Lucas pov
The night moon cast shadows across the manicured gardens of the Full Moon pack house. Elena sat beside me on the stone bench, her emerald eyes sparkling with amusement as I recounted a particularly embarrassing hunting story from my trainee days. My heart, usually a steady drumbeat in my chest, was now a frantic percussionist, pounding against my ribs.
With her, everything else seemed to disappear into thin air. It was… something else. Something deeper, something primal.
My wolf, usually a stoic and disciplined presence in my mind, was a snarling, restless beast. He paced restlessly, murmuring Elena's name over and over, a low, guttural sound that resonated in my very bones. It was a pull, a magnetic force that felt disturbingly similar to the legendary mate bond. But that w
