Chapter 60: Chapter 60
"Sophie, I promise you’ll be screaming my name before midnight."
I shivered. He still turns me into a puddle with just his voice.
The training session was going well until Marcus decided to challenge me in front of the recruits.
"No offense, Luna," he said, stretching like he was preparing for a light workout, "but I think the ladies need to see what happens against a larger opponent. Real-world scenarios."
I caught Christian watching from the sidelines, his posture deceptively relaxed. But I could feel his attention laser-focused on me.
"Are you sure about this, Marcus?" I asked sweetly. "Your ego’s pretty fragile."
The female warriors laughed. Marcus grinned. "Please. I’ll go easy on you."
Big mistake.
Three minutes later, Marcus was flat on his back on the training mat, my knee on his chest and my hand at his throat. The females erupted in cheers.
"Never underestimate your opponent," I told them, helping Marcus up. "Size doesn’t matter if you know where to hit."
Marcus rubbed his shoulder, looking genuinely impressed. "Damn, Luna. Remind me never to piss you off."
"Too late."
I caught Christian’s eye. The heat in his gaze made my breath catch. Want and pride and possession blazed through our bond so intensely I nearly staggered.
Then he was moving, crossing the training grounds in long strides. "Marcus, finish up the session. Sophie, you’re coming with me."
"Christian—"
"Now."
Oh. *Oh.*
He practically dragged me to the equipment shed at the edge of the grounds, shutting the door and pressing me against it in one smooth motion.
"That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen," he growled against my mouth. "Watching you take him down like that..."
"We can’t." But I was already wrapping my legs around his waist. "Connor’s going to—"
"I don’t care."
The shed smelled like leather and metal and the forest beyond. Christian’s hands were everywhere, his mouth hot and demanding on mine. I could feel his wolf pushing at the surface, primal and possessive.
"Mine," he breathed. "My strong, perfect mate."
"Yours," I agreed, because there was no point denying it.
When we finally emerged twenty minutes later, Connor was waiting with his arms crossed and a long-suffering expression.
"The session ended fifteen minutes ago," he said flatly. "Everyone knows exactly what you two were doing."
Christian didn’t look remotely embarrassed. "Did you need something, Beta?"
"Just to remind you that you have a pack to run." But Connor was fighting a smile. "And maybe invest in some soundproofing."
My face burned. Christian just laughed.
Pack dinner that evening was chaos in the best way.
What had started as a small gathering with Marcus, Connor, Jessica, and Maria had grown into twenty wolves crammed into the pack house dining room. Kids ran between tables. Adults swapped stories and jokes. Someone’s grandmother kept trying to feed me more potatoes despite my protests that I was already full.
Christian sat at the head of the table, relaxed in a way I’d never seen during formal pack meetings. He listened to an elder wolf complain about the new traffic pattern in town, nodding seriously like it was a matter of international importance.
"Your Alpha is good at this," Maria murmured beside me. "Making people feel heard."
"He is." I watched him ruffle a pup’s hair, sending the kid into giggles. "I’m still getting used to it."
"To what?"
"All of this. Being Luna. Having a home. People who actually want me around."
Maria squeezed my hand. "You belong here, Sophie. We can all feel it—you and Christian fit together like pieces of the same puzzle."
Through the bond, I felt Christian’s attention shift to me. He raised his glass slightly, a private gesture just for us.
I raised mine back, and the warmth in my chest had nothing to do with the wine.
Later that night the full moon hung heavy and silver when we shifted. My wolf burst free with pure joy, reveling in the stretch of muscles and the sharpness of enhanced senses. The forest welcomed me—Luna, Luna, *Luna*—the very trees seemed to whisper recognition.
Christian’s massive black wolf appeared beside me, easily twice my size. His eyes were the same brilliant blue in both forms.
He took off running, and I chased.
The territory blurred past—trees and streams and moonlit clearings. My wolf was fast, but Christian was faster and more powerful. When he finally let me catch up, we tumbled through the underbrush, play-fighting and wrestling like pups.
His wolf pinned mine, careful not to hurt me but dominant enough to make his point. *Mine,* his wolf seemed to say. *My mate. My Luna.*
*Yours,* my wolf agreed with pleasure.
We ran until dawn threatened the horizon, then shifted back to human form in our favorite clearing. Christian spread his jacket on the ground, pulling me down with him.
"I love you," he said, tracing the mating mark on my neck. "I know I don’t say it enough, but I do."
"I know." I kissed him softly. "I can feel it. Every second of every day."
Making love under the stars with the forest around us felt sacred somehow. Not just physical, but spiritual—two souls recognizing they’d found their home in each other.
Afterward, wrapped in Christian’s arms with his heartbeat steady under my ear, I felt peace I’d never imagined possible.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"Few months ago I never could have pictured this. Being this happy. This *settled*."
His arms tightened around me. "Get used to it, sweetheart. I’m not letting you go."
"Good."
We stayed there until the sun rose, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. The new day stretched before us, full of possibilities and challenges and the mundane, beautiful details of building a life together.
I couldn’t wait.
