Chapter 34 #4
I remained standing, unwilling to give him the courtesy of sitting as an equal. "Talk," I ordered. "Everything. From the beginning."
Victor's eyes flicked between us. "What's there to say? You took what should have been mine. The territory. The business contracts. The woman." His gaze lingered on Alison, and I growled low in my throat. "I simply tried to reclaim it."
"By allying with a human who tried to kill my son?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet.
Victor shrugged, wincing as the movement pulled at a wound on his shoulder. "Politics makes for strange bedfellows. Victoria wanted revenge on Alison. I wanted revenge on you. It was... convenient."
"You offered Alison a job to get her away from me," I continued, anger building with each confirmation of his manipulation. "You kept tabs on her, on Leo. You fed Victoria information about the pack."
"And she made it so easy," Victor said with a mirthless laugh. "So trusting. So desperate to prove herself."
I moved so fast that Alison gasped, my hand closing around Victor's throat. "You used her. You endangered my son."
Victor's eyes bulged, but he managed to speak. "Kill me, and my pack splinters. Some will seek revenge. Some will challenge you. Endless conflict." He gasped as my grip tightened. "Or... we could negotiate."
"There is nothing to negotiate," I snarled.
"Wait." Alison's voice was calm, her hand gentle on my arm. "Let him speak."
I released Victor reluctantly, stepping back to stand beside my mate. Her presence steadied me, her practical mind seeing past the rage that clouded mine.
"What do you propose?" she asked coolly.
"A merger," Victor said. "My pack joins yours, under your leadership. My business assets transfer to your control. Clean, simple, profitable."
"And why would we trust you?" I demanded.
Victor's eyes never left Alison's. "Because Alison understands the value of stability over vengeance. Don't you, Alison?"
I watched my mate study him, this man who had manipulated her for years, who had conspired against our family. Her business mind was calculating, weighing options, and seeing the bigger picture.
"A merger," she said slowly, "with you exiled. Permanently. Your Beta can smooth the transition for your pack members who choose to stay."
I stared at her in surprise, but she continued, her voice steady and sure.
"Your company assets transfer to a trust managed jointly by Lucas's company and my studio. Profits fund pack infrastructure and support for any displaced wolves." She leaned forward. "And you sign a blood oath never to approach my family again."
Victor's eyes widened slightly. For a human who had learned of werewolves only recently, she had surprised him with her knowledge of our customs. A blood oath was unbreakable—violating it meant death.
"You drive a hard bargain for a new Luna," he said finally.
"She's not just a Luna," I said, pride surging through me as I looked at my mate. "She's a businesswoman, a mother, and the strongest human I've ever known. And you're out of options."
Victor looked between us, the fight draining from him as he realized he was truly beaten. He nodded slowly. "I accept."
As the guards took Victor away to formalize the arrangements, I pulled Alison into my arms, my lips finding hers in a kiss that left us both breathless.
"You," I murmured against her mouth, "are magnificent."
She laughed softly, the tension of the night finally breaking. "I'm just practical."
"You're a natural Luna." My hand caressed her cheek. "Born to lead alongside me."
"Luna," she tested the word, finding it fit better than she'd expected. "I suppose I can add that to my resume, along with heiress and mother."
My chest tightened with emotion. "Add mate," I said, my voice husky. "Add wife."
Her breath caught. "Lucas—"
I dropped to one knee before her, taking her hand in mine.
"Alison, I've made every mistake possible with you.
I've hurt you, doubted you, lost you. But I've also loved you from that very first night, whether I wanted to or not.
" My thumb traced circles on her palm. "You are my fated mate, the mother of my son, and the strongest woman I've ever known.
Marry me. Be my Luna in the human world and the pack world.
Let me spend the rest of my life making up for the time we lost."
Tears blurred her vision as she looked down at me, her smile brighter than the moon my wolf howled for.
"Yes," she whispered, pulling me to my feet. "Yes, I'll marry you."
My kiss was a promise, a declaration, a claiming. And as her arms closed around me, I knew I had finally found the peace I'd been seeking all my life—not as the powerful Alpha, not as the successful businessman, but as the man who had found his true mate and fought to keep her.
"We should check on Leo," she said when we finally broke apart.
I nodded, my hand finding hers. "Our son is waiting. And we have a future to build."
As we walked through the pack house, members nodded respectfully, some murmuring "Luna" as Alison passed. For the first time, the title didn't seem to make her uncomfortable.
It fit her perfectly. As she had always fit me.