Bound to the Silvermoon Goddess

Chapter3

As I jog through the trees, the forest slowly comes back to life around me. A bird calls. Crickets start their nightly chorus. Somewhere deeper, a wolf howls, a long, rising sound that makes the hairs on my arms stand up.

I wonder, not for the first time, what it would feel like to answer that call with a voice that isn't entirely my own.

Fighting rogues is the easy part.

Facing Alpha Darius? That's another story.

Ten minutes later, I'm standing in front of his office door, doing my best to wipe the worst of the blood and dirt

off my face with my sleeves. It doesn't help much. There's a reddish smear on my cuff now and what looks like a

fingerprint on my cheek when I catch my reflection in the glass mirror opposite the door.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

"Come in, Hailey."

His voice carries easily through the thick wooden door. He probably smelled me before I even lifted my hand to knock.

I stuck in a breath, straightened my spine, and turned the knob.

"Alpha Darius," I say, bowing my head low as I step inside.

His office is warm and polished, all dark wood and leather. Shelves line the back wall, filled with books and folders. A map of our territory hangs to the right, coloured pins marking pack houses, training grounds, and patrol points. It smells like coffee, paper, and his cologne, a spicy, woodsy scent that makes the room feel solid.

Unshakeable.

He's behind his heavy oak desk, sleeves rolled up, forearms resting on a stack of papers. His eyes, storm, grey and sharp, lift immediately to me.

"You look like you went three rounds with a meat grinder," he says dryly.

"Four rogues at the border," I answer, staying in front of the chair until he gestures for me to sit. "Adrian and I took care of them."

"And you decided not to call for backup because...?" he prompts, one brow arched.

"Because they were close to the line and there wasn't time," I say, choosing my words carefully. "If they'd broken through, they could've reached the training grounds. There were pups there earlier."

His gaze holds mine for a long moment, weighing, measuring, much like the rogue did. Only this time it's not about whether I'm edible; it's about whether I'm reliable.

"Sit," he says finally, indicating to the chair opposite his.

I do, trying not to think about the dried blood on my pants and whether Luna Grace will have a heart attack if I stain the upholstery.

"Adrian says you took out three of them before he arrived," Alpha Darius says, leaning back in his chair. "Is that accurate?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"And you're not injured?"

"Just a few scratches," I reply. "Nothing worth calling the pack doctor over."

His lips twitch, like he's hiding a smile. "Of course not. You'd rather bleed out than admit you need help."

I don't respond to that. I'm not sure he's wrong.

He steeples his fingers and studies me. "You did well, Hailey. You kept them off our land. You protected the pack."

Warmth blooms in my chest at the praise, and I hate how much I want it. "Just doing my job," I say, staring at a spot on his desk so I don't accidentally beam at him like a kid.

"You're more than just a warrior doing her job," he says, voice softening slightly. "You're also a student. A member of this pack. Which means I expect you at school tomorrow. No skipping classes to take extra patrols, no training through maths, no matter what Adrian encourages, understood?"

I bite back a groan. "Yes, Alpha."

"I'm serious, Hailey." His tone shifts, soft but firm. "You train harder than most. You patrol more than any unmated wolf your age. But you are still part of our younger generation. You'll be there when your year graduates."

I bite down on my first response, which is something like: if I ever shift.

Instead, I nod. "Understood."

"Good." He pauses, eyes narrowing slightly, like he can see all the arguments forming in my head. "You have nothing to prove to me, Hailey."

He watches me for another long beat. I hate that under that gaze, I always feel like he can see the exact shape of the hole inside my chest.

"You're coming up on your eighteenth," he says, and there it is: the thing everyone circles around eventually.

"Yes, Alpha," I reply, trying not to sound like I'm admitting to a crime.

"The Moon Goddess does not work on our schedule," he says. "She works on Hers." His gaze lifts briefly, as if She might be perched on the ceiling fan. "But I have seen wolves shift later than expected and end up stronger for it.

This may still be your year."

Everyone keeps saying that like if they stack the words high enough, they'll become true.

I press my tongue to the back of my teeth and nod. "Yes, Alpha."

He seems to accept that, for now. He shuffles a page on his desk, then looks back up at me, expression

unreadable again.

"There is something else." Of course there is. My stomach does a slow, uneasy turn.

"Hmmm, it's quite an honour if I'm being honest." Alpha Darius leans back slightly in his chair, studying me. "Alpha

Theron of the Red Moon Pack, his daughter, Lila, is around your age. She's mated to the pack's future Beta, so she'll be the Beta female when the time comes, and he would like her to be trained appropriately."

His daughter. Lila. Beta female in training.

My brain scrambles to rearrange this information into something that makes sense.

"She has not been trained?" I ask, trying to keep my tone neutral.

"She has," he says, fingers tapping once against the desk. "But apparently not to a standard he is happy with. He would like you to train with her. I'll be taking you off the afternoon patrols and instead you will travel after school to Red Moon to train with her, at least two hours every afternoon." His gaze fixes on mine. "Would that suit you?"

My heart gives a strange little lurch. Me. Chosen. Asked for.

"Yes, Alpha," I say, sitting up a little straighter. "That would indeed be an honour."

"Perfect." His mouth curves in the faintest hint of a smile. "I'll let Alpha Theron know you'll be there tomorrow.

For now, go and meet with Beta Garrick in the garage; he has a surprise for you."

If the Moon Goddess is actually listening, I think as I head down the hall, now would be a great time to make this my year.

He studies me a moment longer, then nods towards the door. "Go get cleaned up. Luna Grace will have my head if you bleed on the carpets on your way out."

A startled laugh escapes me before I can stop it. "Wouldn't want that."

"Hailey?"

I pause with my hand on the doorknob and look back.

"Good work tonight," he says simply.

I don't trust my voice not to crack, so I just nod and slip out, heart thudding, ears ringing with those three stupid words.

Good work, tonight.