Luna. Chapter 208

(Kael's POV)

Lyra fell asleep in my arms around midnight, exhausted from the emotional day and the physical reconnection between us. I held her for a long time, listening to her steady breathing, still hardly believing she was really back.

When I was sure she was deeply asleep, I carefully extracted myself from her embrace and pulled on pajama pants. Nova was sleeping soundly in her crib, but I wanted to check on Asher before settling in for the night.

I found him in the room my mother had prepared for him, sprawled across the twin bed with his arms flung wide like he was trying to hug the entire mattress.

"Sleep tight, buddy," I whispered, pulling his blanket up to his chin.

Back in our bedroom, Lyra had rolled to my side of the bed, unconsciously seeking my warmth. I smiled and carefully climbed back under the covers.

Sleep came quickly after the long day and intense reunion with my family.

But it didn't stay peaceful.

The dream started the same way they all did lately. I was standing in a dark forest, surrounded by trees so tall I couldn't see their tops. The air was thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe.

Then I heard the voice.

"Kael."

Not spoken aloud, but echoing in my head like it was coming from inside my own skull.

"Who's there?" I called out in the dream.

"You know who I am."

"I don't know who you are. Show yourself."

Laughter echoed through the darkness. Cold, cruel laughter that made my skin crawl.

"I am what you're becoming."

"I'm not becoming anything except Alpha of my pack."

"Alpha." More laughter. "Such a small ambition for someone with your potential."

"What potential? What are you talking about?"

The trees around me began to change. Their bark turned black and started moving, writhing like living things. The branches reached toward me with movements too deliberate to be wind.

"Look at your hands, Kael."

I looked down and screamed.

My hands were changing. The skin was turning dark, not like a bruise or injury, but like black wax. The transformation was spreading up my arms, consuming the normal color of my flesh.

"What's happening to me?"

"You're becoming what you were always meant to be."

"This isn't real. This is just a nightmare."

"Is it?"

The black substance continued spreading up my arms, across my chest, climbing toward my neck like some kind of infection.

"Stop it!"

"I can't stop what's already begun. None of us can."

"What do you mean, us?"

"Your father experienced this. His father before him. It runs in Alpha bloodlines, waiting for the right moment to emerge."

"My father never mentioned anything like this."

"Your father learned to control it. To channel it. To use it for the pack's benefit."

"Use what? What is this thing?"

"Power, Kael. The kind of power that makes ordinary Alphas look like children playing dress-up."

The black substance reached my neck, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. Could only watch in horror as my reflection appeared in a dark pool at my feet.

My face was unrecognizable. The black material had consumed everything, leaving only my eyes visible. But even they were wrong somehow. Too bright. Too knowing.

"This is your destiny," the voice said. "Accept it, and lead your pack to greatness. Fight it, and watch everything you love be destroyed."

I tried to speak, to argue, to reject whatever this thing was offering. But the words wouldn't come.

"The choice is yours, Kael. But choose quickly. Your family's safety depends on it."

The image of my transformed face smiled, and I woke up screaming.

Lyra was immediately awake beside me, her hands on my shoulders.

"Kael! Kael, what's wrong?"

I was drenched in sweat, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest.

"Nightmare," I managed to gasp.

"What kind of nightmare? You were screaming."

I looked at my hands, expecting to see the black transformation from the dream. They looked normal. Completely normal.

"Just a bad dream. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look terrified."

Nova started crying from her crib, startled awake by my screaming.

"I'll get her," Lyra said, climbing out of bed.

"No, let me. I woke her up."

I picked up Nova, who calmed immediately when I held her. Her tiny hand curled around my finger, trusting and innocent.

"There you go, baby girl. Daddy's sorry for being so loud."

Lyra was watching me carefully. "What was the nightmare about?"

"I don't remember clearly. Something about the forest. And darkness."

"That's pretty vague."

"Dreams usually are."

But this hadn't felt like a normal dream. It had felt real. Vivid. Like a memory of something that had actually happened.

Or a preview of something that was going to happen.

"Kael, you're shaking."

I looked down at my hands holding Nova. Lyra was right. I was trembling slightly.

"Just adrenaline from being startled awake."

"When did these nightmares start?"

"What makes you think they've happened before?"

"Because you just said 'these nightmares' like there have been multiple. And because you look like someone who hasn't been sleeping well for a while."

She was too perceptive. Always had been.

"They started a few weeks ago. Nothing serious, just stress dreams about becoming Alpha and taking responsibility for the pack."

"This didn't look like a stress dream. This looked like a terror dream."

Nova fell back asleep in my arms, completely relaxed despite the drama happening around her. I envied her ability to feel safe and secure.

"Come back to bed," Lyra said. "You need sleep."

"What if I have another nightmare? What if I wake her up again?"

"Then we'll deal with it. Together."

Together. The word that had been missing from my vocabulary for six months.

I put Nova back in her crib and climbed into bed beside Lyra. She immediately curled up against my chest, her presence comforting and grounding.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much better."

"Do you want to talk about what's really bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me. I have my family back, I'm about to become Alpha of my pack, everything is perfect."

"Kael."

"What?"

"Just because everything looks perfect on the surface doesn't mean you're not allowed to have fears or concerns or bad dreams."

She was right, but I didn't want to worry her with vague anxieties about dreams that probably didn't mean anything.

"I'm just nervous about the Alpha transition," I said. "It's a big responsibility."

"You're going to be a great Alpha."

"How do you know?"

"Because you care more about protecting people than impressing them. Because you put family first. Because you learned from your mistakes instead of repeating them."

"What if I make new mistakes?"

"Then you'll learn from those too."

"What if the pack doesn't respect my leadership?"

"They will. They already do."

"What if something happens to you or the kids while I'm distracted with Alpha duties?"

"Then we'll handle it together. As a family. As a team."

Her confidence was reassuring, but the dream had left me with a lingering sense of dread that I couldn't shake.

"Lyra?"

"Mm?"

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"If you ever notice me changing in ways that worry you, tell me immediately. Don't try to handle it alone or hope it goes away."

"What kind of changes?"

"Any kind. Behavior, personality, decision-making. If I ever stop seeming like myself, I need you to call me on it."

"Okay. But why would you stop seeming like yourself?"

"I don't know. Just promise me."

"I promise."

But as we settled back into sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about the voice in the dream.

"This is your destiny."

What if it wasn't just a nightmare? What if it was a warning?

What if becoming Alpha meant becoming something else entirely?

Something dark.