INICIAR SESIÓNNatasha"You don't have to keep anything in your old room anymore," Mikhail said the next morning, his fingers trailing lazy patterns on my bare shoulder as we lay tangled together in his bed. "Move in here properly. Bring all your things."My heart did a little flip at the casualness of it, like it was the most natural thing in the world for me to officially move into his quarters. I supposed it was natural now that we didn't have to hide anymore."Are you sure?" I asked, even though I already knew my answer. "It's a big step.""We've already taken the biggest step," He pointed out, pulling me closer. "Everything else is nothing. Besides, I want your stuff here. I want to wake up and see your books on the shelves and your clothes in the closet. I want it to feel like our space, not just mine.""Our space," I repeated, testing out the words. They felt right. "Okay. Let's do it."I found myself standing in my old bedroom a few hours later, looking at all the belongings I had accumula
MikhailThe morning after the council's decision, I woke up with Natasha still in my arms, sunlight streaming through my bedroom windows.For the first time in years I felt like I could actually breathe. No more hiding, no more sneaking around and no more pretending she was just my sister when she was so much more than that. She was mine and nothing was going to change that, but I knew the real test was still coming. The council had given us permission to be together, but that didn't mean the pack would accept it easily. We had been confined to my room or hers for the past day while everything got sorted out with Rowan and his pack. Dimitri handled the political fallout, while the gossip spread like wildfire through the pack house and probably beyond. By now everyone knew, everyone had heard, and everyone had formed an opinion about what Natasha and I were doing.Today we would have to face them all."Are you ready for this?" I asked Natasha as we got dressed that morning, watchi
NatashaMikhail and I barely made it down the hallway when Rowan appeared, his face twisted with rage."You!" He snarled, stalking toward us. "You fucking whore!"Mikhail immediately stepped in front of me, his body a protective wall between Rowan and I. "Watch your mouth." He growled, his eyes darkening with anger."Watch my mouth?" Rowan laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I'll say whatever the fuck I want! She was supposed to be mine! We had an arrangement!""An arrangement I never agreed to," I said from behind Mikhail, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was racing. "I never wanted to marry you, Rowan. I'm sorry you're hurt, but—""Hurt? HURT?" His voice rose to a shout. "You humiliated me! Made me look like a fool in front of everyone! And for what? So you could fuck your brother?""That's enough," Dimitri's voice cut through the hallway as he appeared, clearly having followed us. "Rowan, I understand you're upset, but threats and insults won't solve anything.""I'
MikhailDimitri's office had never felt so much like a courtroom.The council members were already assembled when we arrived, arranged in a semicircle of stern faces and folded arms. Eight of the pack's most senior wolves, all looking at Natasha and I like we had just committed murder instead of confessing our love. Dimitri took his place at the head, his expression carved from stone, and gestured for us to stand in the center of the room.I kept Natasha's hand clasped firmly in mine. Whatever happened next, we would face it together."Do you understand the severity of what you've done?" Dimitri asked, his voice eerily calm. "You've humiliated Irina and her entire family in front of witnesses from three territories. You've destroyed an alliance that took months to negotiate. You've potentially started a war, and you did it all for—" He gestured between us, his expression somewhere between disbelief and disgust. "For this.""For love," I said firmly. "We did it for love.""Love," D
NatashaThe silence after my words was deafening. Every single person in that hall was staring at me and I wanted to melt into the floor and disappear but I couldn't.I wouldn't. Not now that I finally found the courage to speak. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest and my hands were shaking but I kept my chin up and kept my eyes on Mikhail even though I could feel the weight of hundreds of stares boring into me.People started moving and murmuring, the whispers spreading like wildfire through the crowd. I saw shock on faces, disbelief, horror and curiosity, but I didn't care about any of them. I only cared about Mikhail, standing there at the altar in his ceremonial clothes with Irina beside him, and the look on his face when I said those words.He's already mated to me.I started walking toward the altar, my legs somehow carrying me forward even though they felt like jelly. Each step felt heavy but I took it anyway, moving through the crowd as th
MikhailI stood in my room while servants bustled around me, dressing me in the ceremonial clothes I was supposed to wear to bind myself to a woman I didn't love. The fabric was expensive, the embroidery intricate, every detail carefully chosen to reflect the importance of this union between two powerful families.Deep down, it felt like I was going to a funeral instead of a mating ceremony."Arms up, sir." The tailor said, and I obeyed mechanically, letting him adjust the formal jacket, pin it here and there, fuss over the fit.Through the window I could hear the sounds of celebration, music and laughter and excited chatter as the pack gathered for what they considered a joyous occasion. To them this was a triumph, a strategic victory and the beginning of a new era of prosperity and strength.To me, it was the beginning of the end."You look very handsome," The tailor said, stepping back to admire his work. "Your bride will be pleased."I said nothing. What was there to say? That I
MikhailI knew I was in trouble the moment I saw Natasha with the children.It was late afternoon, and I had been walking back from training when I heard laughter coming from the clearing near the healing quarters. I rounded the corner to find Natasha sitting on the ground, surrounded by at least
NatashaThe festival was in full swing by the time the sun set. Bonfires lit the clearing, casting dancing shadows across laughing faces. Someone had brought out instruments. A fiddle, a drum, something that might have been a lute and music filled the air along with the smell of roasting meat and
Natasha"This is delicious, Seraphina," I said, taking another bite of the roasted chicken. "You've outdone yourself."Seraphina beamed from across the table. "It's nothing special, really. Just something I managed to whip up."We were having dinner together, the four of us, which had become someth
NatashaI was organizing my supplies when I heard the door to the healing quarters open. It was late, well past midnight and everyone should have been asleep.I turned, already knowing who it was before I saw him.Mikhail closed the door quietly behind him, his eyes finding mine immediately in the







