Chapter 15: Luna Rising
903 Words
The week after the battle was chaos.
The Russo pack, leaderless and defeated, scattered. Some swore loyalty to the Valentinos. Others fled the city entirely. The territory was unified under one Alpha for the first time in decades.
The Valentino pack mourned their dead—thirteen wolves lost in the final battle. But they'd survived. Won.
Giuliana spent three days barely able to move, her body recovering from the impossible shift. Rosa said it was normal—first shifts were traumatic for born wolves, let alone humans with barely any wolf blood.
"Your body is adapting," Rosa explained. "Learning to shift. It will get easier. With practice and time."
"How much time?"
"That depends on you."
On the fourth day, Giuliana managed to shift again. Deliberately this time, with Marco's guidance. It still hurt, still felt like being torn apart and remade, but she did it.
Her wolf form was small but fast. Russet fur. Amber eyes. Built for speed and agility rather than raw power.
"She's beautiful," Marco said, running his hand through her fur. "Just like you."
That night, they ran together through the estate grounds. Wolf and wolf. Mate and mate. She felt the pack bonds fully for the first time—connections to every Valentino wolf, but strongest to Marco.
When they shifted back, Marco held her close.
"I almost lost you in that battle," he whispered. "When Russo had you by the throat, when I thought—"
"But you didn't. I'm here. We're both here."
"I know. But it made me realize... I don't want to wait anymore." He pulled back, meeting her eyes. "Marry me. Be my mate officially. My Luna in every way."
Giuliana's breath caught. "We're already bonded. The mark—"
"Is pack law. But I want human law too. I want you to be my wife. Want everyone to know you chose me, not just because fate said so, but because you wanted to."
"I did choose you," Giuliana said. "I choose you every day."
"Then choose me permanently. Marry me, Giuliana Hart. Former barista, secret Valentino, woman who shifted the impossible and survived a war. Be my Luna. My wife. My everything."
There was only one answer.
"Yes."
The wedding was held on the full moon, one month after the final battle.
The entire pack attended. Every Valentino wolf. Allied packs from across the region. Even some former Russo wolves who'd sworn loyalty.
Giuliana wore white—a dress Isabella had helped her choose, elegant and simple. The mark on her neck was visible, claiming her as Marco's mate.
But today was about more than pack law. It was about choice.
Marco stood at the altar in a black suit, looking devastatingly handsome. His eyes never left her as she walked down the aisle.
The Don officiated, speaking about pack bonds and human vows, about strength and loyalty and choosing to love even when fate had already decided.
"Do you, Marco Valentino, take this woman as your wife, your mate, your Luna?"
"I do. Now and always."
"And do you, Giuliana Hart, take this man as your husband, your mate, your Alpha?"
Giuliana smiled. "I do. Now and always."
"Then by the power vested in me as Alpha of this pack, and by the laws of New York State, I pronounce you married. Mate and mate. Alpha and Luna. Husband and wife."
Marco kissed her, deep and claiming, as the pack howled approval.
At the reception, Giuliana found herself surrounded by well-wishers. Isabella hugged her tight.
"You did it," Isabella said. "Went from human outsider to Luna. I'm... I'm proud of you."
"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"Don't get used to it." But Isabella was smiling.
Rosa presented them with a gift—a family tree, updated to include Giuliana's connection to Elena Hart and her descendants.
"You're home now," Rosa said. "Where you always belonged."
Luca, still imprisoned in the cells, sent no congratulations. But Giuliana didn't care. He was the past. This—Marco, the pack, her new life—was the future.
As the party continued, Marco pulled her onto the dance floor.
"Happy?" he asked.
"Deliriously." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Who would have thought? Two months ago I was serving coffee. Now I'm married to a werewolf mobster and I can turn into a wolf myself."
"Life's funny that way."
"Life's insane that way." She looked up at him. "But I wouldn't change any of it. Not the kidnapping, not the trials, not the battles. Because it led me here. To you. To this family. To becoming who I was meant to be."
"The fierce Luna who nearly gave me a heart attack multiple times?"
"That's the one."
He kissed her, soft and sweet. "I love you, Giuliana Valentino."
It was the first time he'd said it out loud. The first time he'd used her new name.
"I love you too, Marco Valentino. My Alpha. My mate. My husband."
The pack howled as the full moon rose, blessing the new Luna.
And in that moment, surrounded by family, dancing with the man she loved, Giuliana knew she'd found something she'd been searching for her entire life.
Home.
Not a place. But people. Pack. Family.
She was Giuliana Valentino. Luna of the Valentino pack. Part human, part wolf, completely herself.
And the best part?
Her story was just beginning.
- Writer
