MasukRonanThe pack house blurred past us. Stairs, hallways, the distant murmur of voices that died the moment they saw their Alpha carrying his mate like she might disappear. I didn't stop. Didn't acknowledge them. The third floor was silent, reserved for me, and I took the last flight two stairs at a time, her fingers curling into my shirt.The door swung wide, hinges groaning, and I crossed the threshold into the alpha chambers. The room smelled like cedar and night air. The bed was huge, dark sheets rumpled from this morning, and I made it in four strides.I threw her onto the mattress.She bounced once, hair spilling across the pillows, eyes flashing with that specific fire she only got when I outmaneuvered her. Her legs pressed together. Her chest heaved. The shirt... my shirt, rode up her thighs."You're going to sleep," I said, and heard the Alpha command threading through the words without meaning to.Her chin lifted. "And you're going to—""I'm going to fuck you to sleep. So you
RonanShe tried to pull away. Too late. The bond opened between us so completely that for one breath, there was no Maeve and me. There was only us.Her fear hit first. Not fear of me. Fear of everything changing too quickly. Fear that accepting this pack meant stealing something from Elara. Fear that becoming Luna meant losing another piece of herself after already losing the Cross name, her family, and nearly every truth she'd believed about her life.Then came irritation. At me. Naturally. A considerable fucking amount of it.I nearly smiled.And beneath that, something warmer.I went still. No. Not warmer. It burned.Maeve had buried it beneath sarcasm, anger, stubbornness and every fucking wall she could build quickly enough to keep me from seeing it. But the bond didn't care about walls anymore. I felt her. All of her.And Maeve loved me.My wolf surged so violently I nearly lost control. Not possession. Not Hunger. Something infinitely worse. Joy. Pure, overwhelming fucking joy.
MaeveI stared at Ajax until he looked up from my hand, and when he did, I gave him my very best smile."You know," I said, "people around here keep saying things like that about me, and I'm starting to take it personally."Nobody laughed. Not Elowen, who had folded her arms somewhere behind me. Not Cassian, who could usually be counted on to laugh at anything if it annoyed enough people. Not Ronan, whose grip on my other hand had gone rigid enough to bruise.Fantastic. Wonderful crowd. Truly a joy to perform for.I looked back down at my hand instead.The tattoo was still unfinished. At least, I was fairly sure it was, though I was rapidly losing confidence in my ability to judge anything about it. The black wolf Ajax had spent the last hour marking into my skin lay there against the raw pink of my knuckles, its head tilted up toward the crescent moon curving above it. Thin lines reached down toward my wrist like roots, the old symbol for the bond between a Luna and her pack.Except
MaeveThe tattooed man stepped forward, and this time, I recognized him. Not by name. But I had seen him before.He had been with Maris and the others outside the Alpha chambers when they brought me the Luna robes, the earrings, all those ceremonial things I hadn't known what the hell to do with. Now he carried a black leather case.Cassian stopped beside him. "This is Ajax."Of course it was. I let out a weak breath that almost became a laugh. "So you're Ajax."His mouth twitched. "I've been called worse.""I'm sure Ronan has several options prepared.""I do," Ronan muttered beside me.Ajax ignored him. I liked him already.He lowered himself onto one knee in front of me and placed the case on the ground. When he opened it, everything inside was arranged with irritating precision. Needles. Small bottles of black ink. Silver tools. Clean cloths. A few jars filled with things I didn't recognize. My stomach tightened. Apparently agreeing to become Luna had sounded considerably easier b
RonanFor one heartbeat, everything stopped. The shouting around the cub house. Nessa's quiet sobs. Eli crying against her chest. The guards being helped from the ground. All of it disappeared beneath the sound of those words.Maeve's fingers tightened weakly around mine. My wolf went silent. Not calm. Never calm. Silent in the way a predator became silent when something threatened what belonged to him.I looked at Cassian. "Get Ajax."Maeve frowned against my chest. "Who the hell is Ajax?"Elowen's head snapped toward me. "No."I ignored her. "Cassian. Now."For perhaps the first time in his life, my Beta hesitated after receiving a direct order. That was enough for Maeve to realize something was wrong.Her eyes narrowed. "Would someone like to tell me who the fuck Ajax is?""The Mark Keeper," Elowen said.Maeve blinked. "The what?""He handles ceremonial marks. Rank markings. Pack tattoos." Elowen glared at me. "And the Luna mark."Maeve went completely still. Then, "Absolutely fuck
Ronan"Maeve!"Her body went limp in my arms. One second she was standing beside me. The next, nothing. I caught her before her head struck the ground and dropped with her."Maeve." Blood covered her mouth. Too much fucking blood. My wolf slammed against my skin.Mate."Maeve, open your eyes."Her lashes fluttered. Barely.Around us, wolves were moving again. Guards shouting. Someone crying. Nessa sobbing into Eli's hair. I heard none of it."ELOWEN!"The command ripped out of me hard enough that every wolf nearby recoiled. Maeve flinched in my arms. Good. She could hear me."Stay awake."Her eyes cracked open. "Stop yelling."Relief hit me so violently I nearly laughed. Instead, I wiped the blood beneath her nose. More replaced it. My relief vanished."What did you do?"Maeve frowned. "Saved your guards?""By nearly killing yourself?""They're not dead.""Neither are you going to be."Footsteps pounded toward us. Elowen shoved through the gathering wolves carrying her medical bag. "Wh







