Lucien’s POV
I held her long after the kiss ended, the taste of her still burning on my lips.
The moonlight clung to her hair like silver thread, her eyes reflecting both fear and courage in equal measure. She didn’t know it, but she was already more Alpha than most born into the role. And now she carried the Hollow inside her—the blood of the ancients, the voice of a land older than time.
But with power came danger.
And I’d never feared death more than I did now—because now I had something I couldn’t afford to lose.
Her.
Elena.
My Luna.
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I paced the war room like a caged beast. Maps sprawled across the oak table, corners pinned down by stones carved with sigils of protection. Dante leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, his usual calm unraveling at the edges.
“They’ve uni
