Lena didn't sleep.
She sat by the window long after Rowan left, wrapped in a blanket and silence, watching the moonlight shift through the trees. The mark on her shoulder still pulsed, glowing faintly like embers buried under skin. She could feel it now—his presence, even when he wasn't near. It was like a thread, tugging softly at her ribs, connecting her to something far greater than she understood.
The Moonbound. His fated mate.
It sounded insane.
But the heat curling low in her stomach every time she thought about him said otherwise.
She didn't know how long she sat there before headlights cut through the trees. A sleek black SUV pulled up outside. The engine idled, then died. The driver's side door opened.
Rowan stepped out.
But he wasn't alone.
Two others followed—both tall, broad-shouldered, and exuding the same kind of raw power as him. One looked younger, maybe mid-twenties, with short blond hair and a cocky grin. The other had a silver streak in his dark hair and eyes that gleamed sharp and cold.
They didn't knock. Rowan led them to her porch and waited.
Lena opened the door before he could.
"What's going on?" she asked, tightening the blanket around herself.
"You need to meet the pack," Rowan said. His voice was tight. "They need to see you. Smell you. Know you're mine."
"That's... not how normal introductions go."
Blond guy laughed. "She's got a mouth. I like her."
Rowan growled, low and threatening. "Watch it, Luka."
The blond raised his hands. "Relax, Alpha. Just saying."
Rowan turned to Lena, his eyes gentling. "This won't hurt. I'll be with you the entire time. But it has to happen."
She hesitated. Her gut said no. Her body said go.
And then he touched her wrist, fingers sliding against her skin. The mark throbbed. And whatever part of her still wanted to say no melted in the heat between them.
"Fine," she whispered.
---
The drive was short but tense. The SUV wound through back roads until they reached a clearing tucked deep into the woods. Firelight flickered ahead. As they approached, Lena saw them—more of them.
Wolves. People.
Men and women moved between forms like second skins. Some were shirtless, barefoot, covered in dirt and leaves. Others wore leather, denim, nothing at all that said normal. They turned when Rowan stepped into the firelight, and when they saw Lena, silence rippled through the gathering.
She felt it—hostility. Curiosity. Hunger.
Rowan's hand tightened on her waist. "Stay by me."
A woman stepped forward. She was beautiful—tall, dark-skinned, her hair braided and falling to her waist, muscles lean and coiled like a predator. Her eyes narrowed on Lena.
"She's human."
"Not for long," Rowan said coolly.
A few wolves growled low in response.
"She carries no wolf blood," the woman pressed. "No lineage. No right."
"She carries my mark, Cerys," he snapped. "And that's all the right she needs."
Tension crackled like lightning in the air.
Lena swallowed. "I didn't ask for this."
Cerys looked her over, sneering. "Then you should have run when you had the chance."
Rowan's snarl ripped through the clearing.
In a blink, he was in front of Cerys, eyes glowing, his power radiating like heat off pavement. "You will not threaten her. She is mine. My mate. Any challenge to that goes through me."
The others shifted uneasily, murmurs rising.
Luka, still grinning, stepped between them. "Alright, alright, let's not spill blood tonight. The girl's here, she's not running. Let's see if the bond holds before we start tearing throats."
Rowan pulled back, but his eyes didn't leave Cerys.
Lena stared at them all—wild, beautiful, dangerous creatures bound by law and blood. She didn't belong here. And yet...
Her heart thudded in time with the pulsing mark on her shoulder.
"I'm not afraid of any of you," she said suddenly.
Silence fell.
"I don't understand what's happening to me. Or what I am to him. But if you think I'm just some fragile human who's going to break and run... you're wrong."
Rowan looked at her then. Really looked. And something in his eyes burned hotter than fire.
Pride.
Possession.
Desire.
The kind that scorched.
"Come," he said roughly. "We're done here."
He led her back through the woods, his hand never leaving her skin. When they reached the SUV, she turned to him.
"Do I belong to you now?" she asked.
Rowan cupped her face, his eyes dark with restraint. "No," he murmured. "Not yet."
"Then why do I feel like I do?"
His lips brushed hers, soft and aching.
"Because some things are written in blood and moonlight," he whispered. "And you, Lena Cross, were always meant to be mine."