Chapter 406 Coming of Age Under Moonlight


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    When they got back to Wisteria Apartment, Landon didn''t waste a second. He scooped her up again, carried her straight into the bathroom, and stepped into the shower with her, hands moving slow and tender as he washed her off himself.


    But the second his fingers brushed her waist, Tessa leaned in and bit his neck- soft but sharp enough to tease him.


    Hot water slid down their skin as she nced at the faint bite mark still on his corbone. Without warning, she hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him there, lips pressing against his skin like a promise.


    That''s when the shower stopped being just a shower.


    Steam curled around them like a veil, but the sounds weren''t innocent anymore- wet skin pping, bodies grinding, moans bouncing off the tile. The water kept running, but so did they.


    By the time they finally stepped out wrapped in towels, the clock was already ticking past two.


    Landon dropped her gently onto the bed, but she was too busy smirking at the fresh scratch marks she''d carved into his hips to stop giggling.


    He growled and caught her fingertip between his teeth, voice rough with need he still hadn''t burned through.


    "Laugh all you want, but if you keep teasing me, you won''t be getting any rest."


    That finally shut her up-at least a little. She curled against him, nose brushing his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart rock her to sleep.


    The snow outside was finally easing up, and the moon, along with a sky full of impatient stars, had already risen-like the heavens themselves were lining up to bless what wasing next.


    At exactly seven, Landon pulled up to the Nightshade Pack''s sacred grounds, the Wolf Sanctum.


    Tessa gave him a side-eye, one brow lifting.


    "Wolf Sanctum? Technically speaking, I''m a rogue without a pack. I don''t think I''m even allowed in ucre..."


    "You''re my future mate," Landon said without hesitation. "Everything under my rule already belongs to you. They''ll kneel, or they''ll get out of the way."


    He brought her straight to the entrance, eyes locked ahead. "Frostmoon Pack can keep their old rules. We don''t y that way in Nightshade."


    Landon pressed his hand to the door. The pine-scented wave of Alpha pheromones rolled over the head carving like a flood. Laurel crests etched into the bronze glowed one after another-proof that something only the Nightshade Alpha could do. He didn''t need permission from the Elder Council to open the Wolf Sanctum. That power was his alone.


    The doors began to open, heavy and slow, revealing whaty beyond.


    And the moment they opened all the way, Tessa''s breath hitched.


    Beneath the vaulted ceiling, surrounded by twelve towering totems, stood a man


    in deep gold ceremonial robes. In one hand, he held a staff capped with a fierce wolf head.


    10:03 Wed, 4 Jun


    Chapter 406 Coming of Age Under Moonlight


    His presence was maic. Authoritative. Ancient.


    Then he turned.


    And Tessa''s entire body went stiff.


    Her eyes locked on his face. Her hand shot out and gripped Landon''s sleeve. "Grandpa? What...what are you doing here?"


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    Walter, who was usually all warmth and softness, now stood tall with quiet strength in his presence. But his smile was still full of love as he looked at Tessa. "It''s my granddaughter''sing-of-age. Of course, I''m here to bless her myself." Long before Landon ever approached him, Walter had already tried reaching out to the Frostmoon Elders, hoping to hold the ceremony at their Wolf Sanctum.


    They''d shut him down. Predictably.


    Fine. If Frostmoon wouldn''t open their doors, then he''d bring the whole damn thing to Nightshade-and make it bigger, better, prouder.


    My girl deserves the best. If others get honored, Tessie gets more.


    Right on cue, voices rose as familiar faces appeared from the mist around the sanctum.


    "Damn right! I''m not missing this for anything!" Ysabel called, dressed in Nightshade''s ceremonial robes.


    "Me too!"


    "Count me in!"


    Tessa''s eyes swept the space, heart pounding. Avery. Steven. The whole Avery Band. Camille. Nathaniel. Hudson. Cameron...


    They''re all here. Every single one of them.


    Her chest tightened, and tears threatened to spill. She turned toward Landon, her voice soft a trembling


    "You invited them... all of them?"


    Landon smiled and took her hand, warm and firm in his.


    "I did. We''re all here for you, Tessa. Your moment. Together."


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