MasukZane
Breakfast was no longer just eating. It did not only give her body something. It gave her something else too, something you cannot place on a plate. Rhythm. A kind of ordinary, everyday order that makes a person believe the world is not only commands and blows, but also questions, answers, and the simple fact that the other person truly listens. Elariana was still sitting across from me, leaning over the bowl. Her spoon no longer clinked as often. Her hand onlThree Years Later The great hall of the pack house, once dark and imposing, was now filled with life, laughter, and the warm scent of freshly baked pastries. Afternoon sunlight painted long, golden streaks across the wooden floor, where a dozen wolf pups were tumbling over one another in play. “You’ll never catch me, Mom!” a small boy’s voice rang out, bright as silver. Laughing, Elariana darted around one of the pillars. Her hair was no longer pulled into a tight bun; a few loose strands danced around her face as she chased after her son. Little Aiden, three years old, had inherited his father’s dark hair and steely gaze, but his movements carried his mother’s lightness, and in his eyes shimmered that ancient, silvery glow that marked the blood of the Luna. “I bet I will, you little rascal!” Elariana teased, making a playful dive and nearly catching the hem of his shirt. Giggling, Aiden fled onward, tumbling over a pile of soft cushions the o
Zane Two weeks had passed since the blood-soaked dawn, and by today there was no trace of destruction left in the castle courtyard. Every member of the pack had taken part in the rebuilding, as if the physical labor itself could help bury the last shadows of the past. But in truth, it was not the repaired walls that brought peace. It was the woman standing beside me now on the ceremonial platform. The sun shimmered silver on the snow-covered mountain peaks, just as it did on the tiny diamonds and hand-embroidered golden vines of Elariana’s Luna cloak. She was beautiful. Far more than a queen. She was a living monument of hope. Her posture was confident, and the fragile fear that had haunted her for so long was gone from her eyes. The ancient Luna blood had awakened not only her healing power, but also the inner dignity that had always lived within her. The pack watched the ritual in reverent silence. Hundreds of wolves and humans had gathered to witness the
Zane The smoke drifting above the courtyard and the frozen traces of battle slowly began to fade, but the air still vibrated with the incredible, ancient power Elariana had unleashed. Shifting back from my wolf form, I hurriedly pulled on a pair of trousers one of my warriors handed me, yet I could not take my eyes off my mate for even a second. I had thought she would collapse from exhaustion after defeating Kian. But Elariana did not collapse. She stood in the center of the courtyard, her hair shimmering silver in the rising wind, her gaze—so often frightened in the past—now clear and resolute. “Gather the wounded,” I commanded, my voice thundering through the sudden silence. “Bring them here. To the Luna.” My pack obeyed, though many of them were still in shock from what they had witnessed. The warriors who would have gladly died for me now looked at her with uncertainty, almost reverence. Elariana moved forward. She wore no cloak, n
Elariana The snow almost hissed beneath my paws as the white-hot light pouring from within me flooded my fur. I felt not only the strength of my own wolf, but something far older, something that had slept in my blood for generations, waiting for the moment when love and hatred would call it forth together. Zane lay beside me, his bleeding slowing as the healing energy flowing from my paw sealed his wounds. But Kian’s voice, that silky, cruel tone that had haunted my nightmares for years, was more real now than ever. “Just look at this…” Kian stepped down from the terrace, his eyes wide with greed. “Not just a useless omega I cast aside. Ancient Alpha blood. An ancient Luna. The healer whispered about in legends. That’s why she endured in the storeroom. That’s why she never broke.” The Black Rock wolves surrounding us hesitated. The air vibrated with tension. The presence of the ancient Luna was a power every wolf instinctively wanted to bow to—except
Elariana The air trapped within the inner chamber suddenly turned heavy as lead. Zane’s command still rang in my ears, but the bond that had bound us like a silken cord now became a glowing chain. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. I could not see what was happening outside, yet everything came alive inside my soul. I felt Zane’s rage. It was like a raging forest fire, hot, devastating, merciless. I heard his wolf’s howl in my mind, felt every muscle tense as he hurled himself at the attackers. The mix of hatred and protective instinct nearly paralyzed me. Then, suddenly, the fury was replaced by something else. Pain. A sharp, tearing jolt ripped through my body, as if an invisible blade had cut into my side. I slid down the wall, a silent scream tearing from my throat. This was not my wound. It was his. Zane had been hit. Through the bond I felt his blood spill onto the ground, felt the shock, then the agonizing throb. The pain consu
Elariana The days that followed felt like sinking into a dense, sweet dream I never wanted to wake from. Everything in the castle revolved around the coming ceremony. Women carried heavy white and silver silks into my chambers, embroidering the pack’s crest in gold thread onto the cloak of the future Luna. The air was filled with the scent of pastries, freshly baked bread, and festive spices, overpowering the sharp bite of winter frost. Zane and I lived inside a bubble. The bond, now complete because of the double marking, pulsed constantly between us. Even if he stood on the other side of the room, I felt his mood, his desire, his protective love. We were so absorbed in one another, in new touches and in planning our shared future, that the rest of the world simply faded away. That was our first and greatest mistake. Happiness made us blind. We forgot that peace in this world was only a fragile illusion. Zane, who once reacted to every sound, now sa







