Serene.
The name fits her too well.
Soft white dress.
Soft brown hair.
Soft pink lips curved into a gentle smile.
Everything about her says: pure, kind, harmless.
But her eyes?
Her eyes are sharp.
"I heard your wife arrived," she says lightly, looking at Aiden first, not me.
"I came to meet her."
Her gaze finally shifts to me.
Head to toe.
Slow.
Quietly judging.
I feel like I'm standing under a microscope.
Aiden's grip on my wrist tightens just a little.
"Serene," he says, voice low, controlled. "This is Liyana."
Her gaze lingers on where his hand is touching me.
Something flashes behind her soft expression—so quick most people would miss it.
But I don't.
Envy.
Hurt.
Possession.
So.
This is the girl his heart tried to keep.
Noted.
I force a small polite smile. "Nice to meet you."
Serene steps closer, smile widening as if we're old friends.
"So you're the human wife," she says sweetly.
The word human falls from her tongue like an insult wrapped in sugar.
I tilt my head. "And you're the… moonlight?"
Her smile doesn't falter. "That's what the pack calls me. I grew up with Aiden. Everyone assumed…"
She lets the sentence hang in the air like a sad story.
Everyone assumed she'd be the Luna.
Everyone assumed she'd stand next to him in this packhouse.
Everyone assumed she'd be the one holding his hand right now.
Aiden glances away, jaw tense.
Guilt looks strange on him.
"Serene," he says quietly, "this isn't the time."
She looks at him for a long second, something soft and heartbreaking in her eyes.
Then she laughs lightly. "Of course. I just wanted to welcome your wife."
Her eyes come back to me, sparkling with something that isn't entirely friendly.
"You must be tired," she says. "Why don't I show you the garden? It's quieter than the main hall."
Translation: Let me talk to you alone.
Aiden immediately says, "No."
Serene's eyebrows lift. "No?"
He hesitates. His eyes flick instinctively to me, as if asking a silent question.
Can you handle her?
I smile, slow and sharp. "It's okay. I'd love to see the garden."
Serene's eyes brighten, but there's a glint of satisfaction in them.
Aiden doesn't look happy.
His fingers squeeze mine once—almost like a warning—before he lets go.
"Ethan," he says sharply. "Stay nearby."
"Yes, Alpha," Ethan replies.
Serene loops her arm through mine like we're best friends already. "Come, Liyana."
I let her lead me through a side corridor and out into a small courtyard.
The Garden of Thorns
The garden is pretty.
Too pretty.
White roses.
White lilies.
White moonflowers climbing up stone walls.
Of course her favorite place would be full of white.
Serene releases my arm and walks ahead, running her fingers over the roses, smiling softly.
"This packhouse is my home," she says. "I was born here. Trained here. Everyone here… is my family."
I walk slowly behind her, breathing in the scent of flowers and damp earth.
"And now," she continues, turning to face me, "it's your home too."
Is it?
I look around.
I don't see home.
I see graves.
Graves for the witches and wolves my heart lost.
"Thank you," I say calmly.
She studies my face.
"You're very calm," she notes. "Most humans feel overwhelmed when they first step into a packhouse."
I smile faintly. "I've seen worse than wolves staring at me."
Her head tilts slightly. "Have you?"
Oh, Serene.
You have no idea.
We walk a little more in silence.
Then she stops near a stone bench and sits down gracefully, patting the empty space beside her. "Sit."
I stay standing.
Her smile tightens for half a second before smoothing again.
"You must be confused," she says in a gentle, understanding tone that almost sounds real. "Marrying into a pack like this. Marrying Aiden."
"Maybe," I reply. "But I'm learning fast."
Her eyes glitter. "Do you love him?"
The question hits like a slap.
I don't even know if I like him most of the time.
I cross my arms. "We barely know each other."
She laughs softly, but there's no real humor in it. "Then you're already ahead of me. I've known him my whole life. I still don't fully understand him."
Her gaze drifts somewhere past me, into the past.
"He saved me, you know," she says. "When we were teenagers. There was a rogue attack near the border. I was stupid and ran toward the danger. Aiden dragged me out. He was bleeding. I was crying. He told me…" Her voice lowers. "He told me I was his moonlight in the dark."
Ah.
There it is.
The line that tied her to him.
I say nothing.
"After that," she continues, eyes returning to me, "everyone assumed I would be his Luna. We all thought the Moon Goddess would agree."
"But she didn't?" I ask, quietly.
Serene's jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. "The Moon Goddess has been… silent."
No mate-bond.
No destiny sign.
Only a contract wife.
Me.
Lucky him.
"Then he went to the city," she says. "Became the big Alpha CEO. The Council started pressuring him about alliances. Marriage. Power games. You know how it is."
Her eyes are sharp now. "And then suddenly… he comes back with you."
Her smile is still sweet.
Her stare is not.
"A human girl no one from the pack knows. No history. No roots. No… place."
My magic shifts inside me, hot and annoyed.
"Everyone is surprised," she says. "They're worried."
"About what?" I ask softly.
"That you might be weak," she says simply. "That you might not survive here. That you might distract him from his responsibilities. That he married in a hurry, without thinking about the pack."
She lets the words sink in.
Then she lowers her voice, gentle again. "I don't want you to get hurt."
There it is.
The first fake kindness.
"You seem fragile," she says. "And this world eats fragile people."
I smile, slow and dangerous. "Good thing I'm not fragile then."
Her eyelids flicker. "Really?"
I take one small step closer.
"Tell me something, Serene," I say. "If everyone thought you'd be the Luna… why aren't you?"
A crack appears in her perfect calm.
"Life," she says stiffly, "doesn't always go the way we expect."
"Or," I murmur, "maybe the Moon saw something in you the pack didn't."
The air between us changes.
For a second, just one, her eyes harden.
Cold.
Sharp.
Dark.
There.
There she is.
Not the soft, delicate girl.
The real one.
The one who doesn't like losing what she thought was hers.
"You're bold," she says quietly.
"I've heard that before."
"You don't act like a human."
I tilt my head. "Is that a compliment?"
She doesn't answer.
Instead, she leans forward slightly, voice low.
"I'm going to be honest with you, Liyana. This marriage…" She glances around, then back at me. "This feels temporary."
My chest tightens.
Temporary.
Contract.
Time-limited.
I knew it.
I just didn't expect to hear it from her mouth.
"Aiden is loyal," she says. "To his pack. To his promises."
Promises.
Did he promise her something?
"I will wait," she says simply. "Until things go back to how they're supposed to be."
The flowers around us sway softly in the breeze.
My fingers curl.
"You're free to love him," Serene says, as if she's giving me permission. "But don't forget—when your time here ends—" she smiles, soft and deadly— "I will still be here. This will still be my home. My pack. My Alpha."
Something inside me snaps.
My magic surges to the surface like a wave.
The air around us heats.
The wind stills.
A white rose near her hand trembles.
Its edges darken.
Curl.
Smoke.
Serene's eyes widen as the petals slowly blacken and crumble, like someone burned it from the inside.
She looks from the flower to me.
"What… are you?" she whispers.
I inhale, force the power down.
The Moonfire mark on my wrist throbs, hot and bright under my skin.
I give her a small, pleasant smile.
"Fragile," I say softly. "Just like you said."
For the first time since I met her, Serene looks… unsettled.
Good.
"Let me give you some advice too," I add gently. "Don't assume you know how a story will end just because you were there at the beginning."
Her lips part.
Footsteps echo in the corridor behind us.
Aiden.
His aura hits the garden first—strong, sharp, protective.
He steps out a second later, eyes immediately scanning for me.
For danger.
For trouble.
His gaze lands on me.
Then on the burned rose.
Then on Serene's pale face.
"What happened?" he demands.
Serene stands quickly, moving closer to him, eyes glistening. "We were just talking. I think she's… overwhelmed."
She reaches for his arm.
The moment her fingers brush his sleeve, something inside me twists.
The bond between him and me hums—hot, sharp—like it doesn't like her touch.
Aiden's eyes flick to where she's holding him.
For a second, nothing happens.
Then he gently—but clearly—removes her hand.
Not harsh.
Not cruel.
But clear.
"Serene," he says quietly, "don't."
Her face crumples, hurt flashing openly now. "Aiden…"
He doesn't look away from me.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
Not her.
Me.
I shouldn't care.
I do.
"I'm fine," I say.
Our eyes lock.
For a heartbeat, the rest of the world disappears.
The air between us warms, tingles, bends.
The bond hums louder, stretching invisibly from him to me.
He takes a step toward me before he seems to realize what he's doing.
Serene sees it.
Sees the way his body moves without thinking.
Sees the way his wolf reacts to me.
Sees the way the space between us pulls tight like a string.
Her face turns carefully blank.
"You're changing," she whispers to him. "She's changing you."
Aiden's jaw tightens. "Enough."
She looks between us, eyes bright with anger now.
"This isn't over," she says softly.
I believe her.
She walks away, white dress fluttering behind her like a small ghost.
Aiden watches her go for a moment, then turns back to me.
"Whatever she said," he murmurs, coming closer, "don't let it get in your head."
"I'm fine," I repeat, even though my chest feels too full.
His eyes drop briefly to my wrist.
A faint golden glow is still fading under my skin.
He inhales sharply. "You used your power."
"A little," I say.
His voice lowers. "Careful, Liyana. The more you use it, the harder it will be to hide."
I look up at him.
"I didn't start this," I say quietly. "But I'm not going to stand here and let people step on me just because they were here first."
Something like respect flickers in his eyes.
His hand lifts slowly—hesitates—then he gently tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
The touch is light.
Too light.
But the bond reacts like he set me on fire.
We both feel it.
We both freeze.
"Stay close to me tonight," he says softly.
I arch a brow. "Afraid your pack might eat me?"
He stares at me, eyes dark, voice low.
"I'm afraid," he says slowly, "that if they try… I won't be able to stop myself from burning everything down."
My heart trips.
Not from fear.
From the terrifying thought that maybe…
Maybe I'm not the only dangerous one here.
And maybe…
My biggest enemy in this packhouse isn't the Council.
It's the white moonlight who just walked away—
and the bond flaring between me and the Alpha King.