I watched Artemis through Aeson's eyes, her white fur gleaming like captured moonlight against the dark forest floor. My Lycan's senses registered every detail with heightened clarity – the subtle rise and fall of her sides as she breathed, the occasional twitch of an ear picking up sounds beyond even my perception, the particular wild-honey scent that was uniquely hers. Two centuries of waiting, and now she sat beside me, this magnificent creature who carried half my mate's soul. My claws tingled with residual energy from our run, but I felt a warmth in my chest, an expanding heat that I recognized not as guilt, but as its opposite – hope.
Beside us, the lake stretched dark and still, mirroring the star-studded sky above. The natural clearing where we'd settled offered a perfect vantage point – forest at our backs, open water before us, the night air cool against our fur. The quiet symphony of night creatures had resumed after our energetic arrival, crickets and night birds providing gentle counterpoint to our slowing breaths.
Elijah's wolf – Lyall, Emma had called him – sat a short distance away, his midnight-black coat punctuated by the silver chest markings that proclaimed his Alpha status. His amber eyes, intelligent and watchful, hadn't left his sister since he settled by the lakeside. The protective instinct was one I understood intimately, though it came from a different place. His was brotherly concern; mine, the desperate protectiveness of a mate bond still new and raw.
I observed through half-lidded eyes as Artemis tilted her head toward her brother, her distinctive yellow-green gaze fixing on him with what appeared to be mild exasperation. The subtle movements between them carried the unmistakable signs of silent communication – a mindlink between pack members, her brother likely checking that she felt safe, that I had behaved honourably during our run.
‘She's reassuring him,’ Aeson rumbled within me, his perceptions as always more attuned to wolf language than my human mind could fully grasp. ‘Telling him she's fine.’
I wondered what Emma was saying through that silent connection. Was she merely placating her brother's protective instincts, or was there genuine contentment behind her reassurance? The question stirred an unexpected vulnerability in me, a need for confirmation that Aeson received with something like amused tolerance. After centuries of diplomatic calculation and careful political moves, here I was, worrying about the impression I'd made during a simple forest run.
Lyall rose suddenly, powerful muscles rippling beneath his ebony fur. He dipped his head once in my direction – not submission, but acknowledgment, leader to leader. The gesture carried weight coming from a werewolf to a Lycan, particularly to one in royal lineage. Then with a final glance at his sister, he turned and bounded into the forest, a departing howl trailing behind him like a silver thread through the darkness.
‘He allows us time alone with her,’ Aeson observed, satisfaction rumbling through our shared consciousness. ‘He trusts us.’
’Or he trusts her ability to handle herself,’ I countered, remembering what Elijah had told me about Emma's true Alpha status.
Artemis shifted beside me, rising to her feet in one fluid motion. She stretched languorously, then met my gaze directly. Something passed between us in that moment – not a mindlink, but a form of understanding that transcended species differences. Then she stepped back, her form beginning to shimmer with that peculiar distortion that preceded transformation.
The change rippled through her white fur like wind across a snow-covered field. Her four-legged form elongated, reshaped, the magnificent wolf dissolving into the equally captivating woman. The transformation complete, Emma sat on the grass beside me.
Her face tilted up toward me, expression curious and slightly vulnerable in the moonlight. "Thank you for that," she said softly. "Artemis had fun."
Her words were simple, but they triggered a cascade of emotion within me. Aeson pushed, eager to reclaim our human form, to speak with our mate face to face. I surrendered to the familiar heat of transformation, feeling my massive Lycan body contract and reshape. The process was swift but intense – bones reconfiguring, muscles redistributing, fur receding into skin. The world around me momentarily blurred as my senses recalibrated from Lycan to human perception.
The night air felt cooler against my human skin, though the warmth radiating from where our arms nearly touched more than compensated.
"Aeson did too," I replied, my voice slightly rough from the change. "More than he has in... decades, probably."
Emma smiled, the expression small but genuine. Something had shifted between us during that run – some barrier had thinned, if not entirely dissolved. Her posture remained careful, maintaining that slight distance she seemed to need, but her eyes held mine with less wariness than before.
"I didn't realize you're a true Alpha until your brother told me," I said, watching her reaction carefully.
The smile faded, replaced by something more measured. She didn't appear upset by my knowledge, merely thoughtful, as if assessing how much to reveal.
"It's not something that's public knowledge," she said finally, her fingers absently combing through grass beside her. "Not really. The fact I could challenge my brother and win isn't something that we need people knowing." She looked out across the dark water, her profile sharp against the night sky. "My brother and I agreed on that a long time ago. If more wolves knew, especially the Alphas, they'd all suddenly see me as more of a threat."
I nodded, understanding the politics immediately. Female Alphas were rare enough to be remarkable; a female Alpha with the strength to potentially defeat the established male pack leaders would be viewed with fear and suspicion by many traditional packs.
"I'm surprised Artemis is happy answering to Alpha Elijah," I observed. Aeson, who answered to no one but me, found the concept nearly incomprehensible.
Emma's laugh was unexpected – a brief, warm sound that rippled across the still night air. "Elijah and I have an agreement that technically yes, I'm in the pack, but I'm more off to the side of the pack hierarchy rather than in it, if that makes sense." Her hands moved expressively as she explained, her earlier caution momentarily forgotten. "It means he can't even accidentally try to command me, which is for the best because if he did, I don't know if I could stop Artemis from challenging his wolf."
She chuckled again, the sound sparking something warm in my chest. "Artemis can be quite hot-headed sometimes, but I guess that comes with the territory of being an Alpha."
"A trait she shares with Aeson," I admitted, smiling at the irony. My own Lycan had been uncharacteristically accommodating tonight, so eager to please our newfound mate that his usual dominance had softened into something almost gentle. "Though tonight he was on his best behavior."
"I noticed." Her gaze dropped briefly to her hands before returning to my eyes. "Artemis was impressed. She's... not used to strong males who don't try to dominate her."
The implications of that statement hung in the air between us. I thought again of Benjamin Thorne, the werewolf who had hurt her, who had likely used his status as Alpha to control rather than protect. Anger stirred within me, but I kept it carefully contained, aware of how she might interpret any display of aggression."Aeson has no desire to dominate Artemis," I said softly. "He respects her strength. We both do."Emma studied me, her expression difficult to read in the diffused moonlight. "That's... unusual, but appreciated. Most male Alphas expect submission, especially from their mates.""I am not most male Alphas," I replied simply. "And I've spent nearly two centuries watching what dominance without respect has done to this kingdom."Her eyes widened slightly at the mention of my age. Despite being king, my relative youth by Lycan standards wasn't widely known outside court circles. At 175, I was barely considered mature by my species' reckoning."Two centuries," she repeated,
The moonlight traced silver along Artemis's white fur as she bounded ahead of me through the trees, her paws barely disturbing the forest floor. My own Lycan form moved with less grace but more power, each stride covering twice the distance of a normal step. The night air carried her scent back to me—wild honey and mountain herbs, intoxicating in its newness. My mate. The thought still sparked disbelief beneath the certainty, a king who had finally found his queen in the most unexpected of places.We approached the clearing where we'd left our formal attire, slowing to a trot. Artemis glanced back at me, her yellow-green eyes luminous in the darkness, before veering right toward the massive oak that held her gown. I turned left, heading for the pine where my royal garments waited.Behind the broad trunk, I allowed the transformation to begin. Heat rippled through my fur, bones reshaping with practiced ease as I shifted from Lycan to human form. The night air, previously comfortable ag
Across the room, I spotted Elijah and Elena at the bar, their posture alert as they watched our approach. They presented a striking couple—him powerful and commanding, her graceful and perceptive. The protective stance of a pack Alpha was evident in the set of Elijah's shoulders as we drew near."Your Majesty," he greeted, the formal address at odds with the personal assessment in his gaze. Beside him, Elena offered a warm smile that held a knowing glint."Elijah," I responded, deliberately using his name rather than title. "Elena. I trust you enjoyed your evening?""Very much so," Elena replied, her eyes flicking briefly to Emma. "The gardens here are particularly lovely."Emma released my arm, moving slightly closer to her brother. "Stop interrogating him with your eyes, Eli," she said, her tone lightly chiding despite the undercurrent of affection. "I'm fine."Elijah's expression softened as he studied his sister. "Are you okay?" he asked, the simple question loaded with layers of
I'd overslept, my body still recovering from the night run with Theodore and the overwhelming sensations of the mate bond we'd discovered. My fingers trembled slightly as I finished the call with Liam, our senior security trainer back at Blood Moon. The weight of responsibility never quite left, even here in the gleaming heart of the Royal City, hundreds of miles from my territory's borders. I hung up, my stomach growling a reminder that I'd missed the first half of breakfast, and that a certain Lycan King would be waiting.The hotel suite felt too grand, too foreign – all polished marble and moonstone accents that caught the morning light in ways that made my eyes ache. I smoothed down my blouse, a deep crimson that matched our pack colours, and tried to quiet the restless pacing of Artemis within me. She'd been insufferably smug since recognizing Theo's Lycan as her mate, projecting memories of their moonlit run with the persistence of someone proving a point.’We found our true mat
I stood at the edge of the ballroom, my black gown a shadow against the gleaming marble walls of the Golden Compass. The air hummed with strained conversation, punctuated by the occasional forced laugh. Despite the summit's lofty goals of unity, the room had divided itself as surely as oil separates from water; werewolves clustered to the left, Lycans to the right, the invisible boundary between us maintained by centuries of mistrust. My role as gamma of the Blood Moon Pack meant I was supposed to help bridge these divides, but I felt more like a sentry at the border, watching for signs of trouble.Crystal chandeliers spilled warm light across the gathering, catching on jewels and cufflinks, creating constellations of reflected brilliance. "You look like you're cataloguing escape routes," my brother's voice came from behind me, tinged with amusement.I turned to face Elijah, his broad shoulders filling out his midnight-blue suit with effortless authority. As Alpha of Blood Moon, he w
The customary moment of deference ended, and heads began to lift. My own remained bowed, my body locked in place as I fought for control. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, each beat sending that intoxicating scent deeper into my awareness.Mate.My wolf stirred within me, pushing forward with desperate joy, with hunger, with recognition so profound it threatened to overwhelm my human consciousness. I pushed back, forcing her down with the discipline of years. Not here. Not now.When I finally managed to lift my gaze, my eyes moved of their own accord, drawn across the room as if pulled by invisible threads. They found him instantly, as though every other person had faded to shadow.The King was scanning the crowd, his amber eyes intense with purpose. His nostrils flared slightly, and I knew with bone-deep certainty that he was tracking the same scent that had upended my world moments before. His gaze swept the room once, twice, and then locked with mine across the
The air between us thickened with unspoken recognition, that impossible bond stretching taut as a bowstring. King Theodore filled the doorway like a living wall, moonlight tracing silver along the edges of his silhouette. I felt my wolf strain forward beneath my skin, desperate to meet her mate, while my human mind retreated into the shadows of memory and fear. Two instincts at war, with my trembling body as their battleground.Neither of us moved, as if a single step might shatter whatever fragile magic or cruel joke the universe had played on us. The scent of him, cedar and stone, honey and lightning, continued its relentless assault on my senses, bypassing every defense I'd spent years constructing. My fingers gripped the balustrade behind me, seeking anchorage against the invisible current pulling me toward him.Finally, he stepped forward, his movements measured and deliberate, like a man approaching a wounded animal. The moonlight revealed him fully now, broad shoulders beneath
There was a moment of stunned silence, broken only by the distant sounds of the city below and the continued music from the ballroom behind us."Who hurt her?" Theo's question was directed at Elijah, his tone shifting from the gentle one he'd used with me to something harder, more authoritative. "Who was her first mate?"Elijah's jaw tightened, his protective instincts visibly warring with his respect for royal authority. "Alpha Benjamin Thorne from Silver Crescent Pack," he answered finally. "It was messy, my King," Elijah continued, his voice carefully controlled. "I brought her back home after the split, and she took over as my gamma."What my brother didn't say—what he couldn't possibly convey in those simple words—was how he'd found me that night, curled into myself in a corner of Benjamin's territory lodge, blood from my split lip staining the collar of my shirt. How he'd defied pack law by entering another Alpha's territory uninvited, how he'd carried me out when my legs wouldn
I'd overslept, my body still recovering from the night run with Theodore and the overwhelming sensations of the mate bond we'd discovered. My fingers trembled slightly as I finished the call with Liam, our senior security trainer back at Blood Moon. The weight of responsibility never quite left, even here in the gleaming heart of the Royal City, hundreds of miles from my territory's borders. I hung up, my stomach growling a reminder that I'd missed the first half of breakfast, and that a certain Lycan King would be waiting.The hotel suite felt too grand, too foreign – all polished marble and moonstone accents that caught the morning light in ways that made my eyes ache. I smoothed down my blouse, a deep crimson that matched our pack colours, and tried to quiet the restless pacing of Artemis within me. She'd been insufferably smug since recognizing Theo's Lycan as her mate, projecting memories of their moonlit run with the persistence of someone proving a point.’We found our true mat
Across the room, I spotted Elijah and Elena at the bar, their posture alert as they watched our approach. They presented a striking couple—him powerful and commanding, her graceful and perceptive. The protective stance of a pack Alpha was evident in the set of Elijah's shoulders as we drew near."Your Majesty," he greeted, the formal address at odds with the personal assessment in his gaze. Beside him, Elena offered a warm smile that held a knowing glint."Elijah," I responded, deliberately using his name rather than title. "Elena. I trust you enjoyed your evening?""Very much so," Elena replied, her eyes flicking briefly to Emma. "The gardens here are particularly lovely."Emma released my arm, moving slightly closer to her brother. "Stop interrogating him with your eyes, Eli," she said, her tone lightly chiding despite the undercurrent of affection. "I'm fine."Elijah's expression softened as he studied his sister. "Are you okay?" he asked, the simple question loaded with layers of
The moonlight traced silver along Artemis's white fur as she bounded ahead of me through the trees, her paws barely disturbing the forest floor. My own Lycan form moved with less grace but more power, each stride covering twice the distance of a normal step. The night air carried her scent back to me—wild honey and mountain herbs, intoxicating in its newness. My mate. The thought still sparked disbelief beneath the certainty, a king who had finally found his queen in the most unexpected of places.We approached the clearing where we'd left our formal attire, slowing to a trot. Artemis glanced back at me, her yellow-green eyes luminous in the darkness, before veering right toward the massive oak that held her gown. I turned left, heading for the pine where my royal garments waited.Behind the broad trunk, I allowed the transformation to begin. Heat rippled through my fur, bones reshaping with practiced ease as I shifted from Lycan to human form. The night air, previously comfortable ag
The implications of that statement hung in the air between us. I thought again of Benjamin Thorne, the werewolf who had hurt her, who had likely used his status as Alpha to control rather than protect. Anger stirred within me, but I kept it carefully contained, aware of how she might interpret any display of aggression."Aeson has no desire to dominate Artemis," I said softly. "He respects her strength. We both do."Emma studied me, her expression difficult to read in the diffused moonlight. "That's... unusual, but appreciated. Most male Alphas expect submission, especially from their mates.""I am not most male Alphas," I replied simply. "And I've spent nearly two centuries watching what dominance without respect has done to this kingdom."Her eyes widened slightly at the mention of my age. Despite being king, my relative youth by Lycan standards wasn't widely known outside court circles. At 175, I was barely considered mature by my species' reckoning."Two centuries," she repeated,
I watched Artemis through Aeson's eyes, her white fur gleaming like captured moonlight against the dark forest floor. My Lycan's senses registered every detail with heightened clarity – the subtle rise and fall of her sides as she breathed, the occasional twitch of an ear picking up sounds beyond even my perception, the particular wild-honey scent that was uniquely hers. Two centuries of waiting, and now she sat beside me, this magnificent creature who carried half my mate's soul. My claws tingled with residual energy from our run, but I felt a warmth in my chest, an expanding heat that I recognized not as guilt, but as its opposite – hope.Beside us, the lake stretched dark and still, mirroring the star-studded sky above. The natural clearing where we'd settled offered a perfect vantage point – forest at our backs, open water before us, the night air cool against our fur. The quiet symphony of night creatures had resumed after our energetic arrival, crickets and night birds providing
I watched Emma disappear behind the massive oak, her silhouette momentarily visible against the midnight blue of her gown before she vanished into shadow. My body hummed with anticipation, Aeson pushing against my consciousness with unprecedented eagerness. Two centuries of waiting, and now my mate would emerge in her wolf form—a sight I had imagined countless times during those long, solitary nights. My hands tingled with that same spark that had ignited when she touched me, but I felt a warmth in my chest, an expanding heat that I recognized as joy—pure and uncomplicated in a way so little in my life had ever been."Before she comes back out, my King, you need to know something."Elijah's voice pulled me from my reverie. I turned to face him, raising one eyebrow in silent question. In the dappled moonlight filtering through the forest canopy, his expression was solemn, his posture straight-backed despite the informal setting. Whatever he needed to share, it clearly mattered."Artemi
I stood by the bar, watching Theo interact with his minister with an authority that was firm yet measured. There was something different about him—something I couldn't quite name but felt in the subtle warmth spreading through my chest whenever our eyes met. My wolf, Artemis, paced restlessly within me, broadcasting her certainty with the persistence of a stubborn child: ‘Mate. Good mate. True mate. Nothing like Benjamin.’ The contrast between her unwavering confidence and my lingering doubts created a strange dissonance within me, like standing with one foot on solid ground and one on shifting sand.The night had taken an unexpected turn. What had begun as a diplomatic summit had transformed into something far more personal, more consequential. I found myself standing at the edge of possibility, studying this Lycan king who was, against all odds and centuries of division, my second-chance mate.Theo's reaction to Minister Bennett's dismissal of the displaced werewolf packs had been i
I couldn't suppress a short, humourless laugh. "Yes, he just admitted as much to me. Rest assured, there will be a thorough audit of the emergency relief funds tomorrow." I paused, considering my next words carefully. "I'd appreciate details on which packs requested aid and what they actually received. Emma has given me an overview, but specific documentation would be helpful.""Of course," Elijah agreed. "I can have our records messenger-delivered to the palace tomorrow.""I'd prefer if you'd bring them personally," I said, the decision forming even as I spoke it. "Perhaps you and Emma could join me for lunch? We can discuss the situation more thoroughly." The invitation was impulsive but calculated—a chance to continue building a connection with Emma under the guise of official business, while simultaneously gathering the information I needed.Elijah's eyebrows rose slightly, but he nodded. "We would be honoured, Your Majesty.""Theo," I corrected gently. "At least in private settin
I watched Emma's fingers trace the rim of her wine glass, each movement deliberate yet graceful. The simple gesture captivated me with an intensity that would have been alarming had I not recognized its source—the mate bond, still new and raw between us, amplifying every small detail of her existence in my awareness. Two centuries of waiting, and now she stood before me, this werewolf woman with careful eyes and guarded smiles, simultaneously the answer to my oldest prayers and my most complex diplomatic challenge.The weight of my crown—both literal and figurative—pressed against my temples as I considered the implications. A werewolf mate for the Lycan King. The traditionalists would be outraged, the progressives cautiously optimistic, and the general populace divided along the ancient fault lines of inter-species prejudice. Yet as I watched the subtle shift of her expression when she spoke of those displaced cubs, something beyond politics stirred within me—a primal need to provide