THE CEOS SECRET DESIRE

The night before my coronation as Luna, I couldn't sleep.

The Moon hung full and unblinking above the Crescent Woods, its light spilling through my window like a silent witness. Everyone in the pack house was asleep, except me. My heart wouldn't quiet. It beat too loudly, echoing the truth I'd tried to bury for weeks - I wasn't ready. Not for the crown. Not for the bond. Not for him.

I rose from my bed and moved to the balcony. From here, the entire packland spread out before me - the valley where our wolves trained, the silver river that marked our borders, the torches flickering along the patrol lines. My father used to say this view was my inheritance. My mother said it was my cage. Tonight, it felt like both.

Below, the scent of pines and burning cedar drifted through the cold air. Somewhere far off, a wolf howled - low, mournful, alone. My chest tightened at the sound.

Tomorrow, I would be Luna.

Tomorrow, I would be mated to Alpha Darius Thorn.

The thought sent a tremor through me. Darius - strong, silent, and unyielding. His every word felt like a command from the Moon Goddess herself. Every girl in the pack dreamt of being chosen by him, and yet... when he looked at me, I sometimes felt less like a lover and more like a duty.

Still, I told myself I was lucky.

I told myself I was honored.

I told myself love could grow from obedience.

A knock sounded at my door.

"Lyra?" It was Mira, my best friend - and tomorrow, my beta. Her voice was soft but sharp with worry. "You're awake again?"

I opened the door, forcing a smile. "Couldn't sleep."

She eyed me knowingly. "You're thinking too much again."

"When am I not?" I sighed, sinking onto the edge of my bed.

She joined me. "You're nervous. Everyone would be. But Darius-"

"-is everything a pack could want," I finished for her. "I know."

She smiled faintly. "Then why do you sound like someone walking to her own execution?"

I didn't answer. I didn't have to. Mira had known me since we were pups. She knew my silences better than my words.

"I heard there's been movement at the eastern border," she said after a pause. "Rogues, maybe. Darius sent patrols."

My gaze flicked toward the window. The moonlight looked colder now. "So close to the ceremony?"

She nodded. "He didn't want to tell you. He said you have enough on your mind."

Of course he did. Darius always decided what I could or couldn't handle - as if I were a fragile thing wrapped in silk instead of the alpha's daughter born with claws of her own.

Mira stood and squeezed my hand. "Try to sleep. You'll need your strength. Tomorrow, you'll belong to him - and to the pack."

Her words settled like a stone in my stomach.

Belong.