He was still on his knees.
Not just any wolf.
Min SUGA.
Alpha of the Bloodshade Pack.
The ghost in the trees. The name whispered like a threat and prayed to like a god.
And he had just said it.
"You're my mate, Luna."
The words echoed like a howl in the night.
Luna froze. Her heart wasn't beating—it was pounding, like war drums beneath her ribs.
Min SUGA.
The most feared Alpha across the territories.
The one whose bloodline was supposedly cursed by the Moon Goddess herself.
And he was hers?
Or worse... she was his?
"Say something," he said quietly, without looking up.
His voice didn't tremble, but it cracked just enough for her to hear it: the fear. The vulnerability. The possibility that she'd walk away and take with her the only piece of light he'd ever found in a world full of blood and shadows.
"I—" She exhaled. "This doesn't make sense."
"Nothing about fate does." He finally stood. "But it doesn't ask permission."
He stepped closer, slow, his presence swallowing the space between them like mist. The forest around them stilled. Even the wind held its breath.
"I don't want this," she admitted. "I didn't ask for this bond."
SUGA nodded, his expression unreadable.
"Neither did I. But it's here. And I'm done pretending I don't feel it."
He reached out, slowly, like she might vanish. His fingertips brushed her cheek—barely. But it was enough.
A shock of heat.
Like lightning trapped under skin.
Like something ancient waking inside her chest.
"You're not the only one cursed, you know," she whispered.
His head tilted. "What do you mean?"
She stepped back, but not out of fear. No. This was power. Her spine straightened. Her wolf came to the surface, eyes flashing silver.
"The Silverhollow Alpha Council lied to me. About who I am. About what I carry."
Min SUGA went still. "What are you saying?"
She looked up at him, and for the first time, she let it all rise—the fury, the fire, the truth.
"I'm not just your mate, Min SUGA."
"Then what are you?"
"I'm the key to breaking your curse."