Chapter 22 YOU'RE MINE
Mia woke up in Alex’s bed.
Not the guest room. Not the med bay. _His_ bed.
Black sheets. Cedar scent. The smell of him everywhere.
She sat up too fast. The room spun. Her head pounded. Her muscles felt like she had run a marathon in her sleep.
Wolf.
The memory hit her all at once. Roof. Shift. Ivan. Council. Ceremony.
I fainted.
She groaned and fell back onto the pillow.
“Do not move.”
Alex’s voice.
She turned her head.
He was in the chair by the bed. Jeans. Black shirt. No shoes. Eyes on her like she was something fragile that might break if he blinked.
“How long was I out?” Mia asked. Voice rough. Dry.
“Four hours,” Alex said. “Yelena said it is normal. Shift takes everything out of you.”
Mia looked down at herself. Hoodie. Sweats.
“Did you... dress me?” Mia asked.
Alex’s jaw tightened. “Yelena did. I stayed outside the door.”
Right. Boundaries.Even when she was unconscious. Even when he had every right.
Mia swung her legs over the side of the bed. The floor was cold.
“Where is the pack?” Mia asked.
“Downstairs,” Alex said. “Waiting.”
“For what,” Mia said.
“For the mark,” Alex said.
Mia froze.
“The Council left two hours ago,” Alex said. “But the pack is still here. They saw you shift. They saw you bow to me. But they did not see the bite. They did not see the mark. And until they do, Clause 7 is still a threat.”
“So we fake it,” Mia said.
Alex stood. Walked to the bed. Stopped two feet away. Let her choose if he got closer.
“Yes,” Alex said. “We fake it.”
“How,” Mia asked.
“Blood,” Alex said. “Mine. On your neck. Where a bite mark would be. It will look real. It will smell real. It will satisfy the pack for 72 hours.”
Mia touched her neck. Where he would bite.
“It will not fool a real wolf,” Alex said. “But it will fool the pack. They want to believe. They need to believe.”
Mia looked up at him.
“Will it hurt you?” Mia asked.
Alex’s eyes darkened. “No. It will hurt me to lie. But it will hurt us more if we do not.”
Mia nodded.
“Okay,” Mia said.
Alex did not move.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked. “Because once we do this, the pack will believe you are mine. And they will expect you to act like it.”
Mia stood. The room swayed. Alex caught her elbow before she fell.
His hands were warm. Steady. Safe.
“I am sure,” Mia said. “Because I am yours. Even if the bite is not real yet.”
Alex’s breath caught.
Then he let her go. Stepped back.
“Come on,” Alex said. “We do this now. Before the pack gets restless.”
The great room was silent when they walked in.
Forty wolves. Standing. Waiting.
Mia’s heart hammered. Not from fear.
Alex did not let go of her hand.
He led her to the center of the room. In front of the stone hearth. Where the fire never went out.
Kane stood to the left. Luka to the right. Yelena behind them.
The pack was a wall of black and gray and brown.
Alex stopped. Turned to face her.
“Luna,” Alex said. Voice Alpha. Carrying. “Step forward.”
Mia stepped forward. One step. Two.
The pack watched.
Alex pulled a small knife from his boot. Silver. Clean.
He sliced his palm.
Red. His blood
Mia’s wolf stirred.
Alex reached for her. Tilted her chin up. Exposed her neck.
Mia closed her eyes.
She felt the cold of his blood on her skin.
She felt his thumb smearing it across her throat.
It smelled like copper. Like storm. Like Alex.
“By blood,” Alex said. “I claim Mia De Luca as my Luna and my wife.”
He leaned in.
Not a bite.
A kiss.
Right where the mark would be.
Mia’s knees went weak.
The pack inhaled as one.
Alex pulled back.
A red crescent on Mia’s neck. Shaped like teeth. Fake. But real enough.
“Luna,” Alex said.
Mia opened her eyes.
The pack was on its knees.
Mia’s throat tightened.
She looked at Alex.
He looked at her.
“That is enough,” Alex said to the pack. “The ceremony is complete. The Luna is marked.”
The pack rose.
Kane stepped forward first. Bowed. “Luna.”
Luka followed. “Luna.”
Then the rest. One by one. Forty times. “Luna.”
Mia stood there. Naked under their respect. Naked under their trust.
And she realized something.
She did not feel like an imposter anymore.
She felt like theirs. She now belonged somewhere since the death of her father.
Alex took her hand again. Led her back up the stairs. Away from the eyes. Away from the weight.
Back to his room.
The door clicked shut.
Silence.
Mia leaned against the door. Exhaled.
“That was...” Mia said.
“Surreal?” Alex said.
“Terrifying,” Mia said.
Alex smiled. Small. “It gets easier.”
“Does it?” Mia asked.
Alex walked to her. Stopped a foot away.
“When the pack accepts you,” Alex said. “When they see you as Luna. It gets easier. Because you are not alone anymore.”
Mia looked up at him.
“What now?” Mia asked.
“Now,” Alex said, “I teach you how to control the wolf.”
Mia blinked. “You can do that?”
“I had to learn,” Alex said. “Alone. For five years. I will not let you learn alone.”
He stepped closer.
“First,” Alex said, “you have to feel it. The wolf is not separate from you. It is you. It is your anger. Your protection. Your instinct. You do not fight it. You lead it.”
Mia swallowed. “How?”
Alex reached out. Put his hands on her shoulders.
“Close your eyes,” Alex said.
Mia did.
“Now breathe,” Alex said. “In. Out. In. Out. Feel the heat under your skin. That is the wolf. Do not push it down. Invite it up.”
Mia breathed.
The heat came. Slow. From her chest. From her shoulder. From the tattoo.
It spread through her limbs. Warm. Not painful. Alive.
“I feel it,” Mia whispered.
“Good,” Alex said. “Now do not be afraid of it. The wolf does not want to hurt you. The wolf wants to protect you.”
Mia’s eyelids fluttered.
She saw it.
The white wolf. In her mind. Standing in a field of snow. Gold eyes. Her eyes.
The wolf looked at her. Tilted its head.
Mate.
Mia gasped. Eyes flew open.
“I saw her,” Mia said.
Alex’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “You did.”
“She is beautiful,” Mia said.
“She is you.” Alex said.
Mia looked at him. Really looked.
He was close. Too close. His face was inches from hers. His hands were still on her shoulders. His scent was everywhere. Cedar and storm.