Chapter 21
Of all the things I expected from Riven’s mother-Luna Dowager Cecille Ashton-this wasn’t it. I had braced myself for subtle jabs or calculated indifference. But what I found instead… was a woman who saw through me. Who recognized my strength. A wolf who knew what it meant to sever blood ties and still survive.
“Riven,” she said, her voice sharp and commanding, the kind that could silence a room, “now that you’ve brought her into our pack, you’d better treat her right. If I ever hear you’ve mistreated this girl… don’t blame me for throwing you out of the family myself.”
The whole room tensed-wolves included. Even Alpha Riven’s beta, who never flinched in battle, visibly swallowed.
But Riven only chuckled, as if this threat was a bedtime story. “Don’t worry, Mother. In my world, it’s either marriage or widowhood. Divorce isn’t on the table.”
His voice was smooth and confident, but beneath it, I felt the truth in his energy. He meant every
word.
Cecille stepped forward, regal as ever, and took my hand to hers. Her grip was firm. Territorial. With every high-ranking Ashton wolf watching, she led me to the center of the glowing room and raised my hand in hers like a warrior returning from war.
“From this moment onward,” she announced, her voice infused with power, “Avelyn Moonveil is no longer a rouge she-wolf. She is my daughter-in-law-and Luna of the Ashton Pack. Anyone who dares disrespect her disrespects me.”
A hush fell like snow.
No one challenged her. No one dared.
The wolves lowered their heads, murmuring in one voice, “Luna Avelyn.”
My heart stilled.
That title… it didn’t just mean marriage or romance. It was identity. Territory. Recognition. After everything I had lost-my parents, my so-called mate, my past-this was the first time I truly belonged.
Once the formalities were done, Cecille left the gathering with her usual grace, leaving the room to us. She hated crowded rooms and pointless chatter, but she never left without securing dominance first. That was her way.
What followed was surprisingly… pleasant. The other guests-mostly Ashton cousins, Betas, and high-ranking pack wolves-were polite, even deferential. A few she-wolves eyed me with a bit too much curiosity, but none dared step out of line.
By 10 p.m., the guests began trickling out. Since the Ashton Ancestral Packhouse was deep in the northern mountain range and far from our usual territory, Riven and I decided to stay the night.
The guest wing was palatial. Every corner smelled of pine, parchment, and aged power. The Ashton ancestral home radiated something sacred-old blood and stronger bones.
7:07 pm
After a warm shower, I slipped into a robe and padded toward the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. Sleep still felt far away, and my wolf was unsettled. Too much energy. Too much
adrenaline.
I was halfway down the hall when a voice burst behind me.
“Avelyn!”
I jumped, nearly dropping the glass in my hand.
Turning sharply, I saw a grinning wolf with hazel eyes and sandy-blonde curls bouncing in the air Riven’s younger sister.
“Claire,” I hissed, hand to my chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
She giggled unapologetically. “Well, Luna, you’ve been busy playing royalty. I’ve been trying to get a moment alone with you all night!”
I groaned lightly. “Can’t this wait until morning? You do know it’s almost midnight, right?”
Claire hooked her arm through mine before I could protest. “Absolutely not. This is urgent. It’s about Lexie.”
My wolf tensed.
‘… What about her?” I asked, suddenly fully awake.
She dragged me to a velvet couch in a quiet corner near the moonlit balcony, where no ears would overhear us.
‘I overheard some whispers tonight,” she began. “But I also have some tea of my own. Back when I was in Paris, I ran into your sister, Lexie once.”
My brow furrowed. “And?”
‘She was wrapped around the arm of this insanely wealthy Alpha-married, by the way. His Luna found out, and let’s just say it didn’t end well for your dear sister.”
‘She got chased?” I said, my lips twitching.
‘Chased, clawed, humiliated. She barely escaped with her fur intact.” Claire smirked, clearly elishing the memory. “After that, she started sniffing around other packs-trying to latch onto any Alpha with power and a loose mating mark. Word is, she even had surgery to restore her virginity.”
blinked. “She what?”
Claire leaned in conspiratorially. “True story. Do you know how some old-blood packs value ‘pure mates? She was trying to sell herself as some sacred untouched thing. All an act. The girl has no shame.”
I sighed, half in disbelief. “I knew she wasn’t innocent, but I didn’t realize how far she’d fallen.” Claire shrugged. “Apparently, when none of that worked, she came crawling back here, hoping tc hook herself to Alpha Darius. The poor idiot didn’t know he was her backup plan.”
I snorted. “If he had any brain left, it probably short-circuited the day he chose her over me.” Claire let out a low growl. “Honestly, Avelyn, your ex was an absolute moron. Letting go of a Luna-blooded female like you for a lying, secondhand snake? May the Moon Goddess strike his next heat with fleas.”
Chapter 21
7:08 pm
I laughed despite myself.
But before she could finish the next piece of gossip, a sudden sharp tug yanked her ear sideways.
“CLAIRE,” a low, amused voice growled, “do you have nothing better to do than spread chaos a midnight?”
The familiar low growl of warning cut through the silence like a whip.
Claire flinched so hard you’d think someone had just shifted mid-room.
‘R-Riven…” she stammered, eyes wide and ears twitching back in instinctive submission. “I’n ine, really. I wasn’t bothering anyone. You should just take her and go.”
She practically shoved me away as if I were burning silver, her hands trembling just enough fo me to notice.
Only then did Riven loosen his grip on her shoulder, his hand dropping slowly-though his Alpha dominance still lingered in the air like smoke.
His voice, when it came, was glacial. Final.
Don’t let me catch you pestering her again.”
No growl, no shouting. Just a quiet promise of consequences that no wolf wanted to test.
He didn’t wait for her response-just took my hand and walked off with long, purposeful strides
is heat and presence enveloping me in full.
Behind us, I heard Claire finally breathe again.
Ugh,” she muttered under her breath, likely thinking we were out of earshot. “He gets a mat and suddenly forgets he has a sister…”
didn’t look back.
But I could feel it-that bite of jealousy curling in her aura, the bruised sting of being overlooked.
n a pack like the Ashtons, even blood meant little when power was on the line.
And Riven?
He wasn’t just my mate. He was an Alpha-and I was his chosen Luna.
No one-sister or not-got to cross that boundary twice.
Chapter 21
7:08 pm
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.