Semua Bab The Alpha’s Rejected Human Luna: Bab 111 - Bab 120

Guilt prickled, sharp, and unwelcome.My wolf rallied. “Do you have any idea what it felt like,” I countered, “to finally not have four walls pressing in on me? To smell pine instead of bleach? To actually use the body that’s supposed to be mine, not a relic to protect or a ritual object to guard?”We stared at each other, breathing hard.For a moment, the bond stretched thin, crackling with static—his fear, my stubbornness, the pup’s faint, unsettled flicker in the middle.I took a slow breath. Then another.“I’m not fragile,” I said more quietly. “I’m pregnant. There’s a difference.”His shoulders sagged, some of the sharpness bleeding out of his posture. “I know,” he said. “I do. It’s just… every time you go out of my sight, my brain plays me every possible way I could lose you. Them. You both.”I stepped closer until I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “Then we figure out a compromise that doesn’t turn me into a ghost in my own life,” I said. “But you don’t get unilateral

Cassian stopped in the center of the field and turned to face me, still holding my hand.“What is this?” I demanded. “Some kind of dramatic Beta ritual?”“No rituals,” he said. “Just a question. And no witnesses to make it harder for you to say what you really want.”I swallowed. “You’re scaring me a little.”“Good,” he said. “Maybe that’ll put us on even footing for once.”My laugh came out high and brittle. “You think you’re the only one who’s scared?”He took a breath like he was about to dive.“You keep one foot in your world,” he said. “One foot in ours. You answer your emails at two in the morning. You pretend you’re just… visiting. That you can leap back into your old life whenever you want. But you’re here when Lilah wakes up sick. You’re here when she can’t stop crying because a commercial about dog food came on. You’re holding her hand in Morwen’s damn workroom when the pup kicks. You’re—”His voice broke, frustration and something more brittle cracking through.“You’re alre

I huffed a watery laugh. “That happened exactly once.”“Twice,” he corrected. “You don’t see it, Bella. But I do. You’re the quiet in my head when it gets too loud. You’re the one who reminds Ronan to sleep, who makes Lilah eat when she’s too focused on everyone else. You remember birthdays. You know which pup is allergic to chamomile and which elder pretends not to like sweet things but steals cookies when he thinks no one’s looking.”Heat crept up my neck. “That’s just… paying attention.”“It’s care,” he said simply. “It’s… light.”The word settled between us, startlingly heavy for something so soft.I looked down at my hands, at the faint traces of dirt under my nails. “I don’t know what to do with… compliments like that,” I admitted.He took a small step closer, boots crunching in the dry grass.“Maybe just… take them,” he said gruffly. “No one’s giving them to you out of pity, Bella. Least of all me.”My heart did an odd, skittering thing.I’d known, on some bone‑deep level, that

We spent the next hour sketching out basics.If there was a fight too close to town, we’d call her before the anonymous tips hit 911. If she heard about search parties headed too deep into our territory, she’d warn us so we could divert, cover, and protect.Not perfect. Not safe in the way hiding had felt like safety. But… honest.By the time she left, the sky was sliding toward the evening.“You good?” Naomi asked as the patrol escorted Martinez’s car back down the dirt road.I rubbed a hand over my lower back. “I’m… something,” I said. “Tired.”She nudged my shoulder with hers. “You just co‑wrote a constitutional amendment and made a back‑door treaty with law enforcement,” she said. “You’re allowed to be tired.”Ronan’s hand found my lower back, rubbing gently. “You did well,” he murmured.We walked back toward the main hall together.On the way, we passed a group of pups chasing each other around the yard.Two were full wolves, fur a blur of gray and brown. One, still human, lagged

The rest of the day slid by in small, ordinary pieces.I helped Leo reinforce the southern fence where the last storm had loosened some posts. We argued about whether to replace the wood with something more durable; he pointed out the wolves didn’t care what the fence was made of, and I pointed out the humans did.“Compromise,” Bella suggested when she wandered by. “Wood on the outside, reinforced core. Looks natural, doesn’t fall over when Naomi sneezes near it.”“I do not sneeze aggressively,” Naomi called from somewhere above us. “That was one time.”We added it to the list.Later, I carried crates for Freya from the cellar to the pantry, ignoring her protests so that she could do it herself.“Alpha, not pack mule,” Naomi muttered as I passed.“I can be both,” I said.In the afternoon, I found Lilah in the nursery we were slowly, hesitantly assembling.She stood in the center of the small room, barefoot, hair piled in a messy knot, looking up at the unfinished mobile hanging from t