MAETHYS POV
“I’m still trying to understand it,” I said.
That was true.
It wasn’t unpleasant. Not exactly. The pull of the bond was strange, and warm, and unsettling in a way that made me too aware of him whenever he stood close.
But if I wasn’t going to be allowed to stay, I didn’t want to make the pain worse by leaning into something that could be taken away.
“I also don’t know what it means to be…” I stopped.
I knew the word.
It still felt wrong in my mouth.
“Luna?” he offered.
I nodded.
Valik was quiet for a few steps. Not avoiding the answer. Weighing it.
“A Luna leads beside the Alpha,” he said. “But every Luna does it differently. Some are healers. Some are diplomats. Some organize the families, the young, the elders. Some are sharper in conflict than council. The role ch
