The celebration was at full blast.
With the challenge behind us, the pack had fully accepted me as their Luna, and their former doubts and skepticism had been washed away in a surge of adrenaline. Warriors toasted to my name, bonfires roared and the energy around was thick with unspoken acceptance. I should have felt relieved. I should have felt triumphant. Instead, I felt trapped.
Lucian was never far.
Though he allowed the others to indulge, he stayed close, watching me with those keen, knowing eyes, like he could see every thought fighting in my head. He lingered -- a specter pacing next to me, the tether binding us thrumming with a consciousness that was impossible to ignore.
I hated how he affected me.
How I hated that my body had finally stopped fighting the pull, that a part of
