Chapter 65

Cora

The road blurred outside the window as we sped by. I sat in the passenger seat of Kingston’s car, arms wrapped around myself as silence stretched between us.

Riley slept peacefully in the backseat, curled under a thin blanket, his soft breathing a comfort in the dark. But inside me, there was nothing peaceful.

The Moon’s Daughter.

The words echoed like a drumbeat in my chest, loud enough to drown out the quiet hum of the engine and the tires on asphalt. What did it mean? What was I supposed to do with something like that? Where would I even start when it came to fulfilling this prophecy?

I hadn’t even known who I really was for most of my life—just a mother trying to protect her son, a woman trying to survive. And now I was… a prophetic savior?

My wolf stirred, quiet but present. A pulse of power throbbed just beneath my skin, as if something ancient was beginning to wake.

I glanced at Kingston. His hands were steady on the wheel, eyes forward, jaw tense like he’d been clenching it for hours. But when he sensed me looking, he reached over and took my hand without a word.

It grounded me.

By the time we pulled up to his estate—familiar, imposing, safe in a way I hadn’t expected—I was shaking. Not from cold but from the weight of everything pressing down on me.

“Come inside,” Kingston said gently, placing a hand on my lower back as we walked up the front steps. “You’ll stay here. Both of you. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

I wanted to protest. To remind him that I wasn’t some fragile thing he could keep locked away. That if the pack found us, we would all be in trouble.

But I didn’t. Because truthfully, I didn’t want to leave. Not yet.

He led us to a spacious guest suite down the hall from his own. It was warm and quiet, with a soft bed and enough room for Riley to have his own space. I tucked my son in carefully, smoothing his curls off of his forehead and kissing his temple.

“Sweet dreams, buddy,” I whispered.

Kingston watched from the doorway, giving me the space to say goodnight, but when I turned, his expression was serious.

“Come with me,” he said softly.

He took my hand again, leading me through the darkened halls until we reached his room.

He didn’t turn on the light. Just led me to sit on the edge of the bed, close enough that our knees brushed. For a moment, we sat there in silence, the air thick with everything we hadn’t said yet.

“I’m still scared,” I admitted finally, my voice barely a whisper.

“I know,” he said.

“I don’t know how to be this person. The Moon’s Daughter. I don’t even know where to begin with all of this.”

“You don’t have to know everything right now,” he said. “You just have to let yourself be what you are. The rest will come.”

I looked down at my hands.

“I want to seal our bond,” he said after a hushed moment.

My breath hitched.

“To make it official,” he continued. “To protect you. To protect Riley. But not just for duty, Cora. Because I love you. Because I need you.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

“You don’t even know what I’ll become.”

“I don’t care,” he said firmly. “Whether you become a goddess or a storm or both, I’ll still be here. I’m not afraid of your power. I want to walk beside it.”

His words should have comforted me, but all I could think about was what would happen if the world found out. About the prophecy. About me.

“Promise me something first,” I said, clutching his hand.

“Anything.”

“Don’t tell anyone. Not yet. Not about the bond. Not about what I might be.”

He blinked. “You want to keep it a secret?”

“Just until I understand it more,” I said quickly. “Until I know I can control it. Until I know it’s safe for Riley… and for you.”

He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I promise.”

The breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding was finally released.

Kingston reached out, brushing the hair from my face. “Are you sure you want to be my mate?”

I hesitated. Then nodded. “Yes.”

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. “This bond is sacred. Once formed, it can’t be broken.”

“I know.”

“And you’re sure you want me?”

“I’ve always wanted you,” I whispered.

With that, Kingston cupped the back of my neck and kissed me. It wasn’t rushed or desperate. It was reverent. Steady. A declaration. I melted into him, my hands gripping his shoulders as his lips moved against mine.

When we parted, he pressed his palm to my heart.

“Say it,” he whispered. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I said, the words trembling on my tongue.

His wolf stirred behind his eyes, and mine answered in return. A strange warmth filled me, like sunlight spreading through my veins. My body buzzed with energy, ancient, primal, and deeply intimate.

“I’m yours too,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “Forever.”

“Then have me forever,” I said quietly.

“We’ll do the mating bond in the morning,” he said. “Before the sun is up.”

I arched a brow. “What will we do with all of the time in between?”

His smirk was mischievous. I couldn’t believe that he was all mine.

My mate.

I ran my hand up his thigh, relishing his warmth and the soft way his breath hitched in response to the mere graze of my fingers. He grabbed my face between his hands and pulled me to him, wanting to taste me as badly as I wanted to taste him.

That night, we made love.

It started slowly, our kisses soft and asking, gentle but passionate.

We consummated our new discovery with our bodies, exploring each other thoroughly. Slow and unhurried. A joining of body and spirit.

We moved like we already knew each other’s rhythm, like our wolves had been waiting for this since the day we were born. It wasn’t lust; it was something deeper. Something sacred. He felt right, like he was made for me. Perhaps, all this time, he was.

Soon, we were drunk with our lust, driven by our primal urges. The sounds we made were raw, and I had never felt so connected to someone before. My back bowed off the bed, needing to be flush with him, wishing we could meld into one being.

“My mate,” Kingston breathed.

“My mate,” I panted in response. Words had never tasted so delicious.

When we shattered together, meeting each other at our peak at the same time, our wolves howled in unison, as bonded in their pleasure as we were. I pressed my nails into his back as I came apart, holding on as if my life depended on it, as he groaned lowly in my ear.

I finally fell asleep in Kingston’s arms, wrapped in the scent of home, and I felt something I hadn’t felt in weeks.

Peace.

But also something else—something stirring beneath the surface.

Power.

The Moon’s Daughter hadn’t awakened fully yet.

But she was close.

And now, she had an official mate at her side.