Chapter 1 THE ALPHA'S PROMISE

"Eliana, if you change that dress one more time, I'm going to hide all your clothes."

Eliana looked at Mira through the mirror. "You said the blue one was too serious."

"Because it was. But you've tried on four dresses now. You're going to dinner, not meeting the king."

Eliana laughed and held up a black dress against herself.

"What about this one?"

Mira tilted her head. "Better. Much better."

Eliana put it on and adjusted the straps. She wanted to look good for Kael. It had been almost a week since they'd spent an evening together without him being called away for pack business. Between council meetings, border patrols, and his father's endless demands, Kael was always needed somewhere else. She understood that. He was the Alpha's heir.

Still, she missed him.

Mira sat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

"You're going to ask him tonight, aren't you?"

Eliana paused. "Ask him what?"

"Don't do that. You know exactly what I mean. You've been dating him for how long now? And every time I mention the future, you suddenly find something else to talk about."

Eliana picked up her earrings. "I just want to know if we're thinking about the same things."

"Then ask him."

"What if he thinks I'm putting pressure on him?"

"Then he can open his mouth and tell you that. You're his girlfriend, Eliana. You're allowed to ask where this is going."

Eliana looked at herself in the mirror again.

"I think he loves me."

"I think so too," Mira said. "But love and making plans are two different things."

Before Eliana could answer, her phone buzzed.

Kael: I'm outside. Take your time.

Mira snatched up a cushion and pointed it at her. "Go. And please, for once, come back with an actual answer."

Eliana grabbed her bag, laughing. "I'll tell you everything tomorrow."

"You'd better!"

---

Kael was leaning against his car when Eliana came outside. He straightened as soon as he saw her, and the tired look on his face disappeared.

"There you are."

"You make it sound like I kept you waiting for hours."

"Only twenty minutes."

"That's not true."

He laughed and opened the passenger door for her.

"You look beautiful, by the way."

Eliana smiled as she got in. "You say that every time."

"Because you keep giving me reasons to."

She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop smiling.

For the first few minutes, they talked about ordinary things. Eliana told him about a disagreement she'd had with a neighbor - Mrs. Hargrove, who had complained that Eliana's roses were growing through the fence. They were, in fact, growing through the fence. Eliana had no intention of moving them.

"And then she said I was doing it on purpose," Eliana finished. "As if I have time to plot against a hedge."

"Clearly you're a menace," Kael said.

"I said, 'Mrs. Hargrove, if I wanted to ruin your garden, I'd have started with the hydrangeas.'"

Kael laughed. She didn't hear that sound enough lately.

He complained about a meeting that had lasted nearly three hours, going on about budget allocations and boundary disputes until Eliana started nodding at the same places he did.

"My father wants everyone to agree before the next full moon," he said, shaking his head. "As if that has ever happened in the history of this pack."

"Is it always like that?"

"Pretty much." He put his phone facedown on the dashboard. "Being the Alpha's heir means people expect you to have an answer for everything. Even when you don't."

"You always seem to have an answer."

"That's because I don't want anyone to know when I'm confused."

She laughed, and he reached across the console to take her hand.

His thumb brushed over her knuckles, slow and familiar. Her wolf settled at his touch. Warm. Content. It only ever did that around him, and Eliana had decided a long time ago that the quiet in her chest meant they belonged together.

Mira's voice echoed anyway. Love and making plans are two different things.

"Kael, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Have you ever thought about what things will be like when you become Alpha?"

He glanced at her. "More meetings. More problems. Probably less sleep."

"I'm serious."

"I know." His expression softened. "What is it?"

She looked down at their joined hands.

"When that happens, everything will change. The pack will expect things from you. Your father will have his own ideas about how you should lead, and the council will probably want you to make certain decisions."

"That's true."

"And what about us?"

He didn't answer immediately. Her stomach tightened.

"I mean, where do I fit into all of that?" she asked. "I don't want to spend years waiting for something you're not sure you want."

Kael pulled the car over beneath a row of trees before the restaurant came into view. He turned to face her fully.

"Is that what you think you're doing? Waiting for me?"

"Sometimes, yes."

He looked genuinely surprised. "Eliana, I thought I'd made myself clear."

"You tell me you love me. I know that. But we've never really talked about what comes next."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I want you beside me when I become Alpha."

She searched his face. "You do?"

"Yes. I don't want my father choosing a Luna for me just because she comes from the right family or has the right connections. I'm not going to spend my life with someone I don't love."

"And you think the council will accept that?"

"The council can complain all it wants. I'll deal with them."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It's not going to be easy." He squeezed her hand. "My father has been pushing an alliance with the Vane pack for months. They're not friends of ours, but they're powerful, and my father thinks a marriage would settle the border disputes."

Her wolf stirred at the name. Even the boldest wolves in the territory went quiet when the Vanes were mentioned.

"And what do you think?" she asked.

"I think I'd rather have peace than a wife I don't want." He looked at her. "But I'm not asking you to figure everything out tonight. I'm telling you I see a future with you. I want that future."

"Even when things get difficult?"

"Especially then."

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't make plans for my life without me. If something changes, tell me. Don't leave me guessing."

He didn't look away. "I promise."

She nodded, and something in her chest let go.

Kael lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "Now, can we finish dinner without you questioning my ability to be a decent boyfriend?"

"I never said you were a bad boyfriend."

"Good. I'd hate to lose my position."

"You're ridiculous."

"And you love me."

"Unfortunately."

He laughed, and the conversation moved on.

For the rest of the evening, they talked about where they might travel together and what kind of house Eliana would want someday. Kael listened as she described a place with a large kitchen, a garden, and enough room for friends to visit.

He teased her about the kitchen being bigger than the living room. She threatened to choose the house without his opinion.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"You're cruel, Eliana."

"And yet you love me."

"Unfortunately," he echoed, making her laugh again.

It was an ordinary evening. The kind she wished they could have more often.

When Kael drove her home, he walked her to the door and kissed her goodbye. His lips lingered against hers, warm and gentle.

"I'll see you soon."

"You'd better."

He smiled, brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and left.

Inside, Mira was already waiting, sprawled across the sofa with a cushion over her face.

"Well?"

Eliana dropped her bag. "He says he wants a future with me."

"And do you believe him?"

"Yes."

Mira moved the cushion. She looked at Eliana for a long moment, then nodded. "All right. I hope he's as serious as you think he is."

"So do I."

---

Later that night, Eliana lay in bed with her phone in her hand.

Kael: Goodnight, my future Luna. I love you.

She read it twice. He didn't usually talk like that - not in writing, not so plainly. It made her smile anyway.

Eliana: Goodnight. I love you too.

She set the phone beside her pillow and turned off the light, already thinking about the next time she would see him.

She had no reason to doubt him. That was what she told herself, anyway.

Her phone lit up again. Not Kael.

Unknown: You should ask him where he goes after he leaves you.

She stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the reply box. Then she laughed - a short, uneasy sound - and deleted the message.

A prank. Someone who knew she was dating the Alpha's heir and wanted to rattle her. It happened. People were cruel.

She put the phone down and closed her eyes.

She did not sleep for a long time.