RHYNA'S POV

Nothing made sense anymore.

Everything felt wrong, confused, and unreal, like my life had been ripped apart and thrown back together wrong. One moment, I had been kneeling in blood-soaked soil, pressing my hands against torn flesh, whispering prayers to the Moon Goddess as soldiers screamed around me.

The next...

I was standing in a room that did not belong to me, facing an Alpha who claimed I was his Luna.

A Luna.

To him.

My chest tightened painfully as the word echoed in my head. His Luna, mate and bound.

"No," I said, shaking my head slowly. "You're insane."

My voice sounded strange to my own ears, tight and sharp with disbelief.

"I don't care who you think you are," I continued, my hands clenching at my sides. "You will never have me. You will never use me."

The word used burned on my tongue. I had seen it happen before,omegas taken, broken, treated like nothing more than tools for power or pleasure. I would rather die than become that.

He didn't move nor did he raise his voice.

He simply stood there, tall and unbothered, watching me rave like a lunatic. His face was calm, cold, and unreadable, as if my anger meant nothing.

"Use you?" he finally said. His voice was low, almost bored. "Do I look like someone who uses people?"

"That's your fucking business," I retorted sharply.

He didn't even acknowledge the insult.

"You're my Luna," he said instead, his tone firm, final. "We're bound."

The word slammed into me like a physical blow.

"No!" I shouted, my control finally snapping. "I don't want to hear that again. Fuck you and whatever twisted thoughts are in your head."

I rushed at him without thinking, rage driving my body faster than fear ever could. If I could hurt him,even once, maybe this nightmare would crack. I desperately wanted to hurt him.

He caught me easily, too easily.

His hands closed around my arms, firm but controlled, stopping me before I could even reach his chest. This time, I forced myself not to go limp, not to let panic steal my strength, not to give myself away.

I would not break.

"Don't you feel it?" he murmured, leaning closer. "Tell me you don't sense the pull. Tell me your wolf isn't reacting."

My heart was racing violently now, slamming against my ribs like it wanted to escape. Heat burned through my veins, confusing and unwelcome.

Inside me, my wolf stirred, restless, torn, pulling in two directions at once.

I hated it. I hated that some part of me responded to him, no matter how small.

"That doesn't mean anything," I said through clenched teeth. "It doesn't mean you're my mate."

"It does," he replied calmly. "And you know it."

I shook my head hard. "No. I refuse to believe that."

His grip loosened slightly, but his eyes sharpened.

"I warned you not to touch me," he said coldly. "But you didn't listen. You had to be reckless. You came in contact with my blood."

My breath hitched.

The memory flashed back,my nails digging into his wound, warm blood spilling over my fingers, that sudden burning sensation that had nearly knocked me to my knees.

"That," he continued, his voice low and controlled, "is what sealed it."

My chest tightened painfully.

"No," I whispered.

Then louder. "No. No, no, no."

I laughed, sharp and broken, panic bleeding into my anger. "Go to hell. You must be joking."

I shoved at his chest, even though I knew it wouldn't move him.

"Fuck you," I screamed. "Fuck you. Fuck you!"

That was when he snapped.

"You think I want this?" he roared, his voice shaking the room. "You think I chose you?"

The air seemed to vibrate with his anger.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" he continued. "I'm Conan. Alpha of the Shadowbound Claw Pack."

His eyes burned into mine, glowing faintly with power.

"And I've been tied to the lowest of a pack?" he scoffed. "My enemies pack." "An omega for that matter?"

The word sliced straight through me.

"You're not even my type," he went on mercilessly. "There is nothing about you that would ever make me interested."

Each word struck deeper than the last.

I felt it then,bthe sharp, aching wound in my chest. Not just from his rejection, but from the truth behind it. To him, my rank erased my worth.

I had heard it all my life.

Weak. Last. Unimportant.

Still, I straightened my spine.

I would not bow.

"I don't care," I said, forcing strength into my voice. "I've survived worse than your insults."

He stared at me, expression unreadable.

"I am not your Luna," I continued, meeting his gaze head-on. "And I never will be."

Silence filled the room.

"You captured me as a prisoner," I went on, my voice steady now. "Not as your Luna. So if you're going to keep me here, then keep me as a prisoner."

His jaw tightened.

"If that's what you want," he said coldly, "then that's what you'll get."

He turned away without another word.

The door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing through the room like a final verdict.

I stood there, my hands trembling, my chest aching, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me.

Bound to an Alpha whom I despised with passion.

Trapped in a fate I never chose.

But even as panic ran through my body, something else burned brighter.

Defiance.

This war was no longer just between packs.

It was between him and me, and I would not lose.

CONAN'S POV

I stepped out of the room and shut the door behind me harder than I meant to.

The sound echoed down the hallway.

Good.

I wanted it to.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my chest rising and falling like I had just come back from a fight. Every muscle in my body felt tight, coiled, ready to snap.

I wanted to hit something. I wanted to slam my fist into the wall until my knuckles split open. I wanted pain,something physical, something sharp to drown out the mess raging in my head.

What the hell was that?

Who the fuck did she think she was?

An omega.

An omega had just screamed at me. Tried to attack me. Raised her hand to me like I was nothing.

And the worst part?

She didn't look afraid.

She looked like if given a chance she'd rip me apart.

The nerve of her.

I dragged a hand through my hair and let out a sharp breath through my teeth. My anger was visible. I could feel it rolling off me, thick and heavy. Any wolf who crossed my path right now would feel it in my tone, my steps, the way my presence darkened the air.

Omegas were taught to bow.

To lower their eyes.

To submit.

"Their voices weren't to be heard."

She did none of that.

Instead, she stood there, shaking with rage, rejecting me like I was the one beneath her.

Rejecting me.

Fuck her.

The thought made my jaw tighten.

Not that I wanted her.

No.

Why would I want someone so beneath me that it felt like an insult to even imagine it.

That wasn't it.

I never asked for this. I never wanted this bond. I never wanted her as my mate.

Never.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

I turned the corner and paced down the corridor, boots striking the stone floor hard. Servants and guards quickly moved out of my way, their heads lowered as they sensed my mood.

My mind dragged me back to how this all started.

The war.

I hadn't started it for land, or power.

I started it because of Fairi..

My first love.

My fiancée.

She was mine. Chosen by my late parents, betrothed to me when I was eight years old and blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Her union with me would have strengthened my pack, secured alliances, ended old bloodshed.

And then Rhyna's Alpha took her.

Captured her.

He kept her, mated with her or so I heard.

She was mine. I had waited all my life to have her, to claim her and then he came and shattered everything.

I couldn't have her anymore but I didn't want him to have her either.

I went to him first. I demanded her return. Gave him a chance to do the smart thing.

He refused.

Mocked me.

Alongside his people.

I couldn't accept defeat, it wasn't in me to just let go. I had to fight for what rightfully belonged to me.

So I went to war.

Weeks of bloodshed, Losses on both sides. Still, he wouldn't give her up.

That was when I decided to take something from him.

Someone.

A ransom.

I hadn't planned to hurt anyone unnecessarily.

I just needed leverage. Someone important enough that he would come crawling back.

And that was when I saw her.

Rhyna.

She was moving through the battlefield, not fighting, not hiding. She knelt beside the wounded, her hands covered in blood that wasn't hers.

She looked calm, focused and brave.

She was a healer.

Healers were valuable.

They were Important or so I thought.

I assumed she must be someone the pack cared about. Someone they'd fight for.

That was why I took her.

Nothing more.

I never touched her with intent. Never planned to. I never even looked at her that way.

She was just a means to an end. So how had it turned into this?

Why the fuck didn't she just keep still?

Why did her hands end up in my blood?

How did a bond form?

Why?

I stopped walking and slammed my fist into the stone wall.

The crack echoed sharply.

Pain shot through my knuckles, but it barely registered.

Being fated to an omega.

An omega from the lowest clan.

It was a cruel joke.

The Moon Goddess had to be mocking me.

I was Conan of the Shadowbound Claw. An Alpha feared across territories. Born to rule. Raised for war and leadership.

And she binds me to a healer omega who looks at me like she'd rather spit in my face than kneel.

My lips curled in frustration.

And yet...

She felt it.

I knew she did.

Her wolf reacted. Her scent changed. Her heartbeat raced when I was close.

She could deny it all she wanted, but the bond didn't lie.

That was what scared her.

And maybe... that was what scared me too.

I straightened slowly, pulling my hand back from the wall. Blood trickled down my knuckles. I stared at it for a moment.

My blood.

This was what bound us together.

That single moment had changed everything.

I had seen the pain in her eyes when I spoke harshly.

I had meant to push her away, to remind her,and myself of reality.

That this was a mistake.

That she was beneath me.

But the words had come out crueler than intended.

You're not my type.

Nothing about you would make me choose you.

Lies.

Not because I wanted her,but because the bond wouldn't care what I wanted.

That was the truth I hated most.

She had every right to hate me.

I had taken her away from her people.

And still, she dared to reject me.

I scoffed quietly, the e nerve of her.

An omega telling an Alpha she would never be his Luna. If any other omega had done that, they'd already be punished.

But her... I exhaled slowly.

I didn't want to break her, I didn't want to force her. The bond was already forming. If I pushed too hard, it could damage us both.

And damn it, that mattered.

I hated that it did.

I turned away from the wall and headed toward my chambers, my steps slower now, heavier. She thought she was my prisoner.

If that was what she needed to believe to survive right now... fine.

I would give her distance and time.

But she was wrong about one thing.

This bond wasn't something either of us could escape.

Whether she accepted it or not. Whether I wanted it or not.

The Moon Goddess had decided.

And gods help us both when she finally realized what that meant.

Because once the bond fully awakened...

There would be no walls strong enough to keep us apart.

RHYNA'S POV

I woke up screaming.

Pain ripped through my chest like claws tearing from the inside. My fingers dug into the sheets as I gasped for air, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. The room spun, shadows blurring together as heat rushed through my veins.

"No... no..." I whispered, shaking.

The pain wasn't like a wound or sickness. It was deeper and sharper. As if something inside me was being pulled, stretched, punished.

I pressed my hand over my chest, right where the bond burned. It felt hot.

"Stop," I whispered to no one. "Please... stop."

Slowly, the pain eased, leaving me weak and drenched in sweat. My breaths came in short, broken gasps. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, afraid to move.

This was his doing. It had to be.

Ever since I told Conan I would not be his Luna, things had changed. At first, it was only discomfort, restlessness, headaches, and a strange heaviness in my chest. But now... now it felt like my body was turning against me.

He was punishing me.

The door creaked open, and a young maid stepped in, carrying a tray of food. She froze when she saw me.

"You're awake," she said softly. "I....should I call the healer?"

"I'm fine," I lied quickly, pushing myself up. My hands trembled as I wrapped the blanket tighter around my body. "Just leave the food.".

She hesitated, her eyes filled with concern. "You don't look fine."

"I said leave it," I snapped.

She flinched, then nodded and placed the tray on the table before leaving quietly.

The door shut behind her with a soft click, locking me in once more.

Prisoner.

That's what I wanted, wasn't it?

I stared at the food but had no appetite. My stomach twisted, not with hunger, but with something else something heavy and sharp.

Suddenly, a wave of emotion crashed into me. Anger, which was raw and violent.

My breath hitched as my hands curled into fists. The room felt too small, the air too thick. My heart raced, not with fear, but fury, burning, choking rage that didn't feel like mine.

I staggered to my feet, gripping the wall as another sensation followed.

Exhaustion.

Bone-deep weariness settled over me, dragging my body down like chains. My knees buckled, and I slid to the floor, panting.

"What is happening to me?" I whispered.

Then I suddenly realized, this wasn't my anger nor my exhaustion.

It was his, Conan's.

I pressed my forehead against the cold stone wall, breathing hard. I could feel him, his emotions, his state of mind, like echoes inside my chest.

I hated it, I hated that I was tied to him this way. That even locked away, even refusing him, he could still reach me without touching me at all.

"Get out of my head," I whispered angrily. "You don't own me."

The bond pulsed in response, sharp and painful, as if mocking my words.

Hours passed, maybe more. Time blurred inside these walls. Eventually, soft voices drifted in from the hallway outside my door.

I stiffened.

"He's getting worse," one voice whispered.

"He won't rest," another replied. "The Alpha hasn't slept properly in days."

"Healers say it's the bond."

I held my breath.

"She refuses him," the first voice continued. "Rejecting a fated mate... it's dangerous."

Dangerous?

"It harms both sides," the second healer said quietly. "The Luna suffers, but the Alpha suffers more. His wolf is unstable."

My heart clenched painfully.

"He won't force her," the first voice said. "But this can't go on."

Their footsteps faded, leaving me frozen in place.

I felt sick.

So this wasn't punishment. Conan wasn't hurting me out of anger.

The bond was.

And worse... I was hurting him too.

But I hadn't known the cost.

"I didn't ask for this," I whispered, tears burning my eyes. "I didn't choose you."

And yet... neither had he.

And then with no one to pour out my anger on, I turned to the Moon Goddess. At fate. At a bond that didn't care about choice or fear or war.

How dare fate decide my life for me?

How dare it punish us both for refusing?

I wiped my tears roughly and forced myself to stand. My legs shook, but I stayed upright.

"No," I said aloud, my voice trembling but firm. "I won't break."