I reach out, taking her hands in mine. Her skin is warm, but her fingers are cold. “Then they’ll be wrong. But they’ll have to reckonwith an Alpha who’s chosen his Luna. And a Luna who’s chosen her Alpha. Together, we’re stronger than any dissent.”
She looks into my eyes, and I see the fear there, but also a flicker of something else—resolve. That fierce spark I saw in the ring.
“You’re asking a lot,” she says.
“I know,” I reply honestly. “But you’re the only one who can do this, Maya. You’re the bridge between worlds. You’re the future of this pack.”
She pulls her hands from mine, but her gaze remains fixed on my face. “What does it entail? The marking?”
“The reciprocal mark,” I explain, keeping my voice soft, calm. “Like mine on you, but in a different place. It seals the tie. It binds us completely.”
She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them, a deep breath filling her lungs. “Okay,” she says, her voice firm. “I’ll do it.”
A wave of relief washes over me so strong it almost buckles my knees. My wolf howls in triumph.
“Thank you,” I say, the words raw with emotion.
She gives me a small, tired smile. “Don’t thank me yet. Cassie’s going to try something. I know it.”
I nod. “Let her. We’ll be ready.”
The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. Students start streaming into the hallway.
As we walk out, I hear it. Cassie’s voice, sharp and clear from across the hall. She’s with a few of her friends, a triumphant smirk on her face.
“She’s going to mark him at the next full moon,” Cassie says, loud enough for us to hear. Her eyes lock onto Maya’s, glinting with malice. “But it won’t change anything. She’s still half-human. She’s still weak.And by the next full moon, everyone will know it.” Her voice drops, laced with venom. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Maya stiffens beside me. I feel her hand clench at her side, her knuckles white. My wolf snarls, a low rumble beneath my skin.
But Maya doesn’t flinch. Instead, she meets Cassie’s gaze, her own eyes blazing with a quiet fury.
“We’ll see,” Maya calls back, her voice steady, unwavering. “Because by the next full moon, you’ll be the only one left standing alone.”
Cassie’s smirk falters, but only for a second. Then it hardens into something cold and determined.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Cassie mutters, but her eyes are fixed on Maya’s neck, on the faint mark that glows beneath her skin. “Not if I finish things first.”
The words hang in the air, a chilling promise. I feel Maya shiver beside me, but she doesn’t look away.
I slip my hand into hers, squeezing it reassuringly. Whatever Cassie is planning, whatever she means by “finish things,” she’s underestimating Maya. And that’s a mistake she won’t get to make twice.
We’re in this together. And by the next full moon, the entire pack will know it.
Chapter 21
Maya
Iwake abruptly, heart pounding. The cold knot in my stomach is back, tighter than ever. The date of the full moon is scrawled on my mental calendar like a death sentence. Now? Now it’s just a countdown to something even bigger, something I know I want.
I stare at my reflection in the dresser mirror. My eyes, usually so vibrant, look haunted. The dark circles beneath them are a testament to the sleepless nights filled with half-formed dreams and the restless energy of a wolf I still don’t fully understand.
It will silence them, Maya.Bolton’s words echo in my head, a low thrumming behind my ears. I agreed, not out of love, not purely. I agreed out of a desperate need to protect my family, to finally belong somewhere.
But the thought of publicly committing to something that feels so…final, so un-chosen in some fundamental way, makes me uneasy. I am half-human, after all. A part of me screams for freedom, for a choice I still feel I haven’t truly made.
I remember Mom’s sad, understanding eyes when I told her. My mother, the Luna who ran, now watches me walk willingly into the very life she fled. Her quiet support is a balm, but also a stark reminder of what she’s sacrificed, and what I might be sacrificing too.
I force myself to stand straight, my feet seeking the cold, familiar grounding of the wooden floor. My toes curl against the worn planks. "I made a choice," I whisper to myself, trying to infuse the words with power, not fear. "I choose this… for the pack." And for myself, I add silently, a new, tentative truth.
