I stood in the center of the Great Hall, my pale blue dress pristine, the fabric soft against my skin. Around me, the elite of the Nightfang Pack were cheering, their faces blurred by a golden, honey-like light.
“Lyra?”
I turned. Ryker was standing there. Not the battle-scarred warrior who had just bled for me, but the Ryker from the night of the ceremony—regal, untouched, and looking at me with a tenderness that felt like a warm hearth. He reached out, his fingers brushing my cheek.
“It’s time, my Luna,” he whispered. “The Alpha has announced our union. We never have to be apart again.”
For a heartbeat, the exhaustion in my soul screamed for me to sink into him. To let the sword fall. To believe that the rejection had been a nightmare and this—this peace—was my reality. My hand trembl
