Slowly, my eyes opened, and my blurred vision took a while to come into focus. A twinge of pain from the migraine still lingered in my head, like something was being undone—or should I say, released. I felt groggy and heavy as I leaned up, trying to regain my composure. The room was dark, which my eyes were thankful for, but it wasn't a place I recognized. A large glass panel lined the wall opposite the bed, replacing what should have been a wooden wall. The bluish-purple hues on the horizon were beautiful, with a glorious full moon shining bright in the night sky. I saw a bunch of lights in the distance and recognized the outline of Moon City. That's when it all came back to me, and I shot upwards in a panic.

Looking around the room calmed me down a little when I realized I was alone. I noticed clean clothes and my gun on the nightstand next to the bed. I was confused as I inspected my body underneath the black satin sheets. All of the cuts and bruises I had seemed to be almost healed, healing, or bandaged. The large puncture wounds in my thighs felt like they were almost gone, and I was in no pain; even my hair seemed to have been washed and freshly braided into a long ponytail that hung over my shoulder with the gold ribbon back intertwined as usual. I got out of the bed cautiously and quietly, crouching down to inspect my surroundings. The room was very extravagant—more so than I'd seen in years, anyway. 

It was filled with fully stocked bookshelves and white roses growing out of the onyx-oak wall, with a large full moon carved into the wall on the right side of the bed. Roses filled the circle carving, and the onyx-oak filled each hole that signified the craters of the moon, making the carving look almost real, and for some reason, it seemed to glow dimly. The bed was also large, a king-sized canopy bed with a wolf's head carved into the headboard. The bed frame was molded out of solid gold, draped with a thin white velvet-like fabric. This was the type of grandeur only fit for wolves of the highest status, like what I used to see in my father's room when I was little.

After putting on the grey jogging pants and the oversized black t-shirt, and grabbing my gun—which, to my surprise, was now loaded—I slowly opened the bedroom door and leaned against the wall, checking both sides of the hall outside. By this point, I was even more confused.

I was certain I'd wake up in a prison cell, or worse, not in a mansion fit for royalty. The floors and walls of the walkway were white marble, had high overarching ceilings with stained glass like a church, and all of the furniture was made of black velvet with gold trim. Someone clearly lived here but didn't think it necessary to restrain me. They even left me with a loaded gun, which made me nervous. It meant they were confident in their ability to subdue me if it came down to that. 

"Where the hell am I?" I thought to myself. 

I also began to wonder how long I had been out. Wounds like mine would take days to heal—sometimes weeks—but it seemed to have just been a few hours since nightfall. My body had been cleaned and bandaged, and someone had even taken the time to manage my hair and braid it back into a ponytail. These weren't things you'd do for a prisoner.

None of this made any sense. I thought that big Alpha was going to hurt me for sure. My instincts told me he was a threat, and they were never wrong. I was so scared I even blacked out, so I didn't understand why I felt so calm now. Was my reaction just a form of PTSD, or were my instincts wrong because of what I had just gone through with Johnny? I made my way down the hall quietly, and I didn't see anyone at all. The large house seemed empty, and it was eerily quiet. Did I dream the entire situation earlier? Hell, am I still dreaming even now? Why did an Alpha of the Luna capture me, and what was that weird name he called me? Why did it sound so familiar?

I snuck around until I was certain I was alone and finally made my way downstairs to a huge extravagant foyer. There was a large portrait above the fireplace in the living room of that Alpha and a smaller woman with purple eyes. They seemed close from the way she clung to his arm, even though she was the only one smiling in the picture. Something about how she held on to him made me irritated. I shivered at the chill moving up my spine as the uneasy feeling returned, and then he appeared from a room underneath the staircase. He was so tall that he had to slightly duck to fit through the doorway and froze once he saw me. He was wearing a casual red t-shirt, white jeans, and red slippers. Our eyes locked, and we just stared at each other, unsure of what to make of the other. I saw he had an empty vial of blue liquid in his hands that he hid behind his back when he realized I noticed. Because of my dealings with the drug, I already knew it was a suppressant, but what he was doing with it was the question. His movement snapped me out of my daze, and I pointed the gun at him, which he didn't react to at all.

"Where am I, and who are you?" I asked, and he seemed to ignore my question as he put the vial into a small container sitting on the coffee table. "Tell me who you are, and why you've brought me here!" I demanded more sternly but lost my nerve when he looked at me again.

His gaze had some kind of effect on me; it didn't disarm me physically, but mentally was another story. It was as if looking into his eyes put me in some type of trance, and it felt like a sort of hypnosis. When he began walking toward me, I shook off the feeling and readjusted my hold on the gun, ready to shoot if needed. The closer he came, the more pressure I applied to the trigger, but for some reason, I couldn't shoot. No matter how hard I tried, my finger just wouldn't move, and finally, his chest was against the barrel of the gun. 

My instincts were on edge, but nothing like before when we were in the forest. The feeling was a conundrum to me, and in a huff, I put the gun down to my side, trying my best not to look up at him to avoid his gaze. I was frustrated and confused about why I felt like this around him—hell, why I felt anything for him at all other than fear like before. I didn't want to hurt him, but what was stopping me really left me baffled. He raised his hand hesitantly when he saw that I flinched initially but continued after a moment, lifting my chin and guiding my face upward, causing our eyes to lock yet again. Still, he said nothing.

I noticed again that his touch didn't cause my skin the usual irritation or pain, but instead I felt a spark, and he seemed to notice. He palmed the side of my face gently, rubbing his calloused fingers against my cheekbone with a feathered touch. It was as if the very blood underneath my skin warmed instantly wherever his fingers landed, causing me to relax into his cool hand, closing my eyes for a brief second. I think, I think I'm attracted to this man, this Alpha, but this feeling, like many of the others I've experienced today, was completely new to me. I can't remember a time that I've ever found someone attractive, but this felt right somehow. 

"What have you done to me?" I asked, backing away from him slowly, retreating from his touch, but not really wanting to as I checked my neck frantically for a mark. 

But there wasn't one. 

There was a particular smell that seemed to engulf the air around me; although it was faint, it was still there. It was unlike anything I'd ever smelled before, but it was very pleasant. 

Euphoric almost. 

"You don't remember me, do you?" he finally asked, looking down at me with those bright red eyes, a hint of sadness in his voice.

For some reason, that pain resonated in my own heart, and a sense of longing came over me as I placed my hand on my cheek where his hand had just been seconds ago. 

"I—I don't know who you think I am, but I've... I've never met you before," I said, shaking my head, sounding unsure of that answer, even to myself. "Have I?"

He was about to speak when the front door burst open, followed by a woman shouting as she stormed inside. 

"You can't keep him here!" She stilled when she noticed us, rolling her eyes at me with an audible scoff, and immediately, I pointed my gun at her. 

All the tension in my body returned, and my instincts were now starting to go haywire. The false sense of calm dissipated with the arrival of this woman, and I remembered the severity of my situation.

It turned out to be the woman from the portrait who was now standing in front of us. 

"Do you know how much trouble we could get in for this?!" She continued to shout at the Alpha as if I weren't standing right there, stopping in the entryway. 

I don't know why, but the fact that neither of them seemed to care about me having a loaded gun troubled me. Being treated as if I weren't a threat was an insecurity of mine, but maybe the dismissal should also be considered a warning instead. 

The obsidian-skinned woman was very gorgeous. Her silver hair was in an asymmetrical blunt cut bob, and she also had slanted mono-lid eyes. She was a little shorter than me—maybe 5'7" with a petite, yet muscular frame—wearing a white pantsuit with red stilettos and gold accessories. Something about her was weird, and she had a fierce air around her. She seemed to be an Omega; she was just as beautiful as one, but I was shocked she was talking to an Alpha like that, especially him. It wasn't common for Omegas to speak so frankly; only mates talked freely to each other with no regard for rank like this, but even that was also rare in Luna and Sol hierarchy, to my knowledge.

"Leave," he said plainly, ignoring her outbursts. 

I could tell he was still looking at me. For some reason, that caused a weird sensation in my stomach, like I was nauseous, but not at the same time.

The woman scoffed again, clearly offended. "This is our house!" she yelled. "Take. Him. Back!" She demanded, pointing at me, once again acknowledging my presence with a glare.

"No," he said calmly, still not looking at her.

She sighed heavily before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Tsuki, listen."

"Ah, so that's his name," I thought to myself.

"If the Prime finds out—"

"She won't," he said, cutting her off. It sounded more like a threat than a statement, honestly.

I could see the woman's frustration boil over with the pop of a vein appearing on her forehead, and her expression turned dark. "Why are you so adamant about this?!" she yelled, stomping her feet. "Is he more important to you than I am?! That fucking rogue mutt!" She motioned her hand toward me. "The Prime will have our heads for harboring that man!" she said with such a bitter tone, emphasizing her pronunciation on man. 

It was almost as if she hated me for simply being a man, which was odd considering he was also a man. The situation turned from dangerous to awkward for me in that moment because I felt as if I were in the middle of a lover's quarrel.

"Watch your mouth," he said, finally looking in her direction. His voice seemed to echo through the foyer in his Alpha tone, making her flinch. A long, uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

His voice, even though he still spoke calmly, was so loud that I jumped, shocked by my own reaction. An Alpha tone had never affected me before, but my heart was racing because of his. "I need to get the hell out of here," I thought to myself, trying to calm down. 

Slowly, I tried to move away from them both, but he grabbed my hand gently, causing me to freeze. 

"Please, don't leave," he said, almost sounding as if he were begging, but I was again simply dumbfounded. 

The woman was crying silent tears, and he was looking directly at me as if she wasn't even in the room. I flinched and looked back at the woman to avoid his gaze. Looking directly into his eyes made me feel vulnerable, almost as if he were staring deep into my soul.

"Y-you've never used that on me before," she scoffed in disbelief. "I thought we agreed you'd give up on this fantasy once the engagement was announced—for both of our sake!" She glared at him, getting angry again with tears still in her eyes. "It's been well over ten years, and still, you're holding on to these ridiculous—" she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes fixed on his hand and mine. Then she looked at me with what I could only describe as contempt. The Alpha stepped in front of me, as if to shield me from her scornful glare.

"I thought he was dead," he said, sounding angry for the first time. "I only agreed to it because I thought he was dead. According to you," he said accusingly, his glowing red eyes and a pointed finger in her direction causing her to recoil.

She stumbled over her words, and their conversation was lost to me as my head started to hurt the more I listened to them talk. It seemed like they both somehow knew me, but I had never seen either of them before in my life. How could they know me, and why was this Alpha being so protective? First, he saved me from Johnny, and now he was defending me to his girlfriend—or should I say fiancé? Was this the reason the wolves chased us outside of Moon City earlier? How the hell did he even know where we were? It was almost as if... No, that's not possible. It can't be possible.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, folding her arms, scowling at him and pulling me out of my thoughts.

He sighed heavily before speaking in a somber tone, turning to look at me again. "No, you don't know anything, and neither does he." The sadness in his eyes made me feel... I don't even know how to describe it, but I knew that I didn't want to feel it anymore. I could only describe it as a void—a very large and painful void.

"Look, I don't have the slightest clue what's going on here. Thank you for saving me, but this is all going way over my head," I said, lowering my gun but still keeping my eyes on the woman and actively trying to avoid eye contact with him. "I don't want to cause trouble for either of you, so I'll just leave."

The woman looked at me with wide eyes in shock, but the Alpha remained calm, which seemed to be his usual demeanor. He seemed to be in a perpetually stoic and indifferent state, which made him hard to read apart from simply hearing him speak. He stared at me with the same expression he had before the woman came in the door. She then tried to move closer to him, and I fired a shot off near her foot unconsciously as a warning. Something was telling me not to trust her, and I reacted on instinct alone.

"Don't move," I said sternly.

"You gave him a loaded gun!" she hissed at the Alpha.