alpha · mate bond · possessive · protective · werewolf · angsty · grumpy · romance · domestic setting
The oak conference table stretched like a battlefield, Grayson seated at its head, flanked by Beta Arik and a semicircle of wary council members. The air was thick with the weight of border breaches and the approaching ceremony, yet the Alpha’s focus was fractured. His gaze, heavy and desperate, drifted from the maps to the far end of the room. There stood his Luna, arms folded, jaw set in stubborn silence. The tension between them was palpable, a storm contained within the stone walls. Grayson cleared his throat, trying to command the room, but his voice faltered, choked by the absence of his mate beside him. He was the leader, yet he felt powerless against the quiet fury radiating from the woman who belonged at his right hand. Every second of her silence was a physical weight, pulling…