Chapter 55: Aiden

The Laws and traditions have guided werewolves for hundreds of years. Anyone raised with them has generations of experience to help them make decisions, if things aren’t easy or obvious. If I were a proper werewolf, my father would say, then I’d already be calling myself Alpha of Blackmarsh, and I’d be meeting the visitors as ruler on my own Territory. My Luna would be by my side, lending her feminine touch to negotiations. “The Alpha guides minds and the Luna guides hearts,” my mother always said. With the constant wars, it was more like the Alpha being an iron fist and the Luna being a velvet glove to make it less painful to obey.

If I was a proper werewolf I wouldn’t have a human Mate, who hasn’t a clue about werewolf traditions but has very firm views about the position of females in society. I have a short walk to try and persuade her to take the role I think will work best here.

“They’re werewolves, they’ll have expectations about our roles,” I tell her, trying