“I was going to say females,” Elise said quietly. “Did something happen?”
“He kissed me.”
Another stunned silence from the other end of the phone.
“Three times. Well, technically I kissed him first, but it was just supposed to be a thank-you thing, and then he?—”
“Grabbed you and kissed you senseless?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“And then?”
“And then he stopped.” She couldn’t quite keep the frustration out of her voice. “Again. He said it’s because the full moon is so close, but he also told me he doesn’t trust easily.”
“Because of Vivienne.”
“You know about her?”
“I grew up there, remember. She was a bitch in every sense of the word, using anyone she could get her hands on.”
“Did… did Adrian love her?”
“No, not like that.” Elise said immediately. “From what I heard, she played the part of a devoted stepmother pretty convincingly for a while and he believed her. He eventually found out the truth, but he promised his father he’d take care of her and he wasn’t going to break that vow. And she was clever, she hadenough connections to make sure that he never knew exactly how bad she was. But then she tried to kidnap Derek’s mate.”
She stared at the phone in shock. “She did what?”
“Kidnapped Julie. She was going to make Derek pay to get her back, but she forgot one thing—no one ever touches an alpha’s mate. Derek almost killed her and then Adrian banished her.”
She thought about what Adrian had said about his stepmother. “He may not have loved her but I think she tried to seduce him.”
Elise paused for a long moment. “That’s not a story I’ve heard, but it wouldn’t really surprise me. He’s been alone for a long, long time, Harper.”
“He thinks all women are like her,” she said slowly. “Clever, manipulative, and dangerous.”
“He doesn’t trust himself where women are concerned. He was probably terrified of letting anyone get close again.”
Her heart clenched painfully. All this time, she’d thought his caution was about her—about her being human, an outsider, not pack. But it was about him. About the wounds he was still carrying.
“What about the full moon thing?” she asked. “He said it affects his control.”
“It’s complicated.” Elise’s voice was thoughtful. “The moon intensifies everything. Instincts, emotions, desires. For most wolves, it’s just a heightened state of awareness. For an alpha, it’s different. The responsibility for the pack, the need to protect, the territorial instincts—it all gets magnified a thousand times. And the need to claim…” Elise trailed off. “Let’s just say it becomes a priority.”
“A priority?”
“A compulsion, almost. An overwhelming biological drive to secure a mate, to ensure the continuation of the pack line.” Elise sighed. “Adrian has been fighting that for years. He’s resisted the Elders’ suggestions that he take a political mate, and fought off every female who’s thrown herself at him. He’s been holding out for something he thought didn’t exist.”
Something real.The unspoken words that had hung in the air between them. Something he thought had been destroyed by betrayal.
“I told him I wasn’t going anywhere,” she confessed quietly. “That I wanted to try.”
“Good,” Elise said, and her simple approval felt like a gift. “He needs to hear that. But you should also know… the full moon is dangerous for him. The instinct to claim isn’t romantic, Harper. It’s a primal urge. He’s afraid of hurting you, of losing control and doing something he can’t take back.”
A shiver went down her spine that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the dangerous thrill of what he’d described—conquest, possession, the raw force of his desire.
“What about the other wolves?” she asked, switching back to a topic she could actually solve. “I’ve been given authority over security, but the elders are going to fight me every step of the way. I need to know how to navigate pack politics without accidentally starting a civil war.”
Elise laughed. “Okay. Well, for starters, don’t show any fear. They can smell it a mile away, and they’ll interpret it as weakness.”
