Chapter Two

Claiming His Luna

Lila had stumbled on her feet earlier, slowly losing her consciousness. Asher then took her to his grand bedroom where he took her to the bathroom for her to wash her face—maybe that would jolt her back. The bathroom tiles leached cold through Lila’s knees as she gripped the sink. Her reflection wavered in the gilded mirror—pale, sweat-damp, pupils blown wide. The bond hummed under her skin like a struck tuning fork.  

“Breathe,” Asher ordered, his voice frayed. He stood too close, his heat searing her back. When she retched again, he gathered her tangled hair in one fist, knuckles brushing her nape.  

“Don’t—” She jerked away, throat burning. “Don’t touch me.”  

He didn’t retreat. His scent—pine resin and storm air—thickened the room. “You think I want this?” he growled. “That I’d choose some half-shifted stray over—”  

Lila spun, slapping him hard enough to crack the silence. His cheek reddened, wolf-light flaring in his eyes.  

“Finish that sentence,” she hissed, claws pricking her palms. “Call me ‘stray’ again. I dare you.”  

Asher stared, chest heaving. The bond writhed between them, sickly sweet. His gaze dropped to her mouth.  

They moved at the same time.  

His kiss was all teeth, a collision of lips and desperation. Lila bit down, blood blooming on her tongue. He groaned, gripping her hips hard enough to bruise, slamming her against the sink. Marble dug into her spine.  

“Stop,” she gasped, even as her hands fisted his hair.  

“Can’t.” His mouth trailed her jaw, voice ragged. “The bond—it’s eating me alive—”  

She shoved him. He stumbled, pupils swallowed by molten gold. The predator in him surfaced, shoulders rolling with the ghost of fur.  

“You feel it too,” he rasped.  

Lila wiped her mouth, smearing blood. Her body burned where he’d touched her, the bond coiling tighter with every ragged breath. “This isn’t real. It’s just… biology. Chemistry.”  

“Bullshit.” He crowded her again, nostrils flaring. “You’re shaking.” He said pointing to her shivering hands.

She was. The bond had teeth, gnawing at her resolve. When his thumb brushed her hip bone, she arched into the touch, a traitorous whine escaping her throat.  

“F**k you,” she breathed.  

Asher’s laugh was dark. “That’s the idea.”  

Lila tried to walk out but Asher was faster. The bedroom door slammed behind them. Moonlight sliced through velvet curtains, painting Asher in fractured silver as he backed her toward the bed.  

“Wait.” Lila’s calves hit the mattress. “We can’t just—”  

He kissed her again, slower this time. A deliberate slide of lips that turned her bones to liquid. Her claws tore his shirt, buttons scattering like gunshots.  

“Asher—” She said as she unintentionally let out a cooing moan.

“Tell me to stop.” His hands skimmed her ribs, finding the zipper of her dress. “Say it, and I walk.”  

She couldn’t. The bond roared, a wildfire in her veins. His fingers dipped beneath her waistband, callouses scraping sensitive skin.  

“Coward,” he murmured against her throat.  

Lila snarled, shoving him onto the bed. He landed with a grunt, gaze hungry as she climbed over him. Her dress pooled around her thighs.  

“You don’t get to play alpha here,” she said, yanking his belt loose.  

His grin was all fang. “Prove it.”  

Clothes fell in tattered shreds. The bond didn’t care for modesty—only heat, only now. Lila learned his body in gasps and nails: the scar ripping across his ribs (a Bloodfang souvenir), the way his breath hitched when she bit his collarbone.  

“Lila.” Her name was a prayer and a curse on his lips.  

He flipped them, pinning her wrists. His mouth found her breast, tongue circling a peak until she sobbed. Every touch was too much, not enough. She writhed, but he held firm, dragging his teeth down her stomach still she got wet down there.  

“Still want me to stop?” he asked, breathing hot between her thighs.  

She grabbed his hair. “Don’t you dare—”  

His laugh vibrated against her skin.  

He wasn’t gentle.  

The bond didn’t allow for gentleness.  

Asher pinned her hips, fingers bruising as he drove into her. Lila gasped, nails scoring his back. Too much—the stretch, the heat, the way her body clenched around him like it knew his shape.  

“Look at me,” he growled, thrusting sharp and unsteady.  

She refused, teeth sunk into her lip. He gripped her jaw, forcing her gaze up. Gold eyes burned into hers, fangs glinting.  

“Look at what you do to me.”  

Her retort died in a moan. He angled deeper, hitting a spot that made her vision whiten. The bond sang, a fevered chant of more-mine-yes.  

“That’s it,” he rasped, sweat dripping onto her chest. “Take it. Take me.”  

She raked her claws down his ribs. “F**k you.”  

He laughed, breathless and dark. “Trying.”  

Their rhythm fractured—a desperate, hungry thing. Lila arched, heels digging into his thighs as he pounded into her. The bedframe slammed the wall in time with their gasps.  

“Asher—”  

“I know.” His hand slid between them, thumb circling her clit. “Let go.”  

She came with a choked scream, back bowing off the mattress. He followed, biting her shoulder as he spilled into her, the bond detonating like a supernova.  

For a heartbeat, they were more than flesh—a shared pulse, a howl echoing across generations.  

Then reality crashed back.  

Asher collapsed beside her, chest heaving. Lila stared at the canopy, tears streaking her temples. The mate mark on her neck throbbed. Afterward, they lay tangled in sweat-damp sheets. Lila traced her mate mark—twin crescent moons blooming over her pulse—while Asher slept, arm slung heavy across her waist. His own mark gleamed on his shoulder, still raw.  

The bond had quieted, sated for now.  

She slipped from bed, dress hanging in ruins. Her reflection in the floor-length mirror stopped her cold.  

Bruises flowered on her hips. Bite marks laddered her thighs. A stranger’s eyes stared back—wary, wolf-touched, claimed.  

Asher stirred. “Where are you going?”  

“Away.” She fumbled with the doorknob. “This was a mistake.”  

He moved like lightning, slamming the door shut. “Running won’t break the bond.”  

“Watch me.”  

His hand covered hers, the mate marks aligning. Gold light pulsed. “You felt it. That wasn’t just f*cking.”  

She did. The bond had shifted during the claiming, weaving their scents, their heartbeats. A sickening rightness.  

“Your mother was right,” she whispered. “I’m not Luna material.”  

Asher turned her to face him. Naked, battle-scarred, beautiful. “You’re mine. That’s all that matters.”  

“Yours?” She shoved him. “I’m not a trophy to win, Voss.”  

He caught her wrist, pressing her palm to his mark. It burned. “And I’m not my father. I won’t spend decades howling for a ghost.”  

Lila froze. His eyes held that same raw hunger from the ballroom, but softer now. Terrifying.  

The knock made them jump.  

“Alpha?” A guard’s voice, muffled through wood. “Your mother demands your presence. She’s… upset.”  

Asher’s jaw tightened. “Tell her I’m busy.”  

“She said to remind you of your duty. To the pack.” the guard stated.  

Lila yanked her hand free. “Go. Before she sends a firing squad.” Lila said gathering the duvet covering her breast.

He dressed slowly, eyes never leaving her. At the door, he paused. “This isn’t over.”  

“It never is with you people.”  

When he left, the bond screamed. Lila sank to the floor, clutching her mark.  

Somewhere, a wolf howled.