“Mate.” Coleman’s eyebrows rose. “We’ve jumped all the way to mate now?”
He froze. He hadn’t meant to say that. He’d been so careful not to even think that word, to keep his feelings contained in safer terminology—attraction, interest, temporary insanity. But his wolf had no such restraint.
Mate,his wolf agreed fiercely.OURS.
“It doesn’t matter what I call it.” He forced the words out through gritted teeth. “The pack won’t accept a human Luna. You know that as well as I do.”
“I know the elders won’t like it.” Coleman studied him. “I know there would be… complications. Questions about heirs, about leadership, about whether a human could truly understand pack dynamics. But Adrian—” He paused, seeming to weigh his next words carefully. “I want you to be happy. You’ve sacrificed enough for this pack. If she’s what you want?—”
“What I want doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t. You’re the Alpha. Your wellbeing affects the entire pack. If you’re miserable…”
“I’m not miserable.”
Coleman gave him a look that eloquently expressed his skepticism.
“I’m… managing,” he amended. “The moon’s close. Everything feels more intense. Once it passes?—”
“Once it passes, you’ll still want her. The moon just makes it harder to deny.”
He had no argument for that. He’d been telling himself for days that his obsession with Harper was a temporary affliction, a side effect of hormones and proximity and the particular madness of the pre-moon period. But he knew, in the part of himself that he tried very hard not to examine, that the full moon would wax and wane and his feelings wouldn’t change.
He wanted her with a ferocity that frightened him. And for the first time in eight years, he wasn’t sure his duty to the pack was enough to make him walk away.
“What do I do, Coleman?” The question emerged before he could stop it, vulnerable in a way he rarely allowed himself to be. “My wolf is convinced she’s meant for us. And every instinct I havesays to claim her, mark her, make her mine before another male even thinks about touching her. But the pack?—”
“The pack will adapt.” Coleman’s voice was firm. “They always do. That’s what wolves are good at.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then you make them. You’re the Alpha, Adrian. Your word is law. If you want the girl, take her. Anyone who challenges you, deal with them.”
“I can’t let this go any further. She leaves in a month, and then this… obsession… will fade.”
Coleman shook his head, a flicker of pity in his eyes. “You really think it’s that simple? That it’s just a temporary madness that will disappear when she does?”
“It has to be.”
It sounded so simple when Coleman said it. So straightforward. But Adrian knew the reality was far more complicated. The Moonstone Pack had endured a decade of instability under his father’s compromised leadership. They’d only just started to trust again, to believe that their Alpha had their best interests at heart. If he shattered that trust by choosing a human mate against the elders’ wishes…
“You should know that the elders are already meeting without you. They think you’re compromised, that you’re blinded by the human.” Coleman stood, stretching with a grunt. “Howard is saying you’re no longer fit to lead.”
A cold fury, sharp and clean, cut through the fog of lust and confusion. “Let them talk.”
“They’re not just talking. They’re gathering support. And you’re out here running from a girl instead of dealing with the problem.”
“She’s not the problem. I am.”
“Then fix it.” Coleman’s expression was unreadable. “One way or another.”
He stared out at the valley, watching shadows lengthen as the sun began its descent towards the mountain peaks. Somewhere behind him, miles back through the forest, Harper was probably still working at his desk. Still wearing that ridiculous t-shirt with the torn collar. Still smelling like temptation and trouble and everything he couldn’t have.
“I should get back.” He straightened, pulling the fragments of his control back together. “The official celebration starts in an hour.”
“Want me to stay?”
“No. Just do a quick patrol before you head back to the house.” He managed a thin smile. “And Coleman? Thank you. For…” He gestured vaguely at the cliff, the conversation, the rare moment of vulnerability he’d allowed.
