The Alpha's Bargain

The Beast's Moon Part 3

"The pack respects your strength," Lucas said. "But respect born from fear isn't the same as loyalty born from trust."

"They trust me to keep them safe."

"They fear you'll lose control." His words cut deeper than I expected. "And lately, so do I."

The admission hung between us like a blade. In forty years of service, Lucas had never questioned my judgment so directly. That he was doing so now spoke to how far I'd drifted from the leader he'd sworn to follow.

"I won't put them at risk," I said, and meant it. Whatever else the curse had taken from me, whatever it had twisted in my nature, my duty to the pack remained absolute.

"Not intentionally. But Kieran..." He paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully. "When did you last hunt with them? When did you last run as a pack rather than alone?"

I couldn't answer, because I couldn't remember. Months, certainly. Possibly longer. The wolf in me preferred solitude, especially as the dreams had grown stronger. Company meant questions I couldn't answer, emotions I couldn't explain.

"They need their alpha," Lucas continued. "Not the distant lord who issues commands from the castle walls, but the wolf who runs beside them, who shares in their struggles."

"I share in their struggles."

"You shoulder their burdens. It's not the same thing."

The distinction felt important, though I wasn't sure why. Leadership had always meant taking responsibility for others' welfare, ensuring their safety even at the cost of your own comfort. What Lucas was describing sounded dangerously close to vulnerability.

The wind shifted again, and this time it carried something that made my wolf surge to attention. Just a trace, barely detectable even with supernatural senses, but unmistakably human. Female. Young.

And familiar in a way that made no sense at all.

I straightened, nostrils flaring as I tried to catch the scent again. Lucas noticed my reaction immediately, his own posture shifting to match mine.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Do you smell that?"

He inhaled deeply, frowning with concentration. "Human. But distant. Miles away, probably carried on the wind from the southern settlements."

The rose will bring her. The prophecy whispered through my mind with sudden urgency, and I felt my pulse quicken in response. It was impossible—humans didn't venture this far into the mountains, especially not alone. The stories Lucas had mentioned, the fear that kept them away, should have been protection enough.

But the scent was real, growing stronger as the wind continued to blow from the south. And with it came a certainty I couldn't explain, a recognition that went deeper than rational thought.

"We need to return to the castle," I said, already shifting back to wolf form. My bones reformed with unusual haste, driven by an urgency I didn't fully understand.

Lucas followed suit without question, his transformation as smooth as water flowing downhill. Together we raced through the forest, covering ground with the fluid efficiency of predators at the height of their power.

The castle appeared through the trees like something from a fever dream—massive stone walls that had stood for centuries, towers that scraped the sky, battlements designed for war in an age when war meant something very different than it did now. My ancestral home, my prison, my kingdom. All of it bathed in moonlight that made the ancient stones look almost alive.

I took human form at the base of the east tower, not bothering with clothes as I climbed the winding stairs to the highest battlement. Lucas followed more slowly, his breathing labored from the rapid shift and the hard run.

From the tower's peak, I could see for miles in every direction. The forest spread out below like a dark sea, broken by clearings that gleamed silver in the moonlight. To the south, barely visible even with my enhanced vision, the lights of human habitation twinkled like distant stars.

And on the wind—stronger now, impossible to mistake—that scent that made every instinct I possessed roar to life.

She's coming.

I didn't speak the words aloud, didn't trust Lucas with the certainty that had taken root in my chest like a physical thing. But as I stood n***d on the battlements of my castle, breathing in air that carried the promise of everything I'd dreamed of and feared to hope for, I knew the waiting was finally coming to an end.

"Kieran." Lucas's voice held a note of warning. "Your eyes."

I could feel them changing, pupils dilating as the wolf surged closer to the surface. My hands gripped the stone parapet hard enough to leave marks, claws threatening to emerge as control slipped by degrees.

The rose will bring her.

Three nights until the full moon. Three nights to prepare for whatever fate the prophecy had in store.

Three nights to decide whether I was strong enough to face it.

The scent grew stronger on the night air, and somewhere in the darkness beyond my territory, I knew she was moving closer. Coming to me, whether she knew it or not.

Coming home.