To those who are still here, to let you all know that I am, too. Thank you for giving this very novice story a chance, and for helping it soar to over a million reads. I hope you enjoy this extra chapter, perhaps as a Christmas gift. - D
—
The head alpha of Shadowclaw would never tire of seeing that golden band on his finger. And neither would he tire of Luca wearing the same band, with gems of gray crested in the center. The rings glimmered in the sunlight like twin stars as Felix and his mate strode through the pack with their hands clasped, fingers intertwined.
Mate. The word tasted familiar and yet so foreign on Felix's tongue. He still struggled to grasp it, how his fated partner had jumped headfirst into his role as head luna with such high shoulders and political grace. After only three years since their union and Luca's coronation, the head luna had already signed on a formal declaration to adopt Timbers Cross as a part of Shadowclaw territory. A bold move, one that made Shadowclaw the first human-lycan pack in history. The period of adjustment was swifter than anticipated, and the Shadowclaw pack had become a beacon of unity.
Felix's hand was yanked back, and he turned to see that his mate had stopped. Luca moved back a couple of paces, crouching in the grass and coming back up with a daisy between his fingers. He tucked the flower behind Felix's ear, and the gesture was so delicate that Felix thought his heart would cease its rhythm.
"It matches your hair," Luca said, a smile gracing his lips.
The head alpha couldn't help the scoff that escaped him. "Not quite, my love. You know I'm platinum."
"I suppose you are," Luca quipped, bringing a hand to Felix's jaw as they resumed their stroll. "You and your stubble."
A frown. "You said I would look good with a beard last week."
"You know you can't trust my judgment when I'm drunk, Felix. I think I told Aspen that she should shave her head during our wedding reception."
"With how drunk she was that night, I'm surprised she didn't go through with it." Felix feigned injury as Luca elbowed his side, both of them erupting into a fit of laughter. "Fair enough. It'll be gone by tonight. It is getting a bit itchy."
Luca's brown hair had grown out, too, though Felix wouldn't mention it. He had come to like how the ends developed a slight curl, how he could latch his fingers around them as they slept. They continued through the pack grounds, the cobblestones uneven beneath their feet.
Felix lifted a low-hanging branch, creating an arch for he and Luca to walk under. "Xander, Aspen, Elias... Are you sure those are the only people you want to attend your coronation anniversary dinner tonight?"
"You can come too, I guess." It was Felix's turn to playfully elbow his mate. "I couldn't be more sure. You all, you're my family."
"Alright."
And that was what they had set out to do, per Luca's request. He found it unnecessary to send wax-sealed letters to the people he saw almost everyday. And for how close they had become to him, inviting them personally to his anniversary dinner to celebrate his third year as head luna was the absolute least he could do.
After taking the scenic route, Felix and Luca found themselves approaching the training grounds. Wolves clawed at each other in mock battle, their jaws opened wide and fur gleaming in the sunlight. Those in their human forms were fighting with swinging fists and kicks. And some even drew bowstrings—a new adaptation to Shadowclaw warrior culture, considering that archery was a traditionally human practice. A hunter's practice, but perhaps they could fight fire with fire.
A voice stuck out from the others, strong and patient and wise. "When you punch, keep your thumb inside. Aim with your knuckles, make contact with your whole fist. And of course, blocking is most important."
"How is our beloved head warrior doing this afternoon?" Felix said by way of greeting, his hand around Luca's wrist as he led them to the source of the voice.
A smile bloomed on Aspen's face, one that threatened to outshine the sun itself. "Well, if it isn't the beloved rulers of Shadowclaw! What brings you two here?"
"Yours truly," Luca said, stiffening as he was swooped into an embrace. "I wanted to know if you could join us for my coronation anniversary dinner tonight at the pack headquarters."
Aspen's fiery hair was bound in a loose braid, and she absentmindedly twirled the ends. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Luca."
Felix and Luca tried to ask Aspen how her day was going, but they'd barely blinked when she was pulled in another direction. Indeed, she'd become the personification of deadly kindness. Only someone like her could keep werewolves and humans fighting on the same side, united under the name of Shadowclaw. Promoting her to head warrior had been the right choice, Felix was sure.
Luca looked up at Felix, the flecks of amber like golden shards in his deep brown eyes. "Onto Xander and Elias now?"
"Lead the way."
—
The halls of the infirmary were like a labyrinth as the head alpha and his mate traversed them, each door identical to the one beside it. Elias stumbled upon them instead.
"Hey!" The short greeting was accompanied by the hurried sound of footfall approaching Luca and Felix. Elias was clad in the attire of a pack medic, a beige folder stuffed with files tucked under his arm. "What brings you by?"
Felix stepped forward. "Luca and I would be honored if you could come to his anniversary dinner tonight, to celebrate his third year as luna."
A grin spread across Elias' face. "I'd love to. I'll let Xander know."
"Let me know what?"
Felix turned to see his head beta emerging from down the hall, a cane helping to support his weight. As he came closer, the jagged scar on his face seemed almost as prominent as the dark-inked tattoos etched there.
"He's doing better every day," Elias said. "I doubt he'll be fighting in brawls any time soon, but the head medic said that there's a chance he could walk normally again within the next year."
Even if he recovered fully, Xander would forever bear the emotional scars of his injuries. It had been a tumultuous year and a half of healing, of losing his warrior prowess and trying to even walk again after being maimed by hunters while he was out of the pack territory as an emissary. One would've thought it was a curse, for Xander to nearly lose his life from the same hunter-inflicted wounds as the ones his parents had succumbed to. Elias had done everything to tend to his mate, learning every necessary practice and medicine that he could to keep the head beta from falling apart. It was Elias, too, who'd helped Xander when he'd felt wary about the pack opening its arms to humans. Despite the circumstances, the head beta and his mate had survived by clinging to a love for each other that only the Moon Goddess could've gifted them.
Elias gave Xander a peck on the cheek once he'd made it over, and Xander rested his head in the groove of Elias' collarbone. "So what'd I miss?"
"Tonight is Luca's third anniversary as luna," Elias said. "He and Felix are hosting a dinner."
Xander pointed to Felix, his brows furrowed. "Make extra steak. I can't steal Luca's if he's the reason we're having dinner in the first place."
"Hasn't stopped you before," Luca muttered under his breath, Felix being the only one to hear and snorting in response.
—
The heat of the day had already passed by the time Felix and Luca started home to the Shadowclaw headquarters, the leaves shivering on the branches above them. Luca plucked the white flower from behind Felix's ear, placing it behind his own.
"There's still a few hours before the dinner. What should we do until then?"
"Well," Felix said lowly, his voice taking on a slight husk. "I thought I could give you an anniversary gift of my own."
The confused arch in Luca's brow was soon replaced by a heat in his cheeks. "Oh. Oh."
Felix chuckled, and Luca's paces developed haste as his excitement grew for the hours ahead. He had known Felix would get him a present to mark his third year as luna, as he'd done for the two years prior, but there was nothing Luca looked forward to more than the intimacy they shared in the bedroom.
"It'll be a nice precursor for what more is to come after dinner, I hope," Luca said with a smile.
And as he realized just how much he was in for, Felix felt his own cheeks redden.