The moon hung low and swollen over the Wolfe estate, casting a pale glow over the ceremonial lodge deep within the ancestral grounds.
Tonight, Lucian Wolfe was to be joined. Fully. Completely.
There would be no more delays.
The elders said the mating would strengthen his bond not just with his chosen Luna, but with his pack, solidify his right to rule, and prepare him for future leadership over the territories. But Lucian didn’t feel like a rising Alpha.
He felt trapped.
Inside the chamber, he stood bare from the waist up, robes tied loosely around his hips, silver cuffs still on his wrists from the earlier rite. A faint burn tingled on his skin—the mark of the earlier soul-binding ceremony with Seraphine now sealed permanently into his shoulder: a crescent moon with twin stars, symbo
