Fin held out his arm.

His eyes found hers across the three feet of space between them, and his gaze was steady, warm, and carrying quiet pride.

He had just announced her to his people and was now asking her to stand beside him while the announcement landed.

The invitation was gentle. The invitation was also non-negotiable, because Finnick Shadowclaw had made the announcement and the announcement required a response and the response was her, beside him, in his colors.

She took his arm. He guided her forward, positioning her at his side at the top of the staircase, and the positioning was precise, practiced, placing her where a Luna Queen stood: to his left, half a step behind, visible to every person in the hall.

She realized she was supposed to say something.

Thanks for the heads up on that.

Four hundred faces were looking at her. Four hundred wolves, his wolves, waiting for the woman their Alpha had just named as their Luna Queen to speak, and the woman their Alpha had just named as their Luna Queen had been given approximately four seconds of preparation time and the preparation time was insufficient and the insufficiency was Fin’s fault and she was going to address that later.

She spoke.

“I am humbled by this welcome and it is an honor to be standing before you.” She looked at Fin when she said the next part. “Your Alpha built something extraordinary here. I am grateful to be part of it, and I will guard it as fiercely as he does.” She looked back to the pack. “Thank you for welcoming me into your family.”

The applause that followed was warm, a crowd hearing a response they respected. The pride flooding through their matebond was so full, so unguarded, so total, that it nearly made her choke up right there.

She held it together.

The music started and they descended the staircase together. His arm locked around her waist, possessive, permanent, carrying the specific grip of an Alpha walking his mate into his kingdom and finding no reason to disguise the walking as anything other than what it was: a claim.

Every eye in the room followed them. Serena attracted attention everywhere she went so this was nothing new. This pack was protective of Fin above all else, and the protectiveness was the thing she respected most about them because it meant they loved him the way she loved him, and the loving was the common ground she intended to build on.

Just as he handed her a drink and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, Elder Dominick materialized in front of them.

“Lovely speech, Finnick. Your father would have approved of most of it.”

“Most,” Fin repeated.

“I would have cut the section on loyalty. Loyalty is demonstrated, not discussed. Discussing it cheapens the product.” He smiled at Serena. “You, however, are not cheap. The dress confirms it.”

Elder Cassandra spoke from behind him, “The dress confirms Finnick has taste. Your commentary confirms you don’t.”

Dominick didn’t turn around. “Cassandra, I didn’t see you there.”

“You always see me, Dominick. You just prefer to pretend otherwise.”

More elders approached, most of them in pairs. High ranking officers were next. Serena already knew names, but she hadn’t formally met them until now. She greeted each one warmly and they seemed receptive.

Other pack members followed with mixed results.

Most were warm, wolves who trusted their Alpha’s judgment, which extended to her. A handful were curious, measuring reality against reputation. A smaller handful were skeptical, from wolves who saw a foreign crown princess mated to their Alpha.

She understood every degree of it.

Somewhere between the tenth elder saying it was an honor to meet her and the High General addressing her as Luna, it dawned on her that this was what it was supposed to be like: the Alpha announces his choice and the people respect it, even if they carry reservations.

In the months she’d been in Drakenfell, she’d never attended a gala or party with Dexmon at her side. She loved him, but that part stung even if she tried to pretend it didn’t.

During her early days in Drakenfell, she received nothing but cruelty and hostility from Bellatrix, Agnes, and the rumors they cooked up.

When she was initiated into the pack, Bellatrix accused Serena of sleeping with Dexmon to get pack membership and called her a slut. Dexmon tried to shut it down with a, ’She did no such thing,’ and shocker, Bellatrix bulldozed through his response and did not stop.

Gavriel Sterling was the one who turned what she was saying into a joke and lightened that situation.

The queen had said, ’The whoring you inherited from your mother no doubt does nothing for the prestige of Drakenfell. Especially not from some slave servant who knows nothing but dirt and chains.’

Tiberon had eventually sent Bellatrix away after a few rounds of the same behavior.

The thought of a Luna speaking so cruelly to someone in general, especially someone who wanted to join her pack, made Serena feel sick. What kind of queen does that?

Serena had tried to be nice to the Queen of Drakenfell for Dexmon and because she was not a fighter and because Bellatrix was supposed to be family. Bonus family. Her mother died, and she absolutely would not take a bonus mother for granted. But every time she turned around, Bellatrix was doing or saying something cruel, behavior that had not changed to this day, even after months.

Maybe it was the realization of ’oh, this is what it should feel like.’ Maybe it was the champagne she was drinking and hearing Fin’s genuine laughter. Maybe it was his joy and pride surging through their matebond into her chest like a war drum, because to him, he was finally getting to show off his mate.

Whatever it was, something clicked in her head: she was done with that shit.

Fuck all of that.

She loved Dexmon fully. That would never change. But what happened to her in Drakenfell was not okay and she wasn’t going to tolerate it any more.