Mated to My Intended's Enemy novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Possess Me, If You Dare

Victoria

The penthouse suite transformed into an oasis of quiet after the thundering celebration of the Hunt Festival. Leo guided me through the door with his hand pressed possessively against the small of my back, his touch both comforting and commanding. I paused at the threshold, taking in the sweeping vista of the city through floor-to-ceiling windows—thousands of lights twinkling like earthbound stars beneath us.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Leo’s voice rumbled close to my ear as he came up behind me, his arms encircling my waist.

I nodded, unable to deny the breathtaking panorama. The Shadow Pack territory stretched before me—skyscrapers, residential districts, and in the distance, the dark outline of forests where the wolves had hunted tonight. To our right, the helicopter landing pad sat empty, a stark reminder of the power wielded by the man whose arms held me.

"I didn’t expect it to be so..." I searched for the word.

"Vast?" Leo suggested.

"Yours," I finished. "All of this belongs to Shadow Pack—to you."

His chest pressed against my back, and I felt his lips brush the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. "And now to you, as my Luna."

The title still felt foreign on my skin—a borrowed garment that didn’t quite fit. Especially after tonight’s ceremony, where my failure to howl, to shift, to connect with my dormant wolf had been witnessed by everyone who mattered in pack hierarchy.

"About tonight," I began hesitantly. "I thought I felt something during the howl. Like she was trying to—"

"Your wolf will come," Leo interrupted, turning me to face him. His expression was carefully controlled, but I caught the momentary flash of disappointment in his eyes before he masked it. "These things can’t be forced, Victoria."

I bit my lip, looking away. "You were expecting her to awaken tonight, weren’t you? With the full moon and the ceremony?"

His silence was answer enough.

"I felt the disappointment from the pack elders," I continued, moving away from his embrace to step further into the luxurious suite. "I saw how Carson looked at me after. Like I’d confirmed everything he believes about half-breeds."

"Don’t call yourself that," Leo growled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest.

I spun to face him. "Why not? It’s what they’re all thinking. The unawakened half-breed Luna who can’t even participate in the most sacred ritual of pack life."

Leo crossed the distance between us in three long strides, his hands cupping my face with surprising gentleness for an Alpha whose entire demeanor radiated controlled aggression.

"I don’t give a damn what they think," he said, his eyes burning into mine. "Your wolf is there. I feel her." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"How can you be so certain when I can’t even feel her myself?" My voice broke slightly.

His thumbs stroked my cheekbones. "Because something in me recognizes something in you, Victoria. From the very first moment."

The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache. I wanted desperately to believe him, to trust that the wolf spirit allegedly dormant inside me would someday answer his call. But the hollow emptiness where that connection should be felt more pronounced than ever after tonight’s ceremony.

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