Chapter 24 HONEYMOON
Mia was surprised when Alex announced that they'd be going for a honeymoon. So werewolves also knew what that was?
The private jet did not feel like a honeymoon.
It felt like a moving war room.
Mia sat by the window in a sweater that was too big, watching the fictional Manhattan skyline shrink below them. The silver wolf fang at her neck caught the morning light. The fake bite mark on her throat had faded to a faint pink stain. It would be gone by tonight.
Seventy two hours started now.
Alex sat across from her. Suit jacket off. Shirt sleeves rolled up. A laptop open on his lap. Phone in his hand. Maps. Security feeds. Messages from Kane.
No champagne. No music. No honeymoon.
Mia sighed.
“You know honeymoons usually do not involve three security briefings before takeoff,” Mia said.
Alex looked up. His eyes were tired. Black, not gold. Human tired.
“I know,” Alex said. “I am sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” Mia said. “You are trying to keep us alive. I get it.”
Alex closed the laptop. Set it on the seat beside him.
“Then let me do this right,” Alex said.
He stood. Walked to her side of the cabin. Sat in the seat next to her. Not across. Next to.
Mia turned to face him.
“The pack believes the bond is complete,” Alex said. “The Council believes the bond is complete. In 72 hours, it has to be complete. For real.”
Mia nodded. Her hand went to the fang at her neck.
“So this is not a honeymoon,” Mia said.
“It is,” Alex said. “Just not the kind you see in movies.”
He reached out. Tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek. Warm. Gentle.
“This is a honeymoon where I get you alone for 72 hours,” Alex said. “No pack. No Council. No Ivan. Just you. Me. And the wolf.”
Mia’s breath caught.
“And we train,” Alex said. “We hunt. We learn to move as one. So that when the 72 hours are up, you choose the bite. Not because you have to. Because you want to.”
Mia looked at him. Really looked.
He was scared. She could see it. Behind the Alpha mask. Behind the control.
He was scared she would say no.
Mia reached out. Covered his hand with hers.
“I choose you,” Mia said. “I chose you on the roof. I chose you in the great room. I choose you now.”
Alex’s throat moved. He swallowed.
“Good,” Alex said. “Because I choose you too. Every time.”
The jet leveled out. The seatbelt sign went off.
Yelena appeared from the front cabin with a tray. Coffee. Water. Fruit.
“No,” Yelena said, looking at them. “Do not make me leave again. I am not your chaperone.”
Alex smirked. First real smirk in days. “We are behaving, Yelena.”
Yelena set the tray down. Eyed them both. “You better be. The pack is already making bets on how long it takes you two to be alone in a room without talking about war.”
Mia felt her cheeks heat.
Yelena left.
Alex picked up the coffee. Handed it to Mia.
“Drink,” Alex said. “You need it.”
Mia took a sip. It was strong. Black. Just how she liked it.
He remembered.
“How do you know I like it black?” Mia asked.
Alex smiled. “I pay attention, Mia.”
The flight was three hours.
They did not talk about Ivan. They did not talk about the Council. They did not talk about Clause 7.
They talked about stupid things.
Mia told him about the first time she burned coffee at the café. Alex told her about the first time he got lost in the woods as a kid and tried to hunt a deer with a stick.
It was normal.
It felt normal.
And for three hours, they were not Alpha and Luna. They were not war and curse and blood.
They were just Mia and Alex.
The jet landed on a private airstrip.
No city. No buildings. Just forest and mountains and a lake that stretched to the horizon.
Manhattan was gone.
This was the pack’s old hunting grounds. Abandoned for years. Safe. Remote.
No one knew they were here.
Except Kane. Except Yelena. Except the two pilots who were sworn to silence.
A cabin stood at the edge of the lake. Small. Stone. One bedroom. One fireplace. One big window that looked out at the water.
Mia stopped at the door.
“A cabin,” Mia said.
“A safe place,” Alex said. “No cameras. No bugs. No one can hear us here.”
Mia looked at him.
“Is that important?” Mia asked.
Alex’s eyes darkened.
“Yes,” Alex said. “Because in 72 hours, I am going to mark you. And I do not want anyone else to hear you.”
Mia’s pulse jumped.
Mark you.
The words hit different when there was no pack around to hear them.
Alex opened the door.
The cabin smelled like pine and old wood and smoke.
Clean. Simple.
There was a bed. A big one. With blankets that looked soft.
Mia did not look at the bed for long.
She looked at Alex.
“What now?” Mia asked.
“Now,” Alex said, “we start.”
He set his phone on the table. Turned it off.
“No contact with the outside world for 72 hours,” Alex said. “Unless it is Ivan burning the pack house down.”
Mia nodded.
Alex walked to her. Stopped in front of her.
“First lesson,” Alex said. “Control.”
He reached out. Put his hands on her shoulders.
“Close your eyes,” Alex said.
Mia did.
“Feel the wolf,” Alex said. “It is there. Under your skin. Waiting. Do not push it down. Do not let it take over. _Lead it_.”
Mia breathed. In. Out. In. Out.
The heat came. Slow. From her chest. From her shoulder. From the tattoo.
It spread through her limbs. Warm. Alive.
“I feel her,” Mia whispered.
“Good,” Alex said. “Now tell her to sit. Tell her you are in control.”
Mia focused. On the heat. On the wolf.