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00:07Hero saves helpless Omega. Omega gives herself to her hero. That was how the old stories always
00:12went. It was the night of my mating ceremony with Alpha Dominic. His beta burst into our chamber.
00:19Alpha! Ms. Lara's father just passed. She's collapsed from grief. The words had barely
00:24landed before Alpha Dominic froze, his lips inches from my neck. The mark unfinished.
00:29He abandoned our mating ceremony without a word, shifted, and disappeared from the pack. He didn't
00:34come back until morning. The sacred bonding wreaths hadn't even been taken down yet when he returned,
00:39and he brought with him a woman in a black lace dress, a stripper from the edge of pack territory.
00:43Lara is the Omega I rescued. Her father just died. She has no one, and there are wolves out there
00:48who
00:49want to force mark her. I want to mark her. Bring her into our pack. Give her somewhere she belongs.
00:55Sarah, if you can't accept that, I'll send her away and never speak of her again.
00:59He looked at me with those deep, devoted eyes, every word carefully, respectfully placed. Everyone
01:04expected me to lose it, to scream, to shift, to make a scene. Instead, I smiled, slow and easy.
01:11The story of how Alpha rescued a stripper is already legend in this pack. To mark her as nothing more
01:16than
01:16a mistress would cheapen everything that story stands for. Why not mark her as your Luma? That would
01:22be a love worth remembering forever. My bonding arrangement with Alpha Dominic had been decreed by
01:27the Lycan King himself. Before we were formally bonded, word had already spread through the pack.
01:31He had once stepped in to protect a rogue Omega named Lara, a stripper being harassed by other
01:36wolves. Lara was the kind of Omega you couldn't look away from. Slender, almost fragile, but with curves
01:41that made every wolf in the room forget what they'd been saying. A rogue, technically, as she danced at the
01:47lowest tavern on the edge of pack territory. And yet wolves came from all over just to watch her move
01:52from across the room. Someone had wanted more than a look. A wolf had tried to force mark her.
01:57Alpha Dominic had put a stop to it. The story became the kind of thing that has to keep around
02:00fires.
02:01Where Osei is helpless, Omega. Omega gives herself to her hero. That was how the old stories always went.
02:07There is no Luna in this pack yet.
02:09But Alpha Dominic had said publicly,
02:11I will not mark her friends. I will not mark a mistress carelessly. Lara deserves better than to
02:17be seen that way. Lycan Luna asked me herself. If I felt wronged by any of this, the arrangement
02:22could be dissolved. My father, my brothers, my mother, all of them had died in the war against
02:28the witch clans. Lycan Luna had taken me in out of gratitude for everything the Calloway family had
02:33given. And when my wolf finally awakened, she had granted me the Alpha title, an honor almost no one in
02:39my position had ever received. She loved me the way she loved her own children. Maybe more. But
02:44becoming the Luna of North Moonpack was a decree from the Lycan King. It couldn't simply be undone.
02:49I didn't want to put her in a difficult position. I knelt before her and said,
02:53Sarah is not troubled by this. I've heard Alpha Dominic is one of the most powerful Alphas of his
02:58generation. This is the a bonding wise all the Andersterat. This is the kind of bonding Sarah has
03:04always wanted. There's nothing to dissolve. What I hadn't counted on was Lara appearing on the very
03:09night of our ceremony. Alpha Dominic's lips hadn't even reached my neck yet when his beta crashed
03:13through the door. Alpha! Ms. Lara's father just passed. She's collapsed from grief. He yanked back
03:19from me, shredded his ceremonial clothes, restricted mid-moon, and poured through the pack gates as a
03:24massive black wolf. Through the beta link, his alpha command rolled through the air behind him.
03:29Get the pack's best healer. Lara is fragile. Bring Moonstone, blessed by the moon goddess. Gods know what
03:35state she's in. I stood there and stared at the overturned table, the food scattered across the
03:40floor, the doors hanging off their hinges from where he'd shifted and charged through them.
03:44Amanda, of the beta my mother had left me, the one who had been with our family since before the
03:48war. A, her eyes went red. Miss Sarah, the alpha has gone too far. Tonight is your mating ceremony.
03:59He's left an alpha to spend her bonding night alone. All for a stripper. This is nothing short of a
04:06humiliation.
04:08The entire pack knew it. The entire werewolf world knew it. That the great alpha Dominic's heart had
04:13always belonged to an omega who danced in a low-end tavern. Tonight I had lived it myself, and I
04:18understood now that the reality was even worse than the rumors. The moon goddess blessed bonding candles
04:23burned in silence through the whole night. Alpha Dominic never came home. The next morning I went
04:29to pay my respects to alpha Dominic's mother, the former luna of North Moon pack, Lady Larian.
04:35Dominic was already there, standing in front of his mother with Lara at his side, dressed head to
04:39toe in a black mourning gown. The entire pack was still draped in the sacred white decorations of a
04:44new bonding. Against all of it, her black lace stood out like an open wound. The dress was the kind
04:49other she-wolves rarely wore. Thin, barely there, black chiffon that skimmed her thighs. She pressed
04:55herself behind alpha Dominic's shoulder, all wide, frightened eyes when she saw me. Like a deer that had
04:59just caught a predator's scent. Her body swayed like she might fall, and then right in front of me, she
05:04dropped to her knees with a soft thud.
05:07Lara greets the luna. Yesterday was entirely Lara's fault. Lara ruined the luna and the alpha's bonding
05:14night. Please, I punish Lara however you see fit. Her forehead touched the floor. Alpha Dominic looked
05:22at me with an expression pulled tight between guilt and pleading. Lara's the Omega I rescued.
05:29Her father just died. She has still just died, and she has no one left, and there are wolves already
05:35circling who want to force-mank her. She has nowhere to go. I want to, after completing my bond with
05:41you,
05:42mark her. Let her stay in the pack as my sanctioned mistress. Give her a place. If you can't accept
05:49that, I'll drive her out of the pack and never see her again. Lara's tears fell in silence. She looked
05:54up at me, all Omega softness and helplessness. Please, Luna, show mercy. Lara has nowhere left to go.
06:04If there's no place for Lara here, Lara would rather die.
06:10Lady Larian watched with a pained, sympathetic expression, then turned to me.
06:15Sarah, you are the Luna of North Moon Pack now. This is your decision to make, but this pack has
06:23always been known for its kindness and generosities.
06:26As it's Luna, I hope you'll lead with an open heart. Accepting her as a sanctioned mistress costs you nothing.
06:33She cannot outrank you. That was Lady Larian's closing line. Refuse, and I was the villain. Accept, and I was
06:40a fool.
06:41The story had been written before I walked into the room. Lara lifted her face from the floor.
06:45My lord saved Lara's life. Lara swore to repay that debt. If Luna fears Lara will compete for the Alpha's
06:52attention.
06:53She pressed a hand to her chest. Lara is willing to take suppresses. Lara will never challenge Luna's position.
07:00Alpha Dominic's jaw tightened. Sarah, Lara doesn't scheme. You don't need to be this hard on her.
07:07Then Lara's attending Beta, a silent on the floor beside her, has slammed her forehead down.
07:12Luna, please. My mistress cannot take suppresses. She is already carrying the Alpha's pup.
07:17The room went still. Lady Larian shot upright.
07:20Get her off the floor. You never kneel when you're carried.
07:24Dominic pulled Lara up in one motion, his face moving through guilt and protectiveness in the span of a second.
07:30Why didn't you tell me? How long have you been carrying this alone?
07:33I didn't want to make things harder for you. I already ruined your bonding night.
07:39I felt so guilty. I thought if I'd have just...
07:42Her hand moved to her stomach.
07:43If I quietly ended it, you'd never have to choose.
07:47Lady Larian turned to me, measured and deliberate.
07:49Sarah, even if the pup is born, it remains a lesser heir. It cannot supersede yours.
07:55But it is still Dominic's blood. We cannot let it be cast out.
07:59A careful pause.
08:00When the pup arrives, it will call you mother.
08:03I looked at all three of them. The rehearsed timing, the tears landing at exactly the right moment.
08:08The pup revealed only after every other move had failed. I smiled.
08:13The story of how Alpha rescued a rogue Omega is already legend in this pack.
08:17To mark her as a mere mistress would cheapen that legend entirely.
08:22Dominic relaxed the moment he heard the first half.
08:24If his feelings are everything the pack believes them to be, he should mark her as his Luna.
08:31That would be a love worth howling about for generations.
08:35Then the second half reached him, and his expression went hard and cold.
08:39Mark her as Luna. Sarah, Lauren, I never...
08:42I stepped back.
08:44Never what? Never loved each other.
08:47Or just that the pup she's carrying isn't yours.
08:50Every wolf in this pack knows the story.
08:52Hero saves Omega. Omega gives herself to her hero.
08:56And now there's a pup.
08:57I held his gaze.
08:58You said publicly, I will not mark a mistress carelessly.
09:02I understand now exactly what that meant.
09:04Not a mistress.
09:05Just a rogue lover.
09:07Kept on the side. Is that right?
09:09The color left Lara's face.
09:11Luna!
09:12She whispered.
09:13Lara was never that.
09:15Lara only...
09:15Lara only loves him.
09:17Lara never asked for anything more.
09:19Not even a sanctioned mistress?
09:21I said pleasantly.
09:22That's worse.
09:24At least a mistress has a title.
09:26Without one, what does the pup she's carrying enter this world as?
09:29A rogue born with no standing in any pack?
09:33She stumbled back, shaking her head.
09:35That isn't what Lara meant.
09:36I nodded once.
09:37Whatever you meant, I will give you exactly what your love deserves.
09:40My lady.
09:41The bonding rites were never completed last night.
09:43Alpha Dominic spent his bonding night with Lara.
09:46My entire household witnessed it.
09:47Every wolf in this pack can confirm it.
09:49Therefore, I...
09:50This bond is void.
09:51Dominic moved fast, stepping directly into my path.
09:54What do you mean, void?
09:55I know last night was wrong, but Lara's father died.
09:58I had no choice.
10:00It won't happen again.
10:01His voice dropped.
10:02We start over.
10:03I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, Sarah.
10:06Then harder.
10:07If you dissolve this bond, you're throwing the Lyman King's decree into the dirt.
10:12Do you understand what that means?
10:14I looked up at him.
10:15Dominic, this bonding arrangement was the Lion King's to give.
10:19You're the one who buried it, on the very first night, by leaving your luma alone to comfort a rogue
10:24Omega.
10:24If the Lycan King wants someone to answer for it, it won't be the Alpha's daughter who was simply left
10:30behind.
10:31You want to talk about what I'm supposed to do?
10:34Did you think about me even once, while you were deciding what she needed?
10:39The color shifted in his face.
10:41He knew every word was true.
10:43If this reached the Lycan Council, the humiliation landed entirely on him.
10:47Lara rushed forward, voice cracking.
10:48Luna, please.
10:50It's all Lara's fault.
10:52Lara will leave the pack right now.
10:56You'll never have to see Lara again.
10:58Even if those powerful Alphas try to mark me and put me in their pack, I'd rather die than let
11:04them succeed.
11:05But I'll never let an Alpha cause me trouble again.
11:07She closed the distance and dropped her voice to where only I could hear.
11:11Miss Calloway, he has always chosen me.
11:14He always will.
11:16You never stood a chance.
11:18Then she turned back, her eyes wide and glistening, voice raised for the room.
11:23Luna, if you leave, the Lycan King will punish the Alpha.
11:27Please, if anyone should go, let it be me.
11:30I raised an eyebrow.
11:31You truly want me to stay?
11:33Then understand this.
11:36If I stay, you will never set foot in this pack again.
11:40Not once.
11:43Lara doesn't know what to do.
11:44Please, Luna, I tell Lara!
11:47Alpha!
11:47She turned to Dominic.
11:48Did Lara do something wrong?
11:49Lara just wanted to repay you.
11:52Lara would be a servant.
11:53Lara would ask for nothing.
11:55Just...
11:56Please ask Luna to let Lara stay.
11:58She pressed herself against his arm, a vine finding its wall.
12:01Dominic drew her close and looked at me over her head.
12:05Sarah, let her stay.
12:07She defers to you in everything.
12:09You have my word.
12:10He still believed he was worth bargaining with.
12:12I pulled my hand free.
12:14Alpha Dominic, my answer stands.
12:16The bond is dissolved.
12:18From this day forward wide, your life is your own.
12:20It has nothing to do with me.
12:22Lara clutched her black mourning dress and turned as if to leave.
12:25Then Lara will go.
12:27You don't have to ask twice.
12:29You're not going anywhere.
12:30Dominic caught her arm.
12:31I'm the Alpha of this pack.
12:32What'd I just say even here?
12:34Then he turned on me.
12:35A, and every trace of warmth vanished from his face.
12:37I'm taking one sanctioned mistress.
12:39One!
12:40What kind of Luna makes a scene over that?
12:42Which pack in this entire kingdom doesn't have secondary arrangements?
12:45Lara has had a hard life.
12:46Nothing like yours.
12:47You lost your family, yes, but Lylan Luna took you in.
12:49Gave you a title.
12:51Gave you everything.
12:52Lara has had no one.
12:53I was only protecting her.
12:55Do you think everyone has what you have?
12:57A lichen Luna who loves them?
12:59A pack that honors their bloodline?
13:02The last word barely left his mouth before my hand connected with his face.
13:06Sharp.
13:06Clean.
13:07His head turned with it.
13:09Dominic Ashvale.
13:10My voice didn't waver.
13:11What gives you the right to speak of my family to me?
13:14The lichen king himself does not raise their names lightly in my presence.
13:18What exactly are you?
13:19He had always known I was an orphan with nowhere to go.
13:22That was precisely why he'd said it.
13:23Because he believed I had no move left to make.
13:25He straightened slowly.
13:27Something burning behind his eyes.
13:29You hold a title, Sarah.
13:30But it was given to you.
13:32You are not lichen born.
13:34If you walk out of this pack, what are you walking back to?
13:36Do you really think the lichen king and Luna will go to war with North Moon pack over you?
13:41He thought he had me cornered.
13:42My father was the alpha of Iron Moon pack.
13:45My mother stood beside him until the witch clan war took them both.
13:48My brothers fell with their wolves howling.
13:50I was shaped in that bloodline long before Lichen Luna ever took my hand.
13:53An alpha blood.
13:55A real alpha blood.
13:56A does not kneel.
13:57Amanda.
13:58My voice carried across the room.
14:00Pack everything.
14:01Lift the Kalawal crest.
14:02We're going home.
14:04The room stopped breathing.
14:05Iron Moon pack had been sealed for over a decade.
14:07I was reopening it.
14:08Stop this.
14:09Dominic's voice cracked like a command.
14:11You think you're still the Iron Moon Alpha's daughter free to do whatever you want?
14:15That life is over.
14:16Lady Larian stepped between us.
14:18Sarah, I know what kind of she-wolf you are.
14:21You have my word.
14:22If Dominic ever dishonors you again, I will not stand beside him.
14:26A bonding is sacred.
14:28A Lichen decreed bonding most of all.
14:31We cannot simply undo it.
14:32Let me arrange for you both to complete the REITs tonight.
14:35Properly, with no interruptions.
14:37I'll see to it myself.
14:38And if you truly cannot accept Lara's presence, she need not be a mistress at all.
14:43She can serve in the pack.
14:44Nothing more.
14:45They had forgotten what I was.
14:46Even without a bloodline, I carried the Alpha title, granted by the Lycan Luna herself.
14:50Something that had never been given to an orphan before.
14:53My father's name still carried weight in every corner of this territory.
14:56His brothers in arms.
14:58His allies.
14:59The wolves who had bled beside him.
15:01None of them had forgotten the Calloways.
15:03Did Dominic truly believe that I are the last blood of the Calloway line?
15:06I would simply absorb every humiliation and stay?
15:09There's no need.
15:10I met Lady Larian's eyes directly.
15:12The bond is dissolved.
15:13Alpha Dominic is free to mark Lara.
15:15Freely and completely.
15:16The pup she carries will be born as the legitimate first heir of North Moon Pack.
15:21That is right and proper.
15:22Otherwise, the Alpha's firstborn enters this world as a rogue born with no standing.
15:27What kind of life is that for a pup?
15:29The shadow that crossed Dominic's face was almost satisfying.
15:32And in Lara's eyes, just for a moment, something lit up.
15:36Sarah.
15:36Dominic's voice dropped into something dangerous.
15:38If you walk through that gate, you will not be walking back through it.
15:41This pack does not open twice for the same wolf.
15:43She stepped back.
15:44Eyes glistening.
15:46Voice raised for the room.
15:47Luna.
15:47If you leave, the Lycan King will punish the Alpha.
15:51Please.
15:52If anyone should go, let it be Lara.
15:55You truly want me to stay?
15:57I said softly.
15:58Then know this.
15:59If I stay, you never enter this pack again.
16:02Not once.
16:04Lara bit down on her lip.
16:05The axe slipped.
16:06Lara doesn't know what to do.
16:08Please, Luna.
16:09Tell Lara.
16:10She turned to Dominic, voice going small.
16:12Alpha.
16:13Did Lara do something wrong?
16:14Lara just wanted to repay you.
16:16Lara would sweep floors.
16:18Lara would ask for nothing.
16:20Just…
16:21Please ask Luna to let Lara stay close to you.
16:24She pressed herself against his arm like she had always belonged there.
16:28Dominic held her and looked at me over her head.
16:30Sarah.
16:31She defers to you in everything.
16:33That's my word.
16:33He still believed he was an offer worth taking.
16:36I stepped back.
16:37Alpha Dominic.
16:38My answer stands.
16:39The bond is void.
16:40I turned toward the gate.
16:41From this day forward, live however you choose.
16:44It has nothing to do with me.
16:47Iron Moon Pack had been sealed for over a decade.
16:50The day after my mating ceremony, dowry crates loaded on carts, my household walking behind me.
16:54I brought it back to life.
16:56Word traveled ahead.
16:57Within days, every hall was swept.
16:59Every hearth relit.
17:00The keep smelled of pine and open air instead of dust and loss.
17:03Lycan Luna's summons arrived before the week was out.
17:06I knelt before her, red-eyed, composed.
17:08My Luna.
17:09I cannot bond with Alpha Dominic.
17:11His heart was given long before I arrived, and the Omega he gave it to as she carries his pup.
17:16Amanda knelt beside me and delivered every detail of the bonding night.
17:20Voice raw, tears running openly.
17:22Lycan Luna listened.
17:23Her expression went very still.
17:25I knew that wolf had a wandering eye.
17:27She said at last.
17:28But on the bonding night itself, with a tavern dancer.
17:32She exhaled slowly.
17:33I wouldn't have believed it of him.
17:35Sarah.
17:36If you walk away from this bond, the pack will whisper.
17:39You know how they treat she-wolves who leave.
17:42I lifted my chin.
17:43My Luna.
17:44The one who behaved wrongly was not me.
17:47I'm not afraid of whispers.
17:48My father and brothers were warriors.
17:51My mother stood beside them until the end.
17:53I carry that same blood.
17:56I will hold the Calloway name up myself.
17:59I don't need anyone to hold it for me.
18:01Lyman Luna was quiet for a long moment.
18:04Then something flickered in her eyes.
18:06Something that looked almost like pride.
18:08You are exactly your father's daughter.
18:11She said.
18:12The Calloway name will stand again.
18:15The Lycan king sent gifts to Iron Moon pack within the week.
18:18The pack's winds shifted overnight.
18:20Invitations arrived.
18:21She-wolves came to the gate.
18:23Allies of my father's old pack.
18:24Wolves who had bled beside my brothers.
18:26They came one after another and stayed.
18:29Lady Harwick, whose mate had fought at my father's side,
18:31took both my hands in hers.
18:34Sarah, our families go back too far for distance.
18:37You're home now.
18:40Come to us whenever you need anything.
18:42A sound of elegant contempt.
18:44As for that taverness, for that tavern dancer.
18:47Don't waste a thought on her.
18:49When the time is right,
18:50I'll find you a match that actually deserves the Callum bloodline.
18:54Dominic had assumed I was posturing.
18:56That in a few days, once my temper cooled,
18:58he could come to me with the right expression.
19:00And I would return quietly to North Moon pack.
19:04Then the Lyaman king's gifts arrived at my door.
19:07And he understood I had no intention of going back.
19:10The dissolution reached the Lycan council.
19:12The Lycan king addressed it in open session.
19:14His voice carrying the particular dryness of a man stating the obvious.
19:17It seems Alpha Dominic finds the match I arranged less to his dike than a rogue Omega from a tavern.
19:21Very well, I won't force a wolf to honor what he's already dishonored.
19:23Mark your dancer.
19:24Consider the matter settled.
19:26One sentence.
19:26That was all it took.
19:28The pack understood.
19:29The Lycan king was not angry at Sarah Calloway.
19:31He was done with Dominic Ashvale.
19:33Dominic returned to North Moon pack looking like a wolf who had walked into a trap he'd built with his
19:37own hands.
19:38The king's words had closed the only door that might have reopened.
19:41If he bonded now, it would be with Lara.
19:44That was the shape of his future.
19:45And every wolf in the territory could see it.
19:48What Alpha family with any standing would accept a rogue tavern dancer as their Luna?
19:52Lara's belly grew.
19:53Dominic ran out of options.
19:55He chose the least bad one and set a date.
19:57Lara was overjoyed.
19:58She had walked into that pack expecting to be a mistress at best.
20:01And somehow she was going to be its Luna.
20:03The bonding day arrived.
20:05The great hall filled with guests.
20:06Many came out of old loyalty to the Ashvale bloodline.
20:09Others came simply because they wanted to witness it themselves.
20:12Lara had commissioned her ceremony gown from the finest atelier in the territory.
20:16Cut wide.
20:17Draped cleverly.
20:18So the curve of her belly wouldn't show from a distance.
20:20Ceremony master called the hall to order.
20:22Luna, approach for bonding.
20:25An attendant stepped forward to arrange the ritual offering at Lara's feet.
20:28The girl wore a scented sachet at her hip.
20:30In the warm, packed hall, the fragrance bloomed thick and sharp and drifted straight into Lara's face as she leaned
20:36close.
20:37Lara's stomach turned.
20:38She couldn't hold it back.
20:39A small involuntary sound escaped.
20:41Half gasp, half retch.
20:43The attendant lurched upright.
20:44My lady, are you unwell?
20:47The scent hit again.
20:48Lara swayed.
20:49The ceremonial veil slipped.
20:51Her face had gone the color of bone.
20:52She pressed her hand over her mouth.
20:54A. Too late.
20:56She pitched forward and was sick, right there in the center of the hall, in front of every witness North
21:01Moonpac had gathered.
21:03The hall erupted.
21:04Guests stumbled back, hands over their mouths, the neat rows of witnesses dissolving into something between horror and dark fascination.
21:11The sharper-eyed she-wolves had already drawn their conclusions.
21:15She's carrying.
21:16She was carrying before the last bonding fell through.
21:19No wonder Alpha Calendee dissolved the arrangement.
21:21Who could blame her?
21:22The Alpha of North Moonpac tangled up with a rogue tavern dancer and now marking her as Luna?
21:27This is what binding ceremonies look like now?
21:29She danced at that border tavern.
21:31How many wolves bought a private show and we're supposed to call her Luna?
21:35We don't even know it's his.
21:36Half the men in this hall have probably tipped her at something.
21:40Lara stood white-faced at the center of it all, one hand pressed to her ribs, searching for Dominic through
21:44her tears.
21:45Alpha!
21:48Lady Larian sat rigid in the front row.
21:50The expression on her face was the particular blankness of a wolf absorbing a humiliation too large to process in
21:55public.
21:56She turned to the nearest attendant, voice flat and cold.
21:58Take the Luna inside. Now she is not to remain in this hall.
22:04The Luna who cannot stand through her own ceremony.
22:06She said quieter to herself.
22:07What kind of blood is this bringing into our line?
22:09A tavern stripper!
22:10As our Luna!
22:11Her jaw tightened.
22:12I should have put my foot down the moment Dominic carried her through the gate.
22:15A mystery I could have tolerated, but this.
22:17He threw away the Lycan King's fated match.
22:20For this?
22:20The ceremony ended before it properly began.
22:23Guests dispersed in a wave of polite horror and barely suppressed gossip.
22:26And Dominic Asheville, once the pack's great romantic hero, became its most discussed cautionary tale.
22:32Lara, for her part, was triumphant by the time the healers cleared her and the private rites were quietly completed.
22:37She was Luna Asheville.
22:39Not a mistress.
22:40Not a rogue lover.
22:41Luna Asheville.
22:42She had climbed from a border tavern floor to the highest seat in the pack.
22:47She let herself feel every inch of it.
22:49The morning after, she went to pay her respects to Lady Larian.
22:52She found the former Luna deep in easy laughter with a young she-wolf.
22:56Lady Larian's hand wrapped warmly around the girls.
23:00Cousin.
23:00When Dominic and Lara entered, the girl rose with an unguarded smile and reached for Dominic's arm.
23:05Lady Larian's expression warmed in a way it never had for Lara.
23:09This is Viviane, Dominic's cousin.
23:11They ran together as pups before her father took the family east.
23:14Her father has returned to the pack now, and she with him.
23:18Light and easy.
23:18Viviane tells me she'd rather be here than anywhere else, so I've told her the keep is her second home.
23:23Her father is the new minister of pack riles. A significant appointment.
23:27A meaningful pause.
23:28Viviane, since Lara is carrying and can't manage the household just now, I'd like you to oversee it.
23:34You know this pack better than almost anyone. I trust you completely.
23:39Viviane smiled at Lara with the ease of a wolf who had never needed to perform warmth, because she simply
23:43had it.
23:45Don't mind me, sister. I practically grew up here.
23:48Let me carry the weight while you're carrying the pup, that's all.
23:53The color left Lara's face. She understood the message precisely. She laughed carefully.
23:58Mother, Viviane comes from a good family. Wouldn't it be beneath her to manage a household as staff?
24:06Please, you know what I'm asking. Don't do this.
24:10Oh, I see exactly what you mean. You're absolutely right, it would be beneath her.
24:14That's why I'm proposing she come in as a co-mate. Equal standing.
24:19It would honor her rank properly, and give this pack a Luna who can actually represent us at formal summits
24:24while you recover.
24:26Dominic needs a mate who can stand beside him in public after all.
24:29Lara turned to Dominic. For the first time since the ceremony, she let him see what was underneath.
24:33You told me your heart was only mine.
24:36It is. Vivian is family, nothing more. This is a formality.
24:39Whatever title she holds in the pack, you are the one I come back to.
24:42Focus on the pup. Let her handle the work. Isn't that easier?
24:45You're new to this world. High pack households have ways you haven't learned yet.
24:48I'll put the household back in your hands, I promise.
24:50Three days after the bonding ceremony, Vivian Crane moved into North Moon Pack as co-mate.
24:56When word reached me at Iron Moon Camp, I laughed.
24:59Dominic had played it cleverly.
25:01Vivadian's father, the new Minister of Pack Rights, was exactly the Alliance and Alpha in his position needed.
25:06Lara couldn't hold a formal summit. Vivadian could.
25:09Now the pack had something new to whisper about.
25:11Two Lunas behind one set of gates, waging a quiet war between them.
25:16Whose room Dominic slept in. Whose table he sat at longest.
25:20Whose name the pack members said with more weight.
25:23Every morning brought a new skirmish. Every night reset the board.
25:26Vivian called Lara a border dancer who didn't know which fork belongs at her own bonding table.
25:30Lara said Vivian was no better than the Omega she looked down on crawling after another She-Wolves mate with
25:34less dignity than the tavern ever required.
25:37Dominic stopped going inside when he came home.
25:40It was like in Luna's commission that brought me back into the same room as Dominic and Lara.
25:44I was hosting the spring charity gathering at Iron Moon Keep.
25:47A formal occasion.
25:48And I had dressed accordingly.
25:50Dominic saw me across the hall and went still.
25:52Then his gaze drifted to Lara.
25:54Standing not far off.
25:55Her face carrying the specific grey-yellow exhaustion of a she-wolf deep in a difficult pregnancy.
26:00Her silhouette nothing like what it once was.
26:02And something moved behind his eyes.
26:03He came to find me.
26:05Sarah.
26:06Are you well?
26:07Careful.
26:08Deliberate.
26:09I've been meaning to come to the Keep.
26:11To apologize properly.
26:12I was afraid you wouldn't see me.
26:14To anyone who didn't know better.
26:15He looked like a wolf carrying genuine regret.
26:18I stepped back.
26:19He followed.
26:20Sarah.
26:22I had a jewelry suite commissioned at the Silver Quarter.
26:25A full set.
26:26I'd like to send it before your birth moon.
26:29Consider it...
26:29Alpha Dom.
26:30I smiled pleasantly.
26:31We have no bond and no arrangement.
26:32You are another she-wolf's mate.
26:34If you send jewelry to my keep and someone notices, what exactly do you expect them to think?
26:38I am an unbonded she-wolf with a clean name.
26:39I intend to keep it that way.
26:41Please conduct yourself accordingly.
26:42Lara had already spotted us.
26:44She crossed the room fast, tucking herself against Dominic's arm with the practiced ease
26:48of something territorial.
26:50Alpha Calloway.
26:50Her eyes were bright with a very specific kind of pleasure.
26:53I heard the Lycan king may be arranging another match for you.
26:56I do hope this time you won't run from it.
26:59I looked at her.
27:00At the triumphant expression.
27:02At the careful grip on Dominic's sleeve.
27:04And I smiled.
27:05Luna Ashvale.
27:06Before you worry about my future, perhaps tend to your own.
27:10I kept my voice effortlessly light.
27:12I hear your co-mate made quite an impression at the last council summit.
27:16Her tea ceremoniae.
27:17Exceptional, apparently.
27:19The kind of performance that turns heads.
27:22Your alpha seemed very proud of her.
27:24She's been sleeping in the East Wing for the better part of a month now, hasn't she?
27:28Once she's carrying, the first legitimate air of North Moonpack comes from her.
27:32You and your pup.
27:33I let the pause settle, like a stone dropped into still water.
27:36You have very, very little ground left to stand.
27:40I turned and walked away before she could answer.
27:42Behind me, I heard Lara's voice rise.
27:44A low and sharp, aimed at Dominic.
27:45She had your attention for three minutes.
27:46Are you already regretting this?
27:48Dominic's tone came back flat and tired.
27:50I marked you, didn't I?
27:52If I wanted her, I wouldn't have brought you to this pack.
27:54Lara stood very still.
27:55One hand resting on the swell of her belly.
27:57Running the numbers on everything I'd said about Vivian.
28:00She thought about the last summit.
28:02Vivian's tea ceremony.
28:03The whole room murmuring in admiration.
28:06Dominic's face lighting up with the specific pride of an alpha.
28:08Lara made to look good in public.
28:10He had slept in Vivian's wing for most of the following month.
28:14Word had reached her that Vivian was now consulting pack healers about conception rituals.
28:20Lara had to do something.
28:21She had to take the room back.
28:23She looked around the hall.
28:24Guests, sipping tea, low polished conversation.
28:27And rose to earth, she announced, to the nearest cluster of guests.
28:29Just sitting here sipping tea is so dale.
28:33Lara has been working on something new.
28:35Her voice sliding back into that warm, easy register she had carried through years in the tavern.
28:39Give you all something worth remembering.
28:42I'll see you soon.
28:44A look crossed Dominic's face that Lara didn't see.
28:47The males in the room began to clap and call out.
28:50But Ashville, you lucky wolf!
28:53Aluna who performs!
28:55Yeah!
28:55We haven't seen her dance since she bonded.
28:58What a treat!
29:00Best offering of the evening, I'd wager.
29:03Lara rose to it.
29:04This A, this was the sound she had grown up with.
29:08The warmth of a room turning toward her.
29:10She had missed it more than she'd ever let herself admit.
29:12She moved to the center of the hall without a veil.
29:14Without hesitation.
29:16And she performed.
29:17She performed beautifully.
29:18The room went quiet.
29:20When she finished, the applause was genuine and full.
29:23I raised my fan to cover my smile and spoke quietly to the nearest attendant.
29:27Luna Ashvale performed magnificently.
29:29Please, offer her a token of appreciation.
29:32I started it.
29:33The room followed as rooms always follow someone of standing.
29:36A gold pin from one she-wolf.
29:39A bracelet from another.
29:40Silver coins from a lord who used to visit the border tavern on his mate's free evenings.
29:45Small tokens from others.
29:47Placed on a tray with the easy generosity of an audience rewarding a show they had enjoyed.
29:51The tray came to Lara piled high.
29:53Her attendant presented it with a bright smile.
29:55Luna Ashvale, awe from the guests in appreciation.
29:58Lara looked at the tray.
30:00At the silver coins.
30:01The scattered pin money.
30:02The small denomination tokens pressed into the palm of a performer at the end of a good night.
30:06She looked up at the room.
30:08Dominic's face had gone somewhere past anger into something colder.
30:11He crossed to her in four strides.
30:13The sound of his hand connecting with her cheek cut through the hall like cracking ice.
30:16You are Luna Ashvale.
30:18He said, low and vicious.
30:20Not a border dancer.
30:21You just performed at a charity gathering and accepted tips in front of every titled wolf in this territory.
30:28Is the pack not providing for you?
30:30Do you need the coin that badly?
30:32Take her out.
30:34He turned to the nearest attendant.
30:35Back to the keep.
30:37Back to the keep.
30:38Confined to her rooms until she understands what her rank requires of her.
30:41Lara stood frozen, one hand pressed to her face.
30:45Then her voice came back, a high and unraveling.
30:48She made me do this.
30:51Alpha Calloway said if I didn't prove I was worth more than Vivienne, you'd hand the pack to her.
30:57She told me.
30:59I pressed a hand to my mouth in exaggerated shock.
31:04Alpha Dominic Luna Ashvella, I beg your pardon?
31:08What am I supposed to have said?
31:09My voice carried.
31:10The room turned.
31:10I am an unbonded she-wolf hosting a charity event.
31:13I have not spoken privately with Luna Ashville's today.
31:17I let the bewilderment sit for one precise beat, then let it soften.
31:21You dissolved my bonding arrangement and caused me considerable embarrassment before the Lycan King and Luna.
31:27I have never held that against you.
31:30I ask only that you not damage my name with accusations you cannot support.
31:35You know what you did.
31:36Lara's eyes went red with fury.
31:38You brought me here on purpose.
31:39You made them tip me like I was still on that stage.
31:44I turned to the hall.
31:45My voice was calm and clear.
31:47Every gathering I have hosted this season has been a fundraiser.
31:50The format is always the same.
31:53Guests offer a token in response to any talent they enjoy.
31:56And every item on that tray goes in the donor's name towards supplies for the border pack units.
32:03Food, winter gear, healing herbs for the wolves protecting our borders.
32:07I let my gaze move across the room.
32:11Several guests performed before Luna Ashville arrived.
32:14They all wore veils as is customary for a charitable showcase to keep the focus on the cause rather than
32:21the performer.
32:22A gentle pause.
32:24Luna Ashville chose not to wear one.
32:26That is entirely her right.
32:28But the tray is the same tray.
32:30And the cause is the same cause it has always been.
32:33A murmur of confirmation moved through the crowd.
32:35She arrived late.
32:37We'd already donated twice before she came in.
32:41I didn't realize she hadn't been briefed with the other guests.
32:44Dominic was already steering Lara toward the gate, one hand at her elbow, both of them wanting to be anywhere
32:49else in the territory.
32:50Lady Larian heard the full account before they cleared the pack border.
32:54That wretched creature.
32:56She said to no one in particular.
32:57He had a Lycan appointed alpha, a general's daughter, a royal title, the king's direct favor, and he threw all
33:05of it away for that.
33:06She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth.
33:08Strip her rank.
33:09Give it to Vivina.
33:10One Luna who can actually function is worth more than two useless ones fighting over the same sleeping quarters.
33:18Lara heard what Lady Larian had said before the day was out.
33:21She pressed both hands flat over her belly and walked straight to Dominic.
33:25You promised me the Luna's seat.
33:28You promised this pup would be your first heir.
33:32Now your mother wants to strip my rank and hand it to Viviana?
33:36Her voice was quiet, precise.
33:38Which lie would you like to start with?
33:40If you demote me...
33:41She said, quieter still.
33:42I will put my head through that pillar.
33:44Right now.
33:45In front of everyone.
33:46Dominic grabbed her.
33:47Stop.
33:48Nobody is taking anything from you.
33:49An attendant came running in from the courtyard, breathless and beaming.
33:52Alpha, congratulations.
33:54Luna Vivaine has just confirmed a pregnancy.
33:56The healer says she's strong.
33:58My lord, she's asking for you.
34:00Dominic's grip loosened.
34:02Lara, still braced against a resistance that had vanished, had nothing left to push against.
34:06She went sideways until throwing herself.
34:09The sound was solid and terrible.
34:10She slid down to the floor, blood running from her temple, both hands clutching her abdomen.
34:14The pup.
34:15She gasped.
34:17Something's wrong.
34:18Help.
34:20Lara's labor came too early.
34:21She had hit her head hard enough to drain most of her strength before it began.
34:25The healers kept her conscious through roots and ritual, but she fought through a full day and night.
34:29What she finally delivered was a girl.
34:31Small, early, thin as thread, a pup that hadn't been ready to arrive.
34:35Lara passed out.
34:36When she woke, she took one look and screamed.
34:38It's not right!
34:39I was carrying a son!
34:40Where is he?
34:41Someone switch them!
34:43Give me back my son!
34:45It's Vivienne.
34:46She raged and wept and accused until the walls of the keep rang with it.
34:49She was absolutely certain.
34:50Give my son back!
34:51Give him back!
34:53Vivienne didn't bother to engage.
34:54She was too pleased.
34:55The first legitimate heir of North Moon Pack would come from her now.
34:58That was the only number that mattered.
35:01She celebrated too early.
35:02At the daughter's full moon naming ceremony, the traditional sweets were laid out for the guests.
35:06Vivienne, wanting the occasion's good fortune, helped herself to a bowl of honey lotus porridge.
35:10She was back in her rooms before the cramps began.
35:13By the time her attendants reached her, she was doubled over, soaking through her robes, calling for anyone who would
35:18come.
35:18The healers arrived.
35:20Too late to stop what had already started.
35:21The pregnancy, barely two months along, was gone.
35:25The healer examined the remaining porridge and went still.
35:28He asked to speak with Dominic privately.
35:30There is red clover extract in this.
35:32At a concentration I have never seen outside of deliberate preparation.
35:36A pause.
35:36There is also something else.
35:39Something that will prevent Luna the Vivienne from carrying again.
35:45Vivienne's voice, when they brought Lara to her rooms.
35:48Bring her here!
35:49Now!
35:50Was the sound of a wolf, with nothing left to lose.
35:53Lara walked in, carrying her daughter.
35:55She did not look frightened.
35:56She looked like someone who had made her decision long before this moment.
36:00Yes.
36:01She said, before anyone asked.
36:02I put it in the porridge.
36:04The red clover and the other one.
36:07And I would do it again.
36:09She looked at Dominic.
36:10Dominic really looked at him for the first time in months.
36:13With nothing performing behind her eyes.
36:15You claimed me under false pretensions.
36:18You brought me into this pack under false pretensions.
36:21And three days after our bonding, you tried to hand my rank to your cousin.
36:27Her voice was flat and even.
36:28You lied to me more times than I can count.
36:30I lied to you once.
36:31I think that's fair.
36:33You dishonored me first, Dominic.
36:35Don't act surprised that I stopped pretending to be good.
36:39The Minister of Pack Rights arrived at North Moon Pack before sunrise.
36:43He wanted Lara handed over to Pack Justice.
36:45Formal charges.
36:46Real consequences.
36:48Lara said simply that if anything happened to her,
36:51she would tell the Lichen Council everything she knew
36:53about certain private arrangements involving North Moon Pack.
36:56Things that had never been made public.
36:58She named nothing specifically.
37:00She didn't need to.
37:01Dominic intervened.
37:02The Minister agreed to stand down and be on conditions.
37:05Lara would be exiled to the Pack Shrine.
37:07The old stone den at the edge of the territory.
37:09Used for the disgraced and the penitent.
37:11She would not return to the pack.
37:13She would not raise the daughter she had nearly died to deliver.
37:15The pup would go to Vivian.
37:18Dominic would take no further mates.
37:20No mistresses.
37:21No arrangements of any kind.
37:23Vivian Crane would hold the Luna's seat of North Moon Pack for the rest of her days.
37:27Barren.
37:27Childless.
37:28Raising another she-wolf's daughter.
37:30Despising her for it.
37:31The conditions were accepted.
37:33North Moon Pack went quiet after that.
37:35Not the quiet of peace.
37:36The quiet of a place that had used itself up entirely.
37:39The End.
37:39The End.
37:39The End.
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