Chapter 19 MARRY ME
Mia could not walk straight.
Four legs were wrong. Four legs were new. Four legs made the ground feel too far and too close all at once.
She wobbled.
Alex was there. Always there. Hand under her belly, steadying her, keeping her from falling on the cold roof concrete.
“Easy,” Alex said. Voice low. “You are doing fine.”
Mia huffed. I am not fine.
She was a wolf. An eighty pound white wolf with gold eyes and a crown of fur that was not supposed to exist. She was Mia the barista who could barely make rent three weeks ago. Now she was Luna. Now she was pack. Now she was his.
And it was too much.
The wolf inside her wanted to run. To hunt. To chase the scent of Ivan that lingered in the air. The human inside her wanted to sit down and cry and pretend this was all a bad dream.
Both of them were shaking.
Alex saw it. Of course he saw it. He always saw it.
“Come here,” Alex said.
He sat on the roof floor. Legs crossed. Patted the space in front of him.
Mia looked at him. Then at the space. Then back at him.
Sit like a human?
I am not human right now.
Alex smiled. Small. Tired. “Wolf or human. It does not matter. Come to me.”
So she did.
She walked to him on unsteady legs and curled up in front of him. Like he was shelter.
He immediately wrapped his arms around her. Not around her neck. Around her shoulders. Around her.
“Good girl,” Alex said.
The wolf in her preened. The human in her wanted to roll her eyes.
Below them, the door slammed open again.
Kane. Still breathing hard. Still blood on his shirt.
“Boss,” Kane said. Stopped short when he saw Mia.
His eyes went wide.
“Luna,” Kane said. He dropped to one knee. Instant. No hesitation. “I did not know. I am sorry.”
Mia tilted her head. Why are you sorry?
“Pack law,” Kane said. “A Luna in wolf form is not to be spoken to unless spoken to first. I broke protocol.”
Alex did not move. Did not let go of Mia. “It is fine, Kane. Report.”
Kane swallowed. Looked at Mia. Asked for permission with his eyes.
Mia nodded once.
“Ivan is gone,” Kane said. “men hit us from the tunnel under the east wing. They had smoke. They had weapons. They had a plan.”
Mia’s wolf growled. Low. Deep.
Alex’s arms tightened around her. “I know. I felt it too.”
“He left a message,” Kane said.
“What message,” Alex said.
“A body,” Kane said. “One of our own. Hung from the gate. With a note pinned to his chest. It says Clause 7. 72 hours. Pureblood heir challenges hybrid. Present your marked Luna or forfeit title."
Silence.
The wind got colder.
Mia’s blood ran cold too.
Clause 7.
72 hours.
Marked Luna.
She looked up at Alex.
His jaw was clenched. His eyes were black. Not gold.
Black.
“Get the body down,” Alex said. “Burn it. Per pack law. And get Luka to medical. Now.”
Kane nodded. Stood. Did not look at Mia again. “Yes, Alpha.”
He left. The door slammed shut.
The roof was quiet again.
Just the wind. Just the city lights. Just the two of them.
Alex let out a breath he had been holding.
Then he looked down at Mia.
Really looked.
At the wolf. At the gold eyes. At the tattoo on her shoulder that now had fur growing around it.
“You are beautiful,” Alex said.
Mia huffed. Now?
“Now,” Alex said. “Especially now.”
He reached out. Slow. Let her see. Let her stop him.
He touched the top of her head. Between her ears. Where a Luna’s crown would be.
The wolf in her melted.
The human in her wanted to cry.
“Alex,” Mia said. Her voice came out a whine. Not words. Not yet.
“I know,” Alex said. “I know it is too soon. I know you do not understand what you are. I know you are scared.”
He was right. On all counts.
“But I also know this,” Alex said. “If we do not act now, they will take you from me. If we do not act now, Ivan wins. If we do not act now, the pack falls apart.”
Mia’s ears flattened. Act how?
Alex’s hands went still on her head.
He took a deep breath.
“Mia,” Alex said. “Will you marry me?”
The words hit her like a punch.
Mia froze.
Alex saw the shock in her eyes.
He smiled. Not the Alpha smile. The Alex smile. The one that was soft. The one that was real.
“Not like this,” Alex said. “Not as a wolf. As my Luna. As my wife. As my partner. For the pack. For the law. For us.”
He pulled back. Let her go. Stood up.
Then he dropped to one knee. On the roof. In front of her. In front of the city.
His hands were shaking.
The great Alessandro De Luca. The Alpha of Black Fang. The Pakhan of the Bratva.
Shaking.
“I know it is not romantic,” Alex said. “I know it is not flowers and dinner and a ring. I know it is politics and war and survival.”
He looked at her. Straight in the eyes. Wolf to wolf. Human to human.
“But I am not asking you to be my Luna because of Clause 7,” Alex said. “I am asking you because I cannot imagine doing this without you. I am asking you because when you put your hand on my chest in the pit, you stopped me from becoming the monster I was for five years. I am asking you because you are the only person who has ever seen me and not run.”
Mia’s throat burned.
Tears. Human tears. In wolf eyes.
“Alex,” Mia said. The word came out rough. Broken. Human.
The shift came fast.
Bones moved. Fur retreated. Skin reformed.
Pain. But less this time. Controlled.
She was human again. Naked. On the roof. At dawn. In his arms.
Alex wrapped his jacket around her without thinking. Without hesitation.
He was still on one knee.
He pulled something from his pocket.
Not a ring.
A simple black cord. With a silver wolf fang tied to it.
“My mother’s,” Alex said. “She wore it when she married my father. When he marked her. When she became Luna.”
He held it out to her.
“I do not have a ring,” Alex said. “I do not have time for a ring. But I have this. And I have me. And I have you. If you will have me.”
Mia stared at the fang.
At the cord.
She reached out. Took the cord.
Her fingers trembled.
“Yes,” Mia said.
One word.
But it was enough.
Alex’s face cracked.
Relief. Joy. Hope.
He stood. Pulled her into his arms. Held her like she was the only thing keeping him standing.
“Thank you,” Alex said. Against her hair. “Thank you, Mia. Thank you.”
Mia buried her face in his chest. In his jacket. In him.
“I did not say yes because of the pack,” Mia said. “I said yes because of you.”
“I know,” Alex said. “And I will spend the rest of my life proving I deserve that yes.”
Above them, the sky turned pink. Dawn.
Below them, the pack howled.
Forty wolves. Feeling it. Bond.Luna. Alpha mated.
Kane was right. The message was real. Clause 7 was real. 72 hours was real.
But so was this.
So was them.
Alex pulled back. Looked down at her.
“One more thing,” Alex said.
“What,” Mia said.
“When we go down there,” Alex said. “When we face the pack. When we face the Council. You are not just my Luna. You are my wife. Say it. Say it now. So I can hear it. So I can remember it when it gets bad.”
Mia met his eyes.
She stood up straight. Even naked. Even shaken. Even new.
“I am Mia De Luca,” Mia said. “Your wife. Your Luna. Your mate.”
Alex’s breath caught.
Then he kissed her.
Not deep. Not claiming. Promise.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers.
“Our pack,” Alex said. “Our rules. Our future.”
Mia nodded.
And for the first time since the crash. Since the bomb. Since the debt. Since the pit.
She believed it.