Second Chance Luna: His Rejected Mate is the Golden Wolf

6

Paris´POV

I had never left Moon’s Bright before, so I wanted to take in everything that passed by the truck window: the wide roads, the dense forests, the tall mountains I had only ever seen from a distance—always from within the suffocating safety of a pack that, over the years, had become more and more toxic, stifling, and destructive. Until Alice’s betrayal overflowed a cup that had already been full for years.

I still couldn’t believe it.

That she had let herself be convinced by my stepsister… all for the Gamma title.

“You’re very quiet,” Conlan said, sitting beside me. “Is something troubling you?”

I turned away from the window and met his warm amber-brown eyes watching me with gentle curiosity.

“It’s just… I’ve never left the pack territory before. So everything feels new to me,” I said, a bit shy, unsure of what he would think when he learned that the Alpha’s daughter had lived confined her entire life.

But instead of the reaction I expected, Conlan smiled kindly.

“I know exactly what you mean. This was my first time visiting Moon’s Bright as well, and the first time I crossed the place where we met—and you saw how fascinating it turned out to be.”

My cheeks warmed at the implication. I brushed my fingers over the fringe that had fallen over my face, and a sharp pain reminded me I was still injured. I glanced at the bandage Conlan had wrapped around my skin.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have anything more suitable for your wound,” he said, adjusting the bandage gently with his hand. “But I promise you’ll receive the best medical care once we reach Hope Moon.”

I lifted my eyes to his again. Conlan was very handsome—perhaps too handsome—and the way he looked at me made my entire body shiver. Those untamed-wolf eyes held both gentleness and a fierce determination—the same determination he had shown when defending me from Doris and Dave, when stopping the guards who tried to drag me away. Thinking back on it, I still couldn’t believe it had all happened… and that now I was sitting inside a truck, beside the Alpha of another pack, heading toward his territory.

All of it still felt unreal—and he kept staring at me with those dangerously captivating eyes…

I needed to say something or I’d look like an i***t.

“I heard you’re a close friend of my father,” I blurted out. “But I’d never heard him mention you.”

I regretted the last part immediately, hoping I hadn’t offended him. If I had, he hid it well.

“You’re right, Paris—and thank you for pointing that out. I haven’t properly introduced myself to you, and if your father kept things about me quiet, it’s because I asked him to.”

That intrigued me.

“My full name is Conlan Ironclaw, and for a little over two years now, I’ve been the Alpha of Hope Moon—my pack. My father brought it to its greatest era before he passed, and all my focus has been on honoring his legacy. Which, of course, begins with making the woman I want to share that legacy with… happy.”

His eyes gleamed even brighter, and I knew he wasn’t lying. He meant it. He truly expected me to be that woman—his mate, his Luna, his future.

Even so, I needed to be sure of his intentions, especially when I was convinced I didn’t deserve them—not with my weakness.

“Do you really mean that, Conlan? Or is that something you tell every girl you convince to leave her pack?”

I hoped it sounded playful, not rude. And judging by his smile, he understood my intention.

“Every girl?” he repeated, amused. “Paris, you are the first and the only one I’ve ever taken from her pack.”

I smiled too, but lowered my gaze anyway, because deep down I couldn’t stop thinking that I might disappoint him.

“What’s wrong, Paris? Did I say something inappropriate?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that. It’s just…” The words weighed heavily on my tongue, even though my greatest flaw had already been exposed to him. “Conlan, you’re aware that I don’t have my wolf… right?”

I needed him to understand that—to know it fully. That he hadn’t claimed the best wolf of Moon’s Bright, but the weakest.

He placed his hand over mine.

“Of course I know, Paris. But that doesn’t change anything for me. And I am certain I did claim the best woman from Moon’s Bright.”

“I know,” I murmured, gathering my courage to continue. “I know she’s there—that I do have a wolf. But for some reason… I can’t speak to her. I can’t communicate with her. And of course, I can’t shift.”

I waited for him to tell the driver to turn back—back to Moon’s Bright, where he would order me out and send me back to my father. Back to the life I didn’t want.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his hand tightened around mine. He brought my fingers to his lips and kissed them softly.

“Paris, even if you told me you had no wolf at all and would never have one, it would change nothing. If anything, it only strengthens my decision.”

I looked at him, still full of doubt. It was impossible—a man that handsome, that powerful, that kind… wanting me?

“I regret not arriving sooner, Paris,” he went on. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you earlier. If I had visited Moon’s Bright one of the many times your father invited me… I’m certain I would have recognized you. I would have found you. And I would have spared you everything you suffered there.”

Then he pulled me into his arms, and I let him. I needed it more than I wanted to admit. I needed to feel the genuine warmth of someone holding me—not out of duty, not out of pity, but out of care.

The comfort of his embrace reminded me of how he had protected me from my own family—the ones who should have been closest to me, but instead only gave me humiliation, rejection, betrayal… even attempted murder.

Now, with him accepting me despite my flaw, I finally felt something I had long forgotten:

Safe.

Wanted.

Loved.

For the first time in many years, I knew I was no longer alone.