LOGINDarius POV I couldn't stop thinking about her. It was late, well past midnight, but sleep wouldn't come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Beatrice's face. The way she'd smiled at me in the garden. How her eyes had lit up when she laughed. "You're being pathetic," my wolf Rowan said in my mind. "I know." I rolled over in bed for the tenth time. "I don't care." Rowan huffed. "She's perfect, Luna is perfect. We did well." "We got lucky." I stared at the ceiling. "If those rogues hadn't attacked, if I hadn't been patrolling that section of forest, I might never have found her." "The Moon Goddess has a plan," Rowan said confidently. "We were meant to find her." I hoped he was right. The memory of that night in the forest was burned into my brain. The sound of her scream, the terror I'd felt racing toward her, the way my heart had nearly stopped when I saw those rogues surrounding her. And then Luna had started to emerge. Beatrice's wolf, fighting to protect her human. Be
Beatrice POVI changed my dress three times before settling on the blue one. It was simple but nice, not too fancy. The last thing I needed was to look like I was trying too hard."You look beautiful," Corin said from my doorway.I jumped. "How long have you been standing there?""Long enough to watch you panic." He walked in and sat on my bed. "Breathe, Beatrice. It's just a conversation.""With a man who wants to court me." I turned to face him. "What do I even say?""Whatever comes naturally." Corin stood and adjusted my collar. "Just be yourself. That's who he wants to meet.""What if myself isn't interesting enough?" I asked."Then he's an idiot and we'll throw him out." Corin smiled. "But I don't think that's going to happen."We walked down to the garden together. My hands were shaking so I clasped them in front of me. The afternoon sun was warm but I felt cold all over.Darius was already there, standing by the fountain. He wore simple clothes, brown pants and a green shirt th
Beatrice POV "He wants to meet with you," Corin said. "Just talk. No expectations. We'd be there to supervise. You could ask him anything you want.""What would I even say?" I asked."Whatever you need to," Silas said. "Ask him why he wants this. What he's looking for. What his intentions are.""And if I don't like his answers?" I asked."Then you refuse the courtship and we send him away," Theron said simply. "Your choice matters more than any political alliance or family pressure."I looked at my brothers. At their patient expressions and genuine concern. They really meant it. They'd support whatever I decided."When does he want to meet?" I asked."Whenever you're ready," Corin said. "Could be tomorrow. Could be next week. Your timeline."I thought about Darius. About his kind eyes and the way he'd saved me from the rogue attack. About how, for just a moment, I'd felt safe."Tomorrow," I said before I could change my mind. "Early afternoon in the garden. With all of you present."
Beatrice POVI was practicing my telekinesis in the courtyard when all four of my brothers appeared at once. That was never a good sign."What did I do?" I asked, setting down the stones I'd been levitating."Nothing," Theron said but he looked uncomfortable. "We need to talk to you about something.""That sounds ominous," I said."It's not bad," Corin said quickly. "Just... unexpected."I sat on the stone bench. "Okay. What is it?"The brothers exchanged looks. Nobody seemed to want to start."Oh for Moon's sake," Silas said finally. "Someone wants to court you. Formally. He asked for permission and we gave it."I stared at him. "What?""A suitor," Silas repeated. "You know. Courting. Romance. Potential mate situation."My brain refused to process the words. "No.""Yes," Kaelen said. He leaned against the courtyard wall. "Beta Darius Veylor from Ashthorn Pack. Came this morning with a formal request."Darius. The name hit me, the kind stranger from the gathering. The wolf who'd saved
Darius POV "What else could I do?" I turned to face him. "Challenge an Alpha son? That's forbidden. Dishonorable. All I could do was hope he'd wake up and see what he had.""He didn't," Silas said flatly."No," I agreed. "He rejected her, treated her so bad, threw away the most precious gift the Moon Goddess could give. And that's when I knew I had a chance. When I found her in the forest and the mate bond snapped into place, I realized the Goddess was giving me what I'd been hoping for since that night."Brennan spoke up again. "I've known Darius since he was fifteen years old. I've watched him grow into one of the finest wolves I know. And I've never seen him like this about anyone. He's been obsessed with making himself worthy. Learning everything about your family, studying courting protocols, working twice as hard to prove himself.""Pretty words," Kaelen said, but there was less hostility in his tone now. "But what can he actually offer her?""Protection," I said immediately. "
Darius POVI stood outside Wynterhold Keep and tried to convince myself this wasn't the stupidest thing I'd ever done.It probably was."You're nervous," Rowan observed in my head."Shut up," I muttered.You're about to ask the most powerful Alpha family in the kingdom if you can court their only sister. Of course you're nervous."Not helping," I said.My hands were sweating. I wiped them on my pants for the third time. The formal courting letter felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in my jacket pocket. Not the personal letter I'd written to Beatrice—that was still safely locked in my desk drawer. This was the official request, carefully worded with Brennan's help to follow every protocol.Behind me, Alpha Brennan waited by the carriage. We'd come under the guise of finalizing trade agreements, just as he'd promised. But both of us knew the real reason I was here."Ready?" Brennan called."No," I admitted."Good. That means you care." He walked up beside me. "Remember what we discuss







