Chapter 4

My wolf was no longer a whimpering, broken thing. Under the steady, patient warmth of Jackson's roof, she was stretching her legs. Healing. For days, he had given me nothing but space and unwavering devotion, treating me like a fragile treasure rather than a discarded tribute. It was time I gave him something in return.

I walked down the grand hallway toward his study. The heavy oak door was cracked open. He was at his desk, bathed in the golden light of a small lamp, pouring over territory maps. He looked up instantly, his golden eyes locking onto me, sensing my shift in mood.

"Isabella?" he rumbled, already half out of his chair, his massive frame tense with concern.

I didn't let him keep his distance this time. I crossed the room, my heart pounding a frantic but steady rhythm. I stopped right in front of him. He was so imposing, a true apex predator, yet he looked at me like I was his entire world. I reached up, threading my trembling fingers into his thick, midnight-black hair, and pulled his lips down to mine.

It was a soft, tender kiss, but the spark that ignited between us felt like a lightning strike. Jackson gasped against my mouth. His massive hands hovered over my waist, terrified to break me, until I pressed myself flush against his solid chest. Then, his arms wrapped around me tight, anchoring me to him.

"I'm ready," I whispered against his lips, breathing in his intoxicating scent of pine and rain. "I want to fully accept you, Jackson. I want to be yours."

A raw, guttural sound of pure ecstasy tore from his throat. He buried his face in my neck, inhaling my scent like a starving man. "Marcus!" he roared, his powerful voice shaking the very walls of the study.

The Beta appeared in the doorway seconds later, breathless and wide-eyed.

"Prepare the sacred clearing," Jackson commanded, his golden eyes blazing with a joy so fierce it stole my breath. "Under the full moon tomorrow night, I am marking my mate."

The following night, the silver light of the full moon bathed the ancient Lycan clearing in an ethereal glow. Elite warriors lined the perimeter, their heads bowed in absolute reverence. I stood in the center of the sacred circle, wearing a flowing white gown that caught the midnight breeze.

Jackson approached me. He had stripped off his shirt, his heavily muscled chest glowing beneath the moonlight. The sheer, primal power radiating from him was intoxicating.

"Are you sure?" he murmured, his thumb gently tracing the faded, scarred skin on my neck where Reid's rejection had burned me.

"Mark me," I breathed, tilting my head back to expose my throat. "Erase him."

Jackson’s eyes flashed a brilliant, feral gold. His fangs elongated. With a deep, rumbling growl of pure possession, he dipped his head and sank his teeth into my neck.

I gasped, but there was no pain. Only a rush of liquid fire that poured directly into my soul. The bond snapped perfectly into place, sealing us together for eternity. The lingering coldness of my past, the agonizing trauma of my rejection, completely evaporated. In its place, a dormant, ancient strength exploded within my veins.

My inner wolf threw back her head and howled. Jackson’s Lycan aura surged, and to my shock, my own aura rose to meet it. It wasn't the suppressed, quiet energy of a Silverfang Luna. It was heavy, commanding, and absolute. The surrounding warriors dropped to their knees, submitting to the combined weight of the Lycan Prince and his new Princess. I opened my eyes, feeling entirely invincible.

Several weeks of pure bliss melted by. I was finally living the life I had always been denied. Jackson worshipped the ground I walked on, and my inner wolf thrived in the heart of the Obsidian Moon Pack.

But during a crisp morning pack run through the northern pines, something shifted.

We were racing through the snow-dusted woods when a sudden, violent wave of dizziness hit me. The towering trees blurred together. My legs buckled beneath me.

"Isabella!" Jackson's terrified roar echoed through the forest.

I didn't hit the ground. Massive arms caught me, pulling me against a frantically heaving chest as the world went black.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in our royal suite. Jackson was pacing like a caged beast, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might shatter, while the elderly royal physician packed away his silver instruments.

"Well?" Jackson snapped, his voice trembling with barely contained panic. "What's wrong with her?"

The physician turned, a wide, reverent smile wrinkling his face. "Nothing is wrong, my Prince. The Princess fainted because her body is adapting to a massive surge of energy. She is pregnant. With a very powerful Lycan pup."

The room went dead silent.

Jackson froze mid-step. He slowly turned to me, his golden eyes wide with a raw vulnerability I had never seen before. Tears welled in the corners of his eyes. He crossed the room in two strides and dropped heavily to his knees beside the bed.

His massive, trembling hands reached out, gently resting on my flat stomach. He pressed his forehead against my abdomen, his broad shoulders shaking.

"A pup," he choked out, the fearsome monster of the North weeping tears of pure joy. "Our pup."

He turned his face, pressing a fierce, lingering kiss to my skin. When he looked up at me, his eyes burned with a lethal, terrifying devotion.

"I swear to you, Isabella," he vowed, his Lycan aura wrapping around me and our unborn child like an impenetrable fortress. "I will destroy anything and anyone in this world that dares to threaten our family."

I rested my hand on his thick hair, a fierce, maternal fire igniting in my chest. Let the Silverfang pack rot. Let Reid and Marigold tremble. I was a Lycan Princess now, carrying royal blood, and with my fated mate by my side, I was finally ready to face the ghosts of my past.