Chapter 3

The border between Silver Moon and Obsidian territory was marked by a line of ancient oaks, their branches twisted together like clasped hands. I stood in the shadow of the largest one, watching Elder Hugh approach from the Obsidian side.

He moved slowly, his gray wolf form massive even in his advanced age. When he shifted back to human, pulling on the robe he'd carried in his jaws, his eyes were sharp as ever.

"Luna Maeve." He inclined his head. "This is irregular."

"So is an Alpha abandoning his pack." I handed him the folder Duke and I had compiled. "Everything's there. Three years of theft. Offshore accounts. The boutique receipts."

Hugh flipped through the pages, his expression unreadable. When he looked up, his mouth was a thin line. "Financial crimes are serious. But they're not enough to strip bloodright."

My wolf snarled in my head. I kept my voice level. "He faked his death. Left his pack leaderless. That's abandonment."

"Prove it." Hugh closed the folder. "Bring me proof he's alive and chose to leave, and I'll support your petition. But I need more than bank statements and photographs that could be explained away."

I met his gaze. "You'll have it. At the Council Gathering."

Hugh studied me for a long moment. "You've changed, Luna. There's steel in you now."

"There always was." The words came out harder than I intended. "I just stopped hiding it."

***

Back at the Pack House, Duke was waiting in the office. He looked up when I entered, reading my expression instantly.

"Hugh wants proof."

"Then we give it to him." Duke stood, moving around the desk. "But first, we need to make Harrison nervous. Nervous people make mistakes."

I knew what he was suggesting. My fingers unconsciously touched my neck where Harrison's mark used to be. "The bond."

"Stop fighting it. Let him feel you moving on." Duke's voice dropped lower. "Let him feel you with me."

My wolf perked up at that, interested in a way that should have scared me. "And if he comes back?"

"That's exactly what we want." Duke's smile was predatory. "Let him walk into the trap himself."

I closed my eyes and reached for the mate bond. For months, I'd kept my side locked down tight, refusing to let Harrison feel anything from me. Now I loosened my grip.

The wall between us thinned. I pushed through a pulse of emotion—not grief. Not anger. Just... acceptance. Peace. The feeling of moving forward.

And underneath it, carefully crafted: interest in someone new.

Through the bond, I felt Harrison's shock. Then panic. His presence slammed against the connection, demanding, possessive.

I smiled and cut him off completely.

"Done."

Duke's eyes had gone dark. "He felt it?"

"Oh, he felt it." My wolf was practically dancing. "Give it two days. He'll be on his way back."

***

The joint pack run was Duke's idea, but I knew what it really was. A test. A statement.

Both packs gathered at the clearing as the sun set, wolves shifting and stretching, their excitement electric in the air. Silver Moon wolves mingled with Obsidian, the alliance already taking root.

I shifted last, my white wolf emerging in a ripple of power that made several younger wolves whimper and lower their heads. Good.

Duke's massive black wolf stood at the front of the formation, his Alpha aura radiating dominance. For a moment, I thought he'd lead as tradition dictated.

Then he stepped aside.

Every wolf in the clearing went still. Duke lowered his head to me—not submission, but invitation. Acknowledgment.

My wolf surged forward before I could overthink it. I took the lead position, feeling the weight of every eye on my white fur. This was it. The moment I stopped being Harrison's Luna and became something else entirely.

I threw my head back and howled.

The packs answered as one, their voices rising to the darkening sky. Then I ran.

The forest blurred around me, my paws eating up ground as the combined packs followed. Not behind Duke. Behind me. I could feel their energy, their loyalty shifting like a living thing.

For the first time in my life, I wasn't supporting someone else's leadership. I was leading. And it felt like coming home.

Duke ran at my right flank, his larger form matching my pace perfectly. Protecting. Supporting. But not overshadowing.

When we finally stopped at the ridge overlooking both territories, I looked back at the sea of wolves behind me. Silver Moon and Obsidian, united. Strong.

Mine.

My wolf's eyes glowed silver in the moonlight, and I felt something crack open inside me. Power I'd been suppressing for years, afraid it would threaten Harrison's fragile ego. Authority I'd hidden behind a supportive smile.

No more.

Duke shifted beside me, his human form magnificent in the moonlight. When he spoke, his voice carried to every wolf present.

"Your Alpha."

Not Luna. Not the Alpha's mate.

Alpha.

The packs howled their agreement, and I felt the title settle over me like a crown I'd been born to wear.