Ash stood by the window, the faint glow of twilight brushing his cheekbones with silver. His arms were crossed, and his voice was low but firm.
"I need to leave for a few days," he said.
Mira turned from the bed, her heart suddenly tightening. "Where are you going?"
He met her gaze. "To negotiate with a nearby allied pack. Elias will be with me. We need their support before the next full council convenes."
She nodded, but a pit opened in her stomach.
"You'll come back before the Blood Moon?"
Ash hesitated. "I'll try. But if not... stay here. Don't go beyond the walls."
He stepped forward, brushing her cheek with the back of his knuckles. There was something in his eyes—tension, warning and worry.
He didn't kiss her, instead he just left.
The fortress grew quieter with each day. The echo of Ash's absence lingered like a shadow on the walls.
Mira tried to busy herself, tried to ignore the ache of loneliness blooming in her chest. But every hallway she walked reminded her of him. The training yard where he had watched her. The dining hall where his eyes would always find hers.
Elias had not returned either. And now, the second Blood Moon loomed.
That evening, unable to breathe inside the stone walls, Mira made her way to the back of the fortress. The garden there had turned wild, untended in the last few weeks, but the wind that moved through the tall grasses whispered secrets to her.
The moon was rising—a pale disk behind wisps of cloud. Her skin tingled with an electric pull.
Something was coming.
She walked toward the edge of the woods, just to catch her breath. Just to feel something but the wind shifted.
A crack of branches and heavy footsteps.
Mira froze.
When she turned, a massive wolf emerged from the trees—black as night, eyes glowing amber, its snarl slicing through the cold air.
Too fast. Too close.
She ran!
Her heart pounded, lungs burning as she leapt over roots and ducked under branches. The wolf chased her with lethal precision. She tripped, caught herself, and kept running.
But then it pounced. She turned just in time to dodge the full impact, but its claws scraped across her shoulder. She screamed, hitting the ground hard. It was pain, fire and… blood.
She gasped—and then something inside her snapped.
Her eyes flared green. Her body trembled violently. The wind howled louder, wrapping around her like a spell. Her skin burned. Her nails elongated. Her breath came in ragged gasps as her clothes tore apart from her convulsing body.
And then—
She transformed.
Fur burst through her skin. Her bones cracked and reshaped. Her scream turned into a growl.
A white wolf stood in her place.
She lunged.
They collided in a flurry of fangs and claws. Mira's wolf was smaller, but faster. She managed to slash the intruder across the chest, but not before it bit into her flank.
She yelped in pain, but forced herself to keep fighting.
Then—
"Enough!"
A voice boomed through the woods. A familiar and powerful voice.
Ash.
He sprinted toward them, shirt torn, eyes wide with fury. His presence alone shook the trees.
The black wolf snarled at him, but did not attack. It turned and fled into the woods, vanishing into the darkness just as Elias arrived from the opposite side, panting and wild-eyed.
"Call the guards. Seal the perimeter," Ash ordered without taking his eyes off Mira.
Mira collapsed to the ground as the last of her strength bled from her body. Her fur faded. Her bones shifted again. She whimpered as her human form returned, raw and trembling. She was naked, covered in blood, scratches down her back, her arms streaked with dirt and red.
Ash didn't hesitate.
He rushed to her, falling to his knees and pulling off his jacket. "Shhh, I've got you," he whispered, wrapping it around her shivering body.
She clung to him weakly, her face pressed against his chest.
"It hurt... I couldn't stop it... I didn't mean to shift—"
"You protected yourself. That's what matters."
She shook her head. "This wasn't like the first time. This time it wasn't because of the Luna bond. It was... something else. Something wild. I couldn't control it, Ash. I was scared. I didn't know what I was becoming.""
Ash's grip on her tightened. "We'll figure it out. Together.""
Her breath trembled against his neck.
Ash looked down at her bloodied back, at the deep claw marks already beginning to close. Healing fast. Too fast.
His expression darkened. He didn't tell her what he was thinking.
Her blood was changing. Is it evolving or awakening?
Elias returned with guards, and Ash growled, warning them to keep their distance. He lifted Mira into his arms, careful not to hurt her further, and carried her back into the fortress.
The night behind them still pulsed with danger. But in his arms, Mira finally let her tears fall.
Hours later, Mira stirred from a heavy sleep.
Her body ached, but her mind swam to the surface of consciousness slowly, like rising from deep water.
When her lashes fluttered open, the fire was still burning. And Ash was there, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, watching her.
His eyes softened the moment she looked at him. He reached out to gently caress her cheek, his fingers brushing her temple, then trailing down to the edge of her jaw.
She leaned into his touch.
This time, Mira didn't hesitate. She reached up, her fingers curling around the back of his neck, and pulled him down to her lips.
She kissed him.
It was soft at first, just a whisper of warmth. Then deeper, more urgent. Her hands slid over his chest, feeling the tension in his muscles. Ash didn't move at first—surprised. But when she didn't stop, when her mouth moved against his with a trembling kind of hunger, he responded.
Mira shifted to sit on his lap, straddling him gently on the couch as the robe around her loosened. Despite her healing wounds, her body craved him.
Ash paused, cupping her face. "Are you sure?"
She didn't answer with words. She kissed him again.
So he lifted her in his arms, still careful with her battered body, and laid her gently on the bed.
He hovered above her, and Mira reached up, her fingertips tracing the line of his brow, the bridge of his nose, and finally his lips. Then she kissed each one—his forehead, his cheek, his mouth.
Ash shrugged off his robe, revealing his bare skin. He was all hard muscle and scars—a living, breathing weapon. But in this moment, all that strength melted into reverence.
His naked body pressed into hers, warm and heavy. Mira gasped as she felt the hardness of him, thick and throbbing against her thigh.
With a single motion, he slid the thin nightgown off her, revealing her bruised but healing form. The undergarment wrapped around her chest was carefully undone, and for a moment, he just stared at her.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.
He kissed her again. From her lips, down to her neck, lingering at the base of her throat. His mouth found her breast, and she arched beneath him with a moan, her fingers buried in his hair.
He continued downward, slow, methodical.
His lips found her stomach. His tongue circled her navel, making her gasp.
And then he went lower.
Mira trembled. Her thighs tightened instinctively, but Ash gently opened them, unhurried. She felt exposed, terrified, but not once did he break eye contact.
Until his mouth was on her.
She cried out, her hands flying to his head as he devoured her without mercy. His tongue moved with practiced hunger, savoring every sound she made.
Ash had been holding back for so long. But not tonight.
Mira tasted like rare perfume—floral, intoxicating. Her scent overwhelmed him.
When she fell apart under his mouth, panting his name, he looked up at the Blood Moon through the window.
It glowed deep red.
"This curse will be halt," he whispered to himself.
And then he pressed himself into her.
Mira gasped, tears streaming down her temples as pain and pleasure blurred. Ash stilled inside her, whispering words she didn't understand. His forehead pressed to hers.
Outside, the Blood Moon darkened. And then slowly, vanished behind a blanket of thick, black clouds.
Inside, their bodies moved as one, and the silence of the night was filled with Mira's breathless cries—raw, sacred, and full of fire.