Avery's POV

Tears burned behind my eyes like fire. I couldn’t stop them. I was scared—really scared. My hands trembled against the dirt. My body was shaking, cold with fear and shame. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do.

He had dropped me. Just let me go like a doll. Why? Was it a new game? A new way to hurt me?

I didn’t look up. I couldn’t. But I felt his stare. Heavy and sharp, like it could cut right through me. I wept harder, curled in on myself. I begged the Moon Goddess to spare me. I wasn’t strong. I wasn’t special. I didn’t want to die.

I coughed as I cried. My chest hurt, not just from the fight, but from something deeper. I thought about my mother. About the life I’d never live. About the children I’d never have. The quiet home I’d always dreamed of. Gone.

“Look up,” Michael growled.

My stomach twisted.

“Look. Up,” he said again, louder.

I didn’t move. My body wouldn’t listen to me. I thought this was it. This was where I would die—in the dirt, like nothing. I pulled my arms around my chest, sobbing, waiting for him to strike.

Then, somehow, I found the strength. I lifted my head.

There he was. Michael Damire. Towering over me, crouched down now, his face just inches from mine. He was cruel and cold, yet unfairly beautiful. His black hair was tousled. His eyes—those night sky eyes—watched me like I was a puzzle he didn’t know how to solve.

He said nothing for a long time. And then—

“I hate repeating myself. If you turn your head from me again,” he said quietly, “I really just might forget you’re my mate and kill you.”

My breath caught.

Mate?

No. That couldn’t be. That was the strange feeling earlier, the way his scent had made my head spin, the way my wolf, Rae, had stirred for the first time in forever.

I stared at him. I didn’t speak.

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Yeah,” he muttered. “I don’t feel exceptional about it either.”

He looked away. His shoulders slumped. Then, suddenly, he dropped to the ground beside me, sitting with his knees up and his head in his hands.

“Well… shit,” he whispered.

He didn’t look like an Alpha right then but he didn’t make me any less queasy or afraid of him. He looked… tired. Like someone who had fought for far too long and didn’t know what peace was anymore.

In that moment, he reminded me of my father.

I used to see that same look in Dad’s eyes when he thought no one was watching. That tightness in his jaw. That heaviness in his shoulders.He always scared me too I scoffed. I used to try to comfort him. Even when he brushed me off, I’d still try.

I don’t know why, but I did the same thing now.

I reached up, slowly, and tucked Michael’s hair behind his ear.

His head snapped up in surprise. His eyes locked with mine.

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t push me away.

He just stared.

And I… I stared back.

Something inside me fluttered. I didn’t know what it was. Fear, maybe. Or something more dangerous. The pull between us was strong—too strong. It made no sense. He was my enemy. My family’s killer.

But I didn’t move.

Then, he leaned in and kissed me. consumed me

I gasped, and for a second I pushed back. My hands pressed against his chest. But I was tired. My body hurt. And the kiss… it was warm. Strong. It made the rest of the world disappear.

I let go.

He pulled back a little. I couldn’t help but ask my self “why” why? He was a murderer! Why was I doing this? His eyes searched mine, and for a moment I was lost again.

“The pain,” he whispered, voice low, rough. “It disappears when I touch you.”

That surprised me. His voice didn’t sound like an Alpha anymore. It sounded like a man. A broken one. And somehow, I wanted to fix it. Or at least, to understand it.

I felt Rae inside me. My wolf. She stirred, stronger than ever before. She didn’t care about revenge. She didn’t know what war was. She only knew the bond.

She wanted him.

And Michael kissed me again.

This time, I didn’t fight it.

His hand slid down my side, then stopped at my waist. I tensed, unsure. I had never done anything like this before. I had always promised myself I would wait. I wanted love. I wanted marriage. I wanted everything to be right.

But nothing in my life had ever gone the way I planned.

And now, here I was, in the arms of the man I had feared most. He laced his hand up my skirt, then between my legs. I wanted to push him off me, tell him to stop, but it felt heavenly. I was a virgin maid. Saving myself to be part of the moon goddesses coven. To consummate marriage under her celestial blessings. It had been my life’s dream and here I was tainting myself, throwing it away for this monster. The tears and shame started to well up. But is touches also made them melt. I had no power anymore. He had me.

He whispered in my ear, “Do you like this?” As he tugged softly on my nipples, and I was pulled back into him.

I swallowed. I nodded. Just once. He felt ambrosic

He didn’t rush. He was intense, but he didn’t push me farther than I could handle. He touched me gently, almost reverently. I felt my fear fading, replaced by heat and confusion.

And something deeper. as he pushed my underwear to the side, and he entered inside me slowly clutching me. While he moved more rapidly, I was his, and I moaned load, and he drew me even closer despite how close we were already, he tugged at me, as if wanting us to merge. It felt too good and I felt..

Connection.

I didn’t think it could get any better than this I felt like I was floating As his lips found my neck, I felt his breath hitch. He paused.

Then—I felt it. His teeth, grazing my skin.

And when he bit me—everything exploded.

My whole body went still. Then shuddered. And the heat between us burned so bright it scared me. It wasn’t just lust. It wasn’t even just instinct.

It was the bond.

I was his. And he was mine.

And I didn’t know how to feel about it.

My head swam. I leaned into him, my hands gripping his shirt. My lips found his again, desperate and aching. I didn’t know where this would lead. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.

But I knew this—

For the first time in my life, my wolf was awake.

And she wanted Michael Damire.