The Wicked Alpha's Star-Crossed Luna

8 | HYBRID ALPHA

Howl POV

After I left Electra on the front steps, I sauntered inside with my boys behind me, nodding and waving as I went. My heart was racing with excitement, and Romeo was howling with approval. I had done it--I had finally banished my ex.

“Good thing you nipped that in the bud now, dude,” Percy praised me, echoing my thoughts. “There’s no telling what that psycho might try if she found out that you found your mate.”

We were already on my floor courtesy of my private elevator, but I still glanced around in worry that we were overheard. “Shhh! Watch it, Perse.”

“I’d apologize, but nah,” he shrugged, smirking.

The four of us filed into my office; Percy and Oliver claimed spots on opposite ends of my leather sectional, while Zeke took one of the chairs directly across from me. His burly size made the seat seem so tiny in comparison.

“So it’s true?” asked the gamma. “You found our luna?”

I cringed, sharing a hesitant look with Percy. “Well…”

Percy sighed. “Turns out lover boy here is mated to the future alpha of another pack, and she has no interest in giving up her birthright to become luna.”

Zeke let out a deep breath, deflated. “Well, fuck.”

“That’s what I said!” Percy pointed out. “If he gets her pregnant, then there’s no question--!”

I snarled, silencing my beta. “I will not entrap my mate. She wants me--I know she does--she just doesn’t want to give up her title in the process. It’s no different from a career-oriented person wanting to keep their position and start a family at the same time. I just need to find a way to convince her of that.”

“You said she’s a future alpha, right? Not current?” asked Zeke, to which I nodded. “What if you meet with the current alpha and make them an offer for her hand in marriage? Goddess knows your parents left you more than enough to pay a dowry. What pack does she belong to?”

I buried my face in my hands, stalling for a few breaths. “We don’t know for sure, but Percy and I think she might be the heir to the Starry Sky Pack.”

Zeke nodded, his expression grave. “I see. That complicates things.”

“You think?” Percy groaned. “I get that you bears don’t have beef with Starry Sky, but they have beef with us.”

Oliver frowned. “Only as a technicality. From everything I’ve seen and heard regarding that war between your grandfathers, and the current alpha’s accomplishments, I don’t think we have as much to fear as you guys think.”

“Ren did admit that she wanted to be nothing like her grandfather,” I sighed, thinking back to my beautiful, pondering mate. “And she said that her father has been doing everything he can to undo the damage done by his predecessor.”

Percy scoffed. “Everything except extending an olive branch to the pack most affected.”

“You said her name was Ren?” confirmed my zeta. Once I nodded, he tapped away at the tablet he kept in my office. “One sec… Found her. Looks like your mate knew better than to give her real name out to strangers.”

I frowned at that. “Why would she give me a fake name? I’m her mate!”

The werewitch shot me a condescending look. “Really, ‘Howl’? You’re complaining about her wanting to keep some level of anonymity? What name did you give her?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled, causing the others to chuckle.

“Anyway, here she is: Serena Aurora Vespera.” He swiped up, and the projector that hung from the ceiling kicked on, projecting a three-dimensional hologram of my mate. Just the sight of her made my heart kick it up a notch, even though the projected image didn’t truly do her justice. “First heir of the Starry Sky Pack. Father is Alpha Sterling Vespera of Starry Sky, mother is Luna Celeste Hathor of…” Oliver frowned. “Weird. I can’t see where her mom comes from.”

“You mean it’s redacted?” I asked. “Some rich families pay to have their origin packs wiped from the pack database.” Just like we paid to get into it without adding our pack information.

Oliver shook his head. “No, Alpha--I mean its left blank.”

“Maybe that just means she comes from Starry Sky?” suggested Percy.

“No, they aren’t allowed to leave any blank fields,” I remarked, my curiosity piqued. “Which means they somehow managed to convince the elder surveying them to submit an incomplete form. That can get a wolf killed. What else you got?”

Oliver read through the information, parsing it for important details. “Uh… She’s a twin, the elder of the two and the first to shift. She’s been in warrior training since she was twelve, and immediately entered the corps after high school. She’s the youngest lieutenant in the history of Starry Sky.”

Percy and Zeke shot me wide grins, already proud of their future luna.

“She’s also been taking classes part-time at Starry Sky’s university, all relating to politics and business. She’s had top marks since she could talk and… Oh, is that a social media presence I sense?” After a couple more swipes, the werewitch frowned again. “Nah, sorry. She doesn’t have any socials, but her sister does. I don’t recommend lurking on there in the hopes of seeing photos of her--Serena seems very private.”

“What was her wolf like?” asked Percy.

“Like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” I breathed. “Her fur was white as snow, but also shined with various colors in the light.”

Oliver c****d a brow. “She has an iridescent wolf?”

“I guess? If that’s what it’s called,” I admitted. “Why? Are those special?”

“They don’t exist,” he revealed. “Blessed wolves are marked by the moon goddess, and their eyes reflect the color of specific crystals, like with amethyst wolves or obsidian wolves or jade wolves. Then there’s royal wolves, who only come in solid gold or silver. But you’re telling me that your mate has a wolf whose fur is exactly like her hair?” He pointed at her hologram. “I thought she dyed it that way--you’re telling me that’s her natural hair color?”

I shrugged. “I think so? Her roots weren’t a different color.”

“Dude, that’s not natural, that’s--that’s supernatural,” Oliver stammered. “Like, beyond what we’re accustomed to. There’s no way she’s just a wolf.”

The rest of us swapped shocked looks. “Actually, Romeo told me that her wolf reached out to him,” I confessed. “Which I’ve only ever known to be a trait of hybrids. And she could tell that I was a hybrid--she just knew.”

“Of course our hybrid alpha would be fated to another hybrid alpha,” Percy shook his head and chuckled. “Which, by the way, we’re no closer to finding a way to convince her to accept you now than we were when we walked in here.”

Zeke stood up. “I can ask the elders if there’s a way for you and her to keep your alpha titles and your bond.”

“I’ll keep researching hybrids and different species,” offered Oliver, already attaching a keyboard to his tablet--something he only ever did when he was about to embark on a serious research expedition. “If our luna really is a hybrid, then the other species in her must be from her mother’s side, so I’ll do some digging on her as well.”

“And I guess you and I have to pack some day bags, dude,” Percy jumped up, excited. “We’ve got to be there by ten o’clock tonight.”

I stood as well, my eyes sweeping over my team. “Thanks, guys. I’m gonna go shower and catch up with my sisters; we’ll reconvene later on before Percy and I head out.”

As we went our separate ways, Percy clapped his hand down on my shoulder in the hallway. “Out of curiosity, why are you showering when you have to run all the way over there and back again tonight?”

With a smirk, I shoved him off me playfully. “Because we’re not running all the way there, dumbass. There’s a dirt road less than two miles south of the clearing, and a dirt road’s only use is to connect paved roads with nature. It’ll save us time.”

His eyes widened. “Wait, more time means you can surprise her!”

“How would I--?”

“C’mon, Howl, I know there’s a suave, romantic guy somewhere in there, deep down,” teased my best friend. “Use the extra time to get her a gift. Flowers, chocolate, jewelry, a card made out of construction paper with crayon all over it for all I care--just get her something that says you’ve been thinking of her.”

As I disappeared into my suite, stripped, and entered the steaming shower, all I could think about was my mate. Ren--no, Serena. What could I bring her? It would be too late for food of any sort, and she seemed like the kind to take her body and health seriously. Flowers? That might be too awkward for her. A card of any kind, handmade or not, would be lame in this instance. Jewelry, huh?

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Serena POV

The meeting with the delegates lasted another hour; Carina assured the prince that she fully intended to accept him as her mate, much to his delight. At least, I think he was delighted--the corner of his mouth twitched upward, and his gold eyes seemed to sparkle as he nodded courteously in agreement. He also asked us to continue to call him Lucien and gave us permission to forgo his title while outside the public eye.

We spent the better part of the meeting discussing when Carina would leave for the capital to start her life there. Lucien was surprised to hear that she was attending daily training and university courses of her own volition, and that she wanted to continue even after moving to the capital. He assured my sister that she can transfer her credits over to the Lupinus Imperial College, the best university in the country that was located in the capital, and that she could pursue her education for as long as she desired while learning to rule by his side. While he couldn’t promise that she could train with the royal army, he did suggest that she train one-on-one with Juno or another member of his cabinet, especially in terms of assessing her self-defense capabilities. Beyond that, Lucien, our father, and Chandler took over to discuss pack laws, while Beta Juno took my mother and sister aside to go over her move, her college transfer, and Lucien’s coronation.

“Of course, as his mate, your family, friends, and the ranked members of your pack are invited to the event--just have your zeta send over a list of names by week’s end. We like to have our ducks in a row,” she winked. “As for the wedding--”

“Ah, so there is one thing regarding that,” Mom interrupted, wringing her hands together. “We may have forgotten to mention this, but Carina is only twenty years old. While she’s technically an adult, pack law dictates that she can’t marry until after she is twenty-one.”

Juno eyed Carina suspiciously. “You’re not twenty-one?” The beta asked, catching the attention of the men in the room. My twin sister shook her head. “But you can sense that Lucien is your mate?” She nodded. Juno and Lucien swap looks, their expressions unreadable.

“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Chandler opined. “The exact wording of the law is that ‘no wolf should be wed prior to their twenty-first birthmoon, or until they reach an eligible age to sense their fated mate.’ This wording was put in place to allow interspecies pairings, since those of other species can sense their mates at varying ages; King Fenrir may have outlawed children borne of mixed blood in his early years, but that is one of the many ignorant laws we wish to overturn once His Highness sits on the throne.”

I frowned and locked eyes with Carina, who seemed just as confused as I was. I wanted nothing more than to point out how we weren’t hybrids, just normal werewolves, but our mother hurriedly chimed in. “Fantastic! Well, since there’s no legal obstacle preventing it, I think Cari and Lucien should decide for themselves when their wedding should be.”

The mates shared a brief glance before Lucien stated, “Father will want us to marry before my coronation, but the old man can wait.” Standing, he strolled over to Carina, his steps slow and deliberate as if he were afraid of frightening her away. Once he stood before her, the prince took both of her hands in his and peered into her eyes, searching. “We can wait as long as you want. After the coronation, after your twenty-first, after you graduate from college--whatever you decide, Carina, that is what we’ll do.”

Cari’s breath caught at his impromptu show of dedication to her. “Thank you, Lucien. It means a lot that you consider my opinion on the matter that highly. Um, is it okay if I take some time to think about that? Say, a week or two?”

“Take all the time you need, my queen,” he said, to which she turned beet red.

Shortly after, the meeting concluded, allowing Cari and I to escape to Tara’s room on the second floor, where all the unmated single wolves lived. Callisto was already there, raiding her fridge. As hesitant as I was, Carina insisted that we needed to include those we trust in the hunt for answers, so we made my future beta and the sister to the gamma listen to all that transpired that day. Carina kicked it off, her logic being that receiving good news first would help soften the bombshell that was my news. Once she had brought them up to speed on her royal mate, I took over and recounted my time in the woods with my mystery mate. I had to give it to them; Tara, who I expected to shout and freak out at the more jaw-dropping points, and Callisto, who I was sure would make snarky comments all the while, remained silent for my entire retelling. No gasps, no curses--they just sat there like stunned statues, their eyes slowly widening in what I hoped was more shock and less horror.

“So, to recap,” I took a deep breath and began counting on my fingers: “Cari and I were able to sense our mates before turning twenty-one. Her mate is the next Alpha King, so she’s moving to the capital in the near future. My mate is a hybrid wolf and the alpha of another pack, he won’t say which one, but considering the timing of our meeting it’s highly likely that he is the alpha of our enemies, the rogue Dark Moon Pack. Neither he or I want to give up being alpha to become the other’s luna, but he refuses to reject me and won’t give me his name so that I can reject him.”

“Don’t forget that you’re meeting him tonight after dinner,” Carina reminded me.

“Oh, right. Thanks.” I knocked off another finger. “And he and I are meeting tonight to discuss the terms of our courtship. Any questions?”

“Yeah, just one,” Callisto cleared his throat before throwing up his hands. “What the actual f**k, Rena?!”

“Same, girl,” Tara tried to chuckle, but the sound was shaky. “I don’t even know where to start. You can both sense your mates already? You met them on the same day? You’re going to be our queen?!” She directed that last shout at Carina, who flushed under her aggressive attention.

“Only if we get married--and that might not happen for a while,” my sister admitted. “The more I think about it, finishing my Bachelor’s will give me a chance to acclimate to life in the capital, and Lucien and I can use that time to really get to know one another. It just makes sense.”

“Still, you’re going to be the luna queen!” Tara jumped up and down, clapping her hands jubilantly. “Luna Queen Carina Iliana Styx Vespera Hathor Castillo… What was your maternal grandmother’s name again?”

Carina scrunched her face in thought for a moment before peering my way questioningly. “I think Mom said her mom’s last name was Rose,” I reminded her.

We never met our mother’s family, and the few things we heard about them made us scratch our heads. Apparently, our grandmother was an orphan who chose her own first and last name well into adulthood: Hathor Rose. Then when she had Mom, she didn’t give her daughter her last name or her father’s, but instead used her own chosen name as Mom’s surname. Weird.

Whenever asked, Mom just explained it all away as her not being very close to her parents. Dad typically kept quiet on the matter, but there was a time when he cryptically revealed that he met our maternal grandparents only once to alert them of their union. He admitted they were nice, warm even, but saddened to see their only daughter leave home for what might be forever. When we asked him why we never visited, he simply stated, “They live too far for us to travel.”

“Also,” Callisto began. “It’s crazy that your wolves are named Juliet and Desdemona, the heroines of Shakespearean tragedies, and your mates’ wolves are respectively named Romeo and Othello.” He cringed at the implication. “One of them killed themselves because they thought their lover was dead, which led to her committing suicide right after, and the other killed their lover because they thought she was unfaithful. How does any of that bode well for you two?!”

I thought back to the way Howl looked at me, the way he reigned in his anger and managed to be stern in a way that didn’t come across as abusive. “I don’t think Howl would hurt me,” I spoke honestly.

“I feel the same way about Lucien,” Carina affirmed. “Both of these men want us as much as we want them, and they’re willing to do anything to have us… But if they learn about each other, then who knows what will happen?”

Callisto ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “Honestly, ladies, this is tough. Dark Moon has been our rival pack since your grandfather blamed them for the death of his mate. They weren’t even rogue back then, you know? They went rogue when King Fenrir turned his back on them; he never chastised Alpha Rigel for his heinous acts and instead lauded him like some kind of war hero.”

Carina scoffed, her arms folded over her chest. “More like a war criminal.”

I offered her a contrite smile. “You regret saving his life yet?”

She paused. “... No. As uncomfortable as he always made us, as mean as his words were, and as much harm as he caused in the distant past, he’s still our grandfather. We wouldn’t exist if he had never met Grandma Serena and had Dad, so I can’t exactly wish that he was never born. I just want him to open his eyes and realize that he’s wrong about us--hell, about a lot of things.”

Callisto scratched his bearded chin. “Maybe he’s wrong about Dark Moon, too.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they were never able to recover your grandmother’s body,” he pointed out. “And Alpha Deimos and his pack elders demanded that Alpha Rigel provide evidence to prove they had even come in contact with Luna Serena outside of previous social events, which he couldn’t.”

Tara gasped. “What if your grandmother fell in love with Alpha Deimos and ran away to be with him?!”

The rest of us rolled our eyes. Tara was always trying to make everything out to be like one of her romance dramas. “Let’s ignore for a second that Alpha Deimos was notoriously devoted to his mystery luna, even though he never brought her to social events--to the point where he was written about constantly in tabloids for rejecting affluent she-wolves left and right,” Carina pointed out, surprising me. Seems she learned a lot in her sociology course. “Before Luna Serena went missing, she and Alpha Rigel were the picture of a true mate pairing. He doted on her, she adored him, and as far as anyone knows they were both devoted to each other. He didn’t turn into the asshole we know him as until after she went missing. So why would she leave her loving mate?”

Shaking my head, I began to pace back and forth. “No, I don’t think she would. Everything we learned about her from Dad and his friends made her seem like a saint. But if she didn’t leave of her own volition, then she was either taken or killed.”

“So Dark Moon did it?” asked Tara.

“It could have been anyone,” Callisto pointed out. “Our pack has always been coveted by the royal family for being the most loyal. Half of our allies only signed the papers in hopes of elevating their status by being affiliated with us--the rest are either actually loyal or became our allies because we had something to offer them, like wealth or protection.”

“I doubt the four of us will be able to make headway on a cold case from before we were born,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “The fact is, we can’t prove that Dark Moon did or did not have a hand in the disappearance of Luna Serena--and until we can prove without a doubt that they didn’t, our packs will continue to feud.”

“Wait--are you saying you want us to stop feuding with Dark Moon?” Tara clarified.

“I’m saying that the rivalry between our packs is the biggest obstacle preventing Howl and I from being together,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. However, since we were all alone in a quiet room, my sister and our friends heard me clear as day. The three of them exchanged astonished looks, prompting me to scowl. “What?”

Carina giggled. “You like Howl.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous, Cari. I don’t even know him. The bastard wouldn’t even tell me his name, or the name of his pack. Would you call my mate reliable?”

“Reliable or not, the moon goddess made him yours all the same,” Callisto remarked. “If we do this--if we clear Dark Moon of the accusations your grandfather made against them--will you accept Howl as your mate?”

That gave me pause. Was the feud between our people really the only thing holding me back? Before I knew that members of Dark Moon had been spotted around where we were, the only thing that kept me from accepting Howl was that we were both alphas. If this new barrier is resolved, it wouldn’t change the fact that neither of us wanted to step down as alpha. So how could I accept the bond then?

Juliet whimpered in my mind. Please, Serena. Give our mate a chance--and I don’t just mean you should let him court you. Tell him the truth about who you are, and be honest regarding your suspicions. If he truly wishes to be our mate, he will want to clear Dark Moon’s name as well.

And if Dark Moon can’t be cleared? I challenged her. If Howl and I agree to a specific timeframe for our courtship, and we can’t clear Dark Moon by the deadline, will you support my decision to reject him?

Juliet was quiet for a moment. No, I won’t. I will always be your wolf, but if you reject our mate because of a crime his father allegedly committed, you will regret it.

Then she put up a block, leaving me to chew on her words.