Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

The freezing wind of Denver cut through Luna Monroe’s thin waitress uniform like knives as she scrubbed the last sticky table at 11:47pm. The restaurant was empty now except for the flickering neon sign that buzzed overhead and the faint smell of burnt coffee that had seeped into the wooden floors over the years.Five years. Five years of being the pack’s joke. Five years of scrubbing floors, cooking meals, taking beatings, all because she had no wolf.Luna’s arms ached. Her hands were red and raw from the harsh cleaning chemicals and the cold water. At 25 years old, most she-wolves had already found their mates, shifted for the first time, and taken their place in pack hierarchy. But Luna? Luna was still wolfless. Still human. Still nothing.“Luna! The Alpha’s Mating Ceremony starts in 13 minutes!” Sarah, the beta’s daughter, yelled from the doorway, her voice dripping with mockery. The pink dress she wore shimmered under the dim light, a stark contrast to Luna’s faded gray uniform.

The morning sun filtered through the tall windows of Alpha Asher’s private quarters, casting golden light across the massive four-poster bed. Luna woke slowly, disoriented and confused. For a moment she didn’t know where she was. The bed was too soft. The room was too warm. The scent in the air was too masculine. Too familiar. Too Alpha.Then it all came rushing back.The rejection ceremony. The running into the forest. The cold. The fear. Alpha Asher finding her. The pregnancy.Luna sat up abruptly, clutching the fur blanket to her chest as if it could protect her from what was coming next. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the expensive furniture, the polished wooden floors, the fireplace that was still glowing with embers.She was in Alpha Asher’s bedroom.Luna’s heart pounded in her chest. What had she been thinking, allowing him to bring her here? What had she been thinking, falling asleep in his bed? What had she been thinking, trusting him?She had to get out of here.

The Moonlight Pack hall felt like a cage made of two hundred pairs of hostile eyes. The air was thick with whispers, with suspicion, with the sharp scent of anger that made Luna’s skin crawl even from two floors above in Asher’s bedroom. Luna sat on the edge of Asher’s bed, her hands trembling in her lap. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t supposed to hear the pack’s verdict on her. But Asher had refused to let her stay downstairs. "You’re not facing them alone, Luna," he’d said before he left, his gray eyes dark with determination. "Not ever again."The words had sent warmth spreading through Luna’s chest despite the fear coiling in her stomach. The door opened and Asher walked in, his black formal suit making him look more powerful and dangerous than ever. His jaw was clenched, his gray eyes stormy, but the moment they landed on Luna, something in his expression softened. “How did it go?” Luna asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn’t think she could h

Luna woke to the smell of pine and snow. For a moment she thought she was back in the forest, freezing and alone. Then she felt the warmth. The soft mattress. The steady hand holding hers. Asher. Luna opened her eyes slowly and found herself in the pack hospital bed, pale sunlight filtering through the curtains. Asher was asleep in the chair beside her bed, his large frame hunched forward, her hand still clasped tightly in both of his. Dark circles shadowed his gray eyes even in sleep, and his jaw was clenched like he’d been fighting demons in his dreams. Luna’s throat tightened. He hadn’t left her side. Not for a second. She tried to move and a sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen. Luna gasped and immediately Asher’s eyes snapped open, wide and wild and filled with fear. “Luna?” Asher’s voice was rough, like he hadn’t spoken in days. “Luna, are you okay? Does it hurt? Should I call the doctor?”Luna shook her head and squeezed his hand weakly. “I’m okay, Asher,” she whispe

The great hall of Moonlight Packhouse was silent in a way that made Luna’s skin crawl. Two hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on her as she walked beside Asher down the center aisle, her hand clasped tightly in his. The floor was cold beneath her feet, and the stone walls seemed to close in around her, pressing down with the weight of judgment and disapproval. Luna kept her head high and her shoulders straight, even though her hands were trembling in Asher’s grip. She wasn’t doing this for herself. She was doing this for Asher. For their child. For the family they were building together. The pack elders sat on a raised platform at the front of the hall, seven ancient wolves with silver hair and sharp eyes that had seen decades of pack politics. Elder Thomas sat in the center, his white beard flowing down to his chest and his walking stick resting against his knee. Asher stopped at the foot of the platform and pulled Luna to stand beside him, his arm wrapping protectively around her