Brandon’s expression darkened almost immediately, and suddenly, all of his attention was on her.

He reached for her carefully, his hand settling over hers.

"Look at me," he said softly.

But Emma couldn’t. Her wolf was too restless now.

"Your eyes," he said quietly.

Emma frowned. "What about them?"

"They’re changing."

A small knot tightened in her stomach. "What do you mean changing?"

Brandon drew closer, his gaze fixed on her eyes as though he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"They keep shifting," he murmured. "One second they’re normal, and the next..." He paused. "Your wolf is showing."

Emma stared at him. "That’s impossible. I’m not shifting."

"I know." His voice remained calm, but the tension in his face told a different story. "This isn’t a normal shift."

A strange warmth moved through her body again, stronger this time, and her fingers instinctively pressed against her belly.

Brandon’s eyes followed the movement immediately. Then realization crossed his face.

"It’s the pup," he said softly.

Emma blinked. "What?"

"The pup is affecting your wolf," his voice lowered. "I think you’re entering a new stage of your power."

Silence settled between them as Emma tried to absorb it.

"That’s never happened before," she whispered.

Brandon reached for her hand slowly, his thumb brushing over her fingers.

"Maybe it’s because there’s never been a pup like this before," he said.

Emma didn’t pull away this time, but her expression stayed firm.

"We need to set our mating ceremony date before I give birth."

His jaw tightened slightly. "I know."

"But?" she asked immediately.

He hesitated. "But I think we should keep it private for now. Just until things in the kingdom stabilize."

Emma’s hand slipped from his.

"No," she said, calm but absolute.

Brandon looked at her more closely now.

"I’ve already been called a secret," she continued. "I won’t stay in the shadows as your mate. I won’t be hidden like I don’t matter."

A brief change crossed his face—guilt, maybe frustration, or both.

"That’s not what I’m trying to do," he said. "I just don’t want you exposed before I can control the situation."

She stepped closer now, her voice steady.

"I don’t need to be hidden to be safe. I need to be acknowledged."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then she added, softer but sharper, "If I’m your mate, I should be seen as your mate. Not your secret."

Brandon went quiet, then exhaled slowly.

"I hear you," he said. "And you’re right about one thing—you will not be a secret."

Emma searched his face, still unconvinced.

He continued, more decisive now. "We do the ceremony. Publicly. But we do it on my terms and at a time I choose, when I can stop any wolf from using you against me."

His eyes locked on hers. "Because I’m not losing you the moment I finally claim you properly."

Emma stared at him for a second. "You’re talking like I’m something that can just get misplaced."

A slow smirk tugged at his mouth. "You do get misplaced," he said. "Right in trouble. Constantly."

Emma frowned. "That’s not funny."

"It is to me," he said, stepping slightly closer. "Because somehow I still end up finding you every time."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"Lucky you," she muttered.

Brandon’s voice dropped, warm and possessive. "Not luck. Mine."

He studied her for a moment, then added more casually, "Stay there."

Emma blinked. "Where?"

"Just like that," he said, already reaching for the small sketch pad nearby. "Don’t move."

Her brows pulled together. "Starlit... what are you doing now?"

He flipped the page open. "Drawing you."

That made her pause. "Right now?"

"Yes," he said simply, like it was the most normal thing in the pack. "I missed this. You used to sit still for me when I painted you."

Emma crossed her arms. "That was a long time ago."

"I know," he said, looking at her through half-lowered lashes. "That’s why I want it again."

She shifted slightly. "Why suddenly?"

His expression softened just a little. "Because I want to remember this properly," he said. "All of it. The early stage... before the pup gets bigger, before everything changes again."

Emma went still at that.

He continued, more focused now, "I want to paint you through it. Moon by moon. Until the day you give birth."

"That sounds like a full-time project," she muttered.

"It is," he said without hesitation. "And I don’t want to miss any part of it this time."

For a second, she didn’t respond, watching him instead of arguing.

Then his usual teasing returned slightly. "So sit still, or I’ll draw you looking annoyed again."

Emma frowned. "You always draw me like that... like I’m about to be sent away again."

"Because you usually are," he said simply.

"That’s when I was ashamed of my wolf..." she said quietly, her voice dropping as she looked away for a moment. She suddenly remembered how she had once rejected Brandon’s painting of her because she felt uncomfortable about her body at the time.

Brandon’s hand paused on the page.

He didn’t tease her this time.

"Hey," he said more softly, setting the sketch pad down slightly. "Look at me."

Emma hesitated, then met his eyes again.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You don’t get to say things like that like it’s still true."

Her expression tightened a little. "It was true for a long time."

"I know," he said. "But not anymore."

She didn’t answer right away.

Brandon tilted his head slightly, watching her carefully. "And for the record," he added, a faint edge of seriousness breaking through, "your wolf isn’t something to be ashamed of. Not to me. Not ever."

She exhaled slowly, like she was letting something go, but not fully ready to admit it out loud yet.

He picked up the sketch pad again, though his tone had softened now. "Now," he said lightly, "if you’re done emotionally interrupting my art session, can you go back to looking like my very stubborn, very beautiful mate?"

She let out a short breath that almost turned into a laugh. "You’re impossible."

"And you still haven’t moved," he said.

He reached for her hand again, this time more gently, his thumb brushing over her knuckles like he wasn’t really interested in the drawing anymore.

She glanced down at their hands, then back at him. "You’re going to finish that, or just keep pretending you are?"

Brandon’s mouth curved slightly. "I finished what I wanted already."

She frowned. "You didn’t even draw anything yet."

"I did," he said simply.

The tension between them finally eased. He pulled her closer, his hold firm but gentle, and before long his teasing softened into something quieter. He kissed her on her lips, kept her close, and for a while the argument faded into small, easy moments between them—light touches, quiet laughter, the kind of closeness neither of them needed to explain.

His arms stayed around her as her breathing slowly evened out.

The last thing she felt was his warmth against her back and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Sleep crept in without warning.

And then... she drifted into sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already Monday moonrise.

It was as if she was not pregnant and she wished every day would be like this Monday.

She gently moved her mate’s hands away from her belly and slipped out of bed. Her eyes landed on the painting he had made of her, and a small shiver ran through her. The painting was beautiful and looked almost real. She held it against her chest for a moment, then walked back to Brandon, who was still fast asleep, and kissed him softly before stepping into the bathchamber.

After finishing her usual moonrise routine, she headed straight to the cookhouse to prepare breakfast for the wolves. She wanted to surprise the cooks and the domestic workers by helping before anyone expected her to arrive.

"Moonrise, alpha’s mate," Bernard smiled.

"Bernard, you are here already."

"Yes"

"Well, I’m making breakfast. "You can take the moonrise off today."

"Thank you," he wiped his hands and left. Mrs. Thompson joined her as soon as Bernard left the cookhouse.

"Moonrise, my future high Luna!"

"Moonrise to you too, Mrs. Thompson."

"You have been tense lately. I’m glad everything is over. You and your pup need some rest."

"It is not over yet. We just have one last conflict to resolve."

"No, you need to rest, Alpha’s mate."

"I want to end everything once and for all. This is going to be the toughest of all, but I’m going to try my best and make sure the royal pack stay in harmony."

"Would you let me in on it?"

"No"

"I’ll talk to the alpha. You need one full moon of rest before engaging in another struggle. If you continue like this, you might have a miscarriage."

"We don’t have time," Emma said quietly.

"Time for what?" Mrs. Thompson asked.

Emma’s hand slowly rested over her belly.

"Before the kingdom realizes I’m carrying an heir," she whispered, "I need to officially become Luna."