Beneath the Alpha's Moon Chapter 281: Stepping into Fantasy

Nova’s POV

I woke up in Eldur’s arms.

Warm, safe, and sohow—against all odds—whole.

My body ached in places I didn’t know could hurt, but I barely noticed. My cheek rested against his chest, the rhythm of his heartbeat calming every bit of my soul. The scent of ash and winter clung to him, sharp but familiar. My eyes were puffy from crying, my lips dry, and I felt... raw.

But I was alive.

And Eldur had saved .

I didn’t know how he knew. I didn’t even care. All I knew was that when Jimmy kept beating and I thought I was going to die in this apartnt—I’d thought of Eldur. Like so desperate wish whispered into the stars.

And then he ca.

With fire in his eyes.

With violence in his voice.

With rcy only for .

I didn’t ask what happened to Jimmy.

Good riddance.

I didn’t want to know, didn’t want to talk about him. He was a closed door. A flicked-out match. I had nothing left to say about him—just a strange, echoing relief that the monster was gone.

Instead, I clung tighter to Eldur, trembling in his arms like a child who’d finally found shelter.

"I missed you," I whispered into his shirt, voice cracking. "I missed you so much it hurt. And when I realized you were gone, I—I didn’t know where to even start looking. I don’t know anything about you."

His grip on tightened. I felt his breath hitch against the side of my face.

"I know," he said, voice thick with guilt. "Gods, Nova, I’m such an idiot. I left you alone. I thought you wanted that, but—" He pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes. "I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve explained. I should’ve... I don’t know. Not run."

I touched his face gently, his white hair falling like moonlight around us. "I was scared, Eldur. I pushed you away before I could even understand what you ant to . This isn’t on you—it’s . So don’t you dare apologize. The truth is... the second you were gone, I realized I never wanted you to leave. I was just too stubborn—and too stupid—to admit it."

He stared at like he didn’t believe I was real.

Then he pressed a kiss to my forehead—the spot where the bruise had been—and murmured, "From now on... I tell you everything. No secrets. No running."

A soft smile curved on my lips. "I’d really like that. And I’ll open up too—no more walls. So... where do we begin? And how deep does this rabbit hole go?"

He smirked, a slow, devilish thing that made feel like the floor had just tilted.

"My apartnt."

I blinked. "What? Why there? I an, shouldn’t we like... start with what your na ans or birth certificate or sothing?"

"You’ll see."

Before I could protest or make another sarcastic remark, he bent down and scooped into his arms.

I shrieked. Actually shrieked.

"Eldur!" I laughed breathlessly, clinging to his neck like my life depended on it. My heart was racing, sowhere between terrified and thrilled. "You’re absolutely insane!"

He flashed that cocky grin—the one that always got my heart racing. "I know," he said, like it was a complint. "But hey, you just admitted you’re in love with this insane man. Can’t take it back now."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

"Not a chance."

And then, as if the universe had been eavesdropping on our chaos, a portal opened right in front of us—like a tear in the fabric of reality itself. It shimred like spilled oil on pavent, all purples and blues dancing across its surface, its edges snapping with soft, electric crackles. The hum it gave off wasn’t just a sound—it felt like it echoed through my bones. Like ti holding its breath.

I went still, staring. "Uhh..."

Eldur glanced down at , expression unreadable for once. "You good?"

"Do people actually survive stepping into those things?"

He chuckled, full of mischief and zero fear. "Only the cool ones."

I groaned. "I seriously hate you." But my grip never loosened.

Because yeah—this was crazy. This was dangerous. This was possibly a one-way ticket to cosmic spaghetti. But it was his kind of crazy.

And not once—not even for a second—had he ever made feel unsafe.

So I took a deep breath, heart drumming like a war song in my chest, and nodded. "Let’s do it."

Eldur stepped forward.

And the world broke.

Colors exploded, up beca sideways, my stomach tried to escape through my throat—and for one wild mont, I felt like I was unraveling and being rewoven in real ti.

And then—

We landed.

And I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I thought he said we were going to his apartnt?!

Because this... this wasn’t the dingy student apartnt with mismatched furniture and broken blinds. This wasn’t the place with books stacked on the tiny table like architectural feats of chaos.

This place was a dream.

Warm, golden light spilled from a chandelier that looked like it belonged in a castle. The walls were covered in velvet wallpaper with golden threading. A Victorian-style carpet stretched across polished hardwood floors. Art—real, probably worth-more-than-my-life art—hung on the walls. A sleek fireplace flickered gently beneath a carved marble mantel.

There were gadgets on the tables that looked like they ca out of a sci-fi movie, and in the corner stood a bookshelf taller than any ceiling had a right to be.

"What... the actual..." I spun slowly in his arms. "What is this? Where the hell are we?"

"My real apartnt," Eldur said, setting down gently on a plush couch that felt like sitting on clouds.

I blinked up at him. "You’re kidding. Right? You’ve been living like a secret billionaire this whole ti?"

He chuckled awkwardly. "Not quite a billionaire. Just... old money."

I stared at him, mouth open. "This looks like your apartnt and doesn’t at the sa ti. This is magic isn’t it? You had magic furniture this whole ti and made us sit on those cheap broken chairs?!"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn’t want you to take one look at and bolt. I thought if I looked poor, you’d... I don’t know. Trust ."

I smiled, but it was a shaky, wary smile. "That logic is so dumb I almost respect it."

He laughed and grabbed my hand, guiding to sit more properly. "I know it’s a lot. But I promised I’d tell you everything. And I will."

"Okay." My voice trembled just slightly. "Tell ."

He sat across from , elbows on his knees, eyes suddenly serious. "Before I start... if at any point you feel overwheld or scared, tell . I’ll stop. No pressure, no expectations."

I swallowed and nodded. "I’m ready."

Liar.

I wasn’t.

But I needed to hear this.

"I’m not human," he began softly.

I blinked. "Well, yeah. I figured. Normal people don’t... y’know, open portals."

He gave a crooked smile. "I’m a werewolf-wizard hybrid."

I stared.

I waited for him to crack a joke.

He didn’t.

"You’re... a what now?"

"Werewolf. Wizard. Both. It’s rare. Ridiculously rare."

"That’s... a lot."

"I know," he said quickly. "It’s okay if you—"

"Hold on. Back up. Werewolf? As in... full moon, howling, fur everywhere?"

"Sort of," he said. "Not exactly like the movies. We shift at will—usually. Full moons do make us more... agitated. But I don’t turn into a giant puppy every ti soone whistles."

I blinked. "You’ve seen Twilight?"

"Unfortunately."

I snorted despite myself.

"And the wizard part?"

"Spells. Portals. Enchantnts. That’s where my magic cos from. And... the violence."

There was sothing sad in his voice then. Like a thread of regret stitched into everything he said.

"I used to enjoy hurting people," he confessed. "Still do, sotis. But only the bad ones now."

I didn’t know what to say.

I an, what do you say when your maybe-boyfriend, who just transported you through a glittering portal into what looks like a billionaire wizard’s mansion, casually drops that he’s a werewolf-wizard hybrid?

And then, just as casually, admits to liking violence?

It was... a lot.

Too much, maybe. But then again, he was a lot. And sohow, I still hadn’t run screaming into the night. So either I was in shock, or I was falling harder than I wanted to admit.

Probably both.

I sat curled up on the absurdly luxurious couch—seriously, it was like hugging a cloud made of rose petals—and stared at Eldur like he’d grown a second head.

He looked nervous. Eldur. Nervous. Like I was going to throw sothing at him or bolt through the portal and never look back.

But I didn’t. I just... stared.

Until finally, I asked the question that had been clawing its way up my throat.

"What about your parents?"

His silver eyes shifted. Just a flicker, like I’d poked a bruise he didn’t like to show.

"You an my biological ones?" His voice was low, rough around the edges.

I nodded, heart pounding. "Yeah. I an... where do you co from, Eldur? What’s your story?"

There was a long pause. He didn’t look at —just stared into the fireplace like it held the answers.

"I don’t know who they were," he said finally. "My real parents, I an. I don’t even know if they were both human. Or wolf. Or sothing else entirely. I was dumped in the woods by a woman no one knows."

I blinked, stunned. "That’s... that’s horrible."

"I don’t rember any of it." He gave a bitter little laugh. "I was only a baby."

I scooted closer on the couch, not quite touching him, but near enough that he’d know I was listening. That I wasn’t leaving.

"So... who raised you?" I asked gently.

He turned to look at , and sothing in his expression turned happy.

"My adoptive mom? She’s a Gamma—basically a total badass—in the largest werewolf pack in the country. Tougher than steel and aner than most alphas I’ve ever t. She’s the kind of woman who could break bones and bake cookies without flinching. She’s everything to ." I had no idea what a Gamma or the other weird words were, but the way his eyes lit up like starlight when he talked about her... yeah, that said more than any definition ever could.

"And your dad?"

His lips twitched upward in a smile I didn’t quite understand. "He’s a vampire."

My brain short-circuited.

"A what now?"

"Vampire," he repeated, deadpan. "As in, fangs, immortality, blood... though he drinks it from wine glasses because he’s classy like that."

I made a sound. A noise. It might’ve been a laugh. It might’ve been the last breath of my ntal stability gasping for air.

"Eldur, you—you’re telling your werewolf mother married a vampire?"

"Well, technically not married. They’re... bonded. It’s a supernatural thing. Old magic. Doesn’t need a ring."

"Are you hearing yourself right now? Werewolf mom. Vampire dad. Wizard son. This is a rejected CW pilot."

He laughed, throwing his head back, and for a second, the weight he carried seed to lift. "Yeah. Pretty wild, huh?"

"Wild?" I blinked. "This is insane! Do—do you know what this ans? Everything I thought was fiction—isn’t. Werewolves, vampires, magic? What’s next? Fairies? Dragons?"

He paused. Looked at a little too long.

"...Oh my God," I whispered. "There are dragons?"

"I didn’t say that," he said quickly.

"You didn’t not say it!"

He tried to keep a straight face, but failed spectacularly.

"You’re enjoying this," I accused, poking him in the side. "You’re watching spiral into a ltdown and getting a kick out of it!"

"Only a little," he admitted, snorting.

I stood up, pacing across the living room like that would help burn off the panic. "Okay. Okay, so you’re magical. Your parents are supernatural royalty. You teleport through sparkly swirly things and carry trauma like it’s a designer bag. I’m just... a girl. A human girl. With student loans. And anxiety."

I turned back to him, wide-eyed.

"Eldur, what the hell do you even see in ?"

He looked at like I’d asked the dumbest question on the planet. "Everything."

And just like that, my brain short-circuited again.

"I don’t want power," he said softly. "I don’t want so princess from a hidden realm or a sorceress with ancient blood. I want soone real. Who talks back. Who doesn’t flinch when I show her who I really am."

I stared at him.

Speechless.

"You make feel... like I’m not just a weapon," he added. "Like I’m... human. Sotis. And the coolest part of it all is that you’re also my mate!" then he added almost imdiately, "I’ll explain that later."

My breath caught.

Because in all the chaos and absurdity of this night, that might’ve been the most honest, most devastating thing anyone had ever said to .

"I’m not brave," I said, voice cracking. "I’m terrified. I don’t know how to exist in a world where all the rules are upside down."

"You don’t have to be brave all the ti," he whispered. "Just be here. With ."

I walked back to the couch, my legs jelly, my heart a chaos drum inside my chest. I sat beside him, leaned my head on his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a long ti. No more questions. No more jokes. Just silence.

Then, softly, I muttered, "If you tell your dog talks, I’m leaving."

He grinned. "I don’t have a dog. But I do have a new wolf."

I lifted my head and squinted at him. "Excuse ?"

"Aethros," he said, smiling softly. "The Moon Goddess gave him to ."

"Oh co on! Now you’re just making stuff up."

"I’m dead serious. He’s inside . Part of . He... growls when you’re upset. Doesn’t like it when you cry."

I blinked. "So... you’ve got a mystical wolf roommate in your body."

"Pretty much."

I slumped back on the couch, burying my face in my hands. "This is too much. I’m tapping out. My brain is soup."

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulling close. "It’s okay, Nova. I promise I won’t throw any more world-shattering facts at you tonight."

"Good," I mumbled into his chest. "Because if you tell you’re secretly Santa next, I’m jumping out that window."

He laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "Not Santa. But I am older than I look."

"Oh my God."

"That was a joke! Okay, okay, I’m done!" he said quickly, holding his hands up in surrender. "That’s it. No more reveals tonight."

I sighed, nuzzling closer to him.

The fire crackled quietly beside us.

"Eldur?"

"Yeah?"

"...You scare ."

He was quiet for a second. "I know."

"But you also make feel safe. And that’s confusing as hell."

"I’ll take that," he said softly. "It ans I still have a chance."

I smiled into his shirt.

Then I whispered, "Let’s pause the supernatural madness for today. Please. My brain needs to reboot."

He chuckled, the sound low and warm against my ear.

"You got it."

And just like that, with all the chaos still hovering in the air, I closed my eyes and leaned into the strangest, scariest boy I’d ever t.