CHAPTER 6 — LESSONS IN POWER
1677 Words
Ember’s POV
Magnus doesn’t speak until we’re far from the dining hall.
He walks with purpose, steps echoing in the corridor, grip firm around my hand like he’s afraid I’ll slip away if he loosens even a little.
Only when he closes the office door behind us does he finally look at me.
And just like that—
the air shifts.
Everything about him changes.
His shoulders relax.
His jaw unclenches.
His eyes soften in a way I don’t think many people ever get to see.
“Ember,” he says quietly, “did he hurt you?”
The question catches me off-guard.
“No,” I whisper.
Magnus steps closer—not intimidating, not forceful, just… present.
“But he grabbed you.”
I swallow. “Yes.”
“And you didn’t like it.”
“No.”
His jaw tightens. “Then it won’t happen again.”
“Magnus—”
“No.” His voice deepens. “He lost the right to touch you, speak to you as a mate, or claim any piece of you the moment he betrayed you.”
Something in my chest cracks—
Not from hurt.
From being defended.
From being valued.
From being seen.
Magnus takes another step until he’s close enough that I feel the heat of him.
“I want you to understand something,” he says, voice low, controlled, but carrying a storm beneath it. “You may feel overwhelmed. Confused. Pulled between pain and instinct.”
I nod once, breath unsteady.
“But hear me clearly: you are safe with me.”
My throat tightens.
“And if you decide,” he continues softly, “that you want your place at my side… I will make sure every wolf in this pack acknowledges you as their Luna.”
Luna.
The word hits like lightning.
My breath catches, and Magnus notices—his eyes flick to my lips with hunger he tries (and fails) to restrain.
I step back, needing space, air—something to ground me.
But his hand reaches out, catching my wrist gently.
“Ember,” he murmurs, voice softer than it has any right to be coming from a man like him, “you can walk away from me anytime. I won’t force your future.”
His thumb traces the inside of my wrist—where my pulse races for him.
“I just want the chance,” he says quietly, “to give you a better one.”
My heart softens dangerously.
I force myself to look at the floor before I fall into him entirely.
“Magnus,” I whisper, “I don’t know what I want yet.”
He exhales, steady. “Then let me earn the right to show you.”
I lift my gaze.
And the way he’s looking at me—
Like I’m something sacred.
Like he’s starving for me but refuses to touch me without permission—
It unravels something deep inside of me.
Kieran’s POV
I’m losing my mind.
She walked out of the dining hall with him.
Holding his hand.
Her scent still clings to my father’s clothes.
Her voice still echoes with his name.
And that ring—
That damn ring—
On his finger.
I pace my room in circles, every step ripping deeper frustration through me.
This can’t be real.
She was mine.
No—she is mine.
Fate doesn’t make mistakes this big.
The Moon Goddess doesn’t tie a bond just for it to be handed to—
I slam my fist against the wall, cracking the plaster.
How could she give herself to him?
How could she let him put his mark on her first?
How could—
A knock interrupts my rage.
“Enter,” I snap.
The door opens.
And the last person I want to see steps inside.
Zara.
Her sharp eyes cut into me instantly.
“Oh, good,” she says flatly, “you’re pacing like you’re about to commit a felony. That means I’m right on time.”
“What do you want?”
“Perspective,” she answers. “Because you sure as hell don’t have any on your own.”
I glare. “Leave.”
“No.” She crosses her arms. “Sit.”
“I’m not—”
“Sit, Kieran.”
The authority in her tone hits my wolf. I drop into the chair, teeth clenched.
Zara sighs.
“You messed up.”
“You don’t know anything.”
She raises a brow. “You cheated on your mate with her best friend.”
My jaw locks.
“You broke her trust. You humiliated her. And now she’s being treated like a queen because—surprise—your father actually values what he touches.”
“Shut up.”
“No,” she repeats. “You’re not angry because she’s with him. You’re angry because she’s making you feel something you’ve never felt before.”
I look away.
Zara steps closer, lowering her voice.
“You’re jealous.”
My muscles tense.
“Not jealous because she’s with Magnus.” She pauses. “Jealous because she’s finally with someone who didn’t destroy her.”
The truth slices clean and merciless.
I grip the armrests so hard the wood cracks beneath my fingers.
“She was supposed to forgive me…” I whisper.
Zara’s stare sharpens. “Why?”
My throat feels raw. “Because she loved me.”
“And you took that for granted.”
Silence.
Painful. Heavy. Inevitable.
Zara exhales slowly.
“Look, Kieran… you’re not a bad person. But you failed her. And now you’re losing her—and not to just anyone.”
I shut my eyes.
“You’re losing her to a man who will cherish every piece of her you threw away.”
And for the first time…
I feel something close to fear.
Magnus’s POV
Ember sits across from me, trembling—not from fear, but from emotions she doesn’t know how to sort.
I let her process.
She needs room to breathe.
But I need something too.
I walk to the bar, pour a glass of water, and return, placing it gently in front of her.
Her fingers brush mine as she reaches for it.
She freezes.
So do I.
The contact is electric.
Her breath catches, and I feel my wolf surge, demanding more.
More of her.
More touch.
More closeness.
But I pull back.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
“I won’t take advantage of confusion,” I say quietly. “Last night happened because you were hurting. Because you were drunk.”
Her eyes flick up. “Do you regret it?”
“Not for a second.”
Her breath stutters.
“But,” I add gently, “I will not let your healing depend on me. And I will not let your choices be rooted in revenge.”
Her lashes flutter. “It’s not revenge.”
I step closer—slow, controlled.
“Then what is it?”
She swallows, lips parting.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
I cup her jaw gently, letting her feel the firmness of my touch without the pressure of it.
Her eyes close.
Her heartbeat stutters.
And my voice drops to a whisper.
“You don’t have to know today.”
I tilt her chin up, making her look at me.
“You only have to stay.”
Her eyes widen slightly.
“I can’t make promises,” she breathes.
“I’m not asking for promises.”
I brush a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m asking for days. For time.”
Her throat bobs.
“For a chance to show you what devotion feels like.”
Her lips part—slow, fragile.
And I almost kiss her.
Almost.
But I stop.
Because she deserves her first sober kiss with me to be her choice.
Not her confusion.
Not her pain.
Her choice.
Ember’s POV
Magnus doesn’t kiss me.
And somehow…
That makes me want him more.
No man has ever protected my heart more fiercely than he protects my body.
I stand, needing distance before I make a choice I can’t unmake.
He steps back immediately.
Giving me room.
Respecting boundaries nobody else has ever cared to consider.
“I need air,” I whisper.
Magnus nods. “Take any space you need. Just… don’t leave the territory. It isn’t safe outside the wards.”
I nod and slip out the door.
I walk down the hall, mind spinning—
When someone steps out from behind a pillar.
Not Kieran.
Fox.
The pack’s strategist.
His expression unreadable.
His eyes sharp.
His tone calm, measured, but carrying weight.
“I’ve been waiting to speak with you,” he says.
I blink. “Why?”
His gaze flicks toward Magnus’s office door.
Then back to me.
“Because you need to understand something before this goes any further.”
A chill runs down my spine.
“What thing?”
Fox steps closer—respectful distance, but direct eye contact.
“If you choose Magnus…” he says quietly, “you don’t just become his wife.”
My heart beats harder.
“You become the Luna of the North Fang Pack.”
His voice drops lower.
“And that means you inherit every one of his enemies.”
My breath catches.
Fox continues, expression serious.
“Magnus is powerful. But the world outside this pack is cruel, Ember. Especially toward young Lunas. Especially toward one with a bloodline like yours.”
My eyes widen. “Bloodline?”
Fox’s lips twitch slightly.
“So you don’t know.”
“Know what?”
He steps back, giving me space.
“You’re not ordinary,” he says. “And Magnus isn’t the only one who knows it.”
My blood runs cold.
“What do you mean?”
Fox turns toward the window, watching the snow fall.
“Your past is about to catch up with you.”
He faces me again, eyes steady.
“And so are the people who want you.”
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- Writer
