Reborn As My Alpha's Luna

Tessa couldn't breathe.

Not properly. Not fully.

Her body didn't move, couldn't. Her chest felt tight like something had wrapped itself around her ribcage and refused to let go. Logan's lips still hovered near her ear, low and dark. She could feel the warm imprint of his breath tickle her neck.

"You like what you see?"

The words slid down her spine like an electric shiver, slow and paralyzing. Her lungs clenched. The air thickened, and her skin went ice-cold in a heartbeat. She didn't move. Didn't blink. Her brain screamed for her to speak, to breathe, to do something, but her limbs had turned to stone.

Then Logan stepped around her, swift, too swift, like time bent for him. One second he was behind her, the next, he was in front, staring straight through her.

His eyes weren't gold anymore.

They'd darkened into something bottomless. Something that didn't blink. The whites of his eyes swallowed by a darkness that throbbed at the edges. Fangs peeked through parted lips, subtle but unmistakable. Not fully bared, just a reminder that he could snap through her throat if he wanted.

"You weren't supposed to leave your room," he said.

His voice was... not loud. Not forceful. But it cut. Like something sharp drawn slowly across skin. Each syllable carved through the silence with quiet finality.

Tessa swallowed. Her mouth felt dry and thick with dust. Her knees swayed, threatening to cave, but she locked them in place. "Why?" she asked, almost choking on it.

"You are not allowed to wander here."

That tone again, measured, unbothered.

She gritted her teeth. "I'm not a prisoner."

Logan didn't flinch. He tilted his head slowly, eyes never leaving hers. "Aren't you?"

Before she could react, before the strange weight of his words could settle into her bones, a creak echoed behind them.

Tessa's ears caught it first. She turned her head.

From one of the shadowed side halls, a woman stepped out.

Silk flowed around her body like fog, clinging to every curve with unbothered confidence. Her hair was loose, tumbling over bare shoulders, and her eyes sparkled like she knew how to command the room without raising her voice.

"Alpha," she said, soft as a sigh. "You kept me waiting."

Tessa didn't know her. But something, something about her voice, it struck a nerve. Like déjà vu. The way she said Alpha wasn't respectful. It was... possessive. Intimate.

Logan didn't respond.

His shoulders tensed, but he didn't move. He didn't blink.

The woman's gaze slid past him, landing on Tessa.

And in an instant, everything changed.

Her nose twitched. Her nostrils flared. Her posture stiffened like she'd just walked into fire. The seductive calm vanished. Her lips curled back, not in a smile, but a snarl.

She moved.

Tessa barely had time to register what happened.

One second the woman was twenty feet away. The next, her claws were around Tessa's throat.

Tessa's back hit the wall with a bone-jarring slam. Her feet left the ground. She was choking, panicked, breathless, straining.

"You brought a human here?" the woman hissed, nails digging deep into Tessa's skin. "In our territory?"

Tessa tried to scream, but only spit came out. Her body kicked against air. Her hands clawed at the iron fingers wrapped around her neck. Her vision blurred. Her ears rang. Her mind screamed, this is how you die.

The woman's face was unrecognizable now. Wild. Her fangs gleamed. Her voice was no longer soft. It was a growl wrapped in venom.

"Humans are forbidden," she spat. "You know that, Alpha!"

There was silence.

Then, Logan's voice. Low. Warning. Sharp.

"Selene. Put her down."

Selene.

The name struck something inside Tessa, again that strange déjà vu.

But Selene didn't move. Her fingers only tightened. Tessa's eyes rolled back. Blood trickled from her neck. Her body started to slacken.

Logan's voice rose, a growl creeping in.

"I said, put her down."

Still, Selene didn't flinch.

And that's when Logan moved.

In a blur, he yanked her off Tessa and slammed her against the stone wall opposite. The impact shook the corridor. Cracks rippled through the bricks. Tessa fell like dead weight, her body hitting the floor with a thud, but all she cared about was air. It came in gasps. Ragged, precious air. Her hands clutched her own throat, nails scraping skin.

Logan pinned Selene there, breathing through his teeth. "This human is off-limits."

Selene snarled. "You've lost your mind."

Their faces were inches apart. Tension snapped in the space between them like an invisible wire pulled too tight. Logan didn't blink. Selene didn't yield. If wolves could wage war with stares, this was it.

Tessa was still coughing, her spit laced with blood. Her vision danced. She saw her personal aide, Eric, finally arrive, unbothered as ever.

"Alpha," Eric said, bowing slightly.

Logan didn't turn.

"Escort her out."

Selene scoffed. A bitter, mocking laugh. She shoved his hand off her neck and stepped back. "I know my way out."

Before leaving, she crouched beside Tessa again, claws retracted now, lips curling with faux politeness.

"Watch your back, little human," she whispered. Her voice dripped poison.

Then she stood tall and turned to Logan, spitting every word. "Is this what you've become?"

And without warning, gone. Just like that. Gone.

Silence.

Logan stood there, fists clenched, his jaw twitching. He didn't speak. Didn't move. Just stared down the hallway like he was holding something back.

Tessa, still trembling, leaned against the wall. Her neck throbbed. Her voice was barely there.

Eric gently reached for her. "Let's get you back."

She didn't resist.

She was limping, not from her legs, but from something deeper. The weight of the attack still lived in her spine, her ribs, her chest.

They walked in silence. Tessa leaned on him, breathing through her nose.

Then she saw it.

A painting.

The largest thing in the corridor. Hung like a sacred relic. A woman, standing tall, draped in silver, surrounded by swirling moonlight. Her face was calm. Powerful. Sad. Alive.

Tessa stopped.

"Who is that?" she asked, voice rough.

Eric paused. "Liyara West."

Her breath caught. "Liyara?" She blinked, slowly. "Did you say... Leara?"

"Yes."

Her legs moved without thinking. She walked closer. Reached out. Her fingertips brushed the frame,

And the world cracked open.

Light. Heat. Screaming. The sound of blades, wolves howling, a woman's sobs. Blood. Betrayal. Fire. The sky ripping open. A scream in Logan's voice. A dagger breaking skin.

It all flooded her.

Then,

Black.

She gasped and stumbled back. Eric caught her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

Tessa was silent.

She blinked once, then turned, smirk faint and strange.

"No," she said softly. "Everything's fine. Take me to my room."