Damon POV
It seemed fitting that before I could even name her as my Luna, something had to go wrong. Of course it did.
Some of the pack had started lashing out at Kalilah—spiteful words, sharp glares—even though I had made it very clear no one was to lay a hand on her. But, to them, verbal assault didn’t count. A loophole. Cowards hiding behind technicalities.
My mind couldn’t help but drift back to the time I brought her back.
“Why is she back?” one of them sneered the moment Caden and I entered the estate, Kalilah barely conscious in my arms.
She was bleeding more than I liked—way more—and I didn’t have time for this bullshit. But I still paused, just long enough to make a point.
“Because she was injured,” I snapped, “and she’s my mate.”
Gasps rippled through the small crowd that
