Luna Wolf

Kade POV

Marcus nodded and headed for the main entrance. I carried the girl up the steps and through the door. A few early-rising pack members stopped and stared. I kept walking. Let them stare. They would understand soon enough.

On the third floor, everything was quiet. Most of my staff knew not to disturb me here without permission. I pushed open the door to the suite and carried the girl inside. The room was dusty. No one had used it in three years, since my mother’s death. I had kept it locked afterward because the sight reminded me of everything I had lost.

But it was the best room in the women’s quarters. It had floor-to-ceiling windows that let in moonlight, a bathroom with a bathtub perfect for soaking, and a bed large enough for three wolves.

I laid her down gently on the bed. She didn’t wake. I should have left. Elena could handle the rest when she arrived. Yet I stood there, watching her breathe.

In the morning light she looked incredibly young, fragile, and nothing like the force of nature that had shattered ancient wards just hours earlier. I noticed that even in sleep her hands were clenched into fists. Her jaw was tight. She was still in pain. The rejection wouldn’t fade quickly. It would hurt for days, maybe weeks. Some wolves never fully recovered.

I shouldn’t care. Her pain wasn’t my problem. I needed her functional, not happy. But my wolf cared. He howled at me to do something, to help her, to make it better. The instinct was almost overwhelming. I gave in. I pulled a blanket over her and adjusted it so she was warm. Then I checked that the windows were locked and the room was secure. The suite had its own entrance via the outside stairs, but I would post guards there before nightfall.

Elena appeared in the doorway with an armful of supplies. My sister was two years younger than me and twice as sharp. She glanced at the girl on the bed, then looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“A Nightshade wolf,” she said.

“A Moonwolf.”

Elena froze. “Kade, that’s impossible.”

“I saw it myself.” I moved toward the door. Being in this room made my wolf act irrationally. I needed distance. “She’ll wake up in a few hours. Make sure she eats. Answer her questions. Don’t let her leave the grounds.”

“You’re keeping her prisoner?”

“I’m protecting her.” I paused in the doorway. “And Elena? Be kind to her. She’s been through enough.”

My sister studied me for a long moment. Then she nodded. “What happened to her?”

“Her mate rejected her. Publicly. At the Moon Ceremony.”

Elena’s eyes widened. “Who would—” She broke off. “Damien Thorne?”

I nodded. My sister knew about the Nightshade Alpha heir. Everyone in our territory did. He was supposed to be honorable. Strong. Nothing like his manipulative bastard of a father. Apparently we had all been wrong.

“He’ll regret that,” Elena said softly.

“Yes.” I looked at the girl one last time. Even unconscious and broken, there was something about her that held the eye. Power, perhaps. Or potential. “He will.”

I left before my wolf could convince me to stay. I had a pack to lead and a council to face. They wouldn’t be happy about this decision. But they would accept it, because I was the Alpha and my word was law. Besides, they didn’t need to know about the prophecy yet. Or about what was coming. Or the fact that I had just tied Shadow Crest’s fate to a traumatized eighteen-year-old girl who didn’t even know how to control her own power.

They would find out soon enough. For now, I had bought us time. I had the Moonwolf whose arrival my grandmother had promised. The first part of the prophecy was fulfilled.

I only hoped I could keep her alive long enough to figure out what came next