Luna POV
Luna pulled away from his mouth but her hands wouldn't release his shirt.
They stood there in the hallway breathing hard. His forehead was touching hers. She could feel his heartbeat matching her own. Everything inside her was screaming to kiss him again. Everything inside her was also screaming to run.
"No," she whispered. "We can't do this."
"Yes, we can," Grayson said against her mouth.
"Stop." Luna pushed against his chest but her fingers were still gripping fabric like she was afraid he'd disappear if she let go.
"I don't think you want me to stop," he said. There was a smile in his voice. Not cruel. Just certain. Like he knew something about her that she was still denying about herself.
Luna finally forced her hands to release him. She stepped back before she could change her mind. Before her body could override what was left of her common sense.
"This was a mistake," she said. Her voice sounded hollow. Unconvincing even to her own ears.
Grayson didn't argue. He just looked at her like she was a puzzle he was solving. Like he had all the time in the world to figure her out.
Luna turned and walked away before he could say anything else. Before she could look at him again and decide that mistakes didn't matter.
The next morning, he was at breakfast.
Luna came into the dining room expecting to sit with Elena and the other female warriors. Instead, Grayson was already there, sitting at the long table where Dark Moon and Silverwood ate together. He wasn't sitting with his delegation. He was sitting closer to the middle. Closer to her.
Luna took her seat at the Alpha's table next to Marcus and tried to pretend she hadn't noticed.
She failed immediately.
During the meal, Grayson's leg brushed against hers under the table. Once. Twice. She jerked her leg away the third time and knocked her water cup over. It spilled across the table and someone called out that they needed towels.
The whole room went quiet for a second.
Luna's face burned. She never made mistakes. She never lost control. She was the Beta. The ice queen. The one who held everything together.
Marcus looked at her like he was seeing something new. Something that worried him.
During the first negotiation session, Grayson spoke directly to her about border agreement details. His voice dropped lower when he asked her questions. Softer. Like he was speaking just to her even though the whole council room could hear. His eyes held hers longer than necessary. Longer than professional.
Luna answered his questions with short, clipped words. She kept her eyes on the documents in front of her. She refused to look at him.
It didn't matter. She could feel him anyway. Could feel his attention like weight pressing down on her.
That afternoon, she ran into him in the hallway.
It happened three times. The library. Outside her quarters. Near the training yard. He always looked surprised to see her. Always smiled like he was genuinely happy instead of like he'd arranged each meeting.
"Luna," he said the first time. Just her name. Like it was enough.
"Stop following me," she said. But she didn't move away when he stepped closer.
"I'm not following you. I'm just exploring the pack territory." He was smiling. Lying. Not even pretending to tell the truth.
By the second day, Luna's professional mask was developing cracks she couldn't hide.
During negotiations, she lost her place in the discussion. Marcus had to repeat something she'd missed. She made a notation error in the border agreement documents. Elena gave her a strange look when Luna forgot to raise an objection to a Dark Moon proposal that she should have challenged immediately.
The other Silverwood warriors started talking.
She could hear them in the hallways. Whispers about the Beta being distracted. Questions about whether something was wrong. Observations about the way her eyes kept tracking toward the Dark Moon delegation.
By the third day, the entire pack knew something was happening.
The female warriors exchanged knowing looks. The male warriors watched Grayson like they were waiting to fight him. Elena cornered her in the armory and demanded to know what was going on.
"Nothing," Luna said flatly.
"You made three mistakes today," Elena replied. "You. The Beta who hasn't made a mistake in five years. What's happening between you and that warrior?"
Luna didn't answer. She couldn't. Any answer was a confession.
That last night, Grayson found her in the gardens.
Luna had gone there hoping he'd follow. She was a disaster. She was betraying everything she believed in. Choosing a male from an enemy pack over loyalty.
And she couldn't stop.
"This ends tomorrow," she said when he appeared. "You leave. This ends."
"No, it doesn't," Grayson said.
"Marcus is suspicious. The warriors are talking. If we keep doing this, the entire pack finds out."
"Then we stop hiding," Grayson said. Simple. Like the consequences didn't matter.
"If I choose you, I lose my position as Beta. I lose my family," Luna said. Her voice was shaking.
"I know," Grayson said. He took her hand. "And I'm asking you to anyway."
Luna couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe. The weight of what he was asking crushed her.
He kissed her, slow and deep. Not desperate. Sure. Like he was promising that when her world burned down, he'd rebuild it with her.
When he pulled back, Luna was crying.
She hated that he could do this to her. Hated that love felt like drowning.
The final negotiation session started at dawn.
Both packs gathered in the council room for the closing agreements. Luna took her seat next to Marcus. She tried to focus on the documents. Tried to behave like nothing had changed.
Everything had changed.
Grayson sat directly across from her. He didn't try to hide it anymore. He looked at her like she was his. Like the rest of the room wasn't even there. Like the fact that his Alpha was sitting right next to him didn't matter.
Kade noticed.
Luna saw the moment he figured it out. His silver eyes moved from Grayson to her and back again. His expression didn't change but something shifted in the room. Something dangerous.
The negotiations wrapped up quickly. Too quickly. Like everyone wanted to get out of there before something exploded.
When it was finished, Marcus stood up and offered his hand to the older Dark Moon delegation leader. They shook. Professional. Cordial. Done.
"Safe travels," Marcus said.
The Dark Moon warriors stood to leave.
Grayson took one last look at Luna. It was a look that said everything he couldn't say out loud. That said he meant every word. That said he was coming back whether she wanted him to or not.
Luna looked away first. She couldn't watch him walk out of that room.
But she could feel it when he stopped in the doorway. Could feel him turning back to look at her one more time.
When she finally forced herself to glance up, Kade was watching her. Not Grayson. Kade. The Dark Moon Alpha with eyes like ice and a smile that made her blood run cold.
He'd seen the entire thing.
Marcus was watching her too. Waiting for her to explain. Waiting for her to deny. Waiting for his Beta to tell him that nothing was happening between her and the warrior from the pack that wanted Silverwood destroyed.
Luna opened her mouth but no words came out.
The door closed behind Grayson.
He was gone.
And Luna had never felt more alone in her entire life.