MOON GODDESS: CLAIM HER. ME: LET ME THINK ABOUT IT...

VICTOR'S POV 

I never liked arguments in the morning, especially not during breakfast. But today, Mia made sure I had no peace.

“I won’t take it easy on you if you don’t find my friend,” she shouted at me, slamming her cup down on the table. The maids froze, probably scared we might tear the whole house down.

I dropped my spoon and sighed. Her anger wasn’t new, but today, it pierced me differently. "I don’t know why you care so much about a girl whose parents almost destroyed our pack," I said calmly and took a sip of wine.

"So you’re punishing her for what her parents did?" Mia’s voice trembled, full of disbelief.

I stood up, pushing my chair back. "Her parents are the reason we lost our father. Don’t you get that?" I snapped, louder than I meant to. The maids might’ve heard. I didn’t care.

Mia stood up too, arms crossed, her eyes burning. “Stop blaming her parents for our father’s death. He got what he deserved, Victor. If we’re being honest, we should thank the moon goddess the Skoll pack didn’t come for all of us that night.”

She was right.

But I didn’t want to accept it.

Sera’s father was my dad’s advisor—the most trusted man in his circle. He knew everything. And he used that trust to feed the Skoll pack our secrets. He told them where to strike. How to hit us the hardest.

That betrayal got my father killed.

And years later, I discovered something worse— Sera’s father wasn’t just leaking secrets. He was working with the Skoll pack to take over Nox territory. From the start.

I couldn’t forgive that.

When we found out, I banished Sera’s family. But that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted revenge. Not just for my dad, but for the shame, the loss, the weight I now carry.

So, I did the one thing I knew the Skoll pack hated— stealing their drugs fot the Pack seek.

They don’t care about money. They care about power. And their power came from cocaine and weed.

So I took it from them.

Not for fun. Not even just for revenge.

I did it because we were dying.

Our pack is starving. We’re out of food. Our crops don’t grow. Nothing works anymore. The land is dry, empty, cursed.

No one knows this but me and the farmers. I made them swear to keep it secret so panic wouldn’t spread.

So every time we stole from Skoll, I repackaged the drugs and traded them for food from other packs. That’s how I’ve been keeping us alive.

But the Skoll pack is angry.

And we’re running out of time.

Mia stood up from the table. Her eyes blazed. "Gather a search team to look for my friend, unless you want fire in this house. And for crying out loud, she’s your mate!"

Then she stormed out.

I clenched my fists.

Sera.

I didn’t ask the Moon Goddess to choose her. I didn’t want it. Before all of this— before the truth about her family came out— I loved her from a distance. I watched her laugh. I saw the kindness in her eyes. But I never got close. I was just another warrior then. Just another future Alpha who was too afraid to speak his heart.

And now that she was mine, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself— I rejected her.

I had to.

Because it would destroy the pack. Some of them haven't healed from what Sera's parent betray. So announcing Sera as my mate would bring problem- would bring division. And more than that— I couldn’t let her become my weakness.

A weak Alpha loses everything.

The pack doesn’t know the truth yet— but I’ve failed them. Completely.

The land is cursed. I knew this before anyone. But it became official two days ago when I visited Anna, the pack’s witch.

"I had a vision," she told me.

"What did you see?"

"The land is cursed. Nothing planted will grow. Not until the pack is complete."

"What do you mean, complete?" I asked.

"You’re an Alpha. You need a Luna. Only when the bond is complete, the curse will break."

I sat there in silence. I already knew this in my heart. But hearing it aloud made it worse.

"Attend the Mate Ceremony," she continued. "Accept your true mate, and the land will flourish again."

I nodded slowly.

Then the message came.

Mike.

Once my best friend. Now my enemy. Future Alpha of the Skoll pack.

He sent a letter.

"I know you’re the one stealing from us. And it hurts that your beautiful little sister will pay the price for it too. Expect your death very soon."

I smiled bitterly. Mike had always been smart. He figured it out.

I wrote back:

"If you can catch air, you can catch me."

But I knew this was the beginning of war.

Then came the ceremony.

That night, under the silver light of the full moon, the Moon Goddess chose Sera as my mate.

Her scent hit me like a storm. Her eyes searched mine— hopeful, afraid.

For a second, I froze.

I could feel it. The bond. The warmth. The peace.

If I claimed her, the land would heal. Our people would eat again. We could survive.

But I saw something else too— Mike’s letter. The threat. The warning.

Sera would be their first target. The Luna of Nox. The sister of a traitor.

If I accepted her, I would hand the Skoll pack the perfect key to destroy me.

So I stepped forward and said it.

"You can never be my mate! You can never get my love!"

Her eyes broke. But I didn’t stop. I held her waist, pulled her close, just for a second. And then walked away like she was nothing.

That pain in her eyes— it will haunt me.

But this is bigger than love. Bigger than destiny.

If I want to save my sister, if I want to survive this war, I need to protect myself.

The curse can wait.