ログインStella's POVI never wanted a mate. The idea terrified me more than any rogue attack or dangerous mission ever could.I watched my mother disappear into the mate bond with my father. She stopped being Elena the warrior and became just his mate and nothing more.Everything she had swallowed whole. Her dreams died. Her strength faded. She became a shadow of the fierce wolf she used to be.When the rogues attacked she was too weak to defend herself or my brothers. Years of not training had stripped away everything that made her dangerous.I found them all dead because she had given up being strong for a bond that could not save her when it mattered.So when I felt the pull toward Ash I ran. Any smart wolf would have done the same thing.But the stubborn bastard would not leave me alone. He kept showing up everywhere like some curse I could not shake.Now I was stuck on this ridiculous cliff trying to prove he could not keep up and would eventually quit chasing me.Except he was keeping u
Ash's POVI could not stop thinking about Stella. Every training session and every pack meeting and every quiet moment alone she was there in my mind refusing to leave.The mate pull hummed constantly in my chest. A second heartbeat that would not let me forget her no matter how hard I tried.I asked around carefully about her. Learned she was a warrior in the Crescent Moon Pack and the daughter of their head enforcer. Known for being fiercely independent and turning down every courtship offer.Her reputation preceded her. Difficult. Abrasive. Lethal in combat.She sounded absolutely perfect.I started running into her accidentally. Border patrols. Inter-pack meetings. Training sessions between allied packs.Pure coincidence obviously.Stella noticed after the fifth time. She cornered me after a joint training exercise looking thoroughly annoyed."Stop following me around prince.""I am not following you.""Yes, you are." She stepped closer. "The mate bond does not mean I have to date
Ash's POVI stood there watching Stella walk away after dismissing me like I was nothing. Nobody had treated me this casually in years and it felt both refreshing and deeply irritating.People either revered me for my family name or feared me for my strength. Stella did neither and genuinely did not care who I was or what bloodline ran through my veins."I am not a prince," I called after her. "And I can actually fight."She stopped walking and turned around slowly. Her expression was pure amusement mixed with challenge. "Prove it then. Fight me right now. If you win I will apologise for the prince comment. If I win you leave Crescent Moon territory permanently."I should have declined immediately. Starting a conflict with a neighbouring pack member was diplomatically stupid and could cause serious problems between our territories. But something about her challenge ignited my competitive spirit."You are on."We circled each other carefully in the moonlit clearing. The forest became o
Ash's POVI watched Ember drive away with her human family and felt something inside me crack open. My twin sister was gone and the emptiness she left behind was suffocating.Everyone around me had found their person. Ember had Marcus. Luna had Aria. Even Uncle Ryder had built a life with his mate and children.But me? I had nothing. No one.I was thirty years old and completely alone. The protector. The warrior. The one everyone counted on for strength but nobody thought to check on.My romantic relationships never lasted more than a few months. Supernatural females found me too intense. Too damaged from the corruption that nearly destroyed me years ago.And I could not bring myself to date humans. Not after watching what Ember went through. The pregnancy that nearly killed her. The choice to give up everything.I would not
Luna's POVI folded another of Ember's shirts and placed it in the moving box while tears blurred my vision. This was really happening. My sister was leaving.We had been inseparable since childhood. Sisters bonded by prophecy and destiny and genuine love. We shared everything. Our fears and our dreams and our empathy link.Now she was moving away to give her daughter the normal life none of us ever had. I understood intellectually. But emotionally it felt like abandonment."Luna you are crying on my favourite sweater," Ember said gently.I wiped my eyes. "Sorry. I will wash it before I pack it.""Or you could keep it. As something to remember me by.""You are not dying. You are moving an hour away. Stop being dramatic."But my voice cracked. We both knew this was bigger than distance. Embe
Ryder's POVI held my great niece for the first time and marvelled at how completely ordinary she was. No glowing eyes. No supernatural strength radiated from her tiny body. No prophetic aura.Just a normal human baby who cried and ate and slept as human babies had done for thousands of years. It was unprecedented in our family line going back generations.Every child born to our bloodline had supernatural abilities. Even those with mostly human heritage showed some trace of wolf or lycan genetics.But Skylar Rose had nothing. The healers tested her three times to be sure. Completely entirely human.Part of me mourned. This child would not carry on the supernatural legacy. Would not have the abilities that made our family legendary. Would not be part of the prophecies.But another part felt relief so profound it shocked me. This ba
Chapter 30: The MarkingRoss's POVI had imagined this moment a thousand times in my mind but reality was overwhelming in ways fantasy could never capture. Skylar our mate was offering herself to us willingly and her scent was thick with desire and trust that made my wolf howl with triumph.Myron a
Myron's POVThe pack house transformed into a war room within hours of Ethan leaving.Alpha Rhys summoned his commanders and his elite warriors and anyone with combat experience who could help us prepare for what was coming in three days or less.Ross and I were included
Skylar's POVReality crashed back in waves that threatened to drown me in consequences I had not fully considered when I asked Ross and Myron to mark me. I scrambled to dress and pull on clothes that covered most of my body except my neck.My marked neck throbbed with pleasure and new awareness tha
Skylar's POVMyron told me about Ethan's offer and my reaction was immediate fury that burned through my chest like acid. I would not be bargained with like property or traded like some prize between alphas who thought they could control my choices."Absolutely not,"&n







