Beneath the Alpha's Moon

LUCIAN'S POV

I took a deep breath, feeling the cool night air prickle over my skin as I leaned against a tree, staring at the endless stretch of forest in front of me. The faint smell of wild flowers and earth helped a little, settling me. The forest was silent, a world away from the pack's constant questions about who Teresa was and what she was doing in pack lands. I'd chosen this run to clear my head, but Ares had other plans; and now I was stuck, still in human form, angrier than before.

Ares growled in frustration, a low, simmering rumble in the back of my head.

"Lucian,"he snarled, voice like thunder, "this has gone on long enough."

I rolled my eyes, exhaling sharply as I clenched my fists tightly. "I know what you're going to say, Ares."

"Then stop fighting me. You're only dragging this out because you're too scared to admit you need her."

His words hit like a slap to the face. I straightened, clenching my jaw. "And what would you have me do, huh? Rush her? Scare her off? Teresa's human, Ares. She doesn't know...anything about us."

Ares huffed in exasperation. "You and I know that this has nothing to do with that! Four and a half months, Lucian. She's been with us for four and a half months, and you still won't let me claim her. How much longer do you think you can keep pretending we don't need her?"

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the tension in my muscles as I paced. The pack house wasn't too far off, and the sound of laughter drifted faintly through the trees. But all I could focus on was her voice in the sea of voices.

Ares didn't let up. His voice was a sharp bite in my mind, one I couldn't ignore. "I'm not asking, Lucian. When the full moon rises, I'll make her ours—whether you want to or not."

I stopped dead in my tracks, fire igniting in my chest. "You will do no such thing, Ares. She's not ready, and neither am I."