Page 47

I take a deep breath. “Okay… I’m trusting you with my pup.” It came out almost like a threat… I didn’t mean for it to. I can sense a smirk through the mindlink from Luna Selena. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the Luna, but… he’s my baby. My firstborn. I would burn the world down for any of my pups. I go back to sit with Jasmin and Paige. Damian scurries off to where the other teens are and shift.

The signal is given. The Alpha and Luna lead the charge, a dark tide of wolves flowing into the tree line. I, Jasmin, and Paige stand shoulder to shoulder, their eyes tracking the familiar forms of their mates and sons as they disappear into the shadowed woods.

While waiting for the pack to go through the pack run. I can tell Jasmin is making small conversations with Paige and me to try to take my mind off of worrying about my pup, but my eyes have shift between the playground where Darlene is and the tree line constantly. I’m half paying attention to the conversations.

“What pack are you from again?” Paige ask.

“We came from outside a pack. A rogue camp, technically. Before Darian and I were in Nightfall Pack, before we were framed.” I say casually without thinking.

Paige’s cup stops moving. It doesn’t lower. It just stops, halfway between her lap and her mouth, and her eyes go to the field where the pups are playing. I watch her watch them. The particular way her gaze finds Piper and Milo and stays there. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to. A moment later, Piper’s head turns, responding to something I can’t hear, and her small face creases. “But Mom...”

“Piper. Come here. That’s enough for tonight.” Milo drifts over without being called. Piper throws one last look at Darlene, who has stopped mid run and is standing very still in the way pups do when they don’t yet have the language for what just happened.

Jace and Joselyn keep playing. They haven’t noticed, or they’re pretending not to. I don’t say anything. Jasmin’s shoulder presses lightly against mine. She doesn’t look at me when she speaks. “Give it time,” she says. Then, after a moment: “Some wolves take longer than others. It doesn’t mean it won’t come.”

I look at Darlene. She’s already running again, chasing Joselyn in a wide loop around the fire. Her laugh carries. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

A chorus of howls rises from the tree line, light and playful, ringing through the clearing. All heads turn toward the sound. I stand with Jasmin and Paige, our eyes fixed on the edge of the woods, waiting.

Luna Selena is the first to emerge from the tree line, shifting back to her human form in a fluid, practiced motion. She isn’t even breathing hard as she strides toward Jasine and me, a spark of playful challenge in her eyes. She turns to face the forest, crossing her arms. “Now, let’s see who kept up.”

Alpha Rylan appears next, his larger frame moving with deliberate calm. Luna Selena gives him a look, half teasing, half satisfied, and he answers with a low chuckle and a shake of his head, as if he’s been through this before. He walks over to her and snakes his arm around her waist, pulling her closer and breathing her scent. Luna Selena’s eyes don’t move from the tree line.

Then comes Joshua, the newly appointed Gamma. He holds his shoulders a little straighter than usual tonight. Jasmin’s breath catches softly beside me; her pride is a warm, quiet thing between us.

Darian follows directly behind him. Luna Selena, Alpha Rylan, and Joshua each give him a nod of acknowledgment, he kept pace with ranked wolves. Darian just dips his chin in return, no boasting, no show. But I know my mate. I see it in the looseness of his shoulders, the ease in his stride: he held back. He could have passed Joshua. He chose not to. Tonight is Joshua’s night.

Then the rest pour out… Justin first among the general adults, then wave after wave of wolves returning on two feet, laughing and breathless. My eyes scan for one small form.

Then I see him. Small. Steady. Shifting back at the tree line like it costs him nothing, shaking out his hands the way Darian does. The older teens come out behind him in ones and twos, some with their hands on their knees, one boy, maybe fifteen, dropping straight to the grass. Damian walks through all of it and finds my eyes across the clearing.

“That’s my boy.” Darian’s voice, low and even, like he’s saying something private.I hear it move through the group around us. A quiet thing. Luna Selena’s chin lifts. Alpha Rylan says nothing, just watches. I drop to my knees when Damian reaches me and pull him in before he can protest.“Mom.” He goes stiff with embarrassment. “Everyone’s looking.”“Good,” I say into his hair. Darian’s hand comes down, ruffling our son’s hair. Darian pulls back from the hug first. He says something low near Damian’s ear. Damian’s eyes cut sideways to where Darlene and the others are chasing each other in wide loops around the fire. He looks back at Darian. Then he goes.

Michael and the enforcers are last, as they should be. They move with tired purpose, scanning the field until each young wolf is accounted for. Only then does Michael’s posture ease.

Michael straightened the last of his enforcement tools against the oak’s gnarled trunk and brushed his hands on his trousers. As the echoes of his duties faded, he scanned the meadow and spotted Piper and Milo crouched next to Paige instead of darting through the ferns with the other pups. His brow furrowed.

“What are you two doing over here?” he asked, voice low and curious.

Piper’s gaze flicked toward Paige, as if seeking approval; Michael pivoted, eyes narrowing at the group of younger wolves tumbling behind him. “Go play with the others,” he ordered, crisp.

Paige’s shoulders jerked, a tiny wince that only he could see. She tilted her head, steeling herself, and a tremor of thought sent a cool ripple between them, I and the others could not hear it. Michael’s jaw clenched, his brows drawing together in a storm of silent reproach. Paige’s bottom lip quivered, then pressed into a thin line. He shot her a look so heavy with disappointment that Piper and Milo broke into a full sprint toward their siblings without a backward glance. Still, Michael’s gaze stayed pinned to Paige’s eyes, and she flinched again, hurt pooling in her dark gaze.

I exchanged a glance with Jasmin, lips pressed in taut lines. Luna Selena cocked her head, confusion creasing her brow. Jasmin laid a gentle hand on Luna Selena’s arm and sent a warm assurance: I’ll explain later. Luna Selena nodded.

A moment later, six figures crouched at the edge of the glade, backs arching and shoulders quivering. Damian, his coat already shifting from soft pup fur to wiry wolf hair, stared sobered and still. Jace, ebony and sleek, lunged first, tackling Damian’s flank. Damian scrambled up, paws slipping on the moss, and darted around a fern. Darlene, her russet pelt shimmering, sprang from cover, knocking him off balance. He shrugged her off and bolted, ears pinned, heart pounding. Joselyn, Piper, Milo and Jace fanned out in hot pursuit, their claws raking delicate earth. Soon all six wolves tumbled together in a writhing, joyous pile of tumbling limbs and wagging tails. Damian yipped, rolled onto his back, then sprang up with a triumphant bark, chasing them at last. His muzzle split in a grin of pure delight, and he joined the fray, wrestling, tumbling, howling, a six year old pup finally unburdened.

Nearby, Justin stepped back into Joshua’s side. Joshua’s hand settled on his eldest son’s shoulder in a quiet, proud gesture; his eyes lit with unspoken praise. Jasmin watched them, warmth flooding her chest as she traced the familiar curve of Joshua’s back. I stood beside Darian, shoulders brushing in companionable silence. Michael and Paige lingered a few paces off, still tethered by that unspoken tension, while Luna Selena and Alpha Rylan completed the circle, a new family woven into the heart of Silver Moon.

Lanterns swung from low branches, casting golden pools among the dancing shadows. Laughter and howls mingled beneath the full moon’s silver light. My gaze returned to the six pup wolves, who rolled and pounced through the grass. For years, they had fled from lurking dangers; tonight, their paws thundered across the meadow simply because they were chasing one another, and nothing more.

I rub my stomach as I lean into Darian’s chest. This reinforces my resolve for a happy and better future for my pups. I just hope Darian can forgive me for keeping this secret from him.

15

Selena's POV

The next day, I went to Rylan’s office after feeling his frustration through our bond. The door was ajar, and I could hear his father’s voice, tight with frustration. “How can you choose a Gamma before a Beta? It’s unheard of.”