The Cursed Alpha's Fifth Luna

Rodrigo’s grip tightened around the letter until the parchment crinkled beneath his fingers. The air in the courtyard seemed to drop ten degrees. When his eyes lifted slowly to Ruri, all warmth had vanished from them.

"What did you just say?"

Ruri’s shoulders shook as she struggled to draw air into her lungs. The ground beneath her feet felt unstable. "Father... Father said he’s accepted the dowry." Her voice cracked on a sharp breath. "And the wedding will be held immediately after the Hunt."

A silence settled between them.

Rodrigo lowered his gaze back to the letter. His eyes moved over every line, tracing each word as though searching for a mistake in the ink. The muscles along his jaw gradually hardened. By the time he reached the final sentence, his expression had become an unreadable mask.

Without a word, he folded the letter with chilling precision, then exhaled a controlled breath.

"Take her inside." His eyes shifted to her bodyguard.

"At once, Alpha," Ethan replied, his voice flat as he offered a curt nod.

Rodrigo glanced back at her. "I’ll be back." His tone remained even, but then, with a hint of gentleness, he added, "Wipe your face."

Ruri bit down on her trembling lip and nodded. She tried to stop them, but tears spilled down her cheeks before she could regain control. Rodrigo turned away without another word. The folded letter remained clenched in his fist as his strides carried him toward the practice grounds.

Only after his back had disappeared completely beyond the courtyard did Ruri’s knees give way.

A sob tore from her throat as she hit the ground.

Ethan watched the Alpha leave, his own hands clenching into fists by his sides until his knuckles turned white. He turned his eyes down to look at her. He stared for a silent moment.

"Lady Ruri, stop crying now." His voice was firm, cutting through the cold air. "Everyone is watching you."

Ruri didn’t seem to hear anything. She buried her face in her hands as another wave of sobs wracked her body, the sound of her cries echoing off the courtyard walls.

Ethan’s jaw tightened. For several seconds, he stood over her, staring down at her bent posture. Then, without another word, he reached down, wrapped his hand around her wrist, and turned toward the north wing.

He pulled her after him, his pace unyielding.

"Let me go!" Ruri stumbled, her boots catching on the stone as she struggled against his iron grip. "Let me go now!"

She twisted her wrist, trying to wrench herself free, but Ethan didn’t slow his stride. His hold remained unbreaking as he led her out of the open air and through the corridors of the manor. Servants paused in their work, stopping in the hallways to watch them pass. Some exchanged uneasy glances, while others quickly lowered their heads to avoid looking at the display.

Ethan continued his march until they reached the privacy of the reception hall. He guided her toward one of the large couches and released her only when she was safely beside it.

"Please, sit."

His voice carried a strange weight—tender, yet so firm it left no room for argument. Ruri glared at him through a blur of tears, but the exhaustion won. Without another word, she collapsed into the cushions and buried her face, letting the crying consume her.

"That’s enough now, Lady Ruri," Ethan said.

She forced herself to look up at him. His eyes had darkened, swirling like a storm was raging behind the surface. Ruri couldn’t read him; she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and the emptiness of it frightened her.

"Are you shouting at me?" she asked, her mouth falling open as her chest heaved.

Ethan’s lips moved as if to speak, but he caught himself and clenched his jaw so hard the muscle leaped. "I am not. I just said..." He cut his own sentence short, taking a breath through his nose. "Crying will not solve anything. It will just make you sick."

Ruri stared at him, her lips trembling with all the terrors she had kept locked away. "Hades killed his own brother," she cried, the horror bleeding into the room. "He’s going to kill me..."

Ethan drew a heavy breath. Her muffled cries filled the sudden silence of the hall, bouncing off the high ceilings. His expression remained unreadable, though the space between his brows drew together almost imperceptibly. After a long moment of watching her weep, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Several minutes ticked by before Ethan returned. A wooden cup of water rested in his right hand. He stopped directly in front of her and held it out, breaking the distance between them.

"Drink. It is going to calm you down."

Ruri didn’t move to take it. Her eyes remained fixed on the floor, watching the patterns in the rug.

"Lady Ruri," Ethan called again, his voice dropping into a stern register. "Drink this."

Ruri slowly looked up at him through her swollen, tear-filled eyes. Giving up the fight, she reached out and accepted the cup. She lifted it with trembling hands and took a small sip. The cool water slid down her throat, but it did nothing to ease the suffocating tightness in her chest.

She lowered the cup onto her lap, her fingers still shaking against the wood. Slowly, she looked back up at Ethan again.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. His gaze met hers, unwavering and intense. Another tear slipped down her cheek, tracing a hot path through the coldness in her room. Ethan’s jaw tightened, and he looked away, forcing his hands to lock tightly behind his back as he anchored himself to the floor.

"What am I going to do?" she asked softly.

Desperate for some kind of anchor, her hand reached up, her fingers tightening around the edge of his shirt.

Ethan’s eyes dropped to her small fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt. In an instant, the walls he had spent years building came crashing down.

Without a thought, he lowered himself to the ground, dropping to his knees before her. Carefully, he lifted one hand toward her face. His thumb brushed against her damp skin, catching the tear trailing down her cheek.

"It’s okay," he said, his voice dropping to a quiet whisper. "Everything is going to be okay."

Ruri stared at him. The gentleness in his touch shattered the fragile wall she’d been trying to hold together. Her vision blurred, and her heart squeezed so painfully he could see the breath catch in her throat.

Without thinking—without giving herself time to remember what he was, or who she was, or the boundaries that dictated their lives—she leaned forward and threw her arms around him.

Ethan froze completely. His heart skipped a beat, and then another, hammering against his ribs.

"I don’t want to marry him," her voice broke against his shoulder, muffled by the fabric of his coat.

Because it is you I want, Ethan...

I want you so much it hurts...

Ruri bit down on her tongue to stop the words from coming out.

Ethan stayed still, his body rigid as she clung to him. His hands remained suspended uselessly at his sides, hovering in the empty air. Every instinct inside his chest screamed to hold her. To wrap his arms around her and hug her back.

Instead, his fingers curled into tight fists. His knuckles turned white from the force of his own restraint.

His eyes squeezed shut. A muscle ticked violently in his jaw as he gritted his teeth, pouring every single ounce of his soul into keeping his hands exactly where they were.

He had no right. No right to touch her.

His hands lifted on their own accord, betraying his mind. For a single heartbeat, they hovered uncertainly behind her back, his fingers trembling with everything he couldn’t say.

Then, gritting his teeth, he gripped her shoulders and pulled her up, his jaw tight as he broke her away from him.

"You’ll be alright, Lady Ruri," he said, his voice strained and tight.

He stood up immediately, taking a step away from the couch and putting a sharp distance between them.