The Alpha's Silent Luna

at settles over a grave. Fresh snow muffled everything, clinging to bare branches like ghosts of breath

ribs. Crimson stained the whiteness beneath her, her breath ragged and visible in the frigi

ogues had ambushed the small settlement she'd taken shelter in the night before, and by dawn, it

en...

er voice stolen by a wound to her throat that hadn'

escent Vale Pack. Their reputation preceded them. Ruthless. Isolationist. Loyal only to their Alpha. N

and muffled under her haze of pain- but enough to make her legs move. She stumbled dow

and nowhere all at once. A warning. Her legs buckled. She fell hard, her knees slamming into the

ll. Broad-shouldered. His dark coat blended into the woods behind him. The moon crowned his head like a halo, casting sharp ligh

lfred S

ered warnings. But nothing compared to the real thing. He radi

from her, his eyes narrow

leeding o

led. And laced with authori

ted and no sound came. Her throat moved, but only a br

all crease formed between his brows, as if he couldn't dec

he said blunt

dded,

ell of

frantically. No. Not

stled, muscles coiling like a predator preparing to s

yes m

Then his nostrils flared. A look cross

a

ead that tied souls together beyond will or reason. She had never imagined she'd

jaw clenched. "You're

. He stepped close

y mate thre

usion warred with exh

ed, thick with something too raw to

r into his arms like she weighed nothing. She flinched, expecting pain, expecting teeth, but none

ped against his chest

rtbeat- and the unspoken promise of so

one hearth. The bed beneath her was soft, the blankets thick. She blinked slowly, wincing at the dull ache in

is broad chest, watching her like she was both puzzle and threat. He hadn

t," he said, voice gruff.

inching. He didn't move

let you die i

looked d

se the moment I touched you, I felt the b

dded s

. "That doesn't

t his gaze.

id. "You can't speak- b

her, along with a pencil. She reached fo

ence. "She died in childbirth. Or so I though

e. I don't know why. I didn't ask for th

tered. "None

d in daily, bringing her food and water. The healer came twice. But Alfred was always nearby. Watching. Judging. Questionin

erland settlement. Family: Gone. Status: Om

gues, her past, her wolf. She hadn't shifted in ov

d one night. "Even if y

didn't argue. But neith

She stood at the window, staring out over the snowy expanse. From here, she could se

ed's voice came-

alling me

ed, muscles tensed. His wolf was close- she co

Alpha leads the Run. But now..." He stepped tow

art th

ured, brushing a finger down her arm, "but if yo

s ready. But because something deep within her had alre

rway of her room long afte

ief and glory. Her chest ached- not with pain, but with something heav

But the way her wolf stirred- weak

lifeline, and slowly, Alfred started reading between the lines. Even if his gaze hardened when he saw her

e was qu

qu

ndow. Every sound made her flinch. She hated this feeling- of being hunted, even when s

s about pack law, wolf heritage, treaties between clans that dat

A Legacy of B

d back at her- men and women with eyes like storms and spines carved from war. Alfred's father wa

d cam

carried her out of the forest. He looked... colder in

sed the bo

star

to his boots, the night's chill curling off his c

us?" h

dded s

was more important than love. I disagreed." His voice softened. "I buried

scribbled

ou lo

ercely. Blindly. We were bonded, but we were also foolish." A pau

ooked

d you? Have you fel

ook he

on't know h

rom the nearby cart, the clink of ice echoing in the s

hould

Instead, she reache

I here,

e use of his name.

e moon gave me a second chance- or c

y. Walked toward him.

y? she wrote, holding

Then up. His eye

repeated. "But un

he

lone in a room

pas

and began helping in the kitchen, scribbling recipes or gently assisting the older cook, Marla, who muttered to herself but softe

Alfred. He trained in the mornings- shirt off, sweat glistening across his chest as he sparred with warriors twice his size

be because her hands remembered the language her throat forgot. She'd hide the d

pulled. Tugged. Whispers of dreams neither of them

he'd been told not to attend. But curiosity won. Annabelle lingered in the shadows near the edge of the hall, watching fr

stood and questioned the Alpha's claim to

first. Then slowly-

gain," he s

I-I only meant- rumors

. Who is marked by the bond, yes.

sh f

istakes," Alfred said, voice low and lethal, "you ar

ne m

ne s

orward before she could think. And every head in the room turned with her. She wasn't supposed to speak. So she didn't. But she walked calmly ac

joined fingers. His jaw clenched. His eyes burned into h

he said. "Whether y

and. And for the first t

fire cracked low in the h

the doorway, watching her sketc

lways be

de. Closed the

t will be worse b

no

e another

u hat

s flash

u reg

pa

N

at do y

und like defeat

something precious I

ime, when he pulled her gently into his arms, she let herself