When we stepped out of the room, the hallway was silent.
69%
Lucio was gone. No footsteps, no lingering scent, nothing but the faint echo of our breaths and the dim glow of wall sconces casting long shadows across
the corridor.
We walked in silence, side by side, toward where Francesco had parked his car. The night wrapped around us like a thick velvet curtain, soft and calm after the storm of emotions we’d faced. I thought maybe this was it. That our night would end in that silence, with unspoken feelings tucked between us like hidden letters never sent.
But before we reached the car, Francesco’s hand reached for mine–stopping me gently.
“Do you want to go for a run?” he asked, his voice quiet, careful.
My heart skipped.
His eyes searched mine, as though he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to ask, as if he already knew what my answer might be but hoped, just hoped, for something else.
A run…? He didn’t just mean running. He meant shifting. Wolves. Us. Together.
Mika? I asked internally, a flicker of desperation in my voice. Can you shift? Can we do this?
“I’m sorry, El,” her soft voice came, filled with remorse. “My strength still isn’t enough. I cant feel it trying to return… but I can’t shift yet.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, swallowing the tightness in my throat. I didn’t blame her. How could I?
I looked back up at Francesco and whispered, “Mika… she still can’t.”
His gaze softened immediately, and his hand lifted to cup my cheek. Warmth poured from him like sunlight through winter frost.
“I understand,” he said. “But you can still run with me.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
A slow smile curved his lips, and in that moment, I saw the boyish side of him–charming, teasing, and entirely too confident.
“I want you to meet Lucas,” he said.
And then he began unbuttoning his shirt.
My face went red in an instant. “Francesco!”
He chuckled, clearly entertained by my flustered reaction. “Relax. I’m not trying to seduce you. Not yet, anyway.”
I covered my eyes with a hand, half–laughing, half–dying inside. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
He winked. “Guilty.”
Moments later, his shirt dropped to the ground, followed by his trousers and shoes. Then, with practiced ease, he shifted.
It was breathtaking every time.
Where a man had stood, now a massive gray wolf with silver streaks stood proud. His fur shimmered under the moonlight, thick and regal. But it wasn’t the size or the power that held my breath hostage.
It was his eyes.
1/4
19:00
Chapter 29
Those same steel–gray eyes that belonged to the man… were staring at me with something else now. Something deeper. Gertler.
Love.
69%
(+28
“Lucas…” I whispered, as if the name alone would connect something within me.
The great wolf nodded his enormous head and stepped toward me. His gaze never wavered, his presence overwhelming and safe all at once.
I reached out, fingers trembling slightly, and touched the fur along his snout. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, a soft, rumbling whine escaping his chest.
He trusted me.
He wanted me.
A second later, he lowered his body to the ground in front of me. Then, without warning, in one swift and graceful motion, Lucas nudged me up onto his back.
I yelped, startled. “Wait-!”
But he took off.
Fast. Strong. Free.
Wind rushed past my face, pulling my long hair behind me in wild ribbons. I gripped his fur, instinctively holding on, but I wasn’t afraid. Not even a little.
Instead… I laughed.
Laughed freely for the first time in what felt like years. The cold night air kissed my skin, the earth blurred beneath us, and for that moment–I forgot the pain. The fear. The rejection.
I was flying.
Hoooowwwllll…!
Lucas’s deep, resonant howl filled the night.
I gasped.
It wasn’t just a wolf’s call–it was a Lycan’s. Commanding. Powerful. A force that rolled across the mountains and echoed through the trees.
But it wasn’t about territory.
It was about me.
It was a declaration. A claim.
‘He loves us,‘ Mika whispered inside me, her voice filled with awe. ‘Truly. Deeply. He loves us, El.’
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I nodded, unable to speak.
One day, you’ll run with him too, Mika. I promise, I said to her in the quiet of my heart.
And almost like he heard her, Lucas howled again–louder, stronger, more full of joy than anything I’d ever heard.
Across the land, wolves responded.
A symphony of howls rose from every comer of his territory. Echoes of celebration. A chorus of acceptance. Their Alpha had claimed his Luna.
2/4
Chapter 29
Me.
Lucas ran the entire perimeter of the territory with renewed energy, driven by the presence of his mate on his back. I could feel the pride in every step. the joy that poured from him in waves.
He didn’t want it to end.
And neither did 1.
He was thanking the Moon Goddess in his own way–for bringing us together.
Hours passed. We ran under the stars, past quiet rivers and towering trees, over ridges and open fields. Until the horizon began to glow with the soft blush of dawn.
Eventually, Lucas slowed and returned to where the car was parked.
By then, I had drifted off–curled into his fur, warmth cocooned around me, lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of his paws.
Francesco shifted back and gently lifted me into his arms.
I stirred faintly, feeling the cool morning air and the strong arms around me. My eyes fluttered open as he slid into the car and sat down, cradling me in his lap.
I didn’t move away. I didn’t want to.
I looked up at him. “Thank you,” I whispered.
He smiled down at me, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “Always.”
For the first time in years, I felt like a girl again. Just a girl, happy and free. The night air still clung to my skin, my hair wild, my heart light. I hadn’t felt that way since before… everything.
He leaned down, and our lips met–slow, tender, and filled with everything words hadn’t yet said.
The sun began to rise.
A new beginning.
But life never lets peace linger for too long.
Later that day, sometime past noon, we returned to my apartment. A black SUV was parked nearby, and Beta Alfonso stood waiting in front of the door, arms crossed, his expression unreadable but tense.
As soon as Francesco parked, Alfonso stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“I tried not to disturb you, Alpha,” he said gravely, “but the matter couldn’t wait.”
He turned his gaze to me.
My stomach dropped.
“There’s news from your old pack, Ellaine.”
I stiffened.
Even the mention of Blackpine brought back a storm of memories. Cold eyes. Harsh voices. Loneliness. Pain.
I took a breath and nodded. “Go on.”
3/4
34 c!; ད་ང་་
Chapter
There was at ambush isst night, Alfonso said “Alpha Gregor was killed. Polished with wolfsbane
Tome stopped.
The world fell silent around me.
Alpha Gregor dead?
No.
That meant…
My heart clenched. “Ruben”
Alfonso nodded slowly. “Yes, He’s the Alpha daughter husband so he’s the new Alpha now.”
He had what he wanted all along.
Power. The title. Control.
109%
And as former member of the Blackpine Pack, and once promised to their heir–I would be expected to attend the funeral… and his Alpha ascension ceremony.
I swallowed the scream clawing at my throat.
The past… was calling me back.
4/4
