Emma left the pack cookhouse with measured steps and walked straight toward Alpha Brandon's Strategy Chamber within the Alpha residence. She intended to retrieve her handwritten wolf-lore manuscripts and bury herself in writing, anything to quiet the restless pull of the mate bond while she waited for him. The scent of ink, leather-bound scrolls, and cedar shelves wrapped around her as she entered the chamber that carried his authority.
She searched every towering bookshelf carved from ancient oak, fingers brushing over parchments, treaties, and pack archives, yet her manuscripts were nowhere in sight. Perhaps the Alpha had taken them to his private chambers. With a soft exhale, she abandoned the search and returned to her Luna quarters.
A deep wave of loneliness and aching longing for Alpha Brandon coiled around her wolf heart, driving her thoughts into chaos. She desired nothing more than to hear his commanding yet steady voice again. After changing into a flowing silk night-robe befitting a Luna, she slipped beneath the thick fur-lined duvet, hoping he would come to speak with her. He did not.
Sleep refused to claim her. Questions haunted her mind — why was he always so composed, so unreadable, so impossible to understand? She rose and walked to her carved cedar closet, retrieving the small enchanted wooden moonlit box she kept hidden. She needed to read the old words again, to steady her heart and prevent it from sinking too deeply into love for the Alpha. Yet when she unfolded the letter inside, its magic felt faded, powerless against the present. She sealed the box once more.
Hours passed, and the Alpha residence eventually fell silent. The warriors had retreated to their quarters; even the night guards moved like shadows beyond the corridors. Then her heart leapt violently when her chamber door creaked open. She resisted the urge to turn. Heavy, controlled footsteps approached her bed. A warm hand gripped the edge of her duvet and slowly pulled. She held it in place, but he uncovered her face anyway. A familiar wolfish grin appeared before he removed the duvet entirely.
"You are awake," Alpha Brandon murmured into her ear, his voice low and intimate. He gently shifted the wooden moonlit box resting beside her. Emma nodded without meeting his eyes.
He climbed onto the bed, turning her body to face him. She looked at him briefly before turning away again. In a flash of Alpha reflex, he moved to the other side of the bed, trapping her legs between his while resting his head against his palm. She knew he would mirror her again if she shifted. So she remained still, forcing her expression into calm neutrality.
"What occupies your thoughts, Luna?" he asked quietly.
"You," she answered.
"Me?"
"Yes. Why did you claim me as your mate?" Emma asked. The Alpha inhaled deeply and shifted closer, the heat of his body radiating through the space between them.
"For the same reason you accepted the bond," he replied steadily.
"I never registered for the Howling Union. My sister did."
"I am aware."
"Who told you?"
"With the tension between you and her, no one needed to tell me. She could have exiled you instead. "Why is your bonding rite so urgent to her?"
"Perhaps she wished me bond before her own ceremony," Emma murmured.
"Why?"
"I am older."
Silence filled the chamber as Brandon studied her intently. His rare golden eyes held secrets, knowledge she sensed but could not yet grasp.
"Beta Bernard informed me you wish to purchase a new vehicle for the human driver," she said carefully. The Alpha remained silent, watching her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You are welcome."
"Please… withdraw the formal charge you placed against my sister."
"No."
"Why?"
"I am prosecuting her guards for assaulting a Luna — my Luna."
"Pleas—" She was cut off when he covered her mouth gently with his palm.
"Do not," he whispered hoarsely. She removed his hand and turned her gaze away.
"You asked me once if I claimed you for selfish reasons," he said quietly, his wolf tether pulling tight. "Now I ask you — do you truly think I entered the Howling Union to repay old wrongs?"
"I thought you sought vengeance for everything that happened between us."
"And what exactly happened?"
"The humiliation… the rejection. You know how it burned. It felt like a vengeance bond, a pact forged in spite."
Brandon suddenly laughed, rich and deep, the sound vibrating through the room. It was the first time she truly saw his full smile — strong, bright, disarming.
"All the she-wolves of the territory heeded the Alpha's howl… every wolf but his mate was left in shadow."
"Because the Alpha knew his mate would not heed the call," he murmured, voice low and steady.
"Did he not think she deserved to hear, even though she won't heed the call?"
He remained silent. The stillness of the chamber pressed in on them, thick and weighty as the pull of the full moon, and Emma's wolf-heart hammered with the fear that she had spoken too boldly.
She lifted her eyes, and he lowered his forehead against hers. Her vision blurred instantly. His natural Alpha scent — deep cedar, smoke, and wild rain — mingled with a custom-blended oil that enhanced his dominance. Desire surged through her veins like wildfire. She wanted his touch. She wanted this closeness to last forever.
"I am sorry," he murmured against her ear. "What is inside that moonlit box?"
"A birthday token from my packally, the one who taught me to pose beneath the full moon."
"Your twenty-second birthday?"
"No. My fourteenth."
His brows furrowed. "What remains inside?"
"Memories."
"Why do you still keep it?"
"It was the last gift he ever gave me."
"May I see it?" he asked, reaching toward the box. She stopped him quickly, and he withdrew.
"Are you still in love with him?" he asked after a long pause.
Emma nodded faintly, avoiding his gaze. She felt the shift in his energy — a quiet sadness.
Empathy flooded her chest. Brandon did not deserve that answer. She had once believed no wolf could replace her first love, yet somehow the Alpha had stepped into that space without force.
She raised her head to apologize, but his lips captured hers before she could speak.
She trembled as his lips met hers in a wolf's seal, every pulse of the mate tether roaring through her veins.
Her body softened as she returned the slow, deep wolf's seal. His mouth was warm, consuming, sending tremors across her nerves. The world seemed to still around them.
Her soul felt as though it intertwined with his, the mate bond surging violently alive. Her palms grew damp. Heat pooled low in her body beneath the silk of her robe.
When he pulled back, she felt the loss like a physical ache.
"You wished to speak with me this morning," he whispered. She turned her face away, the question no longer relevant to the fire burning between them.
"I have reviewed your manuscripts. I will share my thoughts later."
"Thank you," she murmured.
"Are you still angered with me?"
She shook her head, though her wolf screamed for him to come closer again. She lacked the courage to bridge the distance.
"He was the one my sister spoke about," she admitted quietly.
"How old was he then?"
"Sixteen."
"I understand why the memory lingers. He was your first."
"There was no full claiming."
"Connection is still connection."
"He was my closest packally. It was curiosity… nothing more."
"It left a mark."
"Yes… and awkwardness."
He laughed again, lighter this time.
"Remember, you owe no explanation to anyone — not even your Alpha," he said gently. She nodded, relieved.
Brandon rose from the bed, adjusting his belt and dark denim trousers. His arousal was visible despite restraint. Emma quickly averted her gaze, embarrassed that he might notice her staring. If only he knew how fiercely her own body responded to him.
"I need to go," he said calmly.
"Will you return?" she asked softly, lowering her lashes to conceal her vulnerability.
"Do you wish me to?" he countered, hands tucked into his pockets.
She could not force the word yes past her lips. Pride held her hostage.
"I already know," he said quietly, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead before leaving the chamber.
Emma bit her lower lip, cursing her hesitation. She should have told him. She stared at the stone wall, replaying every second of their closeness.
Minutes stretched. The silence thickened.
Then— a low, unfamiliar growl echoed through the corridor beyond her door. Not Brandon's. Not any guard she recognized.
Her wolf stiffened instantly.
Footsteps — heavier, predatory — stopped outside her chamber. The mate bond did not react. That meant it was not her Alpha.
The door handle turned slowly.
Emma's heart pounded violently as a dark, unknown scent seeped under the door — sharp, foreign, dangerous.
And then a voice she had not heard in years whispered from the other side —
"Did you truly think I would never come back for you, little wolf?"