Unwanted Luna - Chapter #8 - by Nina Soelian

[Daphne’s POV]

Dawn arrives with the pack bustling in preparation and I found myself alone with Alpha Hector in the dining room. His face lights up when he sees me.

"Perfect timing, little moon." His smile was warm and genuine, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I have something special for you.”

He gestured to an ornate teapot, its silver surface etched with moon phases.

"Moon tea, to bless and calm you before the ceremony."

The amber liquid he poured smelled of jasmine and honey, and something earthier beneath.

"You've been so kind to me," I said softly, meeting his eyes. "Taking me as your Luna when you could have chosen anyone. Someone stronger, someone—"

"Daphne." His hand covered mine. "You have a strength everyone is too blind to see. Drink. Let me take care of you."

The tea was sweet with an interesting depth, warming me from within. As I drained the cup, I studied Alpha Hector over the rim.

The strong jaw, the broad shoulders that still filled out his shirt impressively. He'd been handsome in his youth—the old portraits proved it—but maturity had refined him into something more compelling.

"Good girl," he murmured, and heat flushed my cheeks that had nothing to do with the tea.

Within minutes, a pleasant warmth spread through me during the breakfast with Alpha Hector, like sinking into a hot bath after a long day. My skin tingled, hypersensitive but not unpleasantly so.

When I stood, my legs wobbled slightly—probably exhaustion from training. Hector caught me instantly, steadying me against his chest. His scent enveloped me with winter forest and aged whiskey.

Pure Alpha dominance that made me feel protected rather than threatened.

My hands pressed against his chest, feeling the solid muscle beneath his shirt.

"You're burning up," he murmurs, hands spanning my waist. "And you smell... different. Sweeter."

"I'm okay," I breathed, though my skin felt too tight, too warm. "Just tired from—"

He leaned closer, nose nearly touching my neck, inhaling deeply. Then he froze. His entire body went rigid, and when he pulled back, something dangerous flickered in those amber eyes.

"You smell like Xander."

The words were soft, pleasant even. But his grip on my waist tightened possessively, making my heart stuttered.

"We train together," I said quickly, guilt flooding me. Here was this good man, offering me everything, and I'd kissed his son yesterday. "Just training—"

"Just training…" His thumb stroked along my waist, a gesture that should have been comforting but made my pulse race. "Go rest, little moon. Tonight, you become my Luna properly."

The promise in his voice sent an unexpected shiver through me and I fled on unsteady legs.

By evening, the symptoms have intensified into torture. The omega maids dress me in ceremonial white—silk and lace like sandpaper against my hypersensitive skin.

Every touch sends sparks through my body. Every movement makes me acutely aware of the aching emptiness, the wetness pooling between my thighs. They leave me alone, and I press my hands against my burning face.

Something is wrong. This isn't nerves.

I stumble to the window. The forest beckons. The ceremony starts soon, but I can't face the pack like this.

The forest air should help, should cool the fire in my blood. Instead, every scent feels amplified. When I stumbled into a moonlit clearing, the view made me freeze.

Xander is there, shirtless, his body magnificent in the silver light.

He's training, muscles rippling with each powerful strike against the practice dummy. Sweat gleams on his skin, and the sight of him—dominant, powerful, pure Alpha male—triggers something violent in my body.

A wave of liquid heat floods through me so intensely I cry out.

His head snaps up. His nostrils flare. His eyes flash pure wolf-gold, and I watch his pupils dilate as my scent reaches him.

"Daphne…" My name comes out as a growl that makes my knees buckle.

The sweet scent of my pheromones fills the clearing, unmistakable, undeniable.

"No, no, no," I whimper, backing away even as my body screams to move closer. "This is wrong. It's too early. I'm not due for months—"

But my body doesn't care. It produces more slick, more pheromones, broadcasting my need to the Alpha male before me like a beacon.

I try to run deeper into the woods, but he catches me in seconds.

His hand wraps around my wrist, spinning me back, and then I'm pressed against the rough bark of a massive oak with his body caging mine.

"You're in heat," he snarls, his control visibly shredding as my pheromones overwhelm him. His other hands grip my waist, pressing me to his body. "Fuck, Daphne… You're in heat."

"I can't..." I'm shaking, not sure if I want him to stop or never stop. "The Luna ceremony... I have to—"

He laughs, dark and dangerous. "The ceremony where my father mate you while you're out of your mind ?"

His mouth hovers over mine, his breath hot against my lips. I feel like I’m suffocating. "What do I do?"

Something shifts in his expression—hunger warring with something else.

Something almost tender.

"I could help you," he says softly, dangerously. "Being the responsible Alpha heir and all." His thumb brushes my bottom lip. "Can't let my future Luna appear at the ceremony in this condition."

"Xander—"

He kisses me then, claiming my mouth with savage intensity, and I moan against him. My body responds desperately to his dominance, to the Alpha strength radiating from every touch.

Time fragments. His mouth on mine. His hands everywhere. The rough bark against my back as he drops to his knees before me.

Xander’s hand under the hem of my dress, fingers digging into my thighs like he wanted to leave bruises. He doesn’t wait for me to ask—just shoves the fabric up around my waist, baring me to the cold night air.

And then his mouth is on me.

Not some polite little lick—no, Xander devours me like I am his last meal. His tongue is hot, dragging a filthy stripe from my soaked slit all the way up to my sweet spot, and I see stars.

He groans against me, the vibrations making my legs shake, and then he does it again—slower this time. Savoring me like I am dripping honey just for him.

“Oh! Xander—” My voice is wrecked already, fingers tangling in his hair as he buries his face between my thighs.

He doesn’t let up, just licks and sucks and ruins me. His nose is grinding against the most sensitive spot while his tongue licks into me in short, dirty strokes.

I can hear how wet I am. Every slick sound echoing in the quiet forest. Every gasp and moan swallowed by his greedy mouth.

My hips jerk against his face, on his fingers, on his tongue, chasing that sweet edge—

“Come for me,” he growls against my core. “Let me taste it.”

My orgasm rips through me like lightning, clamping down on his fingers as I come so hard I nearly black out. He doesn’t stop—just keeps lapping at me, drinking me down like he is starving for it. Until I’m twitching and whimpering from oversensitivity.

When clarity returns, I'm boneless against the tree, Xander's arms supporting my weight. One climax has eased the worst symptoms, but my body still craves more.

Still aches for completion.

"I could give you everything," he murmurs against my throat. "Even help you conceive an heir for him… if that's what you need, little wolf."

The words should shock me. Instead, they send another pulse of heat through my core.

"We can't," I whisper, but my hands are tangled in his hair, holding him close. "This is wrong…"

He presses his arousal against my thigh, letting me feel exactly how badly he wants me. "Does this feel wrong?"

I whimper, caught between desire and duty.

Then he pulls back, setting me on my feet with surprising gentleness. His hands smooth down my ruined dress, though there's no hiding what we've done.

His scent is all over me—claiming, possessive, and unmistakable.

"My scent is all over you, little wolf. My pheromones mixed with yours… It’s perfect." His thumb traces my swollen lips. "Can't wait to see my father's face when he realizes the truth."

"What truth?"

"That you belong to me.” His eyes flash silver in the moonlight. “And you always will."

Then he's gone, melting into the shadows, leaving me trembling and marked and utterly undone in the clearing.

The ceremony bells begin to toll in the distance, calling me back to the pack house. Calling me to stand before Alpha Hector and pledge myself as his Luna.