INICIAR SESIÓNAARON’S POVAll conversation died when I entered. The power that usually made men bow now seemed to only amplify the dread in the room. I was the Alpha King, and I had failed to keep their daughter safe in my own house.“David, Ma’am” I began. My voice was rougher than I intended. “Angela is stable. Elara, our head healer, is with her. She has a severe concussion, but there is no critical damage. She is unconscious, but the bond means she is holding on.”Her mother let out a choked sob and collapsed into a chair. “What happened? She just went to fix her dress.”“A coward’s attack,” I said. The words felt like ground glass. “From behind. In a secluded courtyard.”“Who?” David’s voice was a low, dangerous rumble. The businessman was gone, replaced by a wolf father whose pup had been threatened.I met his gaze. “A woman named Kimberly.”The reaction was instantaneous, but not what I expected. David’s face did not contort with rage. It drained of color, his knuckles whitening around the g
AARON’S POVThe taste of spiced wine turned to bitter ash in my mouth. One moment, the bond was just a low hum of her stress, then a calm reassurance. Then it flickered. A spike of alarm, sharp and cold, that wasn’t my own. And then, nothing. It wasn’t silence. It was a muffled, wrong stillness, like a radio channel choked with static.My hand clenched around the goblet. I felt the silver dent under my grip. Alistair, mid-sentence about timber rights, fell silent. His old eyes narrowed.“Alpha?” James’s voice was low at my elbow. He sensed the shift in me before anyone else could.Angela. I slammed the mental call through the bond, pouring every ounce of my will into it. Angela!No answer. Just that horrible, thick silence that tells me something is wrong. And beneath it, a faint, fading thrum of pain.Ice flooded my veins. The King who everyone has been worshipping all night vanished. The man, the mate, surged to the surface, raw and terrified.I was on my feet so fast my chair scree
Angela’s POVHalfway through the feast, a strange restlessness began to prickle under my skin. The laughter was too loud suddenly. The scents were too rich. The weight of a hundred watching eyes, both adoring and assessing, started to feel like a physical pressure against my chest. The beautiful dress, which had felt like a second skin earlier, now seemed to constrict around my ribs with every breath I took.I needed air. Just a moment. A minute alone to remember how to breathe without an audience.I leaned toward Aaron. He was deep in a low-voiced conversation with Alistair about boundary markers. “I’m just going to slip back to the room for a moment,” I murmured, my hand briefly on his arm. “The dress is a little tight. I’ll be right back.”His green eyes flicked to mine, concern flashing through the bond. “You’re sure?”I sent back a pulse of reassurance. “Just need a minute. All fine.”He gave a slight nod, his thumb brushing my wrist before I stood. I moved away from the High Tab
ANGELA’S POVStepping out of the house, I felt like I was walking into a living dream. The path ahead was lit by hundreds of small lanterns hung in the bare branches of the trees, their flames dancing like captive stars. The air, which had been just cold before, now carried the rich, smoky scent of roasting meats and spiced cider, along with the crisp, clean smell of snow. I took it all in slowly.But it was the sound that truly stole my breath. It wasn’t just noise. It was a symphony. The deep, rhythmic beat of drums came from the central clearing. I could hear the joyful shrieks of pups playing a chasing game somewhere in the shadows.There was the warm murmur of hundreds of voices, talking and laughing, someone singing a snatch of an old solstice song. And beneath it all, the constant, comforting crackle of the great bonfires.Aaron’s arm was solid beneath my hand. He didn’t hurry me. He just let me take it in, and I could feel his own pride, a warm current flowing into me through
ANGELA’S POVI straightened up in the clearing, watching the pups race around with their sticks and laughter, marking out the story circle. I held Aaron’s gaze. It was a quiet conversation, one happening without words, just the bond and the space between us. He was a steady anchor. A silent I see you.He finally pushed off from the tree and started walking toward me. His movements were unhurried. There was a small, private smile touching his lips. The pups paused their game for a respectful second when they sensed their Alpha approaching, then dissolved into more giggles and darted off to find the perfect flat stone for the storyteller’s spot.“They’ve commandeered you, I see,” he said as he reached me. His voice was a low rumble meant just for my ears. His hand came up and brushed a stray snowflake from my cheek.“They have excellent taste,” I said, leaning into his touch for a fleeting second. “They want me to tell the First Moon story.”His smile widened, and the pride in his eyes
Angela’s POVAaron lingered beside me a moment longer, his thumb tracing a small circle against my spine. Through the bond, I felt his quiet contentment. His pack fed and strong, his mate at his side, the day stretching ahead full of promise.I leaned into him just slightly. This was the heartbeat of our life now.Breakfast lingered longer than usual, the easy chatter gradually shifting as wolves finished and drifted toward their duties. Aaron squeezed my hand once before heading out to oversee the warriors, leaving a brush of warmth through the bond that felt like a promise.Martha wiped her hands on a towel and turned to me. “Luna, if you’ve a moment, the festival committee is gathering in the great hall. We’re finalizing placements for the banners and the seating circles.”The Shadow Moon Spring Festival. Three days away, but the entire pack thrummed with anticipation. The longest night, the turning point. This year would be my first as Luna. I felt the weight of it, not heavy, but







