Lunette POVI had thought the tears would stop once Zarek finally left, but even as he turned his back to me, they fell. He lingered a bit, his jaw set and his shoulders tense, as if he thought I would call him back, but I didn't; I couldn't bring myself to call for him, not when what we had done was already so wrong.“Go,” I whispered hoarsely, looking down at the grass, hoping my voice sounded as stern as I imagined it to be, and did my best to avoid his gaze.For a moment, all I heard was the sound of my uneven breathing and the faint rustle of his movements as he obeyed my words with a frustrated sigh, turning and walking away, his footsteps echoing down the hall.Watching him walk away, every part of me wanted to call him back, but I forced myself to stay silent. I’d already complicated things enough.I stood there for what felt like an eternity; after he left me, my l
Axel POV The familiar scent of the pack's castle hit me the moment I crossed the gates; the beta's was watching the gate, gave me a small nod, then looked away from me almost immediately. Gis face did something that I didn't have the energy to decode because I was too glad to be home at last, the blend of aged stone, pine from the forests, and the faint trace of wildflowers that reminded me of her—Lunette.My shoulders sagged in relief; it had been three days—after three grueling days patrolling the southern borders at my father's insistence. He didn't want Zarek to go because he couldn't be sure my brother would keep his mind about him, especially since it was already around the time of the month when he had his episodes.We didn't want him far from home either, or we could have gone together since my presence would keep him calm, but I couldn’t help feeling like I’d been sent away for reasons beyond the usual reason he had given to me. “She’s a disgrace,” someone muttered, and I f
Lunette POVThe days always seemed to blur together into one long tape of endless hours that never ended. Each day I woke up in the morning and trudged along my life, and I forced myself into a routine, each one more draining than the last.The castle seemed colder, the air heavier with the weight of whispered judgment. I moved through it like a ghost, doing my best to remain invisible.I kept my head down, focusing on the tasks I could control: tidying the rooms, tending to the garden, and preparing meals when needed. Anything to distract myself from the whispers that followed me like a curse. They hadn't stopped despite Aloha Cormac's best effort to quiet them, and I wasn't sure they would any time soon, but I appreciated his efforts.I couldn’t afford to let them break me. Not now; I had clawed my way out of that type of negativity, and it hadn't been my fault. At least in this I shared a little of the burden so I could do it.
Lunette POVAfter that day with Axel in the library, I did my best to stay away from both of them; I wanted my peace, and I was going to have it.Each day passed in a usual haze of avoidance and silence. I stayed in my room for as long as I could manage to without running out of my mind. It was better than trying to ignore the whispers about me everywhere I went. Most days I spent them watching the light fade through the window; I told myself I was fine being alone. I didn’t need anyone even when it was a lie. I was getting bored already; I needed a distraction, and then a knock came at the door. For a brief moment, I considered ignoring it, especially since it might have been one of the twins, but then what if it wasn't?The knock sounded on the door again, and something about the sharp, commanding rhythm of it made me hesitate. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I crossed the room and opened the door, and just like I thought, there he stood—Alpha Cormac. His presence was as overw
Alpha Cormac POV Morning sunlight filtered through the tall windows of my office, casting shadows across my polished oak desk.A few stacks of papers were neatly arranged on about three quarters of the table: the council’s latest demands reports from the patrol guards and a report from Axel's patrol a few days ago, trade agreements he was working on with a few neighboring packs, as well as endless council updates that required my attention. I tried to focus, grabbing the nearest report and scanning the lines. Something about boundary disputes between our pack and the Moonshadow Pack. I should care. I needed to care.Yet, no matter how much I tried to focus on the words in front of me, my mind refused to cooperate; instead, it wandered back to her.Lunette.Always back to her.I set my pen down on the table, leaning back into my chair, allowing myself a moment to indulge in the memory of our date last night, the way her eyes had glinted beneath the moonlight when we she had looked up
Lunette POVAfter my date with Alpha Cormac, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something between us had shifted.The night between us had been perfect—almost surreal, the way he had arranged everything with such care, from the moonlit building to the soft glow of lanterns that illuminated the makeshift table he had set up for our dinner.No one had bothered to do that for me in a very long time, and I couldn't hide how cared for it had made me feel in that moment.He had been charming, attentive, and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him. As I closed the door behind me, I couldn’t quite shake the feelings he had brought up in me, even though I had tried to force myself not to feel anything at all, but his calm demeanor had made me feel special, the look in his eyes had been piercing, and yet they had softened just for me, and the fleeting brush of his fingers against mine had made it all too real, almost too real for someone like me. By the end of that dinner my heart wasn’t just fl
Lunette's POV I stood there, frozen in time, in the spot where Alpha Cormac had just proposed to me, my eyes fixed on some unseen thing, because I was very certain if you asked me what I was looking for, I could not tell you. “Take your time,” he said softly, his voice meant only for me. “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.” He had said it to me, and he meant it, because even with people looking, even with the whispers that would follow that the alpha was weak for a woman, he did not urge me or force me to think; he just gave me a curt nod as Alpha Cormac turned to leave. I still couldn't believe what he had just asked me; it would have been a feat to have forgotten, especially when his proposal still lingered in the air and rang in my ear, leaving me to deal with a mix of emotions that I was not sure I should be feeling right now. Part of me was drawn to the idea of being with him, of being the Luna and ruling by his side, of finally having a place to belong where I could try to
Axel POVThe grand hall had been suffocating, and I had needed the break as always, so I had snuck out to the courtyard that seemed busy for absolutely no reason. Zarek leaned against a tree looking off in the distance. I walked up to him and leaned next to him, arms crossed."Do you know what's going on with the crowd?" I asked, and he looked away. "Why the hell should I know?" he asked, and I shrugged. "Because you've been out here longer than I have, brooding schmuck," I hissed, and he sighed, his dark eyes scanning the forming crowd stretched out in front of us. “Why are you even here?” Zarek muttered under his breath, his annoyance barely masked.“To get some air,” I replied dryly. I looked out at the crowd and frowned in confusion. Our father stood at the center of it all, his presence pulling every gaze in his direction. Then someone pushed a woman across the garden, and I winced when she tried to escape but stumbled and came to a stop, and then I saw who it was, and the at
Lunette POV"I have forgiven you," I said, pushing him away from me as I pulled back myself.This garden was supposed to be my sanctuary, but with the way it was being invaded, it seemed I would have to find somewhere else to serve that purpose. I had come here to think, to breathe, but that tranquility had shattered the moment I heard the heavy thud of boots against the cobblestones on the garden path.I hadn’t needed to turn around to know it was Zarek; I could feel his rage from across the garden; his presence was as undeniable as a thunderstorm, or maybe that was just me being sensitive.Now he stood there asking me why I had not chosen him and Axel like it wasn't as obvious as the blue sky above us.His gaze swept over me, and I swallowed. I was sure he had not meant it to get any sort of reaction from me, but it filled my stomach with heat. His eyes stopped just short of where his father’s scent sti
Zarek PoV The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a blade, so that, and the fact that my wolf was not happy in the slightest continuing to growl in my chest, the sound rattling around in my ribcage and setting my teeth on edge. Axel’s words, though they echoed in my mind, did nothing to drown out the way I was feeling.I should have listened to him; my brother always had a point, even when I tended to be hotheaded, but I wasn't willing to listen to his words of reason, not when it felt like my heart was being shredded into so many pieces. Axel didn’t understand—it was selfish of me to say because I knew it hurt him as much, but seeing Lunette standing so close to my father, it had hurt me more than I had ever thought it would, and they had been together for weeks, but the engagement made it seem closer than it was. My father. I loved my father; he was the man who had raised me after our mother died. He had been absent, but he tried his best to care for us and give us
Lunette's POV The ring still glimmered on my finger like a piece of stolen moonlight; the weight of the ring felt heavier than it looked. I turned it this way and that, watching how the light caught on its smooth edges.Alpha Cormac had left only moments ago; I looked up again, but his powerful frame had already disappeared down the hallway. I closed the door gently, leaning against it for a moment to catch my bearings and my breath. The room was still, the only sound the soft rustle sounds of my socks sliding against the floor. I leaned against the door for a moment, trying to process the whirlwind of the evening. My heart was still racing from his presence, and I shook my head to clear the muddled thoughts swimming in my mind. But before I could even take a breath, the door was pushed open with enough force to make me stumble back. “Cormac?” I gasped, my eyes flying up to meet his. He stood there, leaning against the doorway, filling it with his undeniable presence, a predatory
Lunnette's POV The crisp evening air wrapped around us as Alpha Cormac and I strolled side by side through the forest trails surrounding the pack estate, the breeze carrying the scent of pine and earth. The towering trees whispered in that wind, their branches casting long shadows under the waning sunlight. The weight of the day and the proposal from earlier still weighed on me, heavy on me; I couldn't really wrap my head around it, and yet being beside him felt grounding, so it didn't seem like too much happened to me.Alpha Cormac walked a step ahead, his stride confident but unhurried. He looked to me often, his eyes lingering over my skin, watching me like I was all that mattered. He had always carried himself with an ease that made his power evident, but tonight, though, his silence unnerved me. I stole glances at him, hoping to read his thoughts, even from his face, but his sharp features gave nothing away; they remained mostly blank with the occasional smile.He wasn’t a man
Axel POVThe grand hall had been suffocating, and I had needed the break as always, so I had snuck out to the courtyard that seemed busy for absolutely no reason. Zarek leaned against a tree looking off in the distance. I walked up to him and leaned next to him, arms crossed."Do you know what's going on with the crowd?" I asked, and he looked away. "Why the hell should I know?" he asked, and I shrugged. "Because you've been out here longer than I have, brooding schmuck," I hissed, and he sighed, his dark eyes scanning the forming crowd stretched out in front of us. “Why are you even here?” Zarek muttered under his breath, his annoyance barely masked.“To get some air,” I replied dryly. I looked out at the crowd and frowned in confusion. Our father stood at the center of it all, his presence pulling every gaze in his direction. Then someone pushed a woman across the garden, and I winced when she tried to escape but stumbled and came to a stop, and then I saw who it was, and the at
Lunette's POV I stood there, frozen in time, in the spot where Alpha Cormac had just proposed to me, my eyes fixed on some unseen thing, because I was very certain if you asked me what I was looking for, I could not tell you. “Take your time,” he said softly, his voice meant only for me. “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.” He had said it to me, and he meant it, because even with people looking, even with the whispers that would follow that the alpha was weak for a woman, he did not urge me or force me to think; he just gave me a curt nod as Alpha Cormac turned to leave. I still couldn't believe what he had just asked me; it would have been a feat to have forgotten, especially when his proposal still lingered in the air and rang in my ear, leaving me to deal with a mix of emotions that I was not sure I should be feeling right now. Part of me was drawn to the idea of being with him, of being the Luna and ruling by his side, of finally having a place to belong where I could try to
Lunette POVAfter my date with Alpha Cormac, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something between us had shifted.The night between us had been perfect—almost surreal, the way he had arranged everything with such care, from the moonlit building to the soft glow of lanterns that illuminated the makeshift table he had set up for our dinner.No one had bothered to do that for me in a very long time, and I couldn't hide how cared for it had made me feel in that moment.He had been charming, attentive, and more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him. As I closed the door behind me, I couldn’t quite shake the feelings he had brought up in me, even though I had tried to force myself not to feel anything at all, but his calm demeanor had made me feel special, the look in his eyes had been piercing, and yet they had softened just for me, and the fleeting brush of his fingers against mine had made it all too real, almost too real for someone like me. By the end of that dinner my heart wasn’t just fl
Alpha Cormac POV Morning sunlight filtered through the tall windows of my office, casting shadows across my polished oak desk.A few stacks of papers were neatly arranged on about three quarters of the table: the council’s latest demands reports from the patrol guards and a report from Axel's patrol a few days ago, trade agreements he was working on with a few neighboring packs, as well as endless council updates that required my attention. I tried to focus, grabbing the nearest report and scanning the lines. Something about boundary disputes between our pack and the Moonshadow Pack. I should care. I needed to care.Yet, no matter how much I tried to focus on the words in front of me, my mind refused to cooperate; instead, it wandered back to her.Lunette.Always back to her.I set my pen down on the table, leaning back into my chair, allowing myself a moment to indulge in the memory of our date last night, the way her eyes had glinted beneath the moonlight when we she had looked up
Lunette POVAfter that day with Axel in the library, I did my best to stay away from both of them; I wanted my peace, and I was going to have it.Each day passed in a usual haze of avoidance and silence. I stayed in my room for as long as I could manage to without running out of my mind. It was better than trying to ignore the whispers about me everywhere I went. Most days I spent them watching the light fade through the window; I told myself I was fine being alone. I didn’t need anyone even when it was a lie. I was getting bored already; I needed a distraction, and then a knock came at the door. For a brief moment, I considered ignoring it, especially since it might have been one of the twins, but then what if it wasn't?The knock sounded on the door again, and something about the sharp, commanding rhythm of it made me hesitate. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I crossed the room and opened the door, and just like I thought, there he stood—Alpha Cormac. His presence was as overw