the ones you trust most.

But the moment your heart breaks for the first time…

the Luna inside you will rise.

POV: Kaelan Raven Black

Kaelan stood at the highest watchtower when the blow came.

A dagger, silent and fast, sliced toward his neck.

He twisted just in time—catching the attacker by the wrist.

But what stopped him wasn't the blade.

It was the face.

"You?" Kaelan breathed.

Jaxon grinned darkly.

"I warned you," he said, pressing forward. "She's too powerful. You're too close."

Kaelan shoved him back, fury burning in his chest. "You tried to kill me."

"You're in the way," Jaxon said simply. "She needs to be controlled—before she burns everything."

"She's your sister."

"She's a weapon."

Kaelan growled. "She's more than that."

Jaxon vanished into the night.

But not before whispering:

"She'll destroy you too."

POV: Aira Moon Estrada

Aira sat on the edge of her mother's bed, the diary open on her lap.

She'd read it all now.

Every confession.

Every warning.

Every ounce of love sealed between ink and silence.

And then, on the very last page… was a lock of silver hair.

Her mother's.

And a final line:

> When the moon turns red, and the mate you love turns away —

don't run.

> Let the Luna rise.

Aira closed the book slowly.

Her eyes glowed in the dark.

And for the first time… she knew who she was.

POV: Caleb Lysander

From the cliffs above the palace, Caleb watched the lights flicker in Aira's window.

He could feel her awakening.

The shift in her energy. The storm rising under her skin.

"She knows now," he murmured.

The red-cloaked woman stepped from the trees beside him.

"She's not ready."

"She will be," Caleb replied

"And when the Alpha breaks her heart?" the woman asked.

Caleb didn't blink.

"Then we'll see if the Luna chooses love… or vengeance."