The battlefield was silent now. The fires burned low, embers glowing against the wreckage of the hunters' camp. The wolves stood scattered in the clearing, bloodied but victorious, their howls fading into a hush that seemed almost reverent.
At the center of it all, Aria stood in her full wolf form, her silver-gray fur streaked with blood, her chest rising and falling with exhaustion. The pack's eyes were on her, not Damien, not the elders, her. She had torn down Viktor with her own fangs. She had led them through the storm. And in their gaze, there was no doubt.
She was their Luna.
Damien shifted first, his body reforming into the tall, scarred Alpha she loved. His chest glistened with sweat, his golden eyes softened as they found her. "Aria," he whispered, his voice hoarse from battle.
For a heartbeat, she hesitated. Then she shifted back, the glow of her wolf dissolving into her human form. She stood before him, trembling but strong, bare under the moonlight and unashamed.
The pack lowered their heads. Wolves knew what came next.
Damien stepped toward her slowly, reverently, as though afraid that if he touched her, she might vanish like a dream. His hand cupped her face, rough and warm, his thumb brushing away blood that wasn't hers. "You've changed everything," he said, voice raw. "I thought I would lead alone forever. But you… you were born for this. For me."
Tears pricked her eyes, but her voice was steady. "I don't want forever without you, Damien. I never did."
A hush fell over the clearing as he bent his head, pressing his forehead to hers. The mate bond between them pulsed like a living flame, stronger now than it had ever been.
And then Damien lowered his lips to her neck, his fangs grazing the soft skin just above her collarbone. Aria's breath caught, her hands tightening on his shoulders. The mark would seal them, tie their souls until death. She had no fear, only fierce, wild love.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice breaking against her skin.
Aria tilted her head, baring her throat without hesitation. "Always."
With a growl that trembled between tenderness and hunger, Damien sank his fangs into her flesh. The pain was sharp, but it was swallowed instantly by a rush of heat, light flooding her body from the inside out. The bond snapped into place like lightning, their souls entwining, their hearts beating as one.
Aria gasped, her knees buckling, but Damien caught her, holding her close as if she were everything. And she was.
The pack howled as one, the sound rising high into the night sky, a song of unity, of triumph, of recognition. The Luna was marked.
Aria pressed her lips to Damien's chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart. The mate bond glowed between them, visible only to them, but it was there strong, unbreakable.
Damien whispered against her ear, "Mine."
Aria smiled through tears, her voice fierce and sure. "Yours."
And under the moonlight, with the pack bearing witness and the night itself holding its breath, their souls became eternal.