THE CURSED ALPHA’S STOLEN LUNA

Sierra

"Hold still, Sierra. You are shaking." Ria pulled the strings of my corset tighter.

"I cannot help it." I stared at my pale reflection in the vanity mirror. "Just a few more hours, Ria. At midnight, I turn eighteen. I can leave this pack. I can leave him."

"If Santiago catches you sneaking out during his Alpha ceremony, he will lock you in the estate dungeons." Ria warned. She picked up a hairbrush. "You know how ruthless he is. He is getting crowned tonight. The Vanguard merger is finally happening. He wants everything perfect."

"I do not care what he wants." I swallowed hard. "He treats me like garbage. He makes my life a living hell. As soon as the clock strikes twelve, the law says I am an adult. He cannot hold me here anymore."

The bedroom door swung open. It hit the wall with a loud bang.

Amaia walked in. She was the Beta's daughter and the absolute bane of my existence. She wore a skin tight red dress that left nothing to the imagination. A cruel smirk played on her lips as she looked me up and down.

"Look at the little stray trying to play dress up." Amaia leaned against the doorframe. She crossed her arms. "You actually think you belong at the Vanguard merger gala tonight? You are just the charity case step-sister."

"Get out of my room, Amaia." I glared at her through the mirror.

"This is not your room." Amaia laughed sharply. "This is Santiago’s house. Tonight he becomes Alpha. He takes over the entire enterprise. And the first thing he is going to do is kick you to the curb. Or better yet, send you to the omega quarters where you belong."

"Leave her alone." Ria stepped between us.

"Watch your tone, Ria." Amaia sneered. "Or I will have my father demote your family. As for you, Sierra, do not trip on your cheap heels on the way downstairs. The entire European socialite circle is here. Try not to embarrass us more than you already do."

Amaia turned around and strutted out of the room. She left the door wide open.

"I hate her." I whispered.

"Everyone hates her." Ria sighed. "Come on. Let us get this over with. Just keep your head down until midnight."

I nodded. My duffel bag was already hidden behind the oak bookshelves in the ground floor library. I just needed to survive the coronation, grab my bag, and run into the forest.

The grand ballroom downstairs was suffocating. The air smelled of expensive champagne, heavy perfume, and dominating wolf pheromones. Hundreds of pack members and business partners milled around.

I kept to the shadows near the back hallway. I just wanted to check on my bag. I slipped away from the crowd and hurried down the dark corridor toward the library.

I pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the dark room.

The door slammed shut behind me.

A hand grabbed my wrist and spun me around. My back hit the wooden door.

"Sneaking around, Sierra?"

My breath caught in my throat. It was Santiago.

He smelled of dark mint, rain, and pure danger. He wore a tailored black suit. His collar was unbuttoned. The dark ink of his tattoos crept up his neck, making him look like a feral mobster. His jaw was clenched tight. His dark eyes burned into mine.

"Let me go, Santiago." I tried to pull my arm away. His grip was like iron.

"What are you doing in here?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "You are supposed to be out there. My coronation is starting in ten minutes."

"I needed a minute to breathe." I lied. My heart pounded against my ribs. "You are hurting my wrist."

He did not let go. He stepped closer. His chest brushed against mine. The undeniable pull between us flared to life. It always did. I hated it. I hated him. But my traitorous body always reacted to his proximity.

"You are going to ruin my night." Santiago hissed. "The Vanguard merger is the most important deal of my life. And you look like a cheap distraction. Who bought you that dress?"

"I bought it myself." I snapped back. "With the money I saved from working at the pack diner. Not all of us have Daddy's credit card."

"Watch your mouth." He backed me harder against the door. "You walk around my house acting like a saint. You act like you are so much better than everyone else. It drives me out of my fuckng mind."

"Because I do not bow down to you?" I yelled. The frustration of the past four years finally boiled over. "You are a bully, Santiago! You are cruel and arrogant and you treat me like dirt! You make sure everyone in the pack hates me!"

"Because you do not belong here!" He shouted back. His face was inches from mine. "You are a weak little human-blooded stray. You bring nothing to this family. I cannot even look at you without wanting to break something."

"Don't worry, I'm going to leave!" I screamed. Tears pricked my eyes. "I turn eighteen at midnight. The law says I am free. I am leaving this place and I am never coming back.

You will never have to look at my face again!"

Santiago froze. His eyes darkened to pitch black. The Alpha aura radiating off him was heavy enough to crush my lungs.

"You think you can just leave?" His voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "You think you can run away from me?"

"Watch me." I spat.

"Fuck the law." Santiago growled.

He grabbed the back of my neck and crashed his lips onto mine.

I gasped against his mouth. The world exploded. A sharp, electric shock ripped through my veins. It shot straight to my heart and settled deep in my soul.

Mate. The word echoed in my mind loud and clear. My wolf howled inside me.

Santiago tore his lips away. He stared down at me. He was breathing heavily. His chest heaved up and down. The shock in his black eyes matched my own.

"Mate." He whispered. The word sounded like a curse.

"No." I shook my head frantically. "No, this is a mistake. We hate each other. We are step siblings."

"You are mine." His voice was pure possession.

"Santiago, stop." I pushed against his chest. "Let me go."

He ignored me. He picked me up effortlessly. I kicked my legs, but he threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

"Put me down!" I yelled, hitting his broad back.

He opened the library door and carried me straight up the private back staircase. He did not care if anyone heard us. He carried me all the way to the top floor and kicked his bedroom door open. He tossed me onto the massive king sized bed.

I scrambled backward against the headboard. "You cannot do this! You have to get downstairs for the ceremony!"

"To hell with the ceremony." Santiago locked the bedroom door. He stripped off his suit jacket and threw it on the floor. "I am claiming you right now."

"No!" I panicked. "I am leaving at midnight!"

"You are never leaving." He crawled onto the bed. He caged me between his muscular arms. "You are my mate. You belong to me."

He kissed me again. It was rough and demanding. I tried to fight him, but the mate bond was too strong. My body betrayed me. I kissed him back. I let out a soft moan as his hands explored my body. He was entirely too hot, too dominant, and too intoxicating.

He claimed me right there on his bed while the entire pack waited for him downstairs.

Hours passed. The midnight clock chimed in the distance. I was officially eighteen. I was officially marked.

I lay in the dark room, my head resting on his bare chest. I listened to his steady heartbeat. He was playing with a strand of my hair.

"I am your mate." I whispered into the quiet room. "You cannot treat me like a stray anymore. You have to tell the pack."

Santiago let out a cold, dark chuckle. The sound sent a shiver down my spine.

"I am not telling the pack anything." He said smoothly.

I sat up. I pulled the sheet over my chest. "What do you mean? The bond snapped. You claimed me."

"I claimed you because you are mine tonight." Santiago looked up at me. His eyes were devoid of any warmth. He looked exactly like the ruthless monster I had always known.

"But the Vanguard merger requires a peace treaty with the Northern packs. And they demand a heavy price."

My stomach dropped. "What price?"

"Tomorrow morning, you are being sold to the Cursed Alpha of the North." Santiago smirked.

"I just wanted to taste you before I traded you away."