MasukThe sunlight caught the water droplets clinging to her eyelashes, making them shimmer like diamonds. My gaze dropped involuntarily to her lips, parted and slick with lake water. She looked so ethereal, so agonizingly beautiful, that it felt like a physical pain in my chest. "Lara," I choked out, my voice thick with an emotion so vast I couldn't contain it. I brought my free hand up from the water, my fingers trembling slightly as I tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear. I let my thumb linger on her cheekbone, wiping away a stray drop of water. "Goddess, you are so beautiful. I don't think I've breathed a full breath since the day you left." Her cheeks reddened in response. We drifted there in the middle of the sacred, quiet lake, completely suspended in time. She didn't offer a forgiveness she wasn't ready to give, and I didn't ask for it. But as she leaned her weight into me, letting her head slide from my forehead to rest in the crook of my neck, I felt her small, fragi
Matteo's POV“You should go inside,” she said softly, her voice still carrying that slight, breathless tremor. “It’s getting cold, and the kids will be up early.” “Right. Of course.” I reluctantly let my hands drop to my sides, though every fiber of my being—and the wolf howling with triumph inside me—protested the distance. “Goodnight, Lara.” “Goodnight, Matteo.” She gave me one last, unreadable look before turning and slipping through the glass doors, the white fabric of her gown billowing slightly before the curtains fell shut. I stood on the porch for a long time, staring at the spot where she had been. Three days. Storm was pacing mental circles in my mind, his chest puffed out with arrogant joy. She said yes. Our mate is coming back to us. Don’t get ahead of yourself, I warned him, though a grin was stretching across my own face so wide it made my jaw ache. This has to be perfect. Despite the time being so late, I shifted into a wolf and ran to red moon pack on all
Matteo’s POVThe backyard had long since fallen quiet. The children were finally asleep, their laughter still echoing faintly in my mind like the sweetest music I’d ever heard. I stepped out onto the back porch, the cool night air brushing against my skin. Lara stood at the railing, looking up at the stars. She wore a simple white nightgown that clung softly to her body, the hem fluttering gently in the breeze. My breath caught in my throat.I had no right to be here. No right to stare at her like this. But I couldn’t look away.She was beautiful. More than beautiful — radiant. The star mark on her collarbone glowed faintly, casting a soft silver light across her skin. Her hair fell in loose waves down her back. Even after everything I had done to her, she still took my breath away.I took a hesitant step forward, my heart hammering like a war drum. “Lara,” I whispered, my voice rough with everything I’d been holding back for years.She didn’t turn around immediately. The silence str
Lara’s POVIt was the first weekend since Matteo had started spending time with the children.The house felt different with him here — warmer, louder, and somehow more alive. The quadruplets, along with Rose, had spent the entire evening before whispering and plotting like little conspirators. They had ganged up on me after dinner, using every ounce of their combined charm and logic.“Mama, please,” Maria had said, eyes wide and pleading. “It’s the weekend. Papa can stay, right? Just one night.”Lyra had crossed her arms. “We want to have breakfast with him tomorrow morning. As a family.”Even Noah had joined in. “Please, Mama? We’ll be good.”Caius hadn’t said much, but the way he looked at me — quiet but hopeful — had been the final blow. Rose had simply held my hand and looked up at me with those shy, trusting eyes.I had sighed, knowing I was defeated. “One night. He sleeps in the guest wing.”The children had cheered like I’d given them the moon itself.---The next morning, I wo
Lara’s POVThe quiet in my office was starting to feel suffocating.I sat behind my heavy oak desk, pretending to focus on the stack of border reports and training schedules spread out before me. The morning light streamed through the tall windows, casting long golden beams across the wooden floor and my organized chaos of papers. But no matter how many times I reread the same paragraph, the words refused to stick.Because he was staring.Matteo sat across from me in the deep leather guest chair, silent and still. His grey eyes hadn’t left me for the past twenty minutes. Not once. I could feel the weight of his gaze like a physical touch — tracing the line of my jaw, the curve of my neck, the faint glow of the star mark peeking from beneath my collar.It made my skin prickle. It made the mate bond stir restlessly beneath my ribs.I finally set the report down with a soft sigh and looked up, frowning.“Don’t you have anything meaningful to do?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended
Rose’s POVIt had been three whole days since I started school at Frost Fang Academy, and everything still felt like a beautiful, slightly scary dream.Yesterday, after school, Aunt Lara had looked at the dark sky and said softly, “It’s too late to drive back now. Why don’t you spend the night here with us?”I had nodded so fast my head almost spun. Papa had looked relieved, too. So here I was — sitting at a big wooden dinner table with my new family, eating the warmest, most delicious homemade food I had ever tasted. Aunt Lara had cooked everything herself: roasted meat with herbs, creamy mashed potatoes, buttery vegetables, and fresh bread that smelled like heaven.I took another big bite of the potatoes and smiled shyly as Aunt Lara asked Maria about her art project. Everyone was chatting and laughing about random things — Lyra and Noah telling each other a funny story, and Caius quietly listening while eating.I had already started building a bond with all of them. But Lara was di
LARA Matteo had not looked in my direction yet. Which was good enough. I kept my posture relaxed but upright in the Frost Fang section, one leg crossed over the other, silver embroidery catching the low light whenever I shifted. Ryker had returned from a brief exchange with another Alpha and
LARANina stood beside me while Evelyn hovered on my other side, both women moving with the quiet efficiency of people who had prepared leaders for events like this countless times before. The room hummed with restrained anticipation as they made the final adjustments to my attire for the summit th
Overnight, everything had changed.I was no longer allowed to sleep in the bedroom I once shared with Matteo. Instead, I was ordered to move to the maids’ quarters. I had less than three days to gather my belongings and disappear from this pack forever.When I reached the small, dimly lit room, I p
"I, Alpha Matteo of the Red Moon Pack," his voice rang loud and cold across the packed ceremonial grounds, "reject you, Lara Alvarez, as my mate and Luna."The words slammed into me like a silver blade to the chest. For a second, the world went silent. My heart stuttered, then dropped violently int







