The days after Selene’s heat were a haze of exhaustion and unspoken tension. The pack had noticed the shift—two Betas who no longer snapped at each other as easily, their scents tangled too tightly to ignore, and an Alpha who glowed with feral satisfaction. But wolves did not change so easily. Old rivalries didn’t vanish; they simmered, hidden beneath obedience.
It was night when the storm finally broke.
Selene had summoned Lucian privately, the air thick with incense and pine smoke as she lounged naked across her furs. His silver eyes glittered as he entered, sharp as ever, and she knew exactly what thoughts burned behind them. He wanted her alone. He wanted to carve a place in her bed that no other wolf could touch. He wanted to win.
He slid down beside her, his hand tracing her thigh
