LUNA: Alpha’s Soulmate from Another World

The moment Luna had dreaded was about to arrive. It was only a matter of time before the public mating ceremony. Sitting on a vanity chair directly in front of the mirror, Luna could only stare at her reflection with a blank gaze. Her body wouldn’t stop trembling, so much so that the maidservants helping her prepare asked if she was feeling unwell or cold.

Luna smiled slightly at the thought. Of course, they thought she was cold. Her clothing could hardly be called an outfit meant to cover the body. The dress was white and made of thin material-so much so that her body and skin were quite visible. Its long sleeves extended to the wrists but featured a plunging neckline. The outfit was designed to cling to her body, outlining every curve and accentuating her breasts. The skirt of the dress was long, trailing on the floor, but like a modern dress, it had a side slit that reached up to her hips. Luna was forbidden from wearing undergarments, so it could be said that she was exposing her body under the pretense of clothing. No accessories adorned her except for a thin chain of gold and pearls that encircled her waist and connected to a two-layered choker necklace with a pale yellow Citrine gemstone in the center. Her long brown hair was left down, combed neatly and softly.

Luna gazed at her reflection in the mirror and raised her hand to touch her still-pale face. She hadn’t even been given a chance to process everything that had happened with Ghea because she had to prepare immediately after resting. Now she was sitting here, waiting for what felt to her like a trial for a crime she hadn’t committed. Luna took a deep breath and glanced at the maidservants standing by the bedroom door. She had asked the head maidservant who was attending to her where Judith and the others were. The only response she received was ambiguous, but Luna already guessed that Judith and the others were being punished for their negligence due to the recent events. Luna bowed her head, feeling her eyes grow warm. The guilt became even more apparent, making her chest feel tight.

Everything had fallen apart. Her life and Luna didn’t know how to fix it all. She regretted trusting Ghea, and she regretted that she could do nothing but beg and cry. She hated feeling weak because she had experienced all that during her time in the orphanage. Still, she knew she couldn’t do anything. Even holding a sword felt difficult.

Luna slowly played with the sheer sleeve of her white dress before looking up and trying to stand, but she sat back down due to the injuries on her feet caused by Alkrevas. Luna groaned in frustration, unable to do anything but sit like a doll. A moment later, she noticed the translation bracelet still on her wrist and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Luna’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. One of the waiting maidservants quickly approached the door and opened it. A conversation ensued, and shortly afterward, the door opened wider, revealing Gamma Mathias and two imperial palace guards entering the room. Luna observed the attire worn by Gamma Mathias, which fit him perfectly. The military uniform only enhanced the gallant and authoritative presence of the Gamma.

Luna bowed her head and tried to appear as comfortable as possible in her clothing, but she couldn’t. Other than Alkrevas, no other man had ever seen her body like this. Luna cleared her throat softly and smiled gratefully when one of the maidservants approached and draped a thick cloak over her shoulders. She looked at Gamma Mathias and asked, “Lord Mathias, what brings you here?”

“I have been ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to escort you to his presence.” Then Gamma Mathias approached and knelt on one knee before Luna, his head bowed, one hand extended forward, and the other hand placed behind his back.

Luna felt her back tense as she observed the Gamma’s gesture, clearly a knight’s salute to someone who was their master, showing loyalty. “I know this is late, but I believe in you.”

“Gamma…”

Gamma Mathias lifted his head and smiled warmly. “I know you would never intend to destroy Vasilos.” Luna looked at Gamma Mathias with confusion, and the Gamma smiled and explained, “The rumor about your involvement with the dark sorcerer who destroyed the Emperor’s protective shield has spread throughout the palace.”

“Ah… so that’s it.”

Gamma Mathias stood up and extended his hand, which Luna immediately accepted. “Sometimes a knight’s tongue is too loose, like that of a woman. I apologize for this and have punished those who spread the rumor.” Luna felt her heart warm at Gamma Mathias’s kindness.

While everyone else would likely look at her with accusatory and hateful eyes, the man before her now gazed at her with warmth and gentleness. “Allow me to assist you. His Majesty has granted me permission to touch and carry you.”

Luna nodded in agreement, and with agility, Gamma Mathias lifted her and carried her, then walked toward the only exit from the tower chamber. Luna swallowed hard, feeling the Gamma’s muscles beneath his military uniform. Like most knights she had encountered, the Gamma also had a perfect body, like a Greek god. Luna guessed they would have been famous models if the people here were on Earth. “Are you not having any difficulty carrying me, Lord?”Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“No. Your body feels as light as a feather, Miss Luna.” After briefly pausing, the Gamma continued, “His Majesty is truly fortunate to have been matched with a soulmate like you.” Luna bit her lip and held back a smile. If the Gamma had seemed so casual during their first meeting, now he was so formal that Luna had to behave similarly. Luna looked ahead and grimaced inwardly at the sight of the staircase. Imagining herself falling just because of something trivial would probably already send her to the afterlife, but at least seeing the stairs slightly distracted her mind, and the presence of Gamma Mathias helped her feel more at ease. “I ask you to give His Majesty a chance.”

“Sorry?” Luna blinked and looked at Gamma’s face, which seemed gloomy. “Why did you say that?”

“I have served and been loyal to the Emperor for so long, and I understand how complex His Majesty is. But putting all that aside, His Majesty the Emperor is eagerly awaiting your presence in his life.” Luna remained silent. “You are his most treasured possession, Miss Loena.”

“If that’s the case, then why is he doing this to me-” Luna asked, pointing to her legs, “-and even holding a public mating ritual, which makes me uncomfortable?”

Gamma Mathias thinned his lips before answering, “For that, you must ask His Majesty yourself.” Right after Gamma, Mathias said his steps reached the last stair before touching the floor and exiting through the door leading to the tower. Accompanied by two imperial guards and followed by the maid attending to Luna, Gamma Mathias walked down the corridor of the Emperor’s residence before stopping at the Emperor’s Chamber, where the Emperor rested, and Luna’s bedroom before the disaster happened.

The door guard announced their arrival before opening it, and Gamma Mathias stepped inside. All the Emperor’s attendants and aides waiting in the sitting room bowed their heads respectfully. Luna remained silent while Gamma Mathias gave a brief nod. The Gamma’s steps continued to the bedroom door where the Emperor was. Zyne, waiting near the bedroom door, immediately opened it and invited them in.

With tension palpable, Gamma Mathias stepped inside, and Luna, still in Gamma’s arms, suddenly felt very nervous. Slowly, Gamma Mathias stopped in front of a single sofa set adorned with a one-bedroom area. The Emperor was sitting on one of those sofas, reading a document in his hand. The head of the Emperor’s aides-Sigmund, stood obediently on the left side, and Beta Savon on the right. In front of the Emperor, a woman Luna recognized as General Tana stood with her hands clasped behind her back. With Luna in Gamma Mathias’s arms, three pairs of eyes immediately fixed on her sharply, except for the Emperor himself, who was still busy reading the information on the document. Gamma Mathias immediately saluted the Emperor before carefully placing Luna down.

Luna tried to suppress the pain caused by the wounds on her soles before saluting the Emperor. After standing upright again, she noticed that General Tana was not wearing her military uniform as she had the last time but an elegant and luxurious burgundy gown. This made Luna wonder why, for a general, the woman was wearing a dress. Luna guessed that if there was a formal event, General Tana should wear her military uniform like Beta Savon and Gamma Mathias.

If it wasn’t a formal event, was it a party? But why was she concerned about that? There were more important things she needed to think about. With trembling legs, Luna tried to stand straight. She could feel the blood starting to seep again, soaking the bandages wrapped around her feet, and suddenly, she wanted to curse Alkrevas for inflicting these wounds on her soles.

Without lifting his head and continuing to read the document, occasionally turning a page, Alkrevas spoke to General Thea, “General Thea, you may leave now.”

The General immediately bowed and gave a respectful curtsy before turning to leave. Shortly after, Alkrevas shifted his gaze from the document to Gamma Mathias for the first time, then focused his sharp eyes on Luna, who was trembling. Not once did his brown eyes leave Luna. Then he looked her up and down before returning to her dark brown eyes, which were quivering.

Alkrevas sighed softly and handed the document to Sigmund before saying, “The three of you may leave.” Without any objection, Sigmund, Beta Savon, and Gamma Mathias bowed before turning and walking away, leaving Alkrevas alone with Luna. For a moment, there was only silence. Luna was lost in thought while Alkrevas was busy observing Luna. The silence was broken when Luna hissed and unconsciously clenched her dress tightly to endure the pain. “Do you like that dress?”

“What?”

“The dress you are wearing now. The same dress you wore in your world.” Luna opened her mouth in disbelief before frowning in disagreement.

She opened her mouth to respond to Alkrevas’s question with a protest. Still, before she could express it, Alkrevas spoke, “You are fortunate to wear such a dress because, during the public mating ritual, you are not allowed to wear any clothing. I designed that dress and asked the palace tailor to make it so that you wouldn’t have to stand in the middle of the hall naked, and no one could freely see your body.”

Luna lowered her head and looked again at the dress she was wearing, thinking that if what Alkrevas said was true, she was still lucky to be able to cover her body with a dress that didn’t serve its purpose, but that wasn’t what bothered her.

If Alkrevas disliked the concept of public mating so much that he did this, shouldn’t he have canceled the ritual to punish her? “Luna, look into my eyes.” Suddenly, Luna lifted her head, and their gazes met, but only briefly before Luna’s eyes shifted to Alkrevas’s body, which was only clad in white trousers with a white robe accented with gold.

No shirt, jacket, or any other clothing, exposing his six-pack abs and broad chest, which were clearly on display. Luna swallowed hard before returning her gaze to Alkrevas’s eyes. A hint of a smile appeared on Alkrevas’s face before it disappeared and was replaced with a cold expression.

“If you dislike public mating so much, why are you doing this? I know this is a tradition that has existed since ancient times, and I won’t question that, but why did you decide to carry out this tradition with me? If this is a punishment you’re giving me, please reconsider. Don’t you trust me?”

Luna knew that was only her conclusion. Still, Alkrevas’s gestures and attitude towards her at that moment made her think that he trusted her, and now, this was all she could do. She couldn’t act out or rebel as usual because if she made even the slightest mistake, her efforts to change Alkrevas’s decision would be instantly shattered.

“I’m truly not lying about everything I went through, how Ghea controlled me, forced me to drink that potion to break the mate bond, made me say things I didn’t even want to say, how she deceived me and gave me two choices. I didn’t even know about the protective shield you created to protect Vasilos until Abigail herself showed it to me, forcing me to make an extremely difficult decision.” Luna swallowed hard and whispered, “If you trust me, even just a little, have mercy on me… I beg you, stop this. Withdraw your decision to carry out this ritual.”

“I know,” Alkrevas murmured calmly. “But I’ll tell you again, I don’t care whether I believe or don’t believe your explanation, because there is one fact that cannot be changed, Luna… and that’s you.” Alkrevas straightened up, placing both hands on the arms of the chair.

Even though Luna was standing and Alkrevas was sitting, he still appeared slightly taller than Luna, making her realize just how tall Alkrevas was. “You slipped from my grasp and nearly left me, and the most important thing, Luna, is that if I had been just a little late at that time, I would have lost you.”

“You’ve already destroyed the portal mirror, and I won’t go anywhere besides being by your side.” Luna tried to make Alkrevas realize that this decision was wrong. She wasn’t from this world, and doing a ritual that was so foreign to her felt terrifying. She didn’t know what would happen during public mating other than being watched while engaging in sexual intercourse.

“I will always be by your side, isn’t that what you wanted?” Luna realized Alkrevas’s fear of her leaving had grown even greater after this incident, but public mating? On what grounds was he doing all this? While she was still traumatized by Norris… wait, would she be mating with Alkrevas’s wolf form like last time? Luna’s face grew even paler.

Her head shook quickly. No. She had to think positively. Alkrevas knew she was still afraid of Norris; he even changed back into his human form at the temple, though Luna herself didn’t know if that change was due to her fear or not. Whatever it was, Luna had to think positively.

“Why do you so strongly oppose us doing public mating? We are soulmates, and mating is not a crime.”

“You don’t understand, I… this is really uncomfortable…” Luna slowly approached before lowering her body, kneeling in front of Alkrevas and ignoring the pain and wounds on her feet, then holding onto his pants tightly. “I beg you, change your decision. I’m willing to do anything for you, but not this. I don’t want my dignity to be destroyed, Your Majesty.”

“No.”

Luna lowered her head.

Alkrevas took a deep breath and reached out, gripping Luna’s jaw and lifting her head. He leaned in closer and observed her dark brown eyes, which were glassy with unshed tears.

“Your tears are so beautiful, little mate,” Alkrevas whispered, entranced. He briefly kissed and bit Luna’s cheek before releasing his grip and said, “Go. We will meet in the throne room.” Luna shook her head and clung even tighter to Alkrevas’s pants.

Alkrevas clicked his tongue softly and grabbed Luna’s hair, pulling her slowly until she was close enough to him, then murmured, “Be a good girl. If you obey, I’ll give you a reward.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Stubborn.” Alkrevas sighed softly and chanted a spell, and then a bluish light slowly appeared in his hand. Luna didn’t understand what he was doing until she felt a choking sensation around her neck. Luna grabbed at the choker necklace she was wearing and groaned in pain. Her hands tried to remove the necklace, but she couldn’t because the gem on the necklace had been enchanted with magic that would cause pain if Luna resisted. That same magic also made the necklace unbreakable.

When the choking sensation finally subsided, Luna could only slump weakly. “I should have done this from the beginning; using magic to make you submit is far more effective.”

“Please…” Luna whispered hoarsely.

Alkrevas ignored her plea and said, “I will not change my decision.” Alkrevas paused momentarily before continuing, “After the ritual, I will heal your wounds and put the bracelet back on your foot.” Alkrevas released his grip on Luna’s hair before leaving the room, leaving Luna to shed tears of profound sadness.

……….