Caged Human Luna — He Stole My Freedom To Hide His Curse Chapter 01

Caged Human Luna — He Stole My Freedom To Hide His Curse Chapter 01 “Not Like My Luna”
Elaine. “Yes, Ethan—harder,” I gasped, my nails digging into his back. Sweat slicked our skin as he drove into me again and again. The bed slammed against the wall with every thrust. I moaned loud, not holding back, my body arching up to meet him. It felt so damn good, my legs locked tight around his waist. I dug my fingers into his shoulders. “When are you turning me?” I managed between moans. “I want your strength. I want to be a real Luna, not just… this.” He stopped moving. Pulled out and left me empty and throbbing on the sheets. I blinked up at him, still catching my breath. He stood, grabbed his jeans from the floor, and stepped into them like we hadn’t been in the middle of anything. “Ethan?” My voice came out more high pitched than I meant. I sat up, clutching the covers to my chest as he stepped off the bed. He didn’t even look back at me as he reached for his shirt, buttoning it up with slow, deliberate movements. “Ethan? I asked you a question,” I said, my voice trembling “You don’t need to be turned, Elaine,” he said smoothly, adjusting his collar. He sounded like he was discussing the weather, not my entire future. “What do you mean I don’t need to be?” I swung my legs out of bed, pulling a robe around myself. I stood up, forcing him to look at me. “I’m a human leading a pack of wolves. Every single day I feel the gap between us. If you turn me, I can actually protect our people. I can step out of this house without a guard.” “You are protected here,” Ethan said. His voice dropped into that dark, heavy Alpha tone that usually made everyone fall in line. “You don’t need a wolf. You have me.” “Then let me leave the territory,” I shot back, stepping directly into his space. The words had been burning in my throat for months. “If I’m just a human, let me visit the outside world. Why am I confined to these borders? The whole pack is confined. Why?” Ethan’s eyes flashed, a dangerous glint crossing his features. “The borders are closed for everyone’s safety. The outside world is a threat to our kind. You know this.” “But it feels like a cage!” I yelled, the frustration finally boiling over. “You won’t turn me, and you won’t let me leave. What am I to you, Ethan? What do you actually want from me?” Ethan stepped closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over me. He reached out, his fingers gripping my chin. He smiled down at me, “I want you exactly as you are,” he murmured. “My beautiful, human Luna. You don’t need power, Elaine. Your vulnerability is what makes you perfect for me.” I laughed, but it sounded ugly. “Your Luna? Or your pretty little prize? Something to fuck and show off but never let loose? Am I just your prized possession?” Something flickered in his eye. “You’re pushing it, Elaine. Drop it.” Before I could slap his hand away, a knock cut through the heavy silence of the bedroom. The door clicked open, and Valery stepped into the entryway. She was an Omega, low-ranked and usually invisible, but she carried herself with a quiet, careful grace. Her eyes darted between Ethan and I. “Forgive the interruption, Alpha, Luna,” Valery said, bowing her head slightly. “But it is time for Luna’s swimming lessons at the river. The guards are already stationed.” Ethan let go of my chin, wiping his hands on his trousers, “Go,” he said shortly. He didn’t look at me again as he walked past Valery and out of the room. I stood frozen for a second, my heart hammering against my ribs. I swallowed the lump of rage in my throat and turned to her, “Give me five minutes to change.” — Our pack’s territory was famous for its water—crystal clear, freezing, and deep. Because of it, every woman in the pack was taught to swim from a young age. For me, it was the only time I was allowed near the edges of the territory, even if I was surrounded by watchful guards. I waded into the cool water, wearing my tight swimming trunks and a fitted top. As I floated on my back, staring up at the canopy of trees, the weight felt less heavier. Valery sat on a flat rock by the water’s edge, dipping her feet in. She watched me with an unreadable intensity. “You seem distracted today, Luna,” Valery called out, her voice cutting through the sound of the rushing river. “Why look so miserable when you have everything any woman could ever dream of? You have the Alpha’s bed, the title, the luxury.” I swam over to the edge, gripping the rock. I shook my head, forcing a smile onto my face. “I’m fine, Valery. Just tired. Hey, when are you giving me those video lessons you promised? The ones from your coach on swimming technique. I want to get better.” “Oh, yes. Of course,” Valery said smoothly. She reached into her bag and pulled out a tablet. “Watch them while I go grab my Google.” She handed the device over to me. I took it, wiping my wet hands on a towel before tapping the screen. The video player was already open. The screen flickered to a dimly lit room. My breath hitched. The audio kicked in—a low, deep growl that I recognized instantly. It was Ethan. On the screen, the camera was angled from a dresser. Ethan’s back was to the camera, his muscles flexing as he pinned a woman beneath him. The woman’s hands were clawing at his shoulders, her back arching, her face turning toward the lens with a look of deliberate ecstasy. It was Valery. The tape was clear, loud, and symbols showed it was undeniably recent. The blood rushed in my ears so loudly it drowned out the sound of the river. The tablet felt scorching hot in my hands. My husband. My Alpha. The man who just told me I was his perfect, prized possession, was tearing into an Omega in a hidden room. The audio shifted, the sound of their heavy breathing cutting through the static. Ethan’s feral growl that vibrated through the speakers. “Valery… damn it, yes. You match my strength. A true wolf. Not like my human Luna… so fragile… like she’ll break if I touch her too hard.” The words sliced deeper than the betrayal itself. “Fragile Human?” I whipped around in the water. Valery was walking back down the path, swinging her goggles by the strap. Her face looked innocent at first, eyebrows raised like she wondered why I was staring. “Luna? You good? Did the video help—” Then her eyes dropped to the phone screen. The moans were still playing, tinny over the water. Slowly, I lowered the tablet. My hands were shaking so violently I almost dropped it into the water. I turned my head toward the bank. “Oh my goddess,” Valery whispered, her voice trembling with panic. “That… that wasn’t supposed to be on there. I am so sorry, Luna! Please, I didn’t mean for you to see that. It was an accident, I swear!” But as she walked up toward me, the fake panic melted from her face like cheap paint. She looked directly into my eyes. A slow smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She turned and walked away into the woods, leaving me alone in the water with the evidence of a betrayal that changed everything. The icy river water lapped against my skin, but I couldn’t feel it. If Valery really matched his strength, if a human Luna was nothing but a fragile disappointment to him, Why does he want me here then? But as the silence of the woods closed in around me, a much bigger, more terrifying question popped up. Valery was an Omega. I was the Luna of the pride, backed by the laws of the pack and the fearsome reputation of my husband. To humiliate me like this was a death sentence. What could possibly have given Valery the guts to show this to me?