Victoria
The penthouse suite transford into an oasis of quiet after the thundering celebration of the Hunt Festival. Leo guided through the door with his hand pressed possessively against the small of my back, his touch both comforting and commanding. I paused at the threshold, taking in the sweeping vista of the city through floor-to-ceiling windows—thousands of lights twinkling like earthbound stars beneath us.
"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Leo’s voice rumbled close to my ear as he ca up behind , his arms encircling my waist.
I nodded, unable to deny the breathtaking panorama. The Shadow Pack territory stretched before —skyscrapers, residential districts, and in the distance, the dark outline of forests where the wolves had hunted tonight. To our right, the helicopter landing pad sat empty, a stark reminder of the power wielded by the man whose arms held .
"I didn’t expect it to be so..." I searched for the word.
"Vast?" Leo suggested.
"Yours," I finished. "All of this belongs to Shadow Pack—to you."
His chest pressed against my back, and I felt his lips brush the sensitive spot where my neck t my shoulder. "And now to you, as my Luna."
The title still felt foreign on my skin—a borrowed garnt that didn’t quite fit. Especially after tonight’s ceremony, where my failure to howl, to shift, to connect with my dormant wolf had been witnessed by everyone who mattered in pack hierarchy.
"About tonight," I began hesitantly. "I thought I felt sothing during the howl. Like she was trying to—"
"Your wolf will co," Leo interrupted, turning to face him. His expression was carefully controlled, but I caught the montary flash of disappointnt in his eyes before he masked it. "These things can’t be forced, Victoria."
I bit my lip, looking away. "You were expecting her to awaken tonight, weren’t you? With the full moon and the ceremony?"
His silence was answer enough.
"I felt the disappointnt from the pack elders," I continued, moving away from his embrace to step further into the luxurious suite. "I saw how Carson looked at after. Like I’d confird everything he believes about half-breeds."
"Don’t call yourself that," Leo growled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest.
I spun to face him. "Why not? It’s what they’re all thinking. The unawakened half-breed Luna who can’t even participate in the most sacred ritual of pack life."
Leo crossed the distance between us in three long strides, his hands cupping my face with surprising gentleness for an Alpha whose entire deanor radiated controlled aggression.
"I don’t give a damn what they think," he said, his eyes burning into mine. "Your wolf is there. I feel her."
"How can you be so certain when I can’t even feel her myself?" My voice broke slightly.
His thumbs stroked my cheekbones. "Because sothing in recognizes sothing in you, Victoria. From the very first mont."
The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache. I wanted desperately to believe him, to trust that the wolf spirit allegedly dormant inside would soday answer his call. But the hollow emptiness where that connection should be felt more pronounced than ever after tonight’s ceremony.
"I’m sorry I disappointed you," I whispered.
Leo’s eyes darkened. "You could never disappoint ." His lips brushed my forehead in a tender gesture that contradicted his usual domineering presence. "But I need you to understand sothing."
"What’s that?"
"Your position as Luna isn’t dependent on your wolf’s awakening." His voice lowered to a husky timbre. "It’s dependent on your bond with ."
The implication hung between us, charged with an electricity that had nothing to do with pack politics and everything to do with the primal connection that had flared between us from our first eting.
"And what exactly is our bond, Alpha?" I challenged, tilting my chin up. "A business transaction that evolved into sothing more convenient?"
His expression hardened. "Is that what you think this is?"
"I don’t know what to think anymore." I moved toward the panoramic windows, needing space from his overwhelming presence. "A month ago I was being sold off by my step-brother. Now I’m the Luna of the most powerful pack in the region, married to a man I barely know who seems determined to—"
"To what?" He followed, his reflection appearing beside mine in the glass.
"To possess ," I finished quietly. "Body and soul."
Leo didn’t deny it. Instead, his hands settled on my shoulders, turning to face the city again, my back against his chest. "Look out there," he commanded softly. "All of it thrives under Shadow Pack protection. Under my rule."
His hands slid down my arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. "I’ve built an empire that provides security and prosperity for every wolf under my care. And yes, I’m possessive of what’s mine—including you."
One hand slipped around to rest against my stomach. "Especially you."
My breath caught as his other hand traced the neckline of my dress. "I’m not a territory to be claid, Leo."
"No," he agreed, his lips finding the sensitive spot beneath my ear. "You’re my mate. My Luna. The woman who will stand beside as Shadow Pack grows stronger."
His fingers traced lazy circles against the silk covering my abdon. "The woman who will carry my heirs."
The statent sent an unexpected shiver through —half fear, half sothing deeper and more primal that I wasn’t ready to examine.
"And if my wolf never awakens?" I whispered, voicing my deepest fear. "If I can never truly be what the pack needs in a Luna?"
Leo’s arms tightened around , and in the reflection of the window, I saw his eyes flash with that otherworldly amber glow. "Then we’ll forge a new path. Together."
His conviction should have been reassuring. Instead, it highlighted the vast gulf between us—his absolute certainty against my lingering doubts.
When he turned in his arms, his expression had shifted to sothing darker, more primal. "Enough talk of wolves and ceremonies," he murmured, his hand sliding up to cup the back of my neck. "I want to taste my mate."
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