A Rare Moment of Tenderness

(Aurora's POV)

I woke to a pounding headache that felt like silver daggers stabbing behind my eyes. The sunlight filtering through the curtains was unbearably bright, making me groan and pull the covers over my head.

"Finally awake, sleeping beauty?"

Ruby's voice was unnecessarily cheerful as she entered my bedroom carrying a steaming mug. The scent of healing herbs wafted toward me—her special hangover remedy.

"What time is it?" I croaked, my throat dry as sandpaper.

"Almost noon," Ruby replied, setting the mug on my bedside table. "You've been out since Ethan dropped you off."

Memories of the previous night flooded back—the bar, the wolfsbane whiskey, Ethan carrying me to his car. I groaned again, this time from embarrassment rather than pain.

"Alexander was here," Ruby added cautiously, watching my face for a reaction.

I sat up too quickly, making the room spin. "What? When?"

"Around three this morning. He came for his ceremonial robes."

My stomach clenched. "Did he... see me?"

Ruby nodded, her amber eyes carefully neutral. "He checked on you while you were sleeping. Then he ordered Ethan's leather jacket to be cleaned and returned to the pack enforcer's office."

I almost laughed despite my headache. Of course Alexander would be territorially threatened by another male's scent near his mate. Even when he didn't want me, his wolf couldn't tolerate the idea of someone else having me.

"Did he say anything else?"

"Not really," Ruby admitted. "But he seemed... different. Almost concerned."

I took the mug from the nightstand, breathing in the herbal steam. "He was probably worried about the pack's image if word got out that his mate was drinking wolfsbane whiskey in a human bar."

For two days, I rested in my healing den, recovering not just from the alcohol but from the emotional toll of the past weeks. By Monday morning, I felt strong enough to return to my healing duties.

I arrived at the pack's healing center to find Heather Reed waiting outside my office, her violet-tinged eyes worried.

"Aurora," she said, wringing her hands. "I wanted to warn you before you went in."

My heart sank. "What's happened?"

"The council has temporarily relieved you of your position as chief healer," Heather explained quietly. "They're citing negligence in properly documenting the properties of rare herbs."

The accusation was absurd. My documentation was meticulous—every healer in the territory knew that.

"Let me guess," I said, keeping my voice steady. "They've appointed someone else to lead the Moonstone Project?"

Heather nodded miserably. "Ivy Lawrence will be taking over your healing initiative."

Ruby appeared beside us, her face flushed with anger. "This is ridiculous! It's Alexander's doing—punishing you for not crawling back to him!"

I should have been furious, devastated even. This project was my life's work. But strangely, I felt almost calm. As if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

"It's fine," I said, surprising both women with my serenity.

Before either could respond, I felt the distinct pressure of a mind-link forming.

*Luna Aurora Blackwood. This is Richard Blackwood. Please meet me at the main pack house at your earliest convenience.*

The mind-link from Alexander's father, the current Alpha, carried no emotion—just the bare request. I couldn't refuse a direct summons from the Alpha.

*I'll be there within the hour, Alpha.*

The Blackwood pack house loomed ahead as I approached, its stone facade gleaming in the afternoon sun. Richard Blackwood was waiting for me in his private study, a spacious room lined with books and dominated by a massive desk of ancient oak.

"Luna Aurora," he greeted formally, rising as I entered.

"Alpha," I responded with a respectful nod.

Richard gestured for me to sit in the leather chair opposite his desk. Unlike his son, Richard Blackwood carried his power with quiet dignity rather than overt dominance.

"I understand you will no longer oversee the Moonstone Project," he began without preamble.

I kept my expression neutral. "That's correct, Alpha."

Richard's amber eyes—so like his son's—studied me carefully. "A pity. Your healing abilities are remarkable, even for a wolf of your... lineage."

The slight pause before "lineage" was significant. Richard Blackwood, like most dominant wolves, valued bloodlines.

"The project will still succeed," I assured him. "Alexander will manage it effectively."

"Better Alexander than Dominic," Richard murmured, almost to himself.

I understood his concerns. Dominic was Alexander's cousin and the son of Richard's brother—who had once been heir to the previous Alpha. Richard always worried that Dominic might threaten Alexander's position.

"Dominic lacks Alexander's strategic mind," I said carefully. "He's too impulsive to lead such a delicate project."

Richard's expression softened slightly. "Your loyalty to my son remains intact despite your... difficulties."

I chose my words with care. "I want what's best for the pack, Alpha."

As our conversation concluded, Richard escorted me personally to the main entrance—an unusual honor. In the grand foyer, we passed his secretary's desk, where a striking woman with long dark hair was organizing files.

"Claire will see you out," Richard said, gesturing to his secretary.

As Claire Willow looked up, something in her features triggered a memory I couldn't quite place. Her unusual amber-green eyes seemed strangely familiar, though I was certain we'd never met before.

"This way, Luna," she said, her voice smooth and professional.

I followed her to the entrance, trying to place why she seemed so familiar. The sensation nagged at me all the way back to my healing office.

The sun was setting when I returned to pack up my personal items. Ruby helped me gather my rare herbs and healing journals, muttering curses against Alexander's name with each item we packed.

"It's not fair," she fumed, carefully wrapping a jar of rare moonstone extract. "After everything you've done for this pack—for him!"

I placed my grandmother's ancient healing text in my box. "Life rarely is fair, Ruby."

The door to my office opened suddenly, and Alexander himself stood in the entrance. I hadn't heard his approach—unusual for a wolf with my enhanced senses.

He was in his human form, wearing the formal Alpha heir attire that marked him for tomorrow's council meeting. The ceremonial pendant at his throat gleamed in the dim office light.

"Leave us," he commanded Ruby, his voice carrying the Alpha power that could not be disobeyed.

Ruby shot me a concerned glance before reluctantly exiting, closing the door behind her.

"I can reinstate you as chief healer at next month's pack council meeting," Alexander said without preamble, his amber eyes watching me carefully. "If you're willing to be reasonable."

I almost laughed at his presumption. After my emotional breakdown, my drunken night at Silver Moon Bar, he still viewed my distress as mere petulance. His offer was meant to be generous mercy from an Alpha to a disobedient subordinate.

"Reasonable," I repeated, the word tasting bitter on my tongue.

"This behavior isn't like you, Aurora," Alexander continued, his tone softening slightly. "The drinking, the public defiance—it's beneath the future Luna of the Blackwood Pack."

I approached him slowly, my eyes never leaving his. When I reached him, I surprised us both by reaching up to adjust the ceremonial Alpha pendant at his collar—an intimate gesture I'd performed countless times during our four years of mate bonding.

(Alexander's POV)

Aurora's fingers brushed against my throat as she adjusted my pendant, the simple touch sending an unexpected jolt through my body. The familiar gesture triggered memories of our night together during the full moon—when she had responded to me with passion for the first time in months.

My wolf, Alex, growled with possessive satisfaction at her touch. Perhaps she was finally coming to her senses, accepting her place as my mate.

Her green eyes looked up into mine, calm and clear. For a moment, I thought I saw the Aurora who had once gazed at me with unconditional love—before Ivy, before the pack politics, before everything became so complicated.

"No need," she said quietly, stepping back from me. "I don't want to come back."

Her response confused me. This wasn't how our conversations usually ended. Typically, Aurora would argue, plead, or eventually submit. This calm acceptance was new—and somehow more disturbing than her anger.

She returned to her desk, picked up the small box containing her healing supplies, and walked past me toward the door.

"Alexander," she said, pausing at the threshold, "I'm leaving."

Something in her tone made my wolf stir uneasily. There was a finality to her words that felt different from our usual arguments. But it couldn't be what it sounded like. Aurora would never really leave—she was my mate, bound to me by pack law and the mate bond itself.

I watched her disappear through the moonlit corridor, telling myself she merely needed time to process her demotion.