Chapter Eighty-Five – Luna Born
The packhouse doors shut behind her with a soft *click*, but the weight in her chest didn’t lift until her boots touched the dirt path leading away from it. Morning light filtered through the canopy above, dappling the world in soft golds and greens, and for the first time in weeks, the forest didn’t feel like it was pressing in on her.
Her steps slowed as a small group of wolves approached from the gardens—three women she remembered too well. Once, they’d whispered behind their hands when she passed, their eyes sharp and filled with judgment.
Now, as she neared, they bowed their heads low, exposing their necks in silent submission.
“Luna,” one of them murmured. Her voice held none of the mockery Giselle remembered. Only respect… maybe even awe.
Giselle offered them a polite nod, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes until she was past them.
‘This is weird,’ Aeris muttered inside her mind, stirring slowly from her place beneath the surface. ‘I remember when they called us unworthy. A rogue.’
‘Yeah,’ Giselle replied silently. ‘Now they act like we walk on clouds.’
‘We do have a mate who’s an Alpha.’
‘Don’t get smug.’
Aeris gave a low mental *chuff* of amusement. ‘I’m not. Just saying… things change fast around here.’
Another group crossed her path—a pair of young warriors, both of whom she vaguely recognized from her first days in the pack. They slowed as she passed, offering her stiff nods and murmured greetings.
“Luna.”
“Blessed morning, Luna.”
She barely kept from flinching.
‘It’s like I’m in a different world,’ she whispered to Aeris.
‘We are. One where they finally see you for what you are. What we are.’
Giselle touched her mark gently, the bond tugging inside her chest—warm, alive, and real.
It pulled gently to the east.
Toward him.
Her feet moved faster, guided by that invisible thread binding her to Rowan. She crossed through the clearing and into the outer edges of the training grounds. Voices echoed ahead—grunts, the thud of bodies meeting earth, and quiet laughter.
She slowed her steps just as the trees opened up around the practice ring.
Her breath caught in her throat.
There he was.
Rowan stood in the center of the circle, his dark hair messy from exertion, sweat glistening along his jaw. His eyes gleamed with mischief and pride as he faced off against the woman opposite him—Charlie.
The two circled each other, but Giselle could already tell Charlie was tiring. And then, with a burst of movement, Rowan lunged.
He caught Charlie’s wrist in a blur of motion and swept her legs from beneath her with a fluid, effortless spin. She hit the ground with a huff of breath, and Rowan laughed—loud and genuine, his shoulders shaking with amusement.
Giselle’s chest squeezed.
That sound. That smile. She hadn’t heard or seen it often, not without shadows lurking behind it.
And she’d nearly lost it all.
‘We won’t let that happen again,’ Aeris whispered fiercely. ‘Not after everything.’
Giselle nodded silently, never taking her eyes off him.
*I will protect that smile,* she promised herself. *I’ll protect him. No matter what.*
Even if it meant standing against every last traitor still hiding in this pack.
The warmth of the sun against her skin was nothing compared to the heat that blossomed in her chest when Rowan’s head snapped in her direction.
He’d caught her scent.
His eyes found hers in an instant—those stormy irises softening as joy swept across his face. It was the kind of joy that made her breath stutter and her pulse skip. His feet were already moving before she could even lift her hand in greeting, cutting across the packed training grounds with single-minded purpose.
She barely had time to brace herself before he reached her.
Without a word, he swept her into his arms and crushed his lips against hers. The kiss was wild and claiming, a silent reminder of the bond that tethered their souls. Her fingers curled into his shirt, clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded—which, he was.
Gasps and cheers echoed around them, but it was Charlie’s delighted giggle that finally broke them apart.
Giselle flushed, her cheeks burning as Rowan pulled back just enough to look at her. The smirk that curled his lips was pure trouble, his thumb brushing a stray curl from her face as if they were the only two people there.
“I like that look on you,” he murmured against her ear. “The flustered Luna look.”
She rolled her eyes and shoved lightly at his chest. “You’re impossible.”
“I know,” he said, grinning wider.
Before she could respond, the sound of boots crunching against packed dirt stole their attention.
A woman—tall, broad-shouldered, and unfamiliar—strode up to them, her dark hair braided tightly against her scalp and her arms corded with muscle. She wore the pack crest across her chest, and her eyes locked on Giselle with cold determination.
“I’d like to request a spar,” the woman said, voice clipped and even. “With your Luna.”
Giselle’s stomach fluttered with nerves.
Rowan’s body tensed beside her, his arm tightening around her waist. “She doesn’t need to prove herself,” he growled lowly, his protective instincts already flaring.
Giselle placed a calming hand on his chest. “It’s okay,” she said softly, stepping away from him. “If she wants to test me, I’ll let her.”
Her gaze slid across the training grounds, and that’s when she saw him.
Elder Malric stood half-shrouded in shadow, leaning against the side of a storage building. His arms were crossed, and though his expression was unreadable, his eyes were locked on her like a hawk.
Aeris stirred inside her, sharp and ready.
‘Let them watch,’ her wolf said. ‘Let them see what we’re made of.’
Giselle nodded, her jaw tightening as she stepped into the ring. “Let’s begin.”
The woman warrior gave a short bow, and Giselle mirrored it, her movements steady despite the nerves prickling along her spine.
She could feel Rowan’s presence like a wall behind her, his anger rolling off of him in waves, but he didn’t interfere. Not this time.
She wouldn’t run from this.
Not from a challenge.
Not from Elder Malric’s gaze.
Not from the weight of her title.
If they wanted proof she belonged at Rowan’s side, she’d give them a show they wouldn’t forget.
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