Rowan glances at me, but I keep my eyes on my people.
“I should have stood with you. I should have been the alpha my father raised me to be before everything began to go wrong. But I wasn’t. And I won’t offer you excuses for that because they serve no purpose here.”
A few wolves drop their gazes. Some nod. None walk away.
“What matters is I failed you once,” I say, voice deepening. “But I won’t do so again. So, I ask you to also give me time to show you who I am, who I can be to Solara.”
The tension shifts. Wariness giving way to attention, attention turning into something steadier, stronger.
“My place is with my mate, but also with this pack. And I will protect every one of you with the certainty and strength an alpha should.”
Rowan’s support brushes against my mind, and our bond pulses with warmth, the exact thing I need at this moment.
“If any of you doubt me,” I add, unflinching, “you are free to come talk to me privately or even to seek another pack. I won’t hold you hostage. A Solara wolf deserves a leader they believe in, and I intend to be exactly that, but I can only do so if you let me.”
A quiet, rolling murmur spreads through the group, and not a single wolf steps back.
This might only be a small sliver of our pack, but it’s a start. One I intend to repeat as much as necessary.
Right after I know Malrik is dead.
I feel Rowan’s inhale beside me, then she steps forward and speaks, surprising the hell out of me and several others.
“I just want to add how much I appreciate that you have shown up here to help,” she says, her words gentle. “As Cade already said, I’m new to this world, and I have plenty to learn, but I assure you I’m doing so with the intention of helping, not destroying. You might think you know the prophecy, but I encourage you to read it again. It talks about choice. One I get to make.” She grips my hand tighter. “I promise to choose right. Not just for all of you, but for my place as your alpha’s mate.”
That earns a few more nods and loosens her up.
She continues, “I promise I don’t bite unless I’m provoked. Hell, I’m even house-trained most days, and as long as none of you try to eat my best friend, who also happens to be a ferret, or make an attempt on my life and those I love, then I intend to prove any past mumblings of my existence wrong.”
A few pack members outright laugh. One actually chokes. Rowan is exactly what we need, and I hope they see that now, too.
A woman in the front—Sadie, I believe her name was—steps forward and bows her head. “Our luna.” Her voice shakes slightly. “Welcome home.”
One by one, the others lower themselves as well—some deep bows, some hesitant dips, some small nods of respect—but all acknowledging what’s true now:
I am their alpha. Rowan is their luna.
Chapter 20
ROWAN
The rush. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like this. My nerves had been a tangled mess when Cade and I first walked out to greet the wolves—my palms cold, my thoughts scattered—but the moment I stood before them, something inside me aligned.
A click. A settling. Arightnessspreading through my chest like warmth after a long winter.
It wasn’t NightShade I felt in that moment. It was the people. The wolves. The ones watching me with uncertainty, curiosity, and—whether they’ll admit it or not—a hint of hope.
They don’t know me yet. Some undoubtedly still fear what the Ashmark means for them. But looking into each of their eyes, feeling the tug of something ancient between us, I knew one thing with absolute certainty:
I will never harm them. I will never let myself become what they’ve been told.
That kind of destruction isn’t even an option. Not now that I finally understand who I am.
It’s one of the few things I can actually thank Malrik for, and what a twisted sentiment that is.
You’re going to be an incredible luna, Wolf murmurs, pride swelling through her voice.
What doeslunamean?I ask her since it seems a normal term to the others.
