Page 35 of Sun's Roar

“It’s not just Victor,” he continued. “Word will spread about you. A human Luna with fire powers who’s not properly claimed? Every power-hungry creature will come hunting for you. They’ll try to capture you, use you, and drain your power until there’s nothing left.”

“And you think locking me away in your castle is the solution?” Helena crossed her arms, her eyes flashing. “I’ve taken care of myself for thirty years. I don’t need some alpha male swooping in to run my life.”

He inhaled sharply. His wolf bristled at her defiance, but Sol forced himself to remain calm. “This isn’t about controlling you. It’s about protecting what’s mine.”

“What’syours?” Her voice rose, and Sol detected the air around them growing warmer. “I am not a possession, Sol. We’ve known each other for a day. One day! Yes, we had sex—amazing sex—but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to abandon my entire life for you.”

Sol stepped closer, his eyes intense as he stared down at her. “Can you honestly tell me you feel nothing? That what happened between us meant nothing to you?”

Through their bond, he felt her heart rate accelerate, felt the surge of desire that belied her words even before she spoke them.

“It was just sex,” she said flatly.

Lie. The bond between them hummed with the deception. Sol’s nostrils flared as he detected both the falsehood and the dangerous spike in her emotional state. The scent of smoke tinged the air, though no flames had appeared yet.

“You’re lying.” He moved closer still, overwhelming her personal space. “I can feel it, Helena. The bond between us doesn’t lie, even when you do.”

Her pulse jumped—he could see it throbbing at the base of her throat, that delicate spot he’d kissed just an hour ago in the grotto. The memory sent heat coursing through his body.

“Fine. Maybe I felt something,” she admitted, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “But that doesn’t change anything. You can’t just expect me to abandon my human life overnight because we have some mystical connection. My friends, my career—that’s real to me. This—“ she gestured between them, “—is still fantasy.”

Sol reached for her, his fingers grazing her cheek. “Your friends could visit. Your cooking—the pack would be blessed by your skills. Nothing says you must abandon what you love.”

He sensed her wavering, felt the flicker of longing through their bond. But just as quickly, it was replaced by a surge of frustration.

“You don’t get it,” she snapped, stepping back from his touch. “It’s not about what I’d be giving up. It’s about choice. My choice. You just announced that I won’t be returning to work like you have the final say in my decisions.”

The air around Helena shimmered, heat distorting the space between them. Sol felt alarm rising in his chest. Her emotions were feeding her power, bringing her dangerously close to igniting the forest around them.

“Helena,” he commanded, his voice low but firm, “you need to calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she shot back, her hair seeming to float slightly as the heated air rose around her. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You think you can just order me around because you’re some alpha wolf prince!”

Sol clenched his fists, fighting his own nature. Every instinct screamed at him to assert control and to dominate this situation. Sol felt his wolf clawing mercilessly inside, desperate to break free. The primal creature had been patient—too patient—and now demanded action. A growl built in his throat, low and dangerous.

“You don’t understand what you’re risking,” he snapped, his voice taking on the commanding resonance that made lesser wolves cower. “Victor will hunt you down the moment you leave these grounds. He won’t be alone. There are others who would capture a Luna for her powers.”

Helena backed away, but Sol closed the distance in a single stride, towering over her.

“You’ll be taken, used, and discarded like trash when they’ve drained every ounce of power from your body. Is that what you want?” His voice rose with each word, centuries of authoritypouring into his tone. “All because you’re too stubborn to accept what’s right in front of you?”

His wolf was practically snarling, pushing against the confines of his human form. Sol’s green eyes flashed with an inner glow as he gripped Helena’s shoulders.

“You’re running from me and your feelings because you’re scared. Scared of the connection between us, and scared of how powerful it is.” The accusation came out as a thunderous declaration. “Stop lying to yourself, Helena. Your human life is over. This is who you are now—the Luna of the Sunflare pack.MyLuna.”

The moment the words escaped his lips, Sol knew he had made a catastrophic mistake. Shit. The rational part of his brain—the part that had led a pack for centuries—screamed at him to back down and to apologize, but his wolf was too far forward now and too dominant.

He watched Helena’s face transform, her shock giving way to raw fury. The temperature around them spiked dramatically. Her hazel eyes brightened until they glowed like molten gold, and her red hair seemed to float in the superheated air around her face.

“How DARE you?” Helena’s voice trembled with rage. “You don’t tell me who I am or what I feel!”

Sol sensed the imminent danger building—felt it through their bond and saw it in the shimmering air—but arrogance kept him rooted in place. Centuries as alpha had taught him many things, but backing down wasn’t among them.

“I’m just trying to protect you,” he insisted, his voice harsh with frustration and fear for her safety.

“I never asked for your protection!”

Her fury exploded outward in a sudden whoosh of flames that shot directly at him. Sol barely had time to register the blinding orange heat before it engulfed him.

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