RAMON

I'd done stupider things in my life. I just couldn't remember when.

Martin, his name whispered through the bond without him speaking it, sat across from me in the carriage. He hadn't said a word since we'd left the Rite grounds. Just stared at his hands while moonlight turned his face ghostly pale.

My wolf wanted to comfort him. Wanted to pull him close and promise everything would be fine.

Everything would not be fine.

"You should eat." I pushed a pack of dried meat toward him.

He flinched. "I'm not hungry."

"You're shaking."

"Because my entire world just ended." His eyes finally met mine, and the raw fear there made something in my chest crack. "You should have let them take me. Now you've lost everything for, for someone like me."

"Someone like you?"

"A male omega. A curse. Whatever Malric called me." He laughed, the sound brittle. "I spent my whole life hiding what I am. Took me one second to destroy everything."

The bond pulsed between us, carrying his emotions like a flood. Terror. Shame and underneath it all, exhaustion so deep it made my bones ache.

"You didn't ask for this," I said.

"Neither did you."

True enough. I leaned back against the carriage wall, studying him properly for the first time. Young. Pretty in that delicate way omegas often were, but there was steel in his jawline. Strength in the set of his shoulders despite the fear.

And the bond. Gods, the bond. It thrummed like a second heartbeat, demanding I touch him. Claim him. Complete what the moon had started.

I shoved the impulse down. Hard.

"What were you doing at the Rite?" I asked.

"Delivering medicine. The cart broke. Some villagers thought they were being helpful." He wrapped his arms around himself. "I should have run the moment I realized where I was."

"They would have hunted you down."

"At least you wouldn't be a traitor."

"I've been called worse."

That got a ghost of a smile. "Somehow I doubt that."

Tessa's voice drifted from outside. "We're approaching the fortress. Gates are opening."

Martin tensed. "Your pack. They won't want me there."

"My pack will do what I tell them."

"Because you're their Alpha."

"Because I've kept them alive for fifteen years through three wars and two famines. They trust my judgment."

"Do you?" He looked at me directly. "Trust your judgment about this?"

Honest question. Deserved an honest answer.

"No," I said. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. But the bond is real. I can feel it. Can you?"

He nodded slowly. "It's like...a rope. Tied around my heart. Pulling me toward you even when I don't want to move."

"Same."

"So what do we do?"

The carriage rolled to a stop. Through the window, I could see pack members gathering. Word had already spread. Wolves and gossip traveled at the same speed.

"We survive." I opened the door, stepping out into cold mountain air. "Whatever Malric throws at us, we survive it. Together."

I offered my hand. Martin stared at it for a long moment. Then, slowly, he reached out and took it.

The bond flared gold between our palms. Around us, I heard gasps. Whispers of "true mate" and "the prophecy" and other words I didn't want to think about.

I pulled Martin close, not gently. "Stay next to me. Don't speak unless I tell you to. And whatever happens, don't show fear. These wolves will eat you alive if they sense weakness."

He straightened, lifting his chin. "I've been hiding my whole life. I can handle a few hostile stares."

Good. He'd need that spine.

I led him through the crowd toward the main fortress. My pack parted like water, their faces a mix of curiosity and suspicion. A few looked openly hostile.

Tessa waited at the entrance, arms crossed. "The elders want an emergency council. Tonight."

"Tell them tomorrow."

"Ramon…"

"Tomorrow." I kept walking, Martin's hand still clasped in mine. "Right now, I need to figure out how to keep my mate alive."

The word hung in the air. Mate. Official now.

No taking it back.

I took Martin to the Luna's quarters, rooms that had been empty since my mother died two decades ago. He looked around at the stone walls hung with faded tapestries, the massive bed covered in furs.

"This is where I'm staying?"

"It's the safest place in the fortress. And the symbolism matters. You're my mate. You belong in Luna's room."

He turned to face me, something desperate in his eyes. "I don't know how to be a Luna. I don't know how to be anyone's mate. I've spent my entire life trying to be invisible."

"Then learn fast." The words came out harsher than I meant. "Because being invisible isn't an option anymore. You're the first male omega to be publicly claimed in three hundred years. Every eye in every territory will be on you."

"Great. No pressure."

I moved closer. The bond pulled taut between us. "I meant what I said at the Rite. You're mine. I protect what's mine."

"Even from your own pack?"

"Especially from them."

He searched my face, looking for something. Lies, maybe. Or false promises. But I'd never been good at either.

Finally, he nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll try. To learn. To be what you need." He swallowed hard. "But Ramon? If this becomes too dangerous. If I become too much of a liability..."

"Don't." I gripped his shoulders. "Don't finish that sentence. We're in this now. Both of us. And I've never backed down from a fight in my life."

"This isn't a fight. It's a war."

I smiled, sharp and cold. "Even better. I'm really good at war."