The Red Moon Pack’s mansion was quiet at dawn, the silence broken only by the faint rustle of wind through the trees. You shifted restlessly beneath the sheets, every nerve in your body burning. Your wolf prowled just under your skin, demanding what you had sworn to deny.

Heat.

You clenched your jaw, clutching at the blankets as though they could smother the fire raging in you. For a year, you had kept him at arm’s length. Zion Callahan — your husband, your Alpha, the man your parents had chosen. You shared a bed, a title, a bond on paper, but little else. Your words were always clipped, formal. Your touches, nonexistent.

And yet now, your body screamed for him.

You turned your face away from where he lay on the other side of the bed, his broad shoulders tense even in sleep. He was beautiful, infuriatingly so, his presence filling every corner of the room. The scent of cedar and smoke clung to him, teasing you until your wolf whimpered in the back of your mind.

No. He hasn’t earned this. He hasn’t earned me.

Your nails dug crescents into your palms as you tried to wrestle back control. But your heat betrayed you — your scent had already shifted, and there was no hiding it from an Alpha.

Zion stirred. A low growl, half-conscious, slipped from his chest. His eyes opened, storm-gray, locking onto you with unnerving sharpness. For a long moment, he said nothing, only studied you, as though he could peel away every wall you’d built with a single look.

Then his voice came, rough with sleep but steady. “You’re in heat.”

The bluntness of it stole your breath. Your throat tightened, shame and defiance warring inside you. You turned away, forcing your expression into steel. “It’s none of your concern.”

But he rose from the bed, his presence towering behind you. His wolf pressed against yours, dominant and unyielding, making your own whimper in need. His hand didn’t touch you — but it hovered close, the heat of him enough to set every nerve alight.

“Everything about you is my concern,” he said quietly, a warning beneath the words.

Your body trembled, caught between pride and instinct.