The silence between Christian and me was suffocating as we walked toward his black SUV. My heels clicked against the gravel, each step echoing like gunshots in the night air. The council meeting was over, but Tom’s parting words kept replaying in my head like a broken record.

*"We’ll see how long your new Alpha wants you when he learns the truth about you."*

What truth? What the hell was he talking about?

I touched the mating mark on my neck without thinking, wincing as the tender skin pulsed with supernatural energy. The bite was still fresh, still healing, and every throb reminded me that I belonged to Christian now. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

Christian noticed my fidgeting. His hazel eyes flashed amber in the darkness, and I could practically feel his Alpha instincts kicking into overdrive. The protective energy rolling off him was so intense it made my wolf restless, like she was pacing beneath my skin.

"Sophie." His voice was rougher than usual.

"I’m fine," I lied.

He didn’t buy it. Obviously.

Christian started the engine, and we pulled away from the clearing, the headlights cutting through the darkness like knives. His knuckles were white against the steering wheel, tension radiating from every line of his body.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

"Tom said something," I blurted out, breaking the silence that was slowly killing me. "Before he left. He said you’d reject me once you learned ’the truth’ about me."

Christian’s jaw clenched so hard I thought he might crack a tooth. Without warning, he yanked the wheel to the right, pulling us over at some secluded overlook I didn’t even know existed. The SUV’s engine ticked as it cooled, the only sound in the sudden stillness.

He turned to face me, those hazel eyes boring into mine like they could see straight through to my soul. "Sophie."

"What truth, Christian? What don’t you know about me?" My voice cracked despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "Because I’m pretty sure I’ve been an open book since day one."

Christian reached for my hands, his touch gentle despite the storm I could see brewing in his eyes. His sandalwood and cedar scent wrapped around me, usually comforting but now tinged with something I couldn’t identify.

"I already know," he said quietly. "It’s about your Luna bloodline."

The world stopped.

"What?" The word came out as a whisper.

"You have the Luna bloodline, Sophie. Direct descent from one of the founding Luna families. I found out when I conducted the background check before hiring you at Knight Industries."

I stared at him, my brain refusing to process what he’d just said. Luna bloodline? That was impossible. I would have known. My parents would have told me. The Silver Moon Pack would have—

"That’s not possible." I yanked my hands away from his. "You’re wrong. You have to be wrong."

"Your great-grandmother was Luna Isabelle Martinez of the Desert Moon Pack. The bloodline skipped two generations before manifesting in you."

The betrayal hit me like a physical blow. "You’ve known this whole time?"

"Sophie, let me explain—"

"You’ve known this THE WHOLE TIME?" My vanilla and jasmine scent spiked with hurt and anger. "While I was sitting there thinking I wasn’t good enough for you, thinking I was just some rejected nobody, you knew I had Luna blood?"

"It’s not like that."

"Then what is it like, Christian? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you lied to me. For months."

His eyes flashed full amber now, his Alpha nature rising to meet my anger. "I needed to know about potential threats to my pack. Standard protocol for anyone entering my territory."

"So what, you only wanted me because I have the right bloodline? Is that it?" The words tasted bitter on my tongue. "You needed a Luna with proper breeding?"

"Don’t." His voice dropped to a dangerous growl. "Don’t you dare cheapen what we have."

"What do we have? What we have is built on lies!"

"No." Christian cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. "What we have is real. I fell for your compassion, your strength, and your stubborn determination to prove everyone wrong. I fell for YOU, Sophie. Not your bloodline, not your fighting skills, not your potential as a Luna. You."

The confined space of the SUV suddenly felt charged with electricity. His thumb traced my lower lip, and despite everything, despite the anger and hurt and confusion, my body responded to his touch. My wolf was practically purring, the traitor.

"How can I trust that?" My voice was barely above a whisper now. "How can I trust anything when you’ve been keeping this from me?"

"Because you know me." His forehead touched mine, our breath mingling in the small space. "You know who I am, Sophie. You’ve seen me at my worst, and you stayed. That’s not something someone fakes."

My defensive walls were crumbling, and I hated it. I hated how easily he could make me melt with just a look, just a touch. I hated how my wolf recognized the genuine emotion in his Alpha energy, how every instinct I had was screaming that he was telling the truth.

We were so close now I could count his eyelashes and see the gold flecks in his hazel eyes. He leaned closer, and I almost let him kiss me. Almost.

But Tom’s words echoed in my head again, and I pulled back.

"I need time to process this."

Christian’s face fell, but he nodded and reluctantly started driving again. The atmosphere in the SUV was thick with unresolved tension and the supernatural pull of our incomplete mating bond. It was like being wrapped in a live wire—every nerve ending on fire, every breath a struggle.

"I’m terrified," I admitted as we pulled into the circular driveway. "I’m terrified of not being good enough for your pack, especially now that I know you already knew about... about the bloodline thing."

"Sophie." Christian’s voice was firm, commanding in that Alpha way that made my spine straighten automatically. "I will stand by you no matter what challenges we face. No matter what Tom tries to pull, no matter what anyone says about your past or your worthiness. You’re mine now, and I protect what’s mine."

The conviction in his voice made something tight in my chest loosen just a little. This was the Christian I’d fallen for—the one who saw my potential when I couldn’t see it myself, the one who stood up for me when I was too broken to stand up for myself.

"We won’t let him win," I said, and for the first time since leaving the council meeting, I actually believed it. "Whatever game Tom is playing, whatever he thinks he knows about me, we won’t let him destroy this."

Christian’s smile was fierce and proud. "That’s my Luna."

As we sat there in the driveway, the pack house lights casting long shadows across the ground, I felt something shift between us. Not forgiveness exactly—I was still hurt about the secrecy—but understanding. We were both carrying secrets, both trying to protect ourselves and each other in the only ways we knew how.

Christian’s phone buzzed against the center console, the sound unnaturally loud in the quiet SUV.

He glanced at it, and his face went completely pale.

"What is it?" I asked, alarm bells going off in my head.

Christian stared at his phone screen like he’d seen a ghost. His sandalwood scent turned sharp with fear and rage, making my wolf whine with anxiety.

"Christian, what’s wrong?"

He looked up at me, his hazel eyes wide with something that looked suspiciously like panic.

"Nothing. Just a message from my dad." His voice was tight. "He said it’s not over."

"What does he mean by that?"

Christian’s hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles went white.

"Don’t think too much about it. He won’t do anything." The words came out too quickly, too rehearsed.

But I knew he was hiding something from me.