(Alexis's POV)
The pack business kept me in meetings until late evening, but my thoughts kept drifting to Grace. Ever since I'd confessed about my stepmother's abuse, something had shifted between us. The walls Grace had built after my betrayal weren't quite as high, though her cautious distance still cut like silver through my heart.
The scent hit me the moment I approached our chambers - honey and moonflowers, now enriched with pregnancy's sweetness, but there was something else. Something ancient and powerful that made my wolf surge forward with desperate need.
I pushed open the heavy oak door, and every thought in my head scattered like leaves in a storm.
Grace stood before our bedroom mirror in the sacred Luna gown, and my breath caught in my throat. The enchanted fabric seemed alive against her skin, rippling like liquid moonlight with each breath she took. Silver threads - the same material that had once been used to torture me - now wove patterns of protection and fertility across the white silk, pulsing in perfect sync with her heartbeat.
But it was her scent that truly undid me. Her natural omega fragrance had been amplified by pregnancy, mixing with the ancient magic of the ceremonial gown to create something irresistible. My mouth went dry as I watched her smooth delicate hands over the fabric, each movement sending cascades of power through the silver threads.
"Grace." Her name came out rougher than I intended, my voice already half-growl. My wolf clawed at my control, desperate to claim, to mark, to possess.
She turned slowly, deliberately, and my knees nearly buckled. The evening light streaming through our windows caught the enchanted fabric, making it dance across her skin like living starlight. The slight swell of her stomach, barely visible beneath the flowing silk, called to every protective instinct I possessed.
"I thought we needed a reminder," she said softly, those honey-gold eyes watching my reaction carefully. "Of what real mate magic feels like."
I took an unconscious step forward, then forced myself to stop as old fears clawed at my chest. The silver threads in her gown sang with power, but decades of conditioning screamed warnings about pain and betrayal. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I fought the urge to retreat.
"The threads..." I had to swallow hard to continue speaking. "They're responding to your power."
"Yes." She moved closer, and her enhanced omega scent wrapped around me like a physical caress. Sweet notes of fertility magic mixed with her natural fragrance, making my wolf howl with need. "This is pure pack magic, Alexis. Sacred silver, blessed by the first Luna herself. Nothing like what was used to hurt you."
My eyes fixed on the intricate runes embroidered across her collarbone - ancient symbols of protection and fertility that pulsed in time with our pup's energy. Before I could stop myself, I reached out to trace one of the patterns. The moment my fingers touched the enchanted fabric, our bond exploded into life.
Pure, untainted power rushed through me, washing away decades of fear and pain. This wasn't the burning agony of my stepmother's silver-laced whips. This was healing, growth, life itself flowing between us through the ancient magic.
"You're glowing," I managed to say, watching in awe as the silver threads brightened beneath my touch. "Like moonlight and..."
"Life," she finished, stepping fully into my space until I could feel the heat of her body through the thin silk. "That's what omega magic truly is. Healing. Growth. Creation." She took my hand - still trembling slightly from the rush of power - and pressed it against her stomach where our pup's energy burned strongest. "Pure power, born from love and trust."
Something cracked inside me - some final wall I'd built around my heart after my stepmother's abuse. Grace's omega magic poured through the breach, filling every dark corner with healing light. My other hand came up to cup her face, needing to touch, to ground myself in this moment.
"I've been such a blind fool," I confessed, pressing my forehead against hers as my carefully maintained control began to splinter. "Letting old ghosts blind me to the miracle right in front of me."
"Then see me now," she breathed, tilting her face up to meet my gaze. Through our bond, I felt her drop every shield, every defense, allowing me to feel the full force of her love. The trust in that gesture staggered me.
I kissed her like a dying man finding water in the desert. My hands skimmed down her sides, and everywhere I touched, the ceremonial silk hummed with ancient power. The silver threads blazed brighter, responding to our combined energy in a way that made my previous fears seem absurd.
Grace's omega magic rose to meet my Alpha power without hesitation, creating a feedback loop of pure sensation that made the air around us crackle with electricity. When my lips found her mate mark, she arched against me with a soft gasp that nearly shattered my remaining control.
The pack bonds surged with our combined power, spreading waves of healing energy throughout the territory. I felt my pack respond - warriors in the training yards straightening with renewed strength, sleeping pups stirring as gentle warmth washed over them, even the territory itself seeming to hum with contentment.
"My mate," I growled against her throat, caught between man and wolf, need and reverence. "My Luna." My hands spanned her waist, protective and possessive over the slight swell that held our future. "My everything."
She melted into me completely then, all traces of her previous wariness gone. Through our bond, I felt her absolute trust, her complete surrender to this moment. The power of it brought me to my knees before her.
I pressed my face against her stomach, feeling our pup's energy pulse strong and steady. Grace's fingers threaded through my hair as ancient magic swirled around us like a living thing. This was what mate bonds were meant to be - not the twisted obligation I'd let myself be trapped in, but this pure, primal connection that healed even as it claimed.