Chapter 20%
I shifted closer, my instinct guiding me more than I thought, and I slowly rested my head against Seth’s shoulder.
The moment our bodies touched, he went rigid, as if his inner wolf snapped to attention.
I felt the sudden hitch in his breath, heard the stutter in his pulse, and caught the subtle shift in his scent–sharp pine layered with something raw and unspoken.
His energy changed, a ripple under the surface, restrained but unmistakably alert.
Like prey sensing danger… or a male catching the scent of something he shouldn’t want but can’t ignore.
“Thank you… For coming here,” I murmured, my voice barely louder than the wind rustling through the open window of the bar.
Seth’s hand hovered for a moment before landing–carefully, tentatively–on my shoulder. His fingers didn’t press, only rested. His wolf, always gentle, always hesitant, stirred beneath the surface.
I looked up and caught his face flushed to the base of his neck. His golden eyes refused to meet mine.
“Y–You’re welcome,” he stammered, his voice cracking like a young beta’s at his first Shift.§
I smiled then, for the first time in what felt like ages. Not just with my mouth but somewhere deeper–somewhere the wolf inside me still lay curled, afraid to emerge.
The ache in my chest eased, just a little. Maybe not healed… but soothed.
+
The next day, I accepted a job interview invitation from a small but growing studio in Pinegrove Hollow–neutral territory between packs.
“Ms. Moonfall, we really admire the soul in your work,” said Kristine, the studio’s alpha in all but name. Her golden–rimmed glasses glinted as she slid the contract across the table toward me.
“It’s rare to find such raw emotional honesty… especially in commissioned art.“>
I picked up the contract, my hands trembling ever so slightly.
It had been years since I worked. Since my mating bond with Draven. Since the miscarriage. Since the rejection.
Draven–Alpha Draven Blackthorn–said it wasn’t necessary. His pack had wealth, influence, and I was his mate. At least, I had been. A Luna in name, yet never seen. Never introduced at pack gatherings. Never brought it to the Council.
He said, the other pack Lunas were too cruel, too envious. That he didn’t want me bullied.
But I knew better.
He thought I was weak. A she wolf from a dying bloodline. Ashamed of how my wolf never shifted during our Binding Ceremony.M
After I lost the pup, after I bled out on cold tile while he stood frozen in the doorway–I’d become invisible. He buried me in a glass mansion with soft silk and quiet loathing.”
! became more ghost than a she–wolf. My howl silenced.
I had no idea how long it had been since I felt this sense of recognition.
Until now.”
“Thank you for your appreciation,” I said, steadying my voice. “I’m truly looking forward to this collaboration.”
After signing the contract, Kristine offered a studio tour. The walls along the corridor were lined with original pieces–some glowing faintly with embedded spells, others raw with lupine imagery. I stopped at a charcoal sketch of a mother wolf licking her injured cub.
The linework was brutal and tender all at once.}
“The break area is just around the corner,” Kristine said. “Coffee’s strong. You’ll need it. Meetings in half an hour.”
I nodded, murmured my thanks, and followed the scent of roasted beans and ink to the break room. The whirring of the grinder buzzed through the air.
I stood in line, calming my nerves, clutching the note Seth had slipped me that morning.
‘Don’t be nervous. You’re more powerful than you think.”}
Then I heard them.
Soft French. Cruel.
“Is that her? The one who became infamous for her mate rejection?“W
“I heard she was just a Luna in name. Couldn’t bear an heir.”
“She looks like a nun Old–fashioned and pathetic. What kind of art can come from someone so… broken?”
My back straightened. My spine tensed. Not from anger. Instinct. My wolf stirred, her ears flicking inside my chest.
I had dressed in my most formal black blazer, a clean white blouse, and my hair tied neatly into a ponytail.
The look of a survivor, not a fashion doll &
Their words echoed like claws on stone $
And then I turned %
“Ladies,” I said in perfect French, my voice like moonlight cutting through mist. “You should at least make sure your prey doesn’t
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10:49 AM
And then I turned.
“Ladies,” I said in perfect French, my voice like moonlight cutting through mist. “You should at least make sure your prey doesn’t
understand your tongue before baring your teeth.”
They froze.
One woman’s coffee cup nearly slipped from her fingers. The other turned pale beneath her makeup.
“I was a Luna. I was a rejected mate. And yes, I can’t bear an heir. But that doesn’t make me weak. It doesn’t make my art worthless.”
I stepped forward, voice rising not in volume–but power.
“Are you questioning Alpha Kristine’s judgment? Or is this just petty envy cloaked in sarcasm?“W
Silence swept the break room like the wind before a storm.
Eyes turned.
Then-
“Ms. Moonfall?” Claire’s voice called from the doorway. She arched a brow at the frozen tableau. “The meeting’s about to start.”
She looked between the gossiping women and me. Then she smiled–sharp and approving.
“I hired Ms. Moonfall myself,” she said calmly. “If anyone has concerns about her strength, skill, or worthiness, you’re welcome to challenge me. Directly.”
The blonde woman’s lips parted, but only a useless sound escaped.”
I walked past them, my footsteps echoing like paws on sacred stone. I felt the heat of stares, but none dared to follow.”
And deep in my chest…
My wolf lifted her head.
Not a growl.
But close.
A promise.”
