C4

STEVENS POV

"I am not chasing after him," I mutter, my voice sounding super small inside the pack chariot.

My shoulders get very stiff under my jacket. I turn around to walk out of the Silverclaw Royal Citadel, but Bartosz yells after me from the big table.

"Try not to look like you are going to a warrior funeral, brother," Bartosz says, laughing a bit. "Stevens is handsome and he can play the violin like magic. You are the Future Alpha King and you have no mate. It is not that hard."

I stop walking and look back at him with a very sharp grin. "If you ever talk about my moonbound mate like that again, Bartosz, the pack will be attending your funeral."

Ulrich snorts loudly. Egon lets out a big laugh, and Mads just keeps typing fast on his computer. I fix my cuffs one last time and step outside into the hot sun, letting my alpha duty settle over my skin like heavy armor. The Moonstone Jewel Hall is waiting for me. Stevens is waiting there too. And this time, my wolf knows I will not be able to walk away without touching him.

The Moonstone Jewel Hall is not just a regular shop. It is a huge fortress made of shining white stone and gold mirrors. Everything sits on soft velvet, and the private rooms in the back are only for royal wolves who have too much gold to count. But none of it matters to me when the front doors slide open.

Stevens walks inside, and my throat goes completely dry.

He is late, which usually makes my inner wolf growl with anger, but one look at him makes my chest feel totally tight. He is wearing a fine, soft silk shirt the color of the pale moon. It sits perfectly on his shoulders, showing the smooth lines of his neck, and his lips look soft and warm.

My body reacts instantly, a sudden heat rushing straight down to my gut. I lock my jaw hard and remind myself of my own rule: no marking and no mating until the sacred ceremony in the shrine. But fuck, he makes that rule feel like a silver chain choking my neck.

"Sorry I am late, Alpha Magnus," he whispers, looking down at the marble floor like he is scared to meet my grey eyes.

He looks so quiet and soft. It makes my wolf angry. Where is the bold, wild boy who ran to my house at midnight five years ago?

We walk into the private back room, and the Moonkeep Steward bows down to the ground. I wave my hand to dismiss him. "Bring out the royal mate collections. The ones for the pack feast after the ceremony."

"Right away, Future Alpha King," the steward says, running out fast and leaving us alone by the massive glass window looking over Blood Moon City.

Stevens sits on a big velvet chair, looking very graceful, but I can see his back is completely stiff. He will not look at me. His fingers keep rubbing his moonstone ring over and over.

"Is something funny on your phone?" I ask very quietly.

His head jerks up, his eyes getting huge. "No."

He is lying. He is totally terrible at lying because his neck turns a bright pink color.

I lean forward, putting my hands on the table so my shadow falls right over him. "You smiled at that little screen more than you have ever smiled at me, Stevens. Tell me why."

His throat moves as he swallows hard, but before he can speak, the pack servants roll in big carts full of shining moonstone relics, heavy silver collars, and diamonds.

"Oh, this one looks very pretty," Stevens says, picking up a silver neck collar with blue sapphires. His eyes shine bright. He grabs the jewelry like a lifeline to avoid my question, and it makes my wolf growl inside. Why is he hiding things from his Alpha?

He puts the collar against his neck with the servant's help, then shakes his head. "No. It will not match my warrior clothes for the feast."

"You can have it anyway," I say, my voice deep. "If you like it, I will buy it."

His eyes go wide. I have spent five years buying him everything he wants, but every time, he acts like a surprised pup. "No, Alpha. I cannot let the Silverclaw Royal Pack spend so much gold. We will find something else."

My jaw gets very tight. He says thank you, but his voice sounds totally empty and sad. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, looking at the screen. When he sees no new messages, his face falls. Who is he waiting for? A secret lover? A rogue wolf? His brothers?

My teeth grind together. I did not bring him to the jewel hall for simple gratitude. I hate that he is thinking about someone else right in front of me. A wave of heavy anger hits my chest. I reach out, grab a thick diamond choker from the velvet tray, and step right behind his chair.

Stevens freezes completely.

Good.

The cool silver catches the light as I push his soft hair over his shoulder. My fingers brush the warm skin of his neck. His breath catches hard, and his skin gets goosebumps.

"Lift your chin," I murmur against his hair.

He listens to me, swallowing hard. His throat looks so soft and bare that my wolf has a sudden, violent urge to bite down and mark him as mine forever. My fingers work the heavy silver clasp, setting the diamonds around his neck. The shiny stones sit right above his collarbone.

He shakes a little when my knuckles accidentally brush his chest, his pulse hitting my fingertips like a trapped bird.

I lean down further, my lips almost touching his ear so he can feel my hot breath. "This looks perfect on you, young wolf."

His eyes close fast, and a tiny gasp escapes his lips. Possession screams inside my head. Mine.

I look at him in the mirror. The silver and diamonds look beautiful on his skin. He looks like a true royal wolf, like a king made for the Silverclaw Throne. But his fingers are twitching, his chest is huffing fast, and when our eyes meet in the glass, I see a huge storm hidden inside him.

I lean closer, my voice turning into a dark growl. "I want to take this off you myself... on our wedding night."

His breath stops. A bright red flush covers his face, making him look so sweet and soft. It makes every alpha instinct in my body pull tight. I shouldn't do it, but my wolf wins. I press my lips against his bare shoulder, kissing the warm skin through his silk shirt, branding him in my own way.

Stevens turns his head just a little bit, looking at me through his thick eyelashes with wet eyes. "We should get this one... since you like it so much."

My chest feels like it is squeezing. I look at his face. "Do you like it?"

He gives me a small smile that does not reach his eyes. "That does not matter, Alpha. It never matters. You are the one paying the gold."

His voice is light, but it has a sharp, bitter bite to it. He is angry at me, and he thinks his Alpha cannot tell. But I can smell his sour mood. I slide my big palm down his lower back, rubbing the silk shirt to calm his inner wolf. "We can look at other things. Something you actually want."

His jaw tightens, and his fingers touch the silver on his neck. "I want to go back to Moonfang Manor."

There it is. The wall between us is getting bigger, and I do not know why. It all started with those text messages he keeps looking at. I am going to have Noah find out exactly who is messing with my mate, but right now, I stay quiet. I cannot let him slide further away from me.

I wave the store servant over, my voice turning to steel. "We will take this diamond collar. And the matching rings too."

The servant nods fast and runs away to pack the items. Stevens pulls his phone out again, his thumbs moving super fast on the screen. My jaw ticks with pure rage. I step right into his space, wrapping my big arm tightly around his waist and pulling his hip hard against mine. "You are not going back to your father's house yet."

His head snaps up, looking totally shocked. "What?"

I lean down, my lips brushing the edge of his ear, my breath hot and heavy. "We are going to eat. A real date."

His eyebrows pull together, looking completely confused. "You never take me on dates, Magnus."

"I am taking you now," I say, pulling him toward the door with my hand pressed firmly against his lower back, showing everyone in the hall that he belongs to me. "Let's go, little wolf."

He swallows hard, staying still for a split second before he follows my lead out into the street. Good. Let him text whoever he wants on that little screen. For the next few hours, I am going to make sure he only thinks about his Alpha.

STEVENS POV

Noah's text messages keep popping up on my screen like hot sparks, full of sweet compliments and nice words.

If any other male wolf sent me things like, "I want to hold you under the full moon," I would laugh and tell my father's guardians to throw them out. But with Noah, I do not laugh. I read every single message two or three times, letting the sweet words fill the lonely cracks inside my heart. They make me feel wanted, like a young wolf scholar getting noticed for the very first time.

It feels so good.

Even if they are just silly words from an advisor who wants a royal prize, I love feeling desired. But I cannot type a reply right now. Alpha Magnus is sitting right across the table from me inside the Crimson Moon Lodge, and his sharp grey eyes are cutting through me like a silver blade.

I flip my phone face down under the white tablecloth, pressing it hard against my thigh so he cannot see it.

The Future Alpha King sees everything. And God help me, he is too handsome.

His big, broad shoulders look huge under his black tailored suit. His shirt is open at the top, showing a patch of dark skin and his thick neck. His brown hair is slicked back perfectly today, and his sharp face looks like it was carved out of mountain stone by the Moon Goddess. But it is his mouth that makes my stomach flip. It is a straight, hard line that never smiles. Except for earlier today, when he pressed his lips against my shoulder.

That kiss made my whole body feel like it was on fire. I wanted him to do more. I wanted his big hands on my chest, touching my skin, taking off all my clothes right there in the jewel hall.

I shift around in my chair, my thighs rubbing together.

I shouldn't be thinking about him like this. I shouldn't be remembering his deep growl about our wedding night, or the feral hunger in his grey eyes when he put the silver collar around my neck. That moment shouldn't make my core twist with heat, but it does.

Maybe mating with Magnus Andersen won't be a cold, sad thing. Maybe he will take me with that same wild power I saw in his eyes today.

I press my knees tight under the table, hating myself for being so soft. I am building up hopes that will just get broken later. I have lived in the pack territories long enough to know how royal Alphas treat their mates. My own mother Jana never gets any affection from my father, and my brothers treat their mates like simple property to cook and carry pups. Royal wolves are old-fashioned in the worst ways.

I want to believe Magnus will be different. I want to believe he will try to love me. But I am so scared of being sad forever. He is the coldest wolf I know. I have never seen him cry or yell or show any real feelings. He is always in total control, his voice quiet and scary.

"Young wolf," his deep, rough voice suddenly barks, cutting through my thoughts. "You are totally distracted."

I blink fast, lifting my head up straight. "I am just thinking, Alpha."

His grey eyes get very small. "About what?"

I set my jaw tight, my fingers gripping my glass of water. "About what my life would be like if I were just a normal wolf from a regular pack."

Something shifts in his big chest. He leans back in his chair, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm against the wood. "If I were a normal wolf, I could go anywhere I want and be with whoever I want. I would live in the woods, far away from the Silverclaw Royal Pack and the big councils. If I were a normal wolf, you could have married a different mate. Someone quieter, or someone who didn't run away to play music."

His jaw punches out, a flash of pure anger moving in his eyes. "That does not matter to me, Stevens. I do not want a different mate."

My eyebrows go up high. "Because all male wolves look the same to you?"

His lips twitch just a little bit, like he is almost amused by my words. "No. Because the Moon Goddess chose you for my throne."

I stare at his hard face. My heart squeezes tight, but it does not feel good. It does not make me feel loved at all. I grit my teeth, giving him a fake smile. "So it is just fate. I have no choice."

"It is still destiny, even if you were a normal wolf and met a stranger in the middle of the woods," Magnus says smoothly, his voice totally calm. "It does not matter if the bond is made for pack treaties or by complete chance. Some wolves are meant to belong to each other."

I want to scream at him because he is so calm. He speaks like my whole life is already written down on a stone wall, no matter how much my heart hurts.

"So," I say, my throat feeling dry. "If I asked you to break our sacred mate bond right now, would you let me run away to the Shadowfang Wilds? Would you call that fate too?"

Magnus goes completely still, his face turning into ice. "Are you planning to run away from me, Stevens?"

Panic hits my chest like a rock. My tongue gets totally stuck. "No! No, Alpha. It is just nerves about the wedding. That is all. I didn't mean it."

He does not believe me. I can see the distrust in his narrow stare. The air between us gets super heavy and dangerous.

"What kind of male wolf would you choose," Magnus asks, his voice dropping so low it sounds like a death threat, "if the choice belonged to you?"

I shrug my shoulders, trying to hide the deep ache inside my ribs. "Someone who actually loves me. Someone who brings me wild flowers, looks at me like I am the only important thing in the world, and wants to spend every single hour talking to me about nothing. A wolf who holds my hand and shows me real affection."

Magnus glares at me, his fingers sinking so hard into the wooden table that the wood begins to crack under his strength.

"You think I cannot give you that?" Magnus growls, his eyes suddenly flashing a bright, scary gold.

Before I can answer, my phone vibrates hard against my leg under the table, and Magnus lunges across the cloth, his big hand snatching my purse before I can even move.

"Give that back!" I yell, my heart hitting my ribs like a hammer.

Magnus pulls my phone out, his face twisting into pure, terrifying fury as he reads the glowing screen.