For a whole week, Darius and Cassandra remain cloaked in the enchanted stillness of their secluded cabin sanctuary, hidden deep within the forest where even the wind seems to tiptoe around them. Time bends here...soft and slow, like honey dripping from a spoon. It's as if the universe itself is holding its breath, giving them space to breathe, to heal, to learn each other without the weight of expectation pressing down.
Every morning begins the same way...tangled limbs, tangled sheets, soft kisses that start sleepy and turn sinful, followed by long, lingering breakfasts where Cassandra tries (and fails) to get Darius to eat anything sweet. He insists he doesn't like honey. She insists he's wrong. He eats it anyway, especially when she feeds it to him with her fingers.
Their days bleed into each other like watercolour. They shift often, spending hours in their wolf forms...silver and onyx fur flashing between the trees, their movements a ballet of mischief and magic. The forest is alive around them, its old magic stirred by the bond between Alpha and Luna. Cassandra swears the moss glows when they run, and once, she catches a glimpse of something...a shimmer, a blink of otherworldly eyes...watching them from the trees.
"I think the woods are enchanted," she murmurs one evening as they lie naked beneath a blanket of stars, her head resting on Darius's chest.
"They are," he says simply, as if that explains everything. "They've been waiting for us."
"For us?" she echoes, lifting her head.
He doesn't elaborate. Just pulls her back down and kisses the top of her head like he's sealing some ancient truth.
They talk more now. Not just about the future, but the past. Cassandra tells him about her childhood...her mother's laugh, the way her father taught her to track by scent, even though she was still to young to know better, the emptiness after losing them both. Darius shares pieces of his own story in return...his first shift, the mate he lost, the pressure of the Alpha title, the day he realized the pack feared him more than they trusted him.
"Not anymore," she says softly. "They'll follow you because they love you. Because you chose love."
He scoffs, but doesn't deny it.
No one would guess that they once growled and snapped at each other like rival wolves in a storm. That Cassandra once threatened to break his nose. That Darius once called her an overconfident brat.
And yet...Grace had seen it all along. Her knowing smirks. Her quiet nudges. Darius's mother had known what the moon was whispering long before either of them listened.
But the moon doesn't wait forever. And eventually, the sanctuary begins to feel too quiet.
The call to return comes like a soft tug...responsibility coiling around their ankles, pulling them back to where they're needed. Darius is Alpha. Cassandra, Luna. Their place is with the pack. No matter how sweet the escape, the real work lies ahead.
Cassandra's nerves rise the closer they get. The familiar silhouette of the pack house looms, half-shrouded in early morning mist. Birds chirp cheerfully, unaware of the storm in her belly. Her hand tightens in Darius's as her steps slow.
He glances sideways. "You okay?"
She swallows. "I'm not sure."
"You don't have to be," he says, tugging her gently closer. "I'll carry all of it if I have to."
She leans into him, steadying herself with his warmth. "I'm supposed to be Luna. I should walk in there like I own the place."
"You kind of do," he says with a smirk. "But they'll love you even if you trip over the front step and yell at someone's kid."
She laughs. It helps.
When they reach the clearing, a small crowd waits...pack members with eager smiles, hushed murmurs, and curious eyes. Their return wasn't announced, but word travels fast. There's no ceremony yet, no formal titles spoken aloud, but the air crackles with expectation.
Michael is the first to emerge from the crowd, striding up like a man who owns the sun. He throws his arms wide. "Our prodigal Alpha returns! And look...he didn't come back alone."
Darius grunts and accepts a bone-crushing hug.
Lexie follows behind, glowing as always, giving Cassandra a warm embrace and a whispered, "About time. You both smell like mated bliss."
Cassandra flushes.
Sasha bursts through the crowd next...hair wild, energy wilder. "Did you guys elope or get kidnapped by forest spirits?! I was five seconds away from storming the woods with a sword and snacks!"
Aidan trails behind her, less dramatic but no less relieved. "We're glad you're safe."
"I'm glad she's finally mated," Sasha says, tossing her arm around Cassandra's shoulders. "Now Darius can stop being a sulky caveman."
"I heard that," Darius mutters.
"You were meant to."
The crowd slowly begins to disperse, leaving the inner circle trailing behind as Cassandra and Darius retreat inside. The house smells familiar...wood, spice, and the faint scent of lavender from Grace's garden. It's strange to be back. Familiar and foreign all at once.
In Darius's office, the core pack gathers...Luke and Grace, Michael and Lexie, Sasha and Aidan.
Darius pulls Cassandra into his lap as if it's second nature now, arms draped lazily around her waist, chin tucked into her neck.
"So," Sasha says, crossing her arms and rocking on her heels. "Are you going to tell us now, or keep us guessing?"
Michael raises a brow. "Tell us what?"
Lexie groans. "Oh, come on. Michael, really?"
"I'm not slow," he says defensively. "I just don't assume people are pregnant after a week."
Sasha gasps. "Wait...what?! I was asking about them being a couple!"
Cassandra blinks. "Lexie, you told him?!"
Lexie shrugs. "I didn't say anything. I just smirked. A lot."
Grace just smiles knowingly. "It's not obvious. Yet. But I knew the moment you stepped through the door. You're glowing, sweetheart."
Sasha gapes. "Wait...are you serious? Like, actually pregnant?"
Darius growls softly, rubbing Cassandra's back. "Yes. But it's early. We weren't planning to announce it yet."
Sasha makes a sound that's somewhere between a gasp and a squeal. "Oh my goddess. I'm going to be an aunt!"
"No shit...," Darius mutters.
Sasha throws a cushion at him. "This is huge! Monumental! Do you know how special that is with chosen mates? That quickly?"
Luke nods, voice calm. "It speaks to the strength of your bond. And the blessing of the moon."
"Or," Michael adds, "you two couldn't keep your hands off each other for five minutes."
Darius shoots him a glare. "Do you want to be Beta for much longer?"
"Just stating facts," Michael says, grinning.
Cassandra hides her face, laughing softly. "You're all insane."
"We're your insane now," Lexie says brightly. "Welcome to the madness."
The afternoon passes in a blur of teasing, laughter, and quiet joy. Aidan and Michael start mock wrestling in the middle of the rug. Sasha bounces between hugging Cassandra and listing baby names like Luna Sparkle and Darius Jr. II: Alpha Boogaloo. Lexie starts crafting a list of "Luna rules" and insists on adding glitter pen annotations. Grace just watches, eyes misty but content.
Later, as the sun dips low and shadows stretch long, the call goes out across the territory.
Tonight is the Luna Howl.
A tradition that marks the moment a new Luna is officially welcomed into the pack...not just by title, but by magic. The moon watches, the wolves gather, and the bond is sealed with the strength of a shared song.
Cassandra stands beside Darius atop the stone platform at the centre of the clearing, the same one where Alphas before them have made declarations and promises. Her heart pounds.
The crowd is massive now. Every wolf in the territory, young and old, has gathered. Candles float in jars. Lanterns sway from branches. The clearing is lit like a fairy tale.
Grace steps forward, voice rich and clear. "Tonight, we welcome Cassandra. As our Luna. As our heart."
The crowd howls...one note, rising, joining.
Darius takes Cassandra's hand and lifts it to his lips. "You ready?" he whispers.
She nods.
And then she howls.
Her voice lifts to the stars, sharp and wild and ancient. Darius joins her. Then Luke, Grace, Aidan, Sasha, the Betas...all the pack. The sound rolls through the trees, carried on wind and instinct.
Somewhere deep in the woods, something howls back...something old. Something watching.
Cassandra hears it, feels the weight of it in her bones. A whisper of myth. A reminder: the forest remembers. And it has chosen to let her in.
As the pack howls around her and Darius's hand grips hers tight, she tilts her head to the moon.
She howls louder.
She belongs.