Darrian's POV
☆☆☆☆☆
She was too soft.
I watched from the shadows of the hallway as Heather disappeared into her room, her silhouette swallowed by the door I had built for her, piece by piece, to make her feel safe.
Too soft. Too fragile. Too broken.
And it made my blood boil.
Not at her.
At the truth I couldn't stomach.
I'd fought wars with nothing but my hands and my wolf. Torn alphas limb from limb. I'd built this pack from ash and blood, clawed my way to power by being merciless, unrelenting, untouchable.
And now the moon goddess had mated me to her?
A woman who flinched at shadows?
Who shook like a leaf when someone raised their voice?
Who'd been so broken by another male that she still had nightmares every night?
How am I supposed to make her my Luna?
How could I introduce her to the pack like she was strong enough to stand at my side? They would rip her apart. Tear through her hesitations. Sense the fear still coiling in her chest like a second skin.
She couldn't even hold eye contact when I walked into a room.
A Luna needed to be fierce. Commanding. A blade beside her Alpha, not a trembling flame in the dark.
I slammed my fist against the wall, cracking the stone.
She should've died crossing the border. She almost did. And part of me hated her for it.
Because weakness like that has no place in my world.
And yet…
And yet I couldn't walk away.
I couldn't look at her without the wolf in me growling to protect. Every bruise she carried made my knuckles itch to finish what Marcus started—on his corpse.
She didn't know how close I'd come to hunting Marcus down the moment I saw her curled up on my infirmary bed, unconscious and reeking of blood. She didn't know how many times I'd stood over her while she slept, snarling in her dreams, and felt this… need I couldn't put into words.
She doesn't even realize what she is.
The bond between us was undeniable. It curled tight in my chest like a chain, locking my instincts to hers. When she whimpered, I tensed. When she breathed, I noticed.
When she hurt… I raged.
And gods help me, that scared the hell out of me.
Because if she broke, I didn't know what I'd do.
I wasn't built for soft things.
Not for vulnerability.
Not for comfort.
And certainly not for a Luna who might shatter the second someone challenged her authority.
But I couldn't tell her that.
I couldn't tell her that every time she cowered at a loud sound, part of me wanted to scream. That every time she looked at me like I might hurt her, my gut twisted like I was the monster Marcus had trained her to fear.
She deserved better than what I could give.
And yet I couldn't stop giving her everything.
The clothes. The books. The room. The silence I knew she needed and the presence I knew she hated but still craved.
She didn't need another Alpha.
She needed a sanctuary.
But I didn't know how to be both.
You can't make a weak woman your Luna, the voice in my head whispered.
But it was too late.
Because she already was.
And no matter how much I hated her weakness, I'd already decided—
No one else would ever see it.
No one else would ever use it against her.
I'd destroy anyone who tried.
Even if it meant destroying myself in the process
I paced the edge of the balcony outside my quarters, watching the moon hang low over the treeline. The night was quiet, but my mind wasn't.
Rhiannon had been right. Again.
She'd seen it in my face the moment I brought Heather across the border—bloodied, unconscious, but alive.
"She's your weakness," my sister had whispered. "And if you don't learn how to wield it, someone else will."
I'd nearly snapped at her. But I didn't. Because deep down, I knew.
Heather was already unraveling things in me I couldn't afford to have unraveled.
I had killed men for less than the way she made me feel. Weak. Human. Raw.
And yet, I'd moved her into the room next to mine.
I'd filled it with her favorite books—some of which I'd had to barter like a peasant to track down. I'd had warriors measure her quietly while she slept so her clothes would fit exactly. I'd ordered her sheets scented with calming oils, because her wolf stirred restlessly at night.
I knew every scar on her body.
I knew what her hands looked like when they curled into fists while she dreamed of monsters.
I knew the way she held her breath when someone walked too close.
She didn't know I'd stood outside her door every night since she arrived. That I hadn't slept more than a few hours in days. That I hadn't allowed a single soul near her without scent-checking them myself.
Because if anyone touched her…
If anyone made her flinch again…
I would end them.
Even my own pack.
Even my own blood.
I heard footsteps behind me, soft ones—Rhiannon again.
"Still brooding?" she asked, leaning against the stone railing.
"She's not strong enough to be Luna," I muttered.
"She's not strong yet," Rhiannon corrected. "But she will be."
"I don't need a project. I need a queen."
"You need someone who sees through your bullshit and still wants to stay."
I shot her a glare. She smiled sweetly and stole the flask from my belt.
"Don't let your fear of her softness blind you to her strength, brother," she said, sipping. "You think you've seen what she's capable of? You haven't."
"She almost died crossing the border."
"And she didn't," Rhiannon snapped, for once not teasing. "That girl walked through hell with nothing but her rage and her wolf, and she made it here. Barely breathing, sure—but alive. Don't mistake trauma for weakness."
My jaw clenched.
She was right.
But I couldn't say it.
Because if I said it, it would become real.
And real meant vulnerable.
"I'll train her," I muttered.
"She'll never be a fighter," Rhiannon warned.
"No," I agreed. "But she'll learn to survive."
Because she has to.
If she's going to stand beside me, if she's going to wear my mark, bear my name, take my pack as her own—she can't break every time someone snarls.
She has to become more than what Marcus left behind.
And I'll make sure she does.
Even if I have to drag her out of the dark myself.
Even if she hates me for it.
I looked back at the full moon, heart a twisted knot of fury, desire, and something else I didn't want to name.
She was mine.
And I would not let the world take her from me.
Even if it meant I had to break her to rebuild her stronger