Summary

🌶️🌶️He’s my father’s best friend. The Alpha of our pack. Off limits in every way—until the Moon chose him for me. Alana Melnick has spent her life trying to live up to her bloodline—warrior, daughter of the Beta, born with the ancient Volkmer power running through her veins. But nothing prepares her for the night her heat comes early… or for the way her wolf reacts to Jacob Kheller, the one man she was never supposed to want. When politics force her father to offer her to another Alpha, the pack braces for war. But fate has already spoken. The mate bond snaps. Now she belongs to Jacob—by blood, by bond, and by fire. But their love isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of a rebellion.

Chapter 1

POV: Alana

The sound of my fist cracking against the leather bag was the only thing keeping me from screaming.

Again.

The chain creaked overhead. Sweat dripped from my temple, stinging my eyes. My arms burned, but I didn’t stop. Not when the pain was the only thing louder than the voice in my head.

Beta’s daughter.

Alpha bloodline.

Political pawn.

Future Luna, maybe—if I’m valuable enough.

I struck again, harder this time, until the bag swung on its chain and came back toward me like it wanted to fight.

Good.

Let it try.

I spun and slammed it with my elbow, the impact vibrating through my bones. My breath came in sharp bursts. My tank top was soaked through. My knuckles were raw, even under the wraps. I didn’t care.

This was the only place I wasn’t someone’s legacy. Not Charles Melnick’s daughter. Not one of the only females with Alpha blood unmated. Not any Alpha Blood fucking Volkmer-descended Alpha blood. Not a bargaining chip. Not a body to be offered.

Just fists. Just fury. Just me.

“Your guard’s dropping.”

I froze.

Because I would recognize that voice in any circumstance.

The voice was deep. Rough. Too calm.

Him.

Fucking him.

I turned slowly, heart already racing—and not from the workout.

Alpha Jacob Kheller stood in the doorway of the private training hall, arms crossed, lean muscles straining against the sleeves of a black tactical shirt. Fucking perfect muscles. His dark hair was damp at the edges like he’d just run, and those impossibly blue eyes were fixed on me with that same unreadable calm that made me want to scream.

Or kiss him.

Or both.

I hate how handsome and hot and sexy and—Goddess, sometimes I still feel like a teenager around him.

Maybe because he was my first crush—who am I kidding? My only crush. I’ve secretly wanted him forever. All my heat dreams are about him. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s my dad’s hot best friend. Maybe it’s because he’s the Alpha of my pack. Maybe it’s because he’s forbidden.

But honestly? None of it matters.

Because my mind just short-circuits when he’s around.

He stepped into the room, each movement controlled like his body was wired too tightly to ever fully relax. And I hate how he’s always in command.

Or… maybe I love it.

“Nice of you to join,” I muttered, turning back to the bag and throwing another punch.

“I wasn’t scheduled,” he said simply. “Saw the lights on. Thought I’d spar.”

With me?

He never trained with me. Not alone. Not like this.

What the hell is going on?

My heart thudded harder. My wolf stirred.

I didn’t look at him when I spoke again. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”

“You’re dropping your guard,” he repeated. “If you’re going to punch like you want to kill something, at least keep your stance tight.”

My lip curled. “Thanks, Alpha.”

He said nothing. I could feel him watching me. Judging me. Or maybe—not judging. Noticing.

That was worse.

I hit the bag again. My breath was faster now, but not from effort. It was him. His scent. The presence that always filled a room like thunder.

And the way my body reacted—heat low in my belly, skin too tight, breath too short—it was instinct. Desire. Something primal I couldn’t suppress anymore.

“I think we both need something physical to clear our minds for what’s coming…” he said.

I exhaled hard. “So you’re also about to be offered to some regional Alpha as a gift?” I needed to say that.

“Watch your mouth. I’m still your Alpha,” he snapped first. Then, quieter—“I never agreed with this. It’s your father’s idea.”

I glanced at him.

He was closer than I realized.

My gaze dropped before I could stop it—chest, hips, arms.

Fuck.

I hated how much I wanted him. Even when I wanted to fight him.

And I hated how good he was at pretending he didn’t want me.

“You want to spar or not?” I asked.

He smirked, stepping forward. Shoulders loose. Hands ready.

I raised my fists and circled him slowly.

Jacob didn’t move. Not at first. He just watched me—calm, unreadable. Like always.

But this time… his gaze dropped.

Lower.

My arms. My waist. My thighs.

My skin burned under the weight of it.

He didn’t flinch or shift away like he usually did. He looked. Just for a second.

And I saw it.

A crack in the armor.

His nostrils flared. He was scenting me.

My scent.

His throat bobbed when he swallowed.

His fingers flexed at his sides.

His body reacting—just as mine did.

You felt that too, didn’t you?

My pulse quickened. My wolf surged beneath my skin like she’d been waiting for this moment all her life.

All the years of hiding, of silence, of pretending I didn’t want him—they were over.

I needed to focus.

Come on. Get a grip.

I was just a kid to him. Just Charles Melnick’s daughter. Off-limits.

I threw the first punch.

He blocked it easily. Of course he did.

But I followed with a low sweep that made him hop back a step. His brow lifted—just a little.

Impressed.

It made my stomach flip.

I didn’t stop.

Hit. Dodge. Hit again.

We moved fast and fluid, instinct and training crashing together like waves.

Breath against breath. Skin brushing skin.

My lungs burned—but not from effort.

From him.

From the way his scent filled the space—pine and rain and something darker. Masculine. Dominant. The scent that had haunted my dreams since I was fifteen.

From the way his arms flexed every time he blocked me.

From the way our bodies brushed—once, twice, too deliberately to ignore.

The way my wolf paced in my blood, alive with hunger.

And then he pinned me.

It happened fast.

He caught my wrist mid-swing, twisted, spun me around, and slammed me down onto the mat. My c hit hard.

His chest pressed against me.

One arm wrapped around my waist.

The other gripped my wrist, holding me still.

I froze.

Every nerve lit up like fire.

I felt everything.

His breath at my neck.

The tight, hard heat of his body against mine.

The low, controlled pant of his lungs.

His chest rising too fast.

His cock—hard, pressed to the curve of my ass.

Oh. Oh Goddess.

A second passed.

Two.

He didn’t move.

Neither did I.

It was a fucking dream come true.

And my true desire?

To turn around. To kiss him. To let go.

He was breathing like I was. Rough. Labored. Unsteady.

He smelled like heat and control barely hanging on.

“Alana,” he said, voice low, hoarse. “You need to—”

“Let me go?” I whispered, not sure if I wanted him to.

His grip didn’t loosen.

Because he couldn’t.

Because I was right there.

And he was hard.

Heat pooled low in my belly.

Need. Desire. Lust.

He cursed under his breath and stepped back—too fast, like touching me burned.

I turned slowly to face him. My chest heaving. Skin flushed. And I knew—knew—my eyes were glowing.

“You felt that,” I said.

He looked away.

“I felt nothing,” he said tightly. “I was sparring with you.”

Liar.

But I saw it in the tense line of his jaw.

In the way his hands curled into fists.

The way his voice came strained—like he couldn’t believe it himself.

That was all the confirmation I needed.

I smirked, slow and wicked. “So you’re not as cold as you pretend to be.”

My green eyes locked onto his. I saw it—the flicker of light.

His wolf, rising to meet mine.

For a moment, I swore he’d take two steps forward and kiss me.

Finally close the space between us.

Finally give in.

Then it was gone.

“You should shower,” he said flatly. “You’re sweating through your shirt.”

And he walked out.

Chapter 2

POV: Alana

The shower didn’t help. It scalded me, but it still wasn’t enough.

I stayed under the hot spray until my skin was pink and raw, until the steam curled in my lungs and I could barely stand.

But the heat inside me didn’t fade.

My skin burned. My breath still came too fast. I tried to scrub away the feeling of Jacob’s body against mine, the heat he left behind, the sound of his voice saying my name in that low, rough tone like it meant something.

But it was still there.

In my blood.

Under my skin.

Everywhere.

It pulsed low, coiling tighter. A restless, aching hum under my skin that had nothing to do with the workout—or even with Jacob. Not entirely.

I pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and a loose T-shirt, my damp hair clinging to my back. My hands trembled as I brushed my fingers through it, trying to breathe.

My wolf was too close. My thoughts were too loud.

My body was hot. Too hot. My limbs felt heavy, my skin overly sensitive, my belly tight.

Something was wrong.

Or maybe—something was starting.

A knock at the door made me flinch.

Before I could answer, the door opened gently, and my mother stepped inside.

“Hi, baby,” she said softly, her voice already knowing.

Louise.

Beautiful, graceful, calm even when the world cracked open. Her honey-blonde hair was braided over one shoulder, her eyes kind and warm—and far too perceptive. She wore a long cardigan and house pants, the scent of chamomile and cloves clinging to her like comfort.

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t.

She didn’t ask questions. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed, then opened her arms.

I didn’t think—I just went to her. I knelt in front of her like I had when I was five and scraped my knee. She pulled me close, her fingers gently working through my damp hair, brushing it with her hands like she used to when the world felt too big.

“You’re burning up,” she murmured, pressing her palm to my cheek, then my neck. “Your skin… Alana, you’re warm. Too warm.”

“I just trained,” I whispered, though I knew that wasn’t it.

Her fingers paused.

Then she took a slow, steady breath. “The Moon Ball is in a few days,” she said. “Your heat was supposed to start that night.”

I nodded.

“But this…” she pulled back, eyes searching mine, “it’s early.”

I closed my eyes. “Something’s wrong with me.”

“No,” she said immediately, fiercely. “No, sweetheart. There’s nothing wrong. You’re Alpha-blooded. Sometimes our genes… react faster. Stronger. The Moon’s pull starts sooner. Your body knows what’s coming.”

I shook my head. “It’s too much. I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. Like something’s taking over.”

She brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “I know that feeling.”

I looked up at her.

She smiled, soft and sad. “It happened to me, too.”

“What?”

“I entered heat early. Just a few days before my Moon Ball. I thought I was broken. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think. I was so scared. Everyone expected me to be chosen by some powerful Alpha.”

My throat tightened. “And what happened?”

“I mated with your father,” she said. Her smile deepened. “Charles was the Beta’s son of a distant pack. Too quiet, too calm, not what they wanted for me. But my wolf chose him.”

My chest ached. “Were you scared?”

“Terrified,” she said. “But it was the right kind of fear. The kind that comes before something big. Something true.”

I blinked hard, trying not to cry. “I don’t want to be a prize. I don’t want to be handed off like—like something pretty in a box.”

“You’re not,” she said, her hands warm against my cheeks. “You’re powerful. Smart. Brave. And this heat—it’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s your wolf telling you that you’re becoming. That the bond is close. That your time is coming.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Has it started… fully? The heat?”

I hesitated.

“I can feel it,” she said gently. “The flush on your skin. The way your scent has changed.”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I thought I was just… reacting. To training. To—”

Jacob.

His name burned in the back of my throat. I didn’t say it.

Her eyes softened. “There’s someone, isn’t there?”

I didn’t answer.

She pulled me in again, her hand stroking my hair. “Let your wolf guide you. But don’t lose yourself in what others want. This is your bond, Alana. Yours. Not your father’s. Not the Council’s. Not the pack’s.”

I pressed my face to her chest. “I’m trying.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But you don’t have to fight it alone. You can always count on me, you know that, right?”

My body still hummed with heat. My mind still spun with Jacob’s voice, his scent, his hard body pressed against mine.

But for now, in my mother’s arms, I allowed myself to breathe.

Just for a moment.

After she left, sleep didn’t come.

I tossed the blanket off again.

I couldn’t sleep.

The room was too hot, even with the window cracked. The night air did nothing to cool the fire under my skin.

My body felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore. Every shift of the sheets was too much. Every brush of fabric against my nipples or thighs made me twitch. My heartbeat had moved lower—between my legs, steady and loud.

I was wet.

Gods, I was already wet.

The ache wouldn’t go away.

I rolled onto my back, one hand on my stomach. My wolf paced behind my ribs, restless and alert, and I knew what she wanted.

Who she wanted.

Jacob.

His voice. His scent. His fucking body.

The spar replayed over and over. The heat of him behind me. His arm around my waist. The weight of his cock against me. The way he didn’t move.

He wanted me. I know he did.

But he walked away. Again.

And I was still here, burning.

I pressed my thighs together, but it wasn’t enough. My skin felt too tight, my core pulsing with a low, constant need. The kind I couldn’t think away.

“Fuck,” I whispered to the ceiling. “Just stop.”

But I couldn’t.

My hand slipped lower, under the waistband of my shorts. My fingers brushed slick heat and I gasped—too sensitive, too desperate, too ready.

I closed my eyes. Let my mind go where it always did.

Jacob.

The weight of his chest over mine.

His voice in my ear.

His rough hands holding me down, touching me like I was his. Biting my neck. Claiming me.

I moaned softly, rolling my hips into my hand, and felt the pressure climb instantly—too fast, too sharp, like I’d been holding back for years.

My breath stuttered.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out. But I was already close. Already unraveling.

My fingers moved faster.

I imagined his mouth on my skin. His hands between my legs. His wolf snarling over mine as he pushed into me for the first time.

“Jacob,” I gasped, desperate.

My whole body clenched—and then broke. Heat crashed through me, wild and hot and raw. My back arched. My thighs shook. My wolf howled inside me, satisfied for now—but not soothed.

Never soothed.

When it passed, I stayed still. Breathing. Empty and full all at once.

It wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough.

Because it wasn’t him.

Chapter 3

POV: Jacob

She smelled like fire.

Even now, hours later, the scent lingered in my lungs—smoke, wildflowers, vanilla, heat. It clung to my skin, soaked into my blood.

Alana.

The second I touched her in the sparring ring, everything in me snapped. My wolf surged to the surface like a predator that had been caged too long.

It wasn’t just lust. It wasn’t just instinct.

It was her.

The way her body had locked beneath mine. The way her breath hitched. The way her ass pressed against my cock, making it hard before I even had time to think.

She didn’t even realize what she was doing to me.

Or worse—she did.

I barely slept.

At some point during the night, I could’ve sworn I heard her moan. Maybe I was going crazy. Maybe my mind was tricking me.

I spent the whole night pacing my room, shirtless and half-feral, trying to fight the images clawing through my brain.

Her flushed face.

Her glowing green eyes.

Her scent.

The second her wolf stirred, mine had responded like a fucking magnet. I’d barely held myself back.

Barely.

My coffee had gone cold in my hand before I even realized I was holding it.

I leaned against the packhouse kitchen counter, jaw clenched tight, fingers curled around the mug. The early sun poured through the windows, soft and golden. But inside me, it was a storm.

I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head.

She’s not just a young wolf.

She’s a young wolf with ancient Alpha blood, Volkmer blood.

She’s brilliant, bold, infuriating, hot as sin.

And most importantly—she’s Charles’s daughter.

My best friend’s daughter.

Completely off limits.

And yet my body had betrayed every one of those limits.

I took a bitter sip of coffee just as soft footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Louise.

Louise Volkmer Melnick.

She moved like a queen—barefoot, braid over her shoulder, green eyes sharp with the kind of wisdom only time and fire could give.

Beautiful. Composed. Still holding the pack together in my absence of a Luna.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked, her tone even.

“No.” My voice came rough, low.

She didn’t ask for details. She didn’t have to.

She pulled down a jar of tea leaves and started boiling water, hands calm and methodical.

“You’re up early,” I said finally. “Didn’t think you liked tea before sunrise.”

“I don’t,” she said. “MoonBall prep.”

I nodded, jaw tight.

With no Luna, Louise carried all ceremonial duties—again. Every damn year.

“Sorry you have to handle all this alone.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for something that’s not your fault,” she said, voice soft but unyielding. “And I like doing it.”

But I knew her too well. Something was off.

“What’s really on your mind?”

Louise exhaled slowly. “It’s Alana.”

My entire body reacted before I could stop it—pulse spiking, breath shortening. My wolf growled inside me, rising to attention just at her name.

“She’s not well,” she said gently. “Her heat is starting. Early.”

I flinched. “That’s not possible.”

“It shouldn’t be,” she said. “But our bloodline is… strong. I entered early, too. It was brutal.”

I slammed the cup down a little too hard. “She’s not ready.”

“No. But it’s happening.”

My mind reeled. The spar. Her scent. My reaction. Her heat. It wasn’t just attraction—it was instinct. Wolf to wolf.

Somehow, that terrified me more.

“She mentioned everyone thinks she’ll be offered to some Alpha,” I muttered.

Louise tilted her head. “She told you?”

I didn’t answer.

“We sparred,” I said instead. “She threw it in my face. Blamed me. It’s Charles who keeps pushing this alliance.”

“He’s scared,” Louise said softly. “He remembers what happened with me.”

She didn’t need to explain. I was there.

Louise had been the only unmated Alpha-blooded female in the region. At her MoonBall, Alphas from all over showed up to claim her. My father told me I should try to mate her.

But when the Moon rose?

She bonded with Charles. The Beta heir. No one expected it.

But now, no one completed her more.

Charles wants to protect Alana from what Louise went through. But in trying to control her fate, he’s losing her.

“Alana knows how valuable her bond is,” I said. “And Charles keeps talking about what she’ll give the pack.”

“I know.” Louise’s voice was sad. “But she’s not a gift. She’s fire.”

I nodded, jaw tight. “Then let the Moon Goddess guide her.”

I left before I said something I couldn’t take back.

---

The room reeked of politics.

Old sweat. Dust. Paper and pressure.

I sat at the head of the long table. Charles beside me. Three elders across—Elias, Bram, and Trenton. The old bastard never shut up.

They were all restless. They’d been waiting nineteen years for a Luna. They were done being patient.

“We need stability,” Trenton said again. “The MoonBall is tomorrow, and we have no Luna. The council expects resolution.”

“There’s no resolution to force,” I snapped. “Fate hasn’t chosen. That’s not something we control.”

Charles cleared his throat. “There is someone else. We can use to guise alliances,”

I already knew where this was going.

“Alana.”

I stared at him.

“She’s the only unmated Alpha-blood female in the region,” he said carefully. “The council believes…”

“No.” My voice was sharp. Instant.

Charles blinked. “Alpha—”

“She’s not a pawn,” I growled. “We don’t offer her like she’s a fucking solution.”

“This is about protection,” Charles said, firm now. “For the pack. For her. Alpha Benjamin’s pack is rising. He’s powerful. He could offer her security—”

“No,” I said again. Lower. More dangerous. My wolf snarled at the name Benjamin.

I wanted to rip something apart.

“She’s not his. And she never will be.”

Trenton huffed. “Then what? We let her go unclaimed and wait for the gods to hand-deliver a prophecy?”

Silence.

Bram cleared his throat. “The prophecy says: The new shall bond with the ancient. All signs point to Alana. She’s ancient blood. Volkmer. He’s new. Modern. A rising Alpha. Their bond would fulfill it.”

My teeth clenched so hard my jaw ached.

“We’re not in the fucking Dark Ages,” I snapped. “She’s not an object. Not a political move.”

“If the prophecy is true,” Charles said carefully, “then this bond will happen either way. Offering her at the MoonBall doesn’t force fate. It just… aligns with it.”

I wanted to throw the table through the fucking wall.

And then—

A gasp.

My head whipped toward the door.

Alana.

Hair loose. Cheeks flushed. Green eyes blazing. Her scent hit the room like a wildfire.

“You’re selling me off?” she whispered.

Everyone froze.

“Like I’m a fucking treaty?”

“Alana—” Charles rose.

“Don’t,” she snapped. Her voice cracked—but her stare didn’t.

She looked straight at me.

“You knew.”

I didn’t say a word.

And that silence?

That was the betrayal.

She turned and walked out.

I watched Charles follow after her.

But the scent she left behind?

It made it impossible to fucking breathe.

Chapter 4

POV: Alana

“So we offer her at the MoonBall to Benjamin and create that alliance. We’re not defying fate—we’re just taking advantage of it.”

I stopped breathing.

The words echoed in my skull, blurring everything else.

Offer her.

Take advantage.

My legs moved before my mind could catch up. I didn’t even realize I’d stepped into the doorway until five pairs of eyes turned toward me.

And then… silence.

Like they’d all been caught doing something dirty.

But the only thing dirty here was what they were doing to me.

“You’re selling me off?” I whispered.

No one answered.

“Like I’m a fucking treaty?”

Charles stood. “Alana—”

“Don’t,” I snapped, the word barely holding itself together.

My chest ached. My wolf rose behind my eyes, furious. Betrayed.

But the worst pain?

Jacob.

Sitting there. Quiet. Still.

Not saying a word.

Just watching.

“You knew,” I said to him. Voice hollow.

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t even flinch.

I turned and walked out, shaking.

I didn’t look back when I heard my father call after me.

I made it as far as the stone steps behind the council hall before I broke.

I sat on the cold edge, pressing my fists against my eyes, trying to breathe past the burn behind my ribs. My wolf paced beneath my skin, teeth bared, snarling.

He was supposed to protect me.

Jacob was supposed to see me. Understand. Fight for me.

Not sit there while they decide who gets to own me.

Footsteps.

I didn’t look up. I already knew.

“Alana,” my father said softly, voice rough.

“Don’t.”

“Please—just listen.”

I clenched my jaw.

“I’m doing this to protect you,” he said.

I laughed. Bitter. Ugly. “By offering me to a man I’ve never even spoken to?”

“You don’t understand,” he said. “You’re Volkmer blood. Everyone wants you. If we don’t offer something… someone else will take it.”

“Take me.”

He didn’t deny it.

“I saw what your mother went through,” he continued. “The chaos. The pressure. The way the packs swarmed her like she wasn’t even human. This… it spares you that.”

“Spares me?” I turned on him, eyes glowing. “By handing me off first?”

His mouth tightened.

“Benjamin can protect you. He’s powerful. Respected. He—”

“I don’t want him!” I screamed.

My voice cracked and shattered the quiet around us.

“I want fate. I want my wolf to choose. I want to belong to someone because the Moon says so—not because the council scribbled my name on a damn contract.”

Charles flinched. “You don’t see the full picture.”

“No, Dad,” I said, voice breaking. “You don’t.”

He stepped back. And then he left.

I waited.

For another pair of footsteps. The ones I needed to hear.

But they never came.

Jacob didn’t come after me.

He let me walk away. Again.

And somehow, that silence hurt more than anything my father said.

---

The sun was setting by the time I locked myself in my room.

I couldn’t cry anymore. The burn behind my eyes had turned into a burn between my legs.

My wolf was done waiting.

My skin felt too tight, my body too hot. My breathing was fast. My shirt stuck to me, too much. Everything felt like friction.

I ripped it off and fell onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow. I needed to stop. Needed to calm down. But the fire inside me was climbing, higher and higher, and the only image in my mind was him.

Jacob.

The way his body felt behind mine.

The weight of his hands on my hips.

The way his cock pressed against me when he lost control—just for a second.

And the way he looked at me today… like I meant nothing.

But my body didn’t believe it.

My hand slipped between my thighs, and I gasped. I was soaked. My fingers slid too easily through the heat, and my whole body arched.

I tried to focus on the sensation. I imagined Jacob again—rough voice in my ear, mouth on my neck, hand gripping my thigh as he pushed inside me for the first time.

I moved faster.

Chasing the edge.

His scent. His snarl. The moment his control snapped.

My back arched. My lips parted on a soft, desperate moan—

And I came.

Hard. Fast. Shaking.

But it didn’t help.

The fire was still there. Throbbing. Smoldering. Unfulfilled.

Because it wasn’t him.

I was shaking.

I had my hand between my thighs again. I didn’t care. I was past caring.

My skin burned. My breath came in short, panicked gasps. Sweat clung to my chest, my thighs. My wolf was pacing inside me, snarling, begging.

I pressed harder. Rubbed faster.

Still nothing.

It wasn’t enough.

Fuck.

It only made it worse. Every stroke sent another wave of fire rolling through me, but no release. I needed more. I needed someone. I needed—

Him.

“Fuck this.”

I ripped the blanket off. Barely tugged on a thin T-shirt and shorts before storming out of my room, barefoot and boiling, my heart pounding like war drums in my throat.

My wolf was too close. She wasn’t whispering anymore.

She was howling.

Go to him. Claim him.

I didn’t knock.

I slammed Jacob’s office door open so hard the hinges groaned.

He was behind his desk—dark hair tousled, sleeves rolled, forearms flexed, blue eyes flicking up from the paper in front of him.

He wasn’t expecting anyone.

Especially not me.

His nostrils flared the second he saw me. He stilled. Closed his eyes for a heartbeat.

And when he opened them again—they were glowing blue.

His wolf had surfaced.

He smelled me.

My heat. My desperation. The scent of slick between my thighs, still soaking my skin.

I felt my cheeks burn. My breath caught. My whole body pulsed.

Jacob’s entire frame locked up like he was fighting to hold back a shift.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, low, steady—but too still. Too sharp.

“What the fuck do you think?” I snapped, slamming the door behind me.

He blinked once. But I didn’t stop.

“You’re going to offer me to Alpha Benjamin. Like I’m some prize.”

“I was never going to offer you,” he growled. “That was your father’s plan.”

“Don’t lie to me!” I shouted, voice cracking. “You sat there. Said nothing. Let them talk about me like I was some breeding contract.”

“You came in after I said I didn’t agree,” he said, standing slowly now, voice harder. “But like it or not, our laws are archaic. And by tradition, your father holds the final word until your mate is revealed.”

“And if you’d opened your mouth sooner?”

“I would’ve said something I couldn’t take back.”

I froze for a beat.

My wolf twitched beneath my skin.

His scent hit me all over again—sharp pine and woods and male. His.

I took another step forward. Then another.

He moved around the desk, slow, controlled, like he was approaching danger.

“I’ve been against this since the moment Charles brought it to the council,” he said. “They’re desperate. The pack’s Luna-less, heir-less, and I’ve had to hold it all together for nearly two decades.”

He paused. His jaw clenched before he looked at me again. “And now there’s a prophecy.”

“A prophecy?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Yes,” he said, voice strained. “The new will bond with the ancient. Everyone thinks it means Benjamin—he’s the new. You’re the ancient. Volkmer blood. They’re convinced the Moon is guiding the packs into a political bond, and they want to claim it before it happens.”

“I don’t give a fuck about signs!” I snapped. “I want a mate. I want a bond. Not some power play. Not some—some future arranged for me like I’m a golden key to be passed around!”

His gaze softened just slightly. “I never wanted this either, Alana.”

“Then why stand there and let it happen?”

“Because the council is pressuring me. Because your father thinks he’s protecting you. Because everyone is so sure you’ll be Benjamin’s mate, they’re trying to turn it into something they can control. A show of strength. A planned mark.”

He stepped closer.

I was breathing too fast. My chest was rising and falling, heartbeat racing against my ribs.

“And what about you, Jacob?” I whispered. “What do you want?”

His eyes locked on mine. His voice dropped.

“I want you to stop looking at me like that.”

“Why?” My voice came out quieter. Shakier. “Because you’ll lose control again?”

He didn’t answer.

I stepped forward—closer, until our bodies were nearly touching. My wolf was vibrating with heat and hunger, and I could feel it in him, too—his tension, the energy he barely kept beneath his skin.

“I’m not just my father’s daughter,” I whispered. “I’m strong. I’m trained. I know what I want. I deserve to choose.”

He looked away—just for a second. Then back at me.

“I’ve always seen that,” he said. “I’ve always seen you.”

My throat tightened.

“You’re fierce. You’re smart. You’re powerful.”

Then—his hand rose.

Slow. Gentle.

And he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

I stopped breathing.

“And you’re beautiful.”

My heart punched against my ribs. My wolf surged forward.

He leaned in, breath hot against my lips, and for one suspended second—I thought he would kiss me.

I needed him to kiss me.

But then—

Pain.

White-hot and violent, cutting through my belly like fire.

I gasped, doubling over. The heat inside me igniting like someone had dropped a match into gasoline.

“Alana!” Jacob caught me fast, arms locking around my waist. “What’s happening?”

“My heat,” I panted. “It’s getting worse—”

I cried out, body jolting. My skin was boiling. Every inch of me ached.

He pressed his palm to my back, breath ragged.

“You’re trembling,” he whispered. “You’re burning up. Is it… out of control?”

I nodded, eyes glassy. My lips parted.

“She’s so close,” I whispered. “My wolf. She’s right there—she’s pushing through—”

He stared at me, panic and hunger both in his eyes.

“I—I tried to fix it,” I said, voice barely there.

“What do you mean?”

I swallowed hard, throat tight with shame.

“I tried to touch myself.”

His jaw locked. His body went still.

“I thought it would help but…” My voice cracked. “It’s not working anymore.”

He didn’t move.

But I could feel him—tense, trembling, fighting his instincts with every muscle in his body.

And I knew.

If I asked—if I begged—

He’d lose it.

And maybe… so would I.

Chapter 5

POV: Alana

I couldn’t breathe.

The heat inside me was clawing through my skin, ripping down my spine like fire. My wolf pushed harder, louder. Every nerve screamed with need.

And it hurt.

So much.

Jacob stood frozen. Hands still on my body. Jaw clenched like he was holding back a scream.

“I tried,” I whispered, gasping. “I tried to fix it. But I—I can’t—”

My voice cracked.

His eyes locked onto mine, glowing bright blue. His wolf stared back at me, silent and watching.

Like I was prey.

Like I was salvation.

“It hurts,” I said again, voice breaking. “So much.”

He swallowed. “Alana…”

“It hurts.” My knees buckled. Panic and heat slammed into me in one brutal wave. I reached out—

And he caught me.

He lifted me into his arms in one fast, fierce motion. My head dropped against his chest, my body curled against his strength. The moment his skin touched mine, relief exploded through me like lightning.

I gasped.

I hadn’t expected that.

Just being held by him quieted the fire.

He kicked the office door shut, locked it, and carried me to the couch. But the moment he laid me down, the pain surged again.

I whimpered. Reached for him. Fisted his shirt.

“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t go. Your body… it calms it down.”

He dropped to his knees in front of me.

And the look in his eyes—empathy, need, and something deeper—shook me.

Love.

My next move wasn’t just mine. It was my heat. My wolf. And my heart.

I grabbed his shirt and kissed him.

At first, he didn’t move. His lips just stayed against mine—firm, warm, right. My entire body sighed at the contact.

And then he snapped.

His lips moved over mine, fast and hungry. His tongue slid into my mouth and I gasped, moaned, melted. I clung to him. Let him in.

The rest of the world disappeared.

Only Jacob.

Only this.

My body screamed for more. My heat was easing under his touch, but I still ached everywhere.

And then he pulled back—forehead pressed to mine, breath ragged.

“I shouldn’t,” he rasped. “I can’t.”

“You just calmed it,” I whispered. “Please…”

He didn’t move.

But my thighs were trembling. My hips couldn’t stop squirming. I was soaking wet and throbbing. And he was the only thing keeping it from destroying me.

“Please,” I begged again. “I can’t take it.”

His eyes shut for a beat. When they opened, they were wild. Untamed.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” I breathed. “Please.”

He kissed me again—deeper, needier. My heat still burned under my skin, aching and sharp.

My hand slid down between us, found his, and guided it over my belly.

He broke the kiss, forehead against mine, panting.

“Alana,” he warned.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

When his hand cupped me—over my clothes—I moaned.

The pain vanished in an instant. Just gone.

“Your touch,” I whispered. “It makes it go away.”

His hand tensed. “You tried to fix this yourself?”

I nodded, cheeks burning.

He dragged his thumb over my clit—still over the fabric—and my hips lifted from the couch.

“No wonder it didn’t work.”

“Why?” I whimpered.

“Because it’s not about giving yourself pleasure,” he said. “It’s about receiving it. It’s about one Alpha-blood being touched by another.”

“Help me,” I whispered. “Please.”

His jaw flexed. “I’ll help you. Because you’re in pain. But, Alana…”

He leaned in. Eyes full of fire.

“Goddess help me, once I cross this line—I don’t know if I’ll come back.”

“Then don’t,” I whispered.

He kissed me again—deep, hungry, claiming.

Then he slid one hand to my thigh, the other to the waistband of my shorts.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured. “Say the word, I walk away.”

“I won’t,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

He slid his hand up my leg.

I gasped. My body jerked forward.

Jacob pressed his mouth to the inside of my thigh. His breath hot. His lips rough.

“You smell like fucking heat,” he growled.

“I am,” I whispered. “Please…”

His fingers slid into my waistband. He paused. Waited.

I nodded.

He tugged my shorts and panties down slowly. His gaze darkened as he saw what I already knew.

I was drenched. My slick coated my thighs.

He let out a low, almost tortured sound.

“You’re dripping,” he whispered. “Your wolf is out of control.”

His fingers slid through my folds—and I gasped, my body arching like I’d been shocked.

His touch was everything. Relief. Fire. Lust.

“Jacob—” I whimpered. “Please—”

His thumb circled my clit, and I moaned. Loud. Desperate.

Then—he slid inside me.

Two thick fingers. Deep. Wet. Perfect.

I shattered instantly.

My body clamped down. I cried out, loud and broken, back arching as the orgasm tore through me.

But he didn’t stop.

He kept moving inside me. Deep. Steady. Purposeful.

His other hand gripped my hip. His mouth pressed kisses down my thigh.

My body started climbing again—so fast, too fast—

“I can’t—” I gasped.

“Yes, you can,” he said, voice deep. “You need to.”

I came again. Harder. Louder. My entire body shook. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.

And then—he kissed me. Swallowed my moan as I shattered a third time.

I slumped back into the couch, limp and shaking, my chest heaving. My skin still tingled from the aftershocks.

He stood, breathing hard.

His cock was still hard, straining against his pants.

I wanted him. I wanted to be fucked. I wanted to take him inside me and never let go.

But Jacob did something I wasn’t ready for.

He lay down next to me.

And pulled me into his arms.

Tight.

Right.

I melted into him.

“I dreamed of this,” I whispered, voice breaking, eyes already closing. “For so fucking long.”

I felt his lips at my temple. His hand in my hair.

“Sleep,” he murmured.

And I did.

I woke up alone.

The couch was cold where his body had been. The windows let in the pale light of morning, soft and too still. For a second, I didn’t move. I just stared at the ceiling and let the silence settle.

Had I dreamed it?

Had I imagined his mouth on mine? His hands on my body? The way he touched me like I was something sacred, something he shouldn’t want but couldn’t help needing?

No. It had been real.

But he was gone.

And somehow, that stung more than the fire in my blood.

I sat up slowly, muscles sore and sensitive. My shorts and shirt were twisted, damp. I still smelled like him. Like my heat. Like the ghost of something I couldn’t name.

I slipped out of his office in silence and padded back to my room barefoot, unseen.

The bath didn’t help.

Hot water soaked into my skin, but it didn’t calm the ache. It didn’t scrub the memory of his touch from my thighs, my mouth, my soul.

I’d dreamed about the Moon choosing me since I was a little girl. About the moment at midnight when fate would take over and something ancient and beautiful would claim me.

But now my father was preparing to offer me like I was a treaty wrapped in silk. Not for love. Not even for power.

For fear.

I leaned my head back against the tub, closed my eyes.

And I saw Jacob.

His hands on me.

His voice.

Because once I cross that line, I don’t know if I’ll come back.

I didn’t want him to come back. I wanted him to stay.

But maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe it was just the heat. Maybe I’d imagined the tenderness in his voice. The way he held me after. The way he kissed me like it mattered.

Maybe if Benjamin really was my mate, all of this would disappear like smoke.

A crush. A fever. A dream.

A knock at my door.

I didn’t move at first. Then I stood, wrapped a robe around my body, and opened it.

My father stood there, his expression tired. Soft. Lined with something that might’ve been guilt.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

I nodded and let him in.

He sat in the chair near my window. I stayed standing.

“It’s the day of the MoonBall,” he said. “You’ll need to start preparing soon.”

I didn’t speak.

He exhaled. “I know you’re angry with me. And you have every right to be. But I need you to understand—I’m not doing this to hurt you.”

“Then what are you doing?” I asked quietly.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “By offering me to someone I don’t want?”

He winced. “Benjamin is strong. Respected. And he wants to protect you too. Everyone believes the prophecy points to him.”

“I don’t,” I said.

He looked up at me. “Then let the Moon prove you right.”

My throat tightened.

“I’m not forcing you to mate him, Alana. I would never do that. But the alliance is already in motion. We’ll present you to him before midnight. As a symbol. Nothing more.”

“You’re giving me away,” I whispered. “Like a gift. Like I don’t belong to myself.”

“You belong to the Moon,” he said, voice cracking. “And I pray she knows what she’s doing.”

He stood.

I didn’t look at him.

“I love you,” he said. “I just want you safe.”

Then he left.

I didn’t cry.

I just stood there, numb, for what felt like hours.

Was I wrong? Was I the only one who still believed in bonds that felt like fire? In fate that looked like Jacob?

Would I wake up tomorrow and be someone else’s?

Would this feeling go away?

There was a soft knock before the door opened again.

Louise.

She smiled at me gently, stepped inside, and closed the door.

“Busy morning,” she said. “I’m finalizing the MoonBall prep. you you help me? One last time before you’re not mine anymore?”

My heart cracked.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Of course.”

We spent the next hour folding silks, sorting ceremonial candles, lining the outdoor altar with white flowers.

I watched her work. She moved with grace. With quiet purpose.

“Did you ever feel like this?” I asked suddenly.

She looked at me. “Like what?”

“Like you were being dragged toward something you didn’t want.”

She thought for a second.

“No,” she said. “But I felt like I was standing on the edge of something terrifying. And then… the Moon chose. And I understood what I hadn’t known about myself.”

I swallowed hard. “What if she chooses someone I don’t want?”

“Then she knows more than you do. Or she’s wrong.” Louise smiled sadly. “But she’s never been wrong before.”

By early evening, I stood in front of the mirror.

The burgundy dress clung to me like it had been made from shadows and wine. Deep neckline. Bare back. Soft, draped silk.

I pinned my hair up, then let it fall again. Nothing looked right.

I did my makeup with shaking hands. Liner. Lip. Highlight.

I stared at myself.

I didn’t look like me.

I looked like someone pretending not to be afraid.

Someone preparing to be given away.

And then I moved.

I couldn’t stop myself.

My feet carried me down the long hallway. Past the guest rooms. Past the second floor balcony. Past the kitchen where Louise and the rest were prepping.

I needed to see him.

One more time.

Even if he didn’t want me.

Even if I was never his.

Even if tonight, fate chose someone else.

I just needed to look in his eyes and remember what it felt like to be wanted.

To be seen.

I stopped outside his quarters.

My hand hovered over the door.

And I whispered, “Please be inside.”

Chapter 6

POV: Alana

I stood outside his door, fingers curled into the wood, breath held.

Please be here.

Please open.

Please don’t push me away.

When the door opened, Jacob froze.

He was hot and handsome—his dark hair tousled, his glowing blue eyes catching the light like fire behind glass. Disconcertingly hot. My heart kicked just from looking at him.

His eyes swept over me—slow, stunned.

Like he wasn’t ready.

Like seeing me in this dress, this close, looking at him like this, was more than he’d prepared for.

His gaze moved from my bare shoulders, down the line of burgundy silk clinging to every curve, to the soft skin at my collarbone… then back up to my eyes.

He didn’t speak.

He just… stared.

And in that silence, I saw him break—just a little.

“You’re…” His voice came low. Rough. “You’re stunning.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, swallowing against the tight knot in my throat. “I needed to see you.”

He blinked like he was trying to shake the moment off his skin.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know.” My voice was small. Not mine.

His eyes darkened. “Then why are you?”

I stepped closer—just one breath between us now.

“Because you said you always saw me.”

I let the words hang, then softer, “But tonight, I can’t see myself.”

He didn’t move.

“I’m losing who I am, Jacob,” I whispered. “And this might be the last moment I have before everyone else decides who I’m supposed to become.”

His eyes closed. His hands flexed at his sides like he was holding himself back with everything he had.

“I just wanted to talk,” I said, voice breaking. “That’s all.”

That was a lie. Maybe not entirely. But enough.

Something in him cracked.

He stepped back.

Let me in.

I exhaled and stepped through the doorway.

His room was dark, clean, and warm. It smelled like cedar, pine, leather… and something I couldn’t name but always associated with him. Alpha. Comfort. Danger.

I walked in slowly, heart pounding, and sat on the edge of his bed.

He didn’t sit. He stayed near the door like I might break him if he got too close.

“My father came to me today,” I said, voice low. “Told me the plan. They’re going to offer me to Benjamin. Before midnight.”

His shoulders tightened.

“Everyone’s so sure he’s my mate. The prophecy, the council, my father…” I paused. “And maybe they’re right. Maybe tonight the Moon will give me to him.”

I looked down at my hands.

“But I’ve always loved you.”

His breath caught.

“I’ve always wanted you. Not Benjamin. Not some destiny I don’t believe in.”

I looked up.

“And I’m scared,” I whispered. “Because if he really is my mate—if the Moon chooses him—what if this feeling I’ve had for you disappears?”

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

But his body swayed slightly, like instinct was pulling him toward me.

Then—he gave in.

One step.

Two.

He was inches away.

His scent washed over me. My breath caught. My whole chest felt like it might crack.

His hand twitched in the air—reaching—and then he pulled it back.

“I can’t,” he said. “This isn’t right.”

I stood.

Looked him in the eye.

“Tell me you don’t feel this,” I said, voice trembling. “Tell me last night meant nothing. That it was just duty. Just heat. Tell me, and I’ll walk out that door.”

He said nothing.

So I kissed him.

Soft.

Slow.

Desperate.

His lips tasted like everything I’d dreamed. Like water after thirst. Like food after starvation.

Then he kissed me back.

Hard.

His hands gripped my waist, pulling me into him. His body pressed against mine, hot and hard, and I melted into the closeness. His mouth devoured mine, tongue sweeping deep, urgent, hungry.

But then—he broke the kiss.

“I shouldn’t,” he whispered, lips still brushing mine.

I held his face in my hands.

“In a few hours,” I said, breath trembling, “I’ll be offered to another Alpha. Someone I don’t know. Someone I don’t want.”

His eyes squeezed shut.

“But I’ve always wanted you. Last night wasn’t just heat. It was you. It’s always been you.”

My voice cracked.

“This is the last moment I’ll ever be mine. And I want to give it to you.”

He staggered back like I’d struck him.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I do,” I said, steady now. “I want you. Let me feel you. One last time.”

He snapped.

His mouth crashed into mine, his hands in my hair, on my face, grabbing like he’d waited a lifetime just to touch.

He kissed me hard, then softer, then rough again—like he couldn’t decide whether to love me or lose me.

And then he laid me down on his bed.

The silk of my dress rustled beneath me.

His hands slid over my skin, reverent, shaking. He looked down at me—and I saw it: not the Alpha, not the soldier. Just Jacob. Flesh and fire and want.

He stripped the straps from my shoulders, kissing every inch of skin he revealed.

My body arched toward him like he was the only song I knew how to dance to.

I tugged at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin. To have him.

He peeled it off—muscles tight, chest rising fast. He was carved.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered.

“You won’t.”

He kissed my neck. My collarbone. The soft curve of my breast.

Then lower.

He peeled my dress away inch by inch, until I lay bare but for the lace panties clinging to soaked skin.

He swallowed hard. His hands shook.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered.

Then he touched me.

He slid his hand between my thighs, pushing the fabric aside, finding me soaked. His fingers glided through slick and heat.

I moaned into his kiss.

The pleasure was unbearable. It wasn’t just my heat. It was him. His scent, his voice, his presence. My body was begging.

He kissed his way down my body. My skin burned beneath him.

He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of my panties.

Slowly—he pulled them off.

The fabric was soaked. I felt the mess between my thighs.

“Goddess, Alana,” he groaned. “You’re dripping.”

“Dripping for you,” I whispered.

And he broke again.

He dropped between my thighs and licked me—deep. Slow.

I cried out.

Nothing—nothing—had ever felt like that.

My hips bucked into his mouth, needing more.

He held me down. “You taste as sweet as I imagined,” he growled.

He devoured me.

His tongue circled my clit, slow and cruel. Then he pushed a finger inside me, thick and warm.

“So fucking tight,” he murmured.

I came—hard. Cried out. Convulsed.

But he didn’t stop.

He added a second finger, worked my clit with his tongue until I was begging, moaning, losing it.

And I came again.

Then he kissed his way back up my body.

I grabbed his hand and licked the fingers he used on me.

“Fuck, Alana,” he rasped. “That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He kissed me again—deep, tasting me.

“I need you,” I gasped.

He groaned against my mouth. “Say it again.”

“I need you.”

He stood.

Stripped the rest of his clothes.

His cock—thick, hard, pulsing—stood between us.

I reached for it, stroked him, and he hissed through his teeth.

Then he lined up—kissed me again—and pushed inside.

Slow. Deep. Stretching me past the edge of pain into a pleasure I didn’t know I could survive.

He stilled.

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t stop,” I whispered.

He moved.

Slow at first. Deep, full strokes that made my eyes flutter shut. Then harder. Rougher.

He fucked me like he was trying to carve his name into my soul.

And I let him.

I took it. Every thrust. Every moan. Every growl.

I gave him everything. My hands clawed his back. My legs wrapped around him.

He slammed into me again and again, and I unraveled beneath him.

“Jacob—fuck—I’m gonna—”

“I’ve got you,” he groaned. “Come for me, Alana.”

And I did.

I shattered around him. Screamed. Cried. Fell apart.

He followed—buried deep, growling into my neck as he came, filling me.

And then—

Silence.

Breathless.

Bare.

He wrapped his arms around me.

And for a few stolen minutes…

I wasn’t a pawn.

I wasn’t a daughter.

I wasn’t a gift.

I was his.

And he was mine.

Chapter 7

POV: Alana

His arms were still wrapped around me.

His chest against my back. His breath warm at my neck. One of his hands rested low on my stomach, the other tangled in my hair like he couldn’t bear to let go.

I didn’t want to move.

I didn’t want to forget the feel of his body pressed into mine, the sound of his voice when he came inside me, the way he held me after like I was his.

Because I wasn’t. Not really.

And I wouldn’t be, not after tonight.

I closed my eyes and tried to memorize it—his scent, the weight of his arm, the perfect ache still pulsing between my thighs. I tried to burn this into my memory, so I could never forget.

I was about to lose everything.

But at least, just once, I had him.

Then a voice.

“Alana?” It was my mother, looking for me.

I jolted upright.

Jacob sat up too, suddenly tense, his hand still on my hip.

Shit.

I reached for the burgundy dress on the floor, heart pounding. I pulled it back on quickly, no time for shame or slow movements. My legs were still shaking. My body still humming with his.

He didn’t say anything.

He just watched me. Still stunned. Still looking at me like I was a dream slipping out of reach.

I turned back to him before I left, walked to where he sat at the edge of the bed.

And I kissed him. Softly.

Slowly.

Because it was the last time.

His lips didn’t move at first. Then they did—gentle, aching, reverent.

When I pulled back, my voice trembled.

“Don’t ever forget,” I whispered, “that I love you.”

He closed his eyes.

And I left.

I managed to sneak down the hall without being seen. Back to my room, back to the place I was supposed to have been all along.

I was barely sitting at my vanity when the door opened.

Louise stood there, her brows furrowed, concern in her eyes.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“I was just… getting some air,” I lied. “I needed a moment to breathe.”

She nodded like she understood. She always understood.

“I know this is a lot,” she said gently. “The MoonBall, the pressure, the unknown—it’s overwhelming. But tonight isn’t about duty, Alana. It’s about discovery. You don’t need to do anything. Just let the Moon guide you.”

I wanted to cry.

Instead, I smiled. “I’m trying.”

She crossed the room and began fussing over my dress, smoothing the fabric, adjusting the delicate straps. Her fingers brushed my skin, gentle and knowing.

“You’re glowing,” she said.

Yeah. That’s what happens when your soul finally gets what it’s always wanted.

And then realizes it can’t keep it.

She moved to fix my hair, fingers weaving the soft waves back into place.

I watched her in the mirror. My mother. The woman who’d always carried the grace of a Luna—even though she wasn’t one. The woman who loved my father, who never told me the stories she buried in her own eyes.

If she knew where I’d been… what I’d done…

But she didn’t.

And I wouldn’t tell her. Because that moment was mine.

And it was enough.

Bittersweet settled into my chest like the first cool wind of autumn. I had what I wanted. I had Jacob. Just once.

It would have to be enough.

Because in a few hours, I’d be offered to another.

When she left, I sat alone again in front of the mirror.

The burgundy silk clung to me like the night still had its hands on my skin. My makeup was fresh. My hair was flawless.

But I didn’t feel beautiful.

I felt like a sacrificial bride.

I touched my lips. They still tingled.

My thighs still trembled.

What if this is the last time I ever see him like that?

What if the Moon reveals Benjamin?

What if everyone was right?

I tried to picture him.

Benjamin.

What would he be like? Cold? Charming? Tall? Would he touch me gently or like I was a prize to be claimed?

Would I feel anything?

Would the bond just snap, like everyone said?

And if it did… would Jacob disappear from my heart?

I didn’t want to know.

But the Moon would answer soon enough.

The sky had turned silver by the time I stepped outside.

The MoonBall grounds were glowing.

Twinkling lights were strung between tall trees. The altar stood at the center of the clearing, a smooth stone platform surrounded by half the pack. Wolves dressed in elegant silks and dark suits, glasses in hand, laughter floating like smoke through the crisp night air.

My heart beat so hard I swore the earth could hear it.

This was it.

The moment I’d been groomed for my entire life. The night that was supposed to bless me.

But I didn’t feel blessed.

I felt like I was walking into an execution.

And under my skin, I felt it—my heat—licking through my veins like wildfire, coiling low in my belly, pulsing with every step.

The music was soft. Haunting. A single flute played the Moon’s Melody. Everything smelled like sage, pine, and sacred fire.

And I—

I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

His hands. His voice. His mouth.

My body still remembered every inch of Jacob. Every touch. Every breath.

He had me. All of me.

And now, in front of everyone, he was about to offer me to another man.

I didn’t know if it was love, or desire, or my heat—maybe all of it at once—but the ache in my chest wasn’t just longing.

It felt like grief.

It felt like torture.

Louise walked beside me, her arm looped gently through mine. She wore a silver gown. Her hair glimmered under the moonlight.

“You look beautiful,” she whispered.

I didn’t respond.

Because then I saw them.

At the front of the altar. Standing together.

My father. And him.

Jacob.

He was dressed in full black ceremonial leathers—Alpha sigil at his collarbone, arms crossed, face unreadable. Controlled. Distant.

But I saw it.

The storm just behind his eyes.

He was pretending. For them. For the pack. For the council.

But I knew.

The second his eyes met mine, I knew.

It hit me like a punch to the ribs.

Because for one second, the world went quiet. The crowd, the music, the moonlight—gone.

Just him.

Just me.

And in his eyes, I saw grief.

I saw love.

I saw the goodbye he couldn’t say.

Chapter 8

POV: Alana

I stepped forward, walking toward the altar. Each step felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Like the silk of my dress was made of stone.

The crowd whispered.

“She’s so beautiful.”

“She’s Volkmer-blooded.”

“Alpha Benjamin will be lucky.”

I didn’t care.

I only cared about him.

Jacob’s gaze never left mine. But he said nothing.

And that silence felt like it carved me open.

He stepped forward with my father, both standing behind the stone altar like twin pillars of power.

Charles spoke first, voice echoing through the sacred air.

“Tonight, the Moon will bless our bond with truth. Tonight, my daughter will meet her mate.”

Jacob added, his voice calm, “And in offering her to the Moon, we offer strength, alliance, and honor.”

He was offering me.

He was standing beside my father as he handed me to someone else.

But his eyes never looked at the crowd. Never looked at Benjamin—wherever he was.

He only looked at me.

I stepped up onto the platform. My heart thundered.

This was it.

The moment.

The prophecy. The presentation. The fate I was supposed to accept.

But as I stood between the two men who’d raised and protected me my entire life, I realized something.

I wasn’t afraid of the Moon.

I was afraid of losing him.

I felt it crawling under my skin the moment I stepped closer to the altar.

The heat.

Not just the warmth from the fire pits, not the pressure of the crowd’s eyes. No, this was something deeper. Older. Rising.

My wolf.

She was too close to the surface, pacing, growling, ready.

Too ready.

I was supposed to feel this at midnight. That’s when the Moon revealed the bond—when fate claimed you and left no room for question.

But this… this was early.

“Are you alright?” Louise asked beside me, her voice soft but laced with concern.

I swallowed hard. “It’s coming on too fast.”

She looked at me, truly looked—and her face tightened.

“You need to breathe, Alana. Don’t let it overwhelm you.”

I tried. Goddess, I tried.

But the closer I got to the altar, the more the burn spread through my bloodstream.

My body remembered Jacob.

And it wasn’t letting go.

I saw him then—Jacob—standing beside my father, black ceremonial leather molded to his tall frame, Alpha sigil glinting in the firelight.

He looked like a statue carved from command and restraint.

But his eyes…

His eyes found mine.

And for a moment, no one else existed. It was just us.

What we did. What we were. What we couldn’t be.

He should have spoken first.

As Alpha, he was the one meant to present me. To name me before the pack. To offer me to fate.

But Jacob said nothing.

His jaw clenched. His throat worked once—like he was trying to force the words past some invisible barricade.

He couldn’t.

Because his wolf already knew.

So Charles stepped forward instead.

“Tonight,” he said, voice full and proud, “we offer to the Moon my daughter, Alana Melnick, of Volkmer blood. One of the last unmated Alpha-blooded females of our lineage.”

Applause rippled through the crowd. Some clapped. Others howled.

But my eyes never left Jacob.

He was silent.

Still.

Like he was dying quietly inside his own skin.

And then—

Alpha Benjamin arrived.

The crowd went still.

He stepped in from the far end of the clearing, flanked by two wolves from his pack. Gold epaulets shimmered at his shoulders. Broad-shouldered. Blond curls. Brown eyes. Not ugly—but not him.

Not Jacob.

Any other female wolf might’ve been flattered to be offered to someone like Benjamin.

But not me.

Because I wanted Jacob.

Where Jacob moved with silent power, Benjamin strutted like the world owed him something.

He was younger. Edgier. But there was a smugness to him that made my stomach tighten.

A shadow of an Alpha.

And not the good kind.

“Alpha Benjamin,” my father said, extending a hand. “Welcome.”

Benjamin grinned like this was some fucking party. “Pleasure. Hell of a night to find a mate, huh?”

The crowd chuckled.

I didn’t.

He turned to me—uninvited, too close—and took my hand before I could blink.

Then kissed it.

His lips were wet.

My stomach flipped.

I didn’t pull away—but only because my body had locked. I held my breath.

“You’re even more stunning in person,” he said.

I tried to smile.

But my face didn’t work.

The only thing I wanted to do was throw up.

My mom saw it. Her brows pinched gently.

“You need a drink, honey?” she asked, voice soft but alert.

I wanted to say:

No. I want to run.

But I didn’t.

Because then I felt him.

Jacob.

Across the crowd. Behind the altar.

Watching.

Our eyes met over Benjamin’s shoulder—and it gutted me.

He was unreadable. Still. Distant.

But his eyes…

They never left mine.

And in them was everything we’d done.

Everything we couldn’t say.

Everything we’d never get to have again.

It was like being stabbed silently—by the only person who ever made me feel whole.

Then Benjamin’s voice snapped me back:

“We should think about marking each other before midnight. You know… seal the bond. Let the Moon know we’re ready.”

My wolf snapped.

My lips parted. My breath caught.

She didn’t growl—she screamed.

Not him.

Not this.

Every cell in my body recoiled like I’d been touched with fire.

I took a shaky step back. But Benjamin was still holding my hand.

And then—

It happened.

My vision blurred.

My lungs seized.

My knees buckled.

Because I felt it.

Not revulsion.

Not discomfort.

Something else.

The mate bond.

Snapping.

Inside me.

Real. Immediate. Ancient.

My breath stopped.

My pulse exploded.

My heart knew—

My mate was here.

So close.

So undeniable.

So not Benjamin.

“Oh, Goddess…” I whispered.

Chapter 9

POV: Alana

A low murmur rolled through the crowd like wind before a storm.

“What’s happening?” someone asked behind me, voice tight with confusion.

“It’s the bond,” my mother whispered. “Her mate bond just snapped.”

“What?” my father barked. “It’s not even close to midnight!”

Louise stepped forward, calm as ever. “She’s Volkmer-blooded. Alpha blood that strong… the heat can come early. The bond too.”

Silence fell like a blade.

Every gaze turned to me.

Waiting.

Watching.

Every breath held as if my skin would erupt in moonlight and reveal a name—Benjamin’s.

He was still holding my hand. Too tight.

Still expecting it.

Still expecting me.

But nothing happened.

He wasn’t glowing.

He wasn’t reacting.

He wasn’t shifting.

He wasn’t mine.

Benjamin blinked. Frowned. His head tilted like he was watching a magic trick glitch. Like he’d been promised fireworks and got smoke.

And that’s when I heard it.

A growl.

Low.

Deep.

Ancient.

Not from Benjamin.

From behind him.

I turned.

And I saw him.

Jacob.

His eyes burned wild-blue, lit with fury, shock, and something so primal it made my knees weaken.

His wolf had risen.

And then—

Mine did too.

All of it came at once—love, lust, grief, want, need.

Desire. Destiny. Him.

I gasped as my wolf surged through my blood, howling inside me, cracking through my bones.

The crowd gasped.

Because I had found him.

My mate.

And he wasn’t just my mate.

He was the love of my life.

Jacob was my mate.

A wind ripped through the clearing.

Candles sputtered.

The music stopped.

And Jacob stepped forward.

Slow. Heavy. Unstoppable.

His jaw clenched. His body trembled. Not with hesitation.

With containment.

His Alpha power hit the air like thunder breaking through the sky.

My wolf cried out.

His answered.

The Moon didn’t wait until midnight.

It had chosen us now.

And no one could stop it.

Not my father.

Not Benjamin.

Not the council.

Not even the gods.

Our eyes locked—and I felt the ground tilt.

Then—

We shifted.

Bones cracked. Skin shimmered. Fur surged down our arms, our backs. My claws sank into earth.

My vision blurred into instinct.

Suddenly, I stood on four paws.

My wolf, released.

And in front of me—towering, massive, powerful—stood his.

Jacob’s black wolf. Huge. Radiating command and reverence and raw, brutal love.

Mine.

All mine.

He bowed.

I didn’t think. I moved.

I lowered myself and bared my neck—the ancient sign of submission. My heart raced. My body vibrated.

And when I heard him growl—deep and guttural—I knew he’d accepted me.

I stepped forward.

Our foreheads touched.

Then our noses.

Breath to breath.

Heat to heat.

It was instinct.

It was truth.

It was everything.

Our wolves met in a vow older than time—nose to nose, soul to soul.

A silent promise.

A sacred bond.

A love so wild it couldn’t be denied by council, ceremony, or fate itself.

This was why.

This was why no one else had ever felt right.

Why no dream ever felt as good as his arms.

Because it had always been him.

Always.

And then—

A scream tore through the clearing.

My father.

“No—what the hell just happened?”

I flinched.

But Jacob didn’t move.

He was still pressed to me. Still in the vow.

Still in us.

The world detonated around us.

The council yelling.

The crowd roaring.

Benjamin stumbling back like he’d been struck.

But I didn’t hear any of it.

Because I was looking into my mate’s eyes.

And they were looking into me.

The crowd was screaming.

Howling. Clapping. Crying.

Because they knew.

They finally had a Luna.

Us.

Me.

Jacob.

Mates.

And yet the world felt like it was breaking apart.

Voices shouted over one another. The council roared like they’d been set on fire. Benjamin was pacing and snarling. My father looked like he’d been hit with lightning.

But then—

Louise.

Calm. Steady. The moonlight in human form.

She moved toward us slowly. Even in the chaos, she radiated grace.

“They need space,” she said, firm but gentle. “Let them shift back. Let them breathe.”

Jacob’s massive black wolf met her eyes.

And nodded.

I followed him, silent and trembling.

We reached a private chamber at the edge of the ceremonial grounds—a small stone room usually reserved for preparation rituals. Jacob nosed the door open, and once inside, we shifted back.

The pain of the shift was nothing compared to the confusion pounding in my chest.

I stood naked, panting, raw. Jacob grabbed two robes from a hook and tossed one to me. I caught it and wrapped it tight around my body, still shaking.

He tied his around his hips. His chest was bare, broad, still marked with the faint red lines where I’d clawed him last night.

I stepped closer. Reaching.

“Jacob—”

But when I saw his eyes, I stopped.

They were full of love.

And pain.

And war.

Before I could say anything else—

The door burst open.

“What the fuck is going on?!”

Charles.

His voice was thunder. His face—red, furious, wrecked.

Benjamin followed, mouth twisted in disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

My heart lurched.

“Dad—”

“You’re mated to him?” Charles yelled. “My best friend? A man twice your age? The Alpha who’s known you since you were born?”

“It wasn’t a choice,” I said, desperate. “The Moon chose us!”

“Then reject him!” he barked. “We can still fix this—”

“No!” I shouted. “I will never reject him!”

“You don’t understand what this means!”

“I do!” I cried. “It means I finally found where I belong!”

Charles’s chest heaved. “What are you going to do, Alana? Mate him? Let him mark you? You want to bond with him in front of this entire pack?”

“Don’t speak to her like that,” Jacob snapped, voice low and deadly. Protective, my mate against my father.

My father turned to him. “You should’ve known better.”

“I knew,” Jacob said. “And I still felt her in every part of me. So don’t pretend this was some mistake.”

Benjamin cut in, “This is bullshit. She was promised to me.”

Jacob turned.

And for the first time that night—he let the Alpha speak.

“The moment the Moon chose her,” Jacob growled, “you were never in the picture.”

Benjamin flinched.

“Don’t ever touch her again.”

Louise stepped between us like a wall of calm in a war zone.

“We need to stop,” Louise said, her voice slicing through the chaos. “Before more damage is done. No one makes decisions in this state.”

She turned to me, her hand soft but sure on my arm.

“Come with me.”

I hesitated.

My heart was already aching from the thought of stepping away from him.

“You can’t take her now,” my father said, voice sharp and echoing through the chamber. “She’s—”

“I can,” Louise interrupted. “And I will.”

She stepped between me and Charles like a shield. Unmoving. Unapologetic.

“Because she is not a gift. Not a contract. Not an offering to some alliance. She is our daughter—and now Jacob’s mate. Whether you accept it or not.” Her voice cracked just slightly, but her eyes were steel. “You did all of this to protect her from suffering. And in the end, you caused the very pain you swore to prevent.”

Then she looked at me.

Soft. Fierce. Kind.

“Now she’ll rest. And we’ll figure this out later.”

I nodded, my throat tight. My heart pounding like it knew something was coming.

I turned to Jacob.

He was still standing where I left him—silent, bare-chested, bruised with restraint.

His hand found mine.

Just one last moment.

Our fingers squeezed together.

And when I met his gaze—

There it was.

Love.

Pure. Deep. Raw.

Mate bond.

“I love you,” I whispered, barely audible.

He didn’t say it back.

But I felt it in the way his jaw clenched.

In the way his eyes refused to look away.

In the way he didn’t let go until Louise gently pulled me from his grip.

And I went.

Chapter 10

POV: Jacob

Alana asked for one last moment.

One last time.

And I gave it to her.

I let her in.

Let her unmake me.

Because the truth is—I had no choice.

Alana walked through my walls without even trying.

I kissed her like it was the last time.

Because it would be.

My hands roamed over her skin, memorizing every inch. I traced her hips, her spine, the shape of her collarbone, like carving her into my memory. Because I wouldn’t have her again.

It was our first.

And it was going to be our last.

I made her come—not from heat. Not from instinct. But because she wanted me. And I wanted her.

I tasted her—sweet, addictive, divine.

And when I was inside her—gods, buried so deep she moaned my name and shattered around me—I felt it.

Not just lust.

Not just heat.

Bond.

But I buried it.

I had to.

Because when we lay tangled together, her skin pressed to mine, her breath on my chest—

I remembered the ceremony.

I remembered Benjamin.

I remembered what I had to do.

And I hated myself for every second I let myself have her.

Because I was going to offer her to another man.

And that was going to destroy me.

Before she left, she whispered: “Don’t ever forget I love you.”

And I wanted to say it back.

But it wouldn’t be fair to her.

By the time I stood beside Charles at the altar, I felt hollow.

Benjamin was already there—pacing, smirking, preening like a fucking prince.

I wanted to rip his throat out.

But I didn’t.

Because I was Alpha.

Because Alana deserved peace.

Even though I’d had her only hours ago, even though my skin still carried the scent of her, even though I was already ruined—

She wasn’t mine.

Not publicly. Not officially. Not yet.

So I stood in ceremonial black, fists clenched behind my back, trying to pretend I hadn’t lost the only thing that ever mattered.

And then—

She walked in.

And I forgot how to breathe.

The red dress.

Her hair.

Her eyes.

She moved like prophecy.

Her scent hit me like wildfire—lavender, heat, need.

My Alana.

And no one knew.

No one but me.

I prayed—to the Moon, to the gods, to fate itself—that it wouldn’t hurt too much.

But I knew better.

I was a man before her.

And I’d be a ghost after.

Then Benjamin stepped forward.

Grinning like a politician. Shaking hands. Pretending like this was a done deal.

He took her hand.

Kissed it.

And I snapped.

Not enough to move.

But enough to burn.

When he said they should mark each other before midnight, my wolf nearly tore through my skin.

Touch her again, and I’ll fucking kill you.

But I said nothing.

I held the line.

Because I was still trying to be good.

Still trying to be Alpha.

Still watching the woman I loved stand beside a man who didn’t deserve to breathe her air.

And then—

It happened.

Like lightning in my chest.

Snap.

My wolf howled.

My lungs seized.

My knees almost buckled.

Because it wasn’t fantasy anymore.

Wasn’t instinct.

Wasn’t desperation.

It was real.

The mate bond.

Mine.

Her.

Alana.

It was always her.

The Moon—so perfect, so cruel—had chosen her for me.

And I realized what every part of me already knew:

That’s why I felt her.

That’s why I burned for her.

Why I dreamed of her.

Why I couldn’t let her go.

It had never been just want.

It was love.

It was fate.

It was ours.

She turned to me.

Her wolf surged.

Her hands trembled.

Her eyes locked onto mine with something ancient, sacred, mine.

And I shifted.

Before I could think.

Before I could breathe.

I let my wolf rise.

And when hers came to meet me—when our foreheads touched, when she gave me her neck—

The world fell away.

We were wolves in a sea of chaos.

But in that moment, everything made sense.

Because I had her.

Because she had me.

Because the Moon didn’t care about tradition or alliances.

It cared about truth.

And this?

This was truth.

She gave me her submission. Her neck.

And I growled low in my chest, trying to hold back. Because everything in me wanted to take her right there.

Behind us, the crowd roared.

Charles was yelling.

Benjamin losing his mind.

The council rising into chaos.

But then Louise—always the calm in the storm—stepped between them.

“Give them space,” she said.

And she led us to a private chamber.

We shifted back.

She handed us robes.

I gave mine to Alana, trying not to look at her bare skin. Trying not to mark her then and there.

She was radiant.

Green eyes full of love.

And something else—fear.

I wanted to hold her.

Protect her.

Lock her to me forever.

Then Charles stormed in.

Furious.

Accusing.

Demanding I reject her.

Alana refused.

She said she’d never let me go.

Gods, my girl. My mate. My fighter.

Then Louise stepped in again.

She took Alana’s hand and pulled her away.

“Let’s all breathe before we destroy something we can’t rebuild.”

Alana turned back to me.

Her hand slipped into mine.

Our fingers squeezed, one last time.

She didn’t kiss me.

She didn’t have to.

She just said, “I love you.”

And walked away.

I stood there. Naked under the robe. Bleeding from the inside out.

And when the door closed—

I was empty.

She was gone.

And she’d taken my heart with her.

The door shut behind her.

And the silence she left behind felt like the end of the world.

She was gone.

My mate.

My everything.

For a few seconds, I couldn’t move. I just stood in the middle of the room, robe half-tied, heart bleeding into my chest.

Then—

Charles cleared his throat.

Benjamin scoffed.

“Let’s talk about what the hell just happened,” Charles said, voice tight.

I swear to the Goddess, this man was walking a razor line.

“I think it’s pretty clear,” I said. “The Moon chose.”

Benjamin stepped forward. “She was promised to me.”

“While she was unmated, her father had the right to offer her. That’s why she was given to you. Because he wanted to. But now?” I met his eyes, voice sharp as a blade. “Now she’s mine. And I decide.”

“The alliance—” one of the councilmen started.

“—is over,” I cut in. “Alana is mine. The Moon has spoken. I won’t give her away.”

Benjamin’s face twisted. “She’s not some prize you get to hoard—”

“She’s not a prize,” I snarled. “She’s a person. A powerful woman. My mate. And if you try to touch her again, I will end you.”

The council murmured.

“She’s Volkmer-blooded,” Elias said. “The prophecy lines up. If the Moon chose her, then the bond stands. We have our Luna now.”

“That’s what matters,” Bram added. “The pack is secured. The rest is dust.”

Benjamin didn’t take it well. “This is a fucking betrayal.”

“No,” I said, stepping forward, voice low and full of thunder. “What you wanted was convenience. What I have is truth. You lost, Benjamin. Walk away.”

His eyes locked with mine.

Burning.

“I want her,” he growled. “And I’ll take her.”

Rage detonated in my chest.

“If you touch her,” I said, voice lethal, “I will tear your fucking throat out and burn your name from the territory.”

He stared a moment longer.

Then stormed out.

Good.

Let him rage.

Let him try.

I’d rip through his entire bloodline before I let him near her again.

Charles didn’t leave.

He stood there, fists clenched, jaw twitching with whatever storm he was holding back.

“She’s my daughter.”

I nodded once. “I know.”

“You’re my best friend.”

“I know that too.”

“This isn’t right, Jacob. You’re twice her age. You watched her grow up. She’s just—”

“She’s not just anything,” I said. “She’s brilliant. Brave. Stronger than most wolves I’ve ever trained. And I didn’t choose this—the Moon did.”

“You think that makes it okay?”

“I love her,” I said, voice cracking. “You have a mate . You know what this feels like. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t want it. But I do. I love her.”

Charles looked away.

That hurt more than I thought it would.

“I always swore I’d protect her,” he muttered. “And now… she’s yours.”

“She’s herself,” I said. “But yes. She’s mine too.”

“Goddamn it, Jacob…”

Louise’s voice cut through the air like a clean blade.

“That’s enough.”

She stepped between us, calm but unshakable. “You’re both about to say something you can’t take back. None of this changes what the Moon already decided.”

Charles looked like he wanted to argue again—

But he didn’t.

He left.

I couldn’t stay.

I turned and walked fast—half running—through the halls toward her room.

I needed to see her.

Touch her.

Make sure this wasn’t a fever dream.

Every step hurt.

The corridor never ended. My breath was shallow, chest tight.

I knocked once.

“Alana?”

No answer.

I opened the door—

And froze.

The room was wrecked.

The chair was knocked over. Her robe was on the floor. Blood streaked the wardrobe like someone had clawed for it, tried to hold on.

The scent of fear still lingered.

No heat. No warmth.

Gone.

My chest collapsed in on itself.

“Alana—”

I staggered back, gripping the doorframe, rage boiling to the surface. I turned just as Louise came into view, a tray of tea and biscuits in her hands.

She saw the room.

Stopped dead.

Her eyes scanned the broken furniture, the blood, the empty bed.

And the tray slipped.

Shattered on the stone floor.

“No…” she whispered. “No, no, no—”

Her hands shook.

Her eyes found mine.

And in that moment, we both knew.

She was gone.

Someone had taken her.

And I didn’t even need to guess who.

Benjamin.

The bastard didn’t walk away.

He waited.

And now?

Now he’d taken my mate.