Chapter 31: Chapter 31

SELENE

We stayed in our wolf forms for a while, stretched out together on the mossy ground, the lingering scent of our passion thick in the air.

Lux nuzzled against me, his large form pressed against mine, his breathing slow and even. I could feel his contentment, his peace, through the bond, humming between us like a golden thread.

But even as our bodies settled, as our wolves grew still, I knew we weren’t done yet.

Not with each other.

Not with this moment.

I shifted first, my body snapping back into human form in a slow ripple of warmth, my skin pressing against the cool moss.

Lux followed a heartbeat later.

When I turned my head to look at him, I found him already watching me, his face relaxed, the stormy blue of his eyes hazy but still focused.

I reached out, tracing the sharp lines of his jaw, letting my fingers skim over his cheek, his lips.

His expression softened. “You like touching me,” he murmured.

I smiled. “I do.”

He caught my wrist, bringing my fingers to his lips, pressing a slow kiss to my palm. I shivered at the warmth of his breath, at the way he lingered.

It was different now. The way he looked at me. The way he saw me. His hands had always memorized my body, his touch had always found me without hesitation, but now…

Now, his gaze followed.

He was learning me all over again.

And gods—I loved it.

Then, I watched as he looked around, blinking slowly, his gaze moving over the landscape.

He was seeing.

It was still a work in progress—I knew that—but the awe on his face was undeniable.

“What does that look like?” he asked suddenly, nodding toward the sky.

I followed his gaze, smiling. “The sky?”

He nodded.

“It’s blue.” I paused, then smirked slightly. “Like your eyes.”

His brows furrowed slightly, thoughtful. “Describe it to me.”

I propped myself up on my elbow, tracing patterns along his chest as I thought.

“Blue is…calming,” I said softly. “It’s deep, like the ocean. Sometimes it’s dark, like midnight. Sometimes it’s soft, like the sky before the sun rises.” I exhaled. “It’s the color of peace.”

Lux was silent for a long moment.

Then, he reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

“And this?” he murmured. “What color is your hair?”

“Black.”

His fingers trailed down, following the curve of my shoulder, his touch featherlight. “And your skin?”

I smiled, pressing my cheek into his palm. “Golden.”

His throat bobbed.

I could feel the emotions in him, the way he was absorbing every word, every piece of this new world that had been given to him.

He exhaled shakily, brushing his lips against my forehead. “I love your colors.”

My breath hitched.

~Gods~—this man.

I melted into him, my body pressing against his, letting myself bask in the moment, in the way he was learning me—not just through touch, but through ~sight~.

I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, tangled together, letting our bodies cool, letting the warmth of the afterglow settle into our bones.

But then, the conversation shifted.

It started with something small.

A passing comment about the pack.

And then—mortals.

Lux was quiet as I spoke, his expression unreadable, his fingers absentmindedly tracing along my spine.

“They do ~everything~,” I said, shaking my head. “They cook, they clean, they build, they raise the pups, they run the damned supply lines.” I turned onto my back, staring up at the sky. “And what do they get in return?”

Lux exhaled slowly. “They have a place in the pack.”

I scoffed. “A place ~beneath~ the wolves.”

Lux frowned slightly, propping himself up on one elbow. “That’s not—”

“Isn’t it?” I shot back, sitting up now. “Do they get the same food? Do they get to train? To choose what they want to do?”

He didn’t answer.

Because we both already knew.

“They don’t get meat,” I muttered. “They don’t get rations like the wolves do. They eat scraps, bread, whatever’s left after the warriors have taken their share.”

Lux’s jaw tensed.

I wasn’t even finished.

“And they’re all children, Lux. They aren’t full-grown adults. They aren’t humans who wandered into the pack by chance. They’re babies, teens—eighteen at the oldest. And yet, they’re the ones expected to keep the pack running?”

Lux sat up now, running a hand down his face.

I could see the tension in him, the way his mind was working through what I was saying.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it like that,” he admitted, voice low.

My brows lifted. “~Seriously~?”

He shook his head. “I knew there were divisions. I knew that wolves held higher ranks, but…” He exhaled sharply. “Most wolves don’t think much about the mortals. And I know why.”

I crossed my arms. “Why?”

His expression darkened slightly.

“The hunters,” he said simply. “For years, wolves have been hunted. By humans. By those who wanted our kind dead. It changed things.” His jaw tightened. “It made it harder for wolves to trust mortals, even the ones born into the pack.”

I frowned. “That’s bullshit.”

His lips parted slightly, but I wasn’t done.

“If you’re born to a pack, you belong to a pack,” I said firmly. “If a pack takes you in, you belong to the pack. Every pack member is supposed to be taken care of.” I let my fingers dig into the earth, frustration simmering beneath my skin. “But we don’t. We let them serve us instead.”

Lux didn’t argue.

He couldn’t.

I exhaled sharply, shaking my head.

“My father wasn’t much help either,” he said, making my ears prick at the words.

I sat up fully, watching as Lux’s fingers flexed against his knee, his expression unreadable.

“He always blamed mortals,” he said after a long pause. “For my mother’s death.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Lux didn’t look at me as he continued. “She died when I was young. They never told me how—just that it was the fault of humans. That if she had never trusted them, she would still be alive.” His jaw tightened.

I swallowed. “But do you believe that?”

His head turned, stormy blue eyes locking onto mine. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I was raised with that belief. I never questioned it because I never had to.” He exhaled. “Until now.”

I could see it then—how everything in him was shifting. How what had once been absolute was now something he had to reevaluate.

And then, before I could say anything, his gaze locked onto mine, something sharp behind those stormy eyes.

“I know about your parents.”

My breath stilled.

I blinked. “What?”

He tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “Selene. I’m your alpha. I know everything about my pack.”

A strange feeling coiled in my stomach—something between shock and something I couldn’t name. I had never told him. Had never spoken the words aloud.

But of course he knew.

Lux’s voice was quiet, measured. “I know they abandoned you when you were nineteen. I know they left you because you hadn’t shifted yet.” His jaw tightened. “I know what that did to you.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight.

“You never said anything,” I whispered.

His expression softened, something warm flickering in his gaze. “I was waiting for you to tell me.”

I exhaled sharply, a mix of emotions crashing over me.

He had known.

A flicker of emotion passed over his face.

Something like guilt.

Regret.

I forced my voice to steady. “Then you know why I see this for what it is. Why I can’t just accept the way things are.”

Lux was silent.

“For years, I thought maybe I deserved it,” I admitted, my fingers digging into the earth. “That maybe they were right to leave me. That maybe I was weak.”

His jaw tightened.

“But I wasn’t,” I continued. “And neither are they.”

His brows furrowed. “They?”

I turned back to him, my throat tightening. “The mortals, Lux. They aren’t weak. They aren’t useless. And yet, they are treated as if they are nothing.”

Lux exhaled, running a hand over his face.

For the first time since I’d met him, I felt a divide between us.

Not because he disagreed.

Because this was the first thing he had never considered.

The first thing that forced him to see something differently.

It was the first real argument we had ever had.

But I didn’t regret bringing it up.

And neither did he.

After a long moment, Lux exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “So what do you want to do?”

I swallowed.

I had been thinking about it since the moment I realized my place in the pack had changed.

And now, I had the power to do something about it.

“I want to change things,” I said simply. “I want the mortals to be treated like pack members. Not just servants. Not just lesser.”

Lux was quiet for a long moment.

Then, he let out a slow, deep breath.

“Then we change things.”

I blinked. “Just like that?”

He smirked slightly. “You think I’m going to argue with my luna?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but there was no heat behind it. “I thought you liked arguing with me.”

He leaned forward, his lips brushing against mine. “Only when it leads to something more interesting.”

I sighed against his mouth, still annoyed with him, but also…pleased. Pleased that he listened. Pleased that he cared.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t fighting alone.

And that?

That was ~everything~.