Chapter 39: The Supreme Alpha's Mate

The Moon Court had no law for two recognized Lunaris heirs.

That became my favorite fact.

For once, ancient law was forced to catch up with us instead of controlling us.

After three days of emergency deliberation, the Court issued a provisional ruling.

Rhea and I would both hold Lunaris heir status.

Neither could remove the other.

Major territorial decisions required joint approval until the reformed Pack created its own governance structure.

Cassian hated the bureaucracy.

I loved watching him suffer.

"Two signatures for everything?"

"Apparently."

"This is inefficient."

Rhea smiled sweetly.

"I think it's beautiful."

"You would."

The surviving Lunaris descendants voted to begin formal Pack restoration.

Not everyone returned.

Some had built lives elsewhere.

We didn't pressure them.

That mattered to me.

Lunaris would not become another system that told people their blood decided their future.

The ruins needed rebuilding.

Schools.

Housing.

Training grounds.

Medical facilities.

A memorial.

Rhea insisted the old Moon Crown laboratory be preserved as evidence until every missing person was identified.

I agreed.

Then she surprised me.

"I don't want to be Alpha."

We were standing beneath the cedar.

"What?"

"I want authority over archives and survivor restoration."

"That's very specific."

"I've had time to think."

She looked toward the ruins.

"I don't want Council meetings. I don't want military command. I definitely don't want people bowing."

"People bowing is weird."

"Exactly."

"But the territory recognized you."

"As heir."

She looked at me.

"It recognized you as something more."

I frowned.

"How do you know?"

"Mireya."

"Traitor."

Rhea laughed.

"The surviving wolves have been submitting recognition statements."

"And?"

"Most named you as Alpha candidate."

My stomach tightened.

"What about you?"

"They named me Keeper."

"Keeper?"

"Old Lunaris title. Bloodline records, history, legal protections."

Her eyes brightened for the first time when discussing a future role.

It fit her.

"You want that?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll support you."

"And I'll support you."

"For Alpha?"

"Unfortunately."

I groaned.

Rhea hugged me.

It was the first time she initiated one.

I held her tightly.

"Still think we have to kill each other?"

"Maybe if you steal my coffee."

"Reasonable."

The formal Lunaris Alpha recognition was scheduled for the next full moon.

Before that, another question remained.

Rowan.

The mate bond had grown stronger every day.

Sometimes I could sense his mood before seeing him.

Sometimes he knew I was approaching before I entered a room.

We still hadn't completed the bond.

Politically, everyone had opinions.

Nightvale traditionalists wanted it immediately.

Lunaris elders were divided.

The press treated our relationship like public property.

One headline asked:

WHEN WILL THE SUPREME ALPHA HEIR CLAIM HIS LUNA?

I hated the word claim.

Rowan hated it more after seeing my face.

"I can issue a statement."

"Saying what?"

"That nobody is claiming anyone."

"That'll definitely calm the internet."

"It won't."

"Exactly."

We were walking through the rebuilt section of Lunaris when he stopped.

"Nessa."

"Yeah?"

"I need to ask you something."

My stomach fluttered.

"What?"

"Not the bond."

I laughed.

"Okay."

"I want to court you properly."

I stared.

"You've been sending me flowers for months."

"Technically, I started while impersonating someone else."

"Terrible résumé."

"Exactly."

He looked nervous.

Actually nervous.

The future Supreme Alpha.

The boy who could silence rooms with one command.

Nervous asking me on a date.

"I want a beginning that isn't borrowed from Knox."

My chest tightened.

"No stolen account."

"No."

"No hidden identity."

"No."

"No ancient law."

"No."

"No Council politics."

"Preferably never."

I smiled.

"What would proper courting involve?"

"Dinner."

"Groundbreaking."

"Walks."

"Revolutionary."

"Flowers."

"You already overdo those."

"Less flowers."

"Maybe."

He stepped closer.

"And me asking before I kiss you."

My heart kicked.

"You're assuming there will be kissing."

"I'm hoping."

His ears were turning red.

I loved that.

"Okay."

"Okay to courting?"

"Yes."

His smile was immediate.

"Anything else?"

I looked at him.

The boy from the airport.

The stranger who had taken over Knox's account.

The child from my forgotten memories.

My mate.

Not my owner.

Not my rescuer.

Not the reward for becoming thin enough.

Just Rowan.

I reached up and touched his cheek.

"Ask."

His breathing stopped.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

He leaned down slowly.

Plenty of time for me to move away.

I didn't.

His lips touched mine.

The mate bond exploded.

Not painfully.

Warmth poured through me from head to toe.

My wolf howled with joy.

Rowan's hands stayed carefully at my waist.

The kiss was gentle.

Almost painfully gentle.

When we separated, his forehead rested against mine.

"Wow."

I laughed.

"Supreme Alpha vocabulary."

"Give me a second."

"You've had years of elite education."

"None of it covered this."

I kissed him again.

This time he made a surprised sound that made me laugh against his mouth.

Then a howl sounded from the ridge.

Rhea.

Another followed.

Cassian.

Then half the Lunaris wolves nearby joined in.

I pulled away, horrified.

"They can sense this?"

Rowan looked equally embarrassed.

"Pack bond resonance."

"I'm moving."

"Where?"

"Human territory."

He laughed.

I buried my face against his chest.

For the first time, the future didn't feel like something I needed to earn by changing myself.

I didn't need to be thinner.

Prettier.

More obedient.

More useful.

I had spent a year transforming my body because I believed love would arrive only when I became acceptable.

Knox had confirmed my worst fear when he rejected the girl I used to be.

Rowan had shattered it when he loved me before he knew what I looked like.

But even that wasn't the whole lesson.

My worth had never depended on either of them.

Not Knox's disgust.

Not Rowan's love.

Not Moon Court recognition.

Not Lunaris blood.

Mine.

My phone buzzed.

A message from Rhea.

[Could feel that from the other side of the courtyard. DISGUSTING.]

I showed Rowan.

He typed:

[Jealous.]

Rhea replied instantly:

[I know where you sleep, Vale.]

Rowan looked at me.

"Your family is terrifying."

"Our family."

The words slipped out.

His expression changed.

Soft.

Almost stunned.

I realized what I'd said.

I didn't take it back.

Rowan squeezed my hand.

"Our family," he repeated.

Beyond us, workers were rebuilding the walls of Lunaris.

Not restoring them exactly as they had been.

Building something new on the same foundation.

I understood the feeling.

And somewhere inside the old cedar courtyard, my wolf settled peacefully beneath the moon.