The moonlight spilled through the tall windows of the packhouse’s great hall, illuminating the gleam in his eyes. You stood near the fireplace, the warmth on your skin doing little to calm the storm inside you.

Alpha Kai Thorn stood just a few feet away, a towering presence in a room that felt too quiet, too heavy with unspoken words.

He had called you here after the gathering. After the whole pack had seen the way his eyes never strayed from you. After they’d seen the way his hand brushed yours like he already knew you belonged to him.

You didn’t speak first.

“I want you beside me,” Kai said, voice low, rough like gravel and thunder. “Not just as my mate. I want you as my Luna.”

Your breath caught. Not because you didn’t want it. But because you didn’t expect it so soon.

He stepped closer, boots silent on the wooden floor, his voice dropping even further. “You’re strong, smart, and whether you see it yet or not—you were made to lead. Not from the shadows. From my side.”

Your gaze flicked to his chest, where the crest of his lineage rested over his heart. His bloodline was ancient, powerful. Becoming Luna of the Nightshade Pack meant more than a title—it meant power, duty, a lifetime tethered to an Alpha who could command armies and silence rooms with a look.

“I’m not like the others you’ve seen,” you said quietly, searching his face. “I won’t smile and bow and stay silent.”

Kai’s jaw tightened. Not with anger. With restraint. “Good. I don’t want obedience. I want a partner who’ll challenge me. Who’ll tell me when I’m wrong. Who’ll burn the world down for our pack if she has to.”

You felt the bond pull between you—tight, electric. Mates. Alpha and Luna.

He closed the final step between you, brushing your cheek with his knuckles. “Say yes, and the pack will kneel when you speak. Say yes, and this entire land will know you are mine—not in name, but in power.”