Chapter 15

I gasp. “Excuse me?”

His grip on my arms loosens slightly. Reflexively, I tighten mine. He smirks—slow, knowing. The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing to me, even when I can’t begin to make sense of it myself. There’s something unspoken in the air between us, a pull I’ve never felt with anyone else. It knocks me off balance, leaves my composure hanging by a thread.

I steel myself, forcing the walls of ice around my heart to hold. I can’t afford warmth. Not when it comes from hands like his—hands that feel like fire sinking into my skin.

I glare. He chuckles, low and rich.

“Come now, Luna,” he murmurs, voice dipped in quiet disdain. “Don’t tell me you truly want to stay in a pack so eager to toss you aside for a stranger. You deserve better than this circus.” There’s venom in the words, some deep-seated anger that doesn’t seem entirely directed at me. “I can offer you a place at my side, far from the fools who’d bleed you dry.”

I stiffen. At his side? I don’t even know who he is.

“Two Alphas from one of the most powerful packs in the world are still clinging to me like I’m their crown jewel.” My voice wavers, a flicker of pleading slipping through. I catch it, correct it, force myself upright. “What makes you think a nobody could steal their favorite possession without getting crushed for it?”

Even as I say it, fear curls in my gut. I need a way out—a plan that’s airtight, foolproof. Anything less, and Lucian and Damian will hunt me down and drag me back like they did before. Help is a luxury I can’t afford. Anyone who stands beside me will be killed, or worse.

I hate needing anyone.

But maybe this is the only way.

His expression shifts, softens. His right hand trails slowly down my arm, fingertips ghosting over my skin until they find my fingers. He lifts my hand to his mouth with a tenderness I don’t expect, pressing a slow, devastating kiss to the back of it.

It’s brief.

But I blush.

There’s something intimate about the moment—quiet, hidden between our two bodies in the shadowed staircase. He’s still close, even after setting me on my feet. I want to close that gap again. I want to reach for him—and I don’t know why.

“Luna Nara,” he breathes, his lips brushing my skin. “I, Silas of the NightCrow pack, will do everything in my power to keep you from those undeserving Alphas.”

My breath hitches. The name coils in my mind. NightCrow.

I’ve heard of them. Rogues bound by loyalty to a powerful, feared Alpha. A clan so wild they’re whispered about more than acknowledged. Not the kind of people who get invited to a Moonlit celebration.

But maybe exactly the kind I need.

No one would dare chase me into their den. No one wants to go near rogues.

Still, my instincts hum with caution. This can’t be a gift.

“What…” My voice catches, then steadies. “What would you gain from it?”

There has to be a catch. There’s always a catch. Why would a rogue Alpha, powerful enough to walk into this house like he owns it, offer to save me? Is it pride? Power? A game?

I look up into his eyes, searching. For a split second, I catch something there—softness. Sadness. Longing.

And then it’s gone, buried beneath cool calculation.

“I intend to make the NightCrows an official pack,” he says smoothly. “None of the others would take me seriously if I simply declared myself one of them. But with a powerful Luna at my side—one they’ve respected for years—they’ll have no choice but to listen.”

He tilts his head, studying me with that same quiet certainty.

“A service for a service,” he says. “I help you escape. You help me rise.”