When the Hidden Luna Rises novel Chapter 9

**Chained by Fate**
**Eliza Rowan**
**Chapter 9**

The Alpha cut a striking figure in his impeccably tailored black suit, the fabric hugging his form perfectly. The top two buttons of his crisp white shirt were undone, exposing his pale skin and sharply defined collarbones, a subtle hint of vulnerability beneath his powerful exterior.

He stood there, a dark silhouette against the harsh light flooding the room, an embodiment of steady menace, like a predator poised to pounce.

His gaze fell upon Kelsey, her battered and bruised form crumpled on the floor, and in that instant, the restraint he had worked so hard to maintain began to shatter.

“Kelsey, how did you end up like this?” he asked, his voice low and simmering, a dangerous undertone lacing his words, barely contained fury bubbling just beneath the surface.

Kelsey, clinging desperately to the last remnants of her strength, felt herself finally succumb. Her body went limp, gravity pulling her toward him.

“Kelsey!”

With that single word, she slipped into unconsciousness, trapped in a labyrinth of nightmares that clawed at her mind.

Countless voices echoed in the dark recesses of her thoughts, relentless and cruel.

“Home-wrecker! Slut! Worthless trash!”

“The Alpha is marrying the real Luna, what are you?”

The taunts ripped through her like wild beasts, tearing at her very essence. She struggled to break free, but an unseen force pinned her down, suffocating her with the weight of an invitation she never wanted to accept.

Before her, Ryan approached, hand in hand with Claire, his expression tender, a painful juxtaposition to the chaos in her heart.

“We’re getting married,” he said softly, his eyes filled with pity—not for her, but for another she-wolf, another soul caught in the web of their twisted fate.

“All these years, I lied to you. You weren’t worthy.”

With those words, the ground beneath her crumbled away.

She reached out, grasping at the empty air, but all she found was a suffocating darkness.

“No!”

Kelsey’s eyes flew open, the harsh white light flooding her vision, leaving her momentarily disoriented.

As her sight adjusted, she found herself staring into the coldly handsome face of a man who seemed both foreign and familiar.

“Who are you?” she managed to ask, her voice barely above a whisper.

He smiled, a slight, steady expression that radiated a strange gentleness.

“Kelsey, don’t you remember me? I’m Andrew… Andrew Lawson.”

The name rang a bell deep within her mind, stirring memories long buried.

“Lawson…?”

“It’s me. That fire at the orphanage… you saved me.”

He settled into a chair beside her bed, his gaze softening as he looked down at her, a mixture of nostalgia and concern etched on his face.

“After I was adopted, I ended up at the Ironclaw Pack up north. I never imagined that the next time I would see you, it would be under such circumstances.”

Kelsey stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. In that moment, her wolf stirred within her, lifting its head slightly, letting out a low growl for the first time after a long period of despair.

***

Meanwhile, at the Stormclaw Pack Alpha’s villa, Ryan sat on the terrace, his suit jacket discarded carelessly, his shirt hanging open, revealing the dark stubble that shadowed his jaw. He bore himself with a heavy stillness, the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders.

This so-called “vacation” with Claire had offered him little in the way of rest or solace.

PR, investments, partnerships… to everyone around him, he was the perfect Alpha, a figure of strength and control.

His phone buzzed incessantly, the vibrations cutting through the silence.

At the top of the screen, missed calls from the police precinct flashed ominously.

Further down, Kelsey’s name appeared, a stark reminder of a life he had tried to forget.

He frowned, irritation flickering across his face.

He had been dining with investors and Claire, dismissing the call with a curt, “Don’t know her.”

And then, as if by some cruel twist of fate, he had forgotten.

Ryan leaned back in his chair, a dull ache forming in his throat, an uncomfortable sensation he couldn’t quite shake.

After what felt like an eternity, he redialed the familiar number, his heart pounding with an urgency he couldn’t explain.