Chapter 14. The Price of Being Chosen

Later that afternoon, Mira heard Serena’s voice even before she reached the porch. Serena swept in with Mae behind her. After tea, Serena tugged Mira outside to walk the back garden paths, away from the quiet efficiency of Joanne’s healing cottage. The environment was meant to be restorative, but Mira felt only a creeping anxiety.

“And you? How’s things with our charming Alpha?” Serena asked.

Mira hesitated, looking at the faint silver tracery pulsing beneath her own skin. “He’s… more than I expected. He’s patient. Strong. Kind. But I still worry. I feel like I’m this constant storm he has to protect. He’s always carrying the weight.” She felt acutely conscious of the pressure he faced, and the trauma of her past role as the Moonblooded investment.

Serena stepped closer, her expression shifting to one of deep shared understanding. “I understand that feeling more than you know,” she admitted, her voice dropping. “When Noah and I first came here, I was relentlessly j