The door opened, and Ashina stepped out of the SUV into a world that wasn't hers.
Moonlit Pack territory spread out before her like something from a dream or a nightmare, depending on how she looked at it. Dense forest stretched in every direction, ancient trees that dwarfed anything in Silverpaw's lands. The air tasted different here, sharper and wilder, carrying scents of pine and snow even though it was spring. In the distance, she could see mountains rising against the sky, their peaks still capped with white.
It was beautiful. Breathtaking, even. And it felt like a prison.
The Alpha's Manor loomed ahead, three stories of stone and dark wood that looked more like a fortress than a home. Massive windows reflected the afternoon sun. Ivy climbed the walls in carefully maintained patterns. The architecture was old but well-kept, speaking of generations of Alphas who'd ruled from this place. It made her family's modest house look like a cottage in comparison.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Ryker had come around to stand beside her, following her gaze. "The manor's been in Kendrick's family for over two hundred years. Every Alpha has added to it, expanded it. It's more museum than house at this point."
Ashina didn't respond. Couldn't. Because standing at the entrance, watching her with an intensity that made her skin prickle, was Kendrick.
He looked different in daylight, on his own territory. More powerful somehow, like the land itself recognized him as its ruler. He stood with the stillness of a predator, hands loose at his sides, but every line of his body radiated controlled tension.Waiting for her to come to him.
She felt his restraint. He wanted to cross the distance between them, wanted to touch her, to verify she was real and here and his. But he held himself back, giving her space to approach on her own terms as if she had any terms left to negotiate.
"Welcome home, Luna," Ryker said quietly, and the title made Ashina's stomach clench.
Luna. She was Luna of Moonlit Pack now. Whether she wanted to be or not.
Movement caught her peripheral vision. Pack members had gathered keeping a respectful distance, but unmistakably watching. A dozen wolves stood scattered across the grounds, some in human form, some wolf. All of them staring at her with expressions ranging from curiosity to suspicion to fascination.
She could read the questions in their eyes, This is who the Alpha chose? This small thing from a minor pack? Why isn't she smiling? Why does she look terrified?
They didn't know. Didn't know she'd been forced. Didn't know about the chase through the forest, the mark given against her will. To them, she was just their Alpha's mate someone they'd been waiting years for him to find. Someone who should be grateful for the honor.
Ashina lifted her chin and walked toward the manor entrance. Toward Kendrick. Each step felt like walking toward her execution, but she wouldn't let these strangers see her fear. Wouldn't give them that satisfaction.
She stopped three feet away from him close enough to be polite, far enough to maintain the wall between them.
"Alpha Ridge," she said, her voice carefully neutral.
Something flickered in his eyes pain maybe, at the formality. she felt his longing for her to use his name, to acknowledge what they were to each other beyond titles and roles. She didn't.
"Ashina." Her name on his lips was soft, reverent. "Welcome to Moonlit Pack. Welcome home."
"This isn't my home." The words came out flat, matter-of-fact.
Around them, pack members shifted uncomfortably. Ryker made a small sound of concern. But Kendrick's expression didn't change.
"It is now," he said simply. "Whether you accept it yet or not."
They stood in silence, the weight of what was unsaid heavy between them. Ashina was acutely aware of their audience pack members watching their Alpha and his new mate, trying to understand the tension crackling in the air.
"I'll show you to your rooms," Kendrick said finally, stepping aside to gesture toward the entrance. "Unless you need time to..."
"Let's get this over with." Ashina moved past him without waiting, and she felt his spike of hurt quickly suppressed.
Good. Let him hurt. Let him feel a fraction of what he'd put her through.
The interior of the manor matched the exterior's grandeur. Soaring ceilings with exposed beams. A massive stone fireplace that could probably fit five people inside it. Hardwood floors polished to a shine. Art on the walls some modern, some clearly ancient. Everything spoke of wealth, power, permanence.
It was the kind of place that should have made Ashina feel special, chosen, lucky. Instead, she felt small and out of place and desperately homesick for her tiny bedroom with its peeling wallpaper and squeaky floorboard.
"The main floor has the formal dining hall, my office, several sitting rooms, and the pack meeting room," Kendrick explained as they walked, his voice taking on the careful neutrality of a tour guide. "The kitchen is through there which you're welcome to use it anytime, though we have staff who prepare meals."
Staff. Of course they had staff. Ashina's mother cooked every meal herself in their cramped kitchen, and here there were people employed just to make food.
"Second floor has guest quarters and the pack library." Kendrick started up a grand staircase, and Ashina followed, hyper-aware of Ryker trailing behind them like a chaperone. "Third floor is private quarters mine, yours, and a few rooms for high-ranking pack members who sometimes stay over."
Yours and mine. Not ours. He was giving her separate space. The realization brought an unwelcome rush of relief that she wouldn't have to share a bed with him, at least not immediately was followed immediately by confusion. Wasn't the whole point of forced marking to claim her completely? Why give her her own room?
As if sensing her question through the bond, Kendrick glanced back. "You have your own suite. I won't.." He paused, jaw clenching. "I won't force more from you than I already have."
The admission hung in the air, heavy with self-awareness that didn't absolve him but at least acknowledged his guilt.
They reached the third floor, and Kendrick led her down a hallway lined with portraits of past Alphas, she assumed, all stern-faced men and a few hard-eyed women staring down at her with judgment.
He stopped at a door near the end of the hall and pushed it open.
"Your room," he said simply, stepping aside to let her enter first.
Ashina walked into a space that would have been any young woman's dream. The suite was enormous easily twice the size of her entire childhood bedroom. A four-poster bed dominated one wall, draped in soft grey fabrics. A sitting area with a plush couch and chairs faced a fireplace. French doors opened onto a private balcony. Another door revealed a bathroom with a soaking tub that could fit three people.
Everything was expensive, tasteful, beautiful.
Everything felt like a cage.
"There's a closet through there," Kendrick continued, still in that careful, neutral tone. "It's been stocked with clothes in your size. If you don't like them, we can take you shopping. Or order things online. Whatever you prefer."
Ashina walked to the center of the room and turned slowly, taking it in. Her two suitcases sat near the bed, Ryker must have brought them up already. They looked pathetic here, cheap and worn against all this luxury.
"The balcony overlooks the eastern forest," Kendrick said. "I thought you might like having a view. Being able to see outside."
Being able to see the bars of my cage, Ashina thought but didn't say.
"You have freedom within the territory," Kendrick continued, and she heard him choose his words carefully. "You can go anywhere on pack lands. Explore, walk, shift and run if you want. The pack has been informed that you're to be treated with the respect due their Luna."
"How generous," Ashina said flatly. "A gilded cage instead of a cell."
"It's not a cage."
"Isn't it?" She turned to face him fully. "You said I have freedom within the territory. What happens if I try to leave?"
His jaw tightened. "Don't test the bond's limits. You know what will happen."
"Tell me anyway."
"The bond will make you sick," he said reluctantly. "The farther you get from me the worse it will feel. Nausea, dizziness, physical pain. Eventually, your body will force you back. That's how mate bonds work after marking."
"So I'm trapped here."
"You're where you belong." His voice hardened slightly. "There's a difference."
"Not from where I'm standing."
They stared at each other across the beautiful room, the bond humming between them with tension and anger and unwanted connection.
"I'll leave you to settle in," Kendrick said finally. "Unpack. Rest. There's no formal schedule today, I thought you might need time to adjust."
"How thoughtful," Ashina said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "To give me time to adjust to being kidnapped."
"You weren't kidnapped." But his voice was tired, like he knew how hollow the argument sounded. "You were claimed by your mate."
"Against my will."
"I know." The admission was quiet, heavy. she felt the weight of his guilt, crushing and constant. "Believe me, Ashina, I know."
He turned to leave, and Ashina almost let him. Almost stayed silent and let him walk away so she could be alone with her grief and rage. But something in her wouldn't let it go.
"Do you regret it?" she asked his back.
Kendrick stopped in the doorway but didn't turn around. "Regret forcing the mark? Yes. Every second of every day."
"Then why?"
"But I don't regret having you here." Now he did turn, and the look in his eyes was fierce, almost desperate. "I don't regret claiming you. I don't regret making you mine. I regret how it happened, but not that it happened."
"That's not the redemption you think it is."
"I'm not looking for redemption." He took a step back into the room, and she fought the urge to retreat. "I know what I did was wrong. I know you'll probably hate me forever. I'm not asking for forgiveness."
"Then what are you asking for?"
"Time." The word came out rough. "Just time. Time for you to see that I'm not the monster you think I am. Time for the bond to show you what your mind refuses to accept. Time for you to understand why I couldn't just let you go."
"You had no right"
"I had every right!" The words came out sharp, then he visibly controlled himself, his voice dropping. "You're my mate. Mine. The Moon chose you for me, chose me for you. That gives me certain rights, certain responsibilities. One of those is protecting you even from yourself."
"I didn't need protecting."
"You were destroying yourself over a man who didn't love you." Kendrick's eyes bored into hers. "A man who used you for eight months and walked away the second things got complicated. A man who couldn't even be bothered to respond when you told him you needed him."
The accuracy of the words stung. "How do you know about that?"
"I felt it through the bond. Your hope when you sent the message. Your devastation when he didn't respond." His expression was hard, unforgiving. "He abandoned you when you needed him most. I never would have done that."
"No, you just violated my autonomy instead."
"Yes." No denial. No excuse. "I did. And I'll carry that guilt for the rest of my life. But you're alive. You're safe. And you're here, where you belong, instead of wasting years on a coward who would have broken your heart anyway."
"You don't get to decide what's best for me."
"Someone had to." The words came out tired. "Because you clearly weren't going to."
The terrible, painful truth that made Ashina want to scream. Because part of her, a small traitorous part, wondered if he was right. If she would have wasted years waiting for Darren to choose her, to mark her, to prove his love was real.
If maybe Kendrick had saved her from herself. She hated that part of herself.
"Get out," she said quietly.
"Ashina"
"Get. Out." Her voice rose. "Leave me alone. You've done enough."
Through the bond, she felt his warring instincts the desperate desire to stay, to comfort, to make things better, battling against the knowledge that his presence only made things worse. Finally, reluctantly, he nodded. "There's a phone on the nightstand. Press one for the kitchen, two for my office, three for Ryker. If you need anything someone will come."
"I don't want anything from you."
"I know." He paused at the door, and when he spoke again, his voice was barely audible. "But you have it anyway. Everything I have, everything I am, it's yours. Whether you want it or not." Then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him.
Ashina stood in the center of the enormous room and felt the silence close around her like a fist. This was her life now. This room, this manor, this pack, this mate who loved her enough to destroy her.
She walked to her suitcases and opened them mechanically. Started putting away her clothes in the massive closet that was already full of expensive new things in her size. Kendrick had said the clothes were here, but seeing them made it real, he'd planned this. Had prepared for her arrival. Had known he would mark her, would bring her here, would make her his.
It wasn't spontaneous violence. It was premeditated claiming. Somehow, that made it worse.
Ashina hung up Torin's hoodies, placed her mother's necklace on the nightstand, set Mr. Howls on the bed. Small pieces of home in this foreign place.
When everything was unpacked, she walked to the door and tested the handle, half expecting it to be locked but it wasn't.
The door opened freely, revealing the empty hallway beyond. She really could leave this room, could explore, could go anywhere on pack lands. Just not home. Never home again.
Ashina closed the door and walked to the French doors instead, pushing them open to step onto the balcony. Cool air washed over her, carrying the scent of pine and earth and the wildness that permeated this territory.
The view was stunning. Forest stretched endlessly, the mountains a purple smudge in the distance. She could see pack members moving below, some in human form, some wolf, going about their daily lives. A few noticed her on the balcony and pointed, whispering to their companions.
The new Luna. The Alpha's mate. The girl who should be grateful but looked like she was at a funeral.
Movement directly below caught her attention.
Kendrick stood in the gardens, his face tilted up toward her balcony. Even from this distance, she could see the intensity in his eyes, the longing in the set of his shoulders.
Through the bond, she felt everything he wasn't saying. The desperate hope that she would smile, would wave, would give him any sign that someday this might be okay. The crushing guilt that warred with fierce satisfaction at having her here. The love that poured from him in waves, undeniable and overwhelming. He loved her. She could feel it as clearly as her own heartbeat. Completely, obsessively, with a devotion that had driven him to destroy her choice rather than risk losing her. It didn't make it right. But it made it complicated.
Their eyes met across the distance ice blue and amber gold, Alpha and unwilling mate, captor and captive.
Ashina waited for him to look away first, to give her that small victory.
He didn't.
He stood there, looking up at her with an expression that was part longing, part apology, part stubborn determination. I won't apologize for having you, his gaze seemed to say. I'll apologize for how, but never for what.
Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only seconds, Kendrick turned away. His shoulders were tight with tension as he walked back toward the manor, disappearing from view. But through the bond, Ashina still felt him. Could track his location as he moved through the building down a hallway, into a room that must be his office, sitting down with his head in his hands.
Ashina turned away from the balcony and walked back into her gilded cage. She lay on the enormous bed with Mr. Howls clutched to her chest and stared at the ceiling.
Through the bond, she felt Kendrick everywhere. In the manor, in the territory, in her mind and heart and soul. Felt his presence like a brand, marking her as his in ways that went deeper than the bite on her neck.
She closed her eyes and tried to remember who she'd been before. Ashina Claw, daughter of Silverpaw Pack. A girl with dreams of travel and adventure. A girl who'd loved the wrong man and paid for it with her freedom.
That girl was gone. In her place was someone new. Someone she didn't recognize yet.
Ashina Ridge. Luna of Moonlit Pack. Mate to an Alpha who'd claimed her against her will and loved her despite or perhaps because of her hatred.
She didn't know how to be this person. Didn't know how to survive in this golden cage with a bond in her chest and a mark on her neck and emotions that weren't entirely her own anymore. But she would learn because she was her father's daughter, her mother's daughter, her brother's sister. She was stronger than Kendrick knew. Stronger than she'd known. And someday somehow she would find a way to reclaim the pieces of herself he'd stolen. Even if she had to burn this whole territory down to do it.
Through the bond, Kendrick felt her determination and smiled despite himself.
His little mate was a fighter.
Good.
He'd always preferred a challenge.