Beverly's POV

The pack meeting was held in a mansion I didn't know Bruce owned. Fifty wolves filled the grand hall, all staring at me as I entered beside their Alpha.

"Many of you have heard rumors," Bruce began, his voice commanding instant attention. "I'm here to confirm them. This is Beverly Leonard, my wife and mate. She is your Luna."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I caught words like "outsider" and "the curse" and "Luna blood."

A woman stepped forward, tall and elegant with silver hair. "With respect, Alpha, she's untrained. How can she lead beside you?"

"Victoria raises a good point," Bruce said calmly. "Beverly will need training. Which is why you'll be teaching her."

Victoria's eyes widened. "Me?"

"You're the strongest female in our pack and my third in command. Who better?"

Victoria looked at me, her expression unreadable. "Does she even know what being Luna means?"

"Why don't you ask me directly?" I said, stepping forward. "I'm standing right here."

Surprise flashed across several faces. Apparently, they expected me to be meek.

Victoria smiled slowly. "Fair enough. What do you think being Luna means?"

"I think it means protecting the pack, supporting the Alpha, and being strong enough to do both."

"Pretty words. Can you back them up?"

"Try me."

The challenge in my voice made Bruce tense beside me, but he didn't interfere.

Victoria circled me slowly. "You smell like power, but it's untapped. Raw. Dangerous."

"Then teach me to control it."

"It's not that simple. Luna blood isn't just about power. It's about instinct, connection to the pack. You have to earn their loyalty."

"How?"

"The old way. Prove yourself."

"Victoria," Bruce warned.

"No, Alpha. If she's truly Luna blood, she can handle this." Victoria shifted to her wolf form, a massive grey beast with intelligent eyes.

The pack backed up, forming a circle. I understood immediately. A challenge, but not to the death. A test.

"Beverly, you don't have to—" Bruce started.

"Yes, I do." I kicked off my heels. "If I'm going to be their Luna, I need their respect."

I shifted, feeling my wolf form ripple into existence. But something was different. I was larger than usual, my fur silver-white instead of my normal brown. The Luna blood, awakening.

Victoria attacked first, fast and brutal. I dodged, barely, my instincts sharper than ever. We danced around each other, testing, learning.

She was stronger, more experienced. But I was faster, and something else—I could sense her moves before she made them. Another Luna gift.

The fight lasted ten minutes. Victoria pinned me twice, but I escaped both times. Finally, she had me down, teeth at my throat, when I did something on instinct.

I pushed power through our connection, not to hurt but to show her what I saw—the pack through my eyes. Their strength, their potential, their need for unity.

Victoria stepped back, shifting to human form, eyes wide. "Impossible. That skill takes years to develop."

I shifted back, breathing hard. "Luna blood?"

"More than that." She looked at Bruce. "She's a natural. Raw, untrained, but a natural."

Bruce helped me stand, pride evident in his eyes. "The pack accepts their Luna?"

One by one, the wolves bowed their heads. Even Victoria.

"We accept," she said formally. "But Alpha, if she's truly this powerful, others will come for her."

"Let them come," Bruce said darkly.

After the meeting, Victoria pulled me aside. "Training starts tomorrow. Dawn."

"That early?"

"You have six months to learn what most take years to master. We don't have time to waste."

"You know about the curse?"

"Everyone knows. It's why some resisted you. They don't want to lose another Luna."

"There was another?"

"Bruce's grandmother. She lasted eight months before the curse took her. His grandfather never recovered."

"How did she die?"

Victoria hesitated. "Dragon attack."

"Dragons exist?"

"Everything exists, Luna. That's your first lesson. The supernatural world is vast and dangerous. And now that you're awakened, you're part of it."

That night, Bruce found me in the library, reading everything I could find about Luna bloodlines.

"How are you handling all this?" he asked.

"I'm trying to understand how I went twenty-five years without knowing any of this."

"Your father hid you well. Changed your last name, suppressed your wolf traits, and moved you to a city with weak pack presence."

"To protect me?"

"Probably. Luna blood is rare. Wars have been fought over them."

"Marcus mentioned that."

Bruce's jaw tightened. "Marcus is gone. He won't bother you again."

"You're sure?"

"Victor confirmed he left the city. His entire pack presence is gone."

"That seems too easy."

"Nothing about this is easy." He sat beside me, close but not touching. "Beverly, about earlier, the fight with Victoria..."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did something impossible. That connection you made with her—I've never seen a new Luna do that."

"Is that bad?"

"It's remarkable. But it also means your power is manifesting faster than expected."

"Because of the curse?"

"Maybe. Or maybe you're just that strong naturally."

I closed the book I was reading. "Bruce, what happens if I get too strong? What if the power becomes too much?"

"We'll handle it."

"That's not an answer."

He was quiet for a moment. "There are stories of Luna bloods who couldn't control their power. They went mad, took their entire packs with them."

"Comforting."

"But they didn't have proper training. Or an Alpha mate to ground them."

"So you're my anchor?"

"And you're mine."

We sat in comfortable silence until my phone buzzed. Mom calling.

"I should take this," I said.

Bruce nodded and left to give me privacy.

"Mom?"

"Beverly! Thank God. Are you okay? There were men here earlier, but they just watched the house and left."

"I'm fine, Mom. Those were... security. Making sure you were safe."

"Security? Beverly, what's going on? First the wedding disaster, now you're married to someone else? The news is saying you married Bruce Leonard!"

"I did."

"The billionaire? How? When? Why?"

"It's complicated."

"Everything with you lately is complicated. I'm worried."

"Don't be. I'm safe. Happy, even."

"Are you? Because Mrs. Chen from down the street said she saw your ex-fiancé leaving town in a hurry. Did Mr. Leonard have something to do with that?"

"Marcus left on his own."

"Beverly..."

"Mom, I promise I'll explain everything soon. But right now, I need you to trust me."

"I do trust you. It's everyone else I don't trust."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too. Be careful."

After I hung up, I found Bruce on the balcony, talking on his phone in a language I didn't recognize. He ended the call when he saw me.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"That was my contact in Europe. There might be a way to break the curse."

"Really?"

"Maybe. It involves finding the origin point—the witch who cast it originally."

"A witch cursed your family?"

"Five generations ago. My ancestor apparently wronged her somehow."

"And she's still alive?"

"Witches can live for centuries if they're powerful enough."

"So we find her and ask nicely to remove the curse?"

"Something like that."

"Bruce, what aren't you telling me?"

He turned to face me fully. "The witch's name is Morgana Silver."

"Silver? Like Silver Mountain Pack? Like my grandmother's pack?"

"Yes."

The implications hit me. "The witch who cursed your family is related to mine?"

"It's possible. Beverly, this might not be a coincidence. Us meeting, being mates—"

"You think it's part of the curse?"

"Or part of breaking it. Either way, we need to find Morgana Silver."

"When do we leave?"

"We?"

"You're not going without me. This involves my bloodline too."

"It's dangerous."

"Everything about my life is dangerous now. At least this might give us answers."

He pulled me against him suddenly, holding me tight. "I can't lose you."

"You won't."

"You can't promise that."

"No," I admitted. "But I can promise to fight. For us, for the pack, for our future."

"What future? We might only have months—"

I kissed him, cutting off his words. It was our second kiss, but this time neither of us pulled away. The mate bond sang between us, electric and undeniable.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

"That probably made things worse," I said.

"Probably."

"The bond's getting stronger."

"Yes."

"We should stop."

"We should."

Neither of us moved.

"Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to waste whatever time we have left being afraid."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe we stop fighting this. Maybe we just... see what happens."

"Beverly, if we complete the bond—"

"I know the risks."

"Do you? Because once we're fully bonded, if the curse takes you, it'll kill me too."

I pulled back to look at him. "What?"

"True mates can't survive without each other. If you die, I die."

"Then we definitely can't—"

"I don't care."

"Bruce—"

"I've spent five years avoiding connections, avoiding feeling anything. Then you crashed into my life and suddenly I'm alive again. If the choice is six months with you or sixty years without you, I choose you."

"That's the bond talking."

"No, it's not." He cupped my face. "The bond recognized what was already there. You're not just my mate, Beverly. You're my match. My equal. My Luna."

"This is crazy."

"Everything about our world is crazy."

He was right. Dragons and witches and curses and Luna blood. All crazy.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay?"

"We do this. Really do this. No more pretending, no more business arrangement. We try to break the curse, but if we can't..." I took a breath. "Then we make the most of whatever time we have."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

He kissed me again, and this time, we didn't stop.

Later, lying in his bed—our bed now—I traced patterns on his chest.

"What happens tomorrow?" I asked.

"Training with Victoria. Pack business. Research on Morgana Silver."

"And us?"

"We stop hiding. From the pack, from the world, from ourselves."

"The curse—"

"We'll break it."

"You sound certain."

"I am."

"Why?"

He rolled us so he was above me, his eyes intense. "Because now I have something worth fighting for. Someone worth saving."

"We save each other."

"Deal."

As I drifted off to sleep in my mate's arms, I thought about how much had changed in just days. From runaway bride to Luna. From alone to mated. From ordinary to magical.

Tomorrow will bring new challenges. The curse, training, and finding a centuries-old witch.

But tonight, I was exactly where I belonged.