Chapter 21 WEDDING 2
“We tell them the bond is complete,” Alex said. “We tell them you are marked. We tell them the bite happened at dawn. On the roof.”
“That is not true,” Mia said.
“No,” Alex said. “But it will be true in 72 hours. And if we hold the line for 72 hours, the bridge closes. The curse stays dead. And we win.”
Mia stared at him.
Lie to the Council.
Lie to the pack.
Lie to herself.
“Is that what you do?” Mia asked. “You lie to win?”
“Sometimes,” Alex said. “Sometimes you lie to protect what is yours.”
Mia looked at the pack. At the wolves who had bowed to her. At the wolves who now looked to her for protection.
She looked at Alex. At the man who had given her everything and asked for nothing but her yes.
“Okay,” Mia said.
Alex blinked. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Mia said. “We lie. But we do it together. And in 72 hours, we make it true.”
Alex’s face softened. Just for a second. Relief.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
“Do not thank me yet,” Mia said. “I might kill you in 72 hours.”
Alex laughed. Real laugh. The first one since the pit.
“I would deserve it,” Alex said.
Yelena stepped forward. “Then we prepare.”
“For what,” Mia asked.
“For the Council,” Yelena said. “And for the bite.”
MIA
The bite.
Not today.
Not now.
But soon.
In 72 hours.
Or Ivan wins.
Or the Council wins.
Or we lose everything.
Alex took her hand again. Led her down the steps.
The pack parted for them.
Luka caught Mia’s eye as they passed. Gave her a small nod. You got this.
Kane stood at attention. Loyal.
Yelena fell into step behind them. Guardian.
They reached the great doors.
Alex stopped. Turned to her.
“Ready?” Alex asked.
Mia looked at the doors. Behind them, twelve old wolves waited. Twelve purebloods who wanted her gone.
She thought of the nightmare. Of Ivan with a knife. Of Alex bleeding out.
She thought of the wolf inside her. The one that wanted to hunt. The one that wanted to protect.
She thought of the man holding her hand. The one who had given her a choice when she had none.
“No,” Mia said.
Alex’s shoulders dropped.
“But I will do it anyway,” Mia said.
Alex smiled. Slow. Dangerous.
“That is my Luna,” Alex said.
The doors opened.
Cold air hit them.
And there they stood.
Twelve Council members. In black. On the steps.
And at the front.
Viktor.
Neck brace gone. Wrist healed. Smile smug.
“Alessandro De Luca,” Viktor said. Voice loud. Carrying. “We are here to witness the marked Luna. As per Clause 7.”
Alex stepped forward. One step. Putting himself between Mia and Viktor.
“You are not welcome here,” Alex said.
“The Council goes where it pleases,” Viktor said. “Especially when an Alpha fails to uphold pack law.”
“An Alpha has not failed,” Alex said. “A Luna has been chosen.”
Viktor’s eyes went past Alex. To Mia.
He looked her up and down. Saw the dress. Saw the bare feet. Saw the fang at her neck.
Saw no bite mark.
Saw no blood.
Saw no proof.
Viktor’s smile got wider.
“Where is the mark, Luna?” Viktor asked. “Where is the bite? Where is the proof that you are bound to him?”
Mia stepped out from behind Alex.
She stood beside him. Equal.
She lifted her chin.
“I am marked,” Mia said.
Viktor laughed. “I see no mark.”
“You see no bite,” Mia said. “But you see me. You see me standing here. You see me accepted by this pack. You see me chosen by this Alpha. That is the mark. That is the proof. That is the law.”
Viktor’s face hardened.
“The law says marked,” Viktor said. “The law says bite. The law says blood.”
“The law also says a Luna is chosen by the pack,” Mia said. “And the pack has chosen me.”
Behind her, forty wolves growled. Low. Agreement.
Viktor looked at Alex.
“Is this how it is now?” Viktor asked. “You let a human speak for you?”
“She is not human,” Alex said. “Not anymore.”
“Prove it,” Viktor said.
Alex turned to Mia.
Mia understood.
She let the wolf come forward. Just a little. Just enough.
Her eyes flashed gold.
For three seconds.
Then they went brown again.
Silence.
Viktor’s smile disappeared.
“Impossible,” Viktor whispered. “A first shift without a bite?”
“Nothing is impossible with a true Luna,” Yelena said from behind them.
Viktor looked between Alex and Mia. At the way they stood. At the way they held each other. At the way the pack stood behind them.
He knew.
He had lost.
For now.
“Seventy two hours,” Viktor said. “Clause 7 stands. If you are not marked in seventy two hours, the challenge stands. Alessia De Luca will claim what is hers.”
He turned to leave.
Then he stopped. Looked back at Mia.
“And when he bites you,” Viktor said. “When he marks you. Remember this. A marked Luna cannot be unmarked. A marked Luna cannot leave. A marked Luna belongs.”
He left.
The Council followed.
The gates slammed shut.
Silence.
Mia let out a breath she had not realized she was holding.
Her legs gave out.
Alex caught her before she hit the ground.
“I have you,” Alex said.
“I know,” Mia said. Against his chest. “I know.”
The pack was silent.
Waiting.
Alex looked at them. At his pack. At her pack.
“The Council has spoken,” Alex said. “Seventy two hours. We will hold the line. We will protect our Luna. We will protect our pack. And in seventy two hours, we will make this bond real.”
The pack howled.
One voice. One sound. One pack.
Alex looked down at Mia.
“Seventy two hours,” Alex said.
Mia nodded.
“Seventy two hours,” Mia said.
And then she fainted.
From exhaustion. From fear. From wolf.
Alex caught her. Lifted her into his arms.
“Medical,” Alex said to Yelena. “Now.”
Yelena nodded.
As Alex carried Mia up the stairs, the pack watched.
And for the first time in five years, the pack did not see a feral Alpha.
They saw a mate.
They saw a husband.
They saw a future.