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"What did you see?" he asked when she opened her eyes.

"You," she admitted. "Happy."

Something shifted inside her like puzzle pieces clicking together. The warmth of his hand in hers seemed to travel upward, spreading through her body and into her mind—transforming the fear that had been clouding her thoughts since her birthday. Where she once saw a burden, she now recognized a gift.

"It's not a curse," Seraphina whispered, almost to herself. "These visions... they're windows, aren't they? Glimpses of possibilities that I can help shape."

The gentle pressure of Orion's fingers tightened around hers. "That's exactly what they are. Your power isn't meant to terrify you, it's meant to guide you—guide us."

She gazed up at him, the sun casting golden highlights across his chiseled features. His bright eyes focused on her with such immediate intensity that it took the breath out of her lungs for a moment.

"Could you see it?" she finally managed, remembering how he'd shared her vision the night before. "What I just saw of you?"

A knowing smile curved his lips, revealing his perfect white teeth against his neatly trimmed beard. "Yes. I saw myself laughing with you. Being... unburdened. It's not something I experience often."

"It looked good on you," she said, surprised by her own boldness.

"You bring it out in me." His voice dropped lower, rumbling from his chest. "One day with you has done what centuries couldn't."

The ocean breeze lifted strands of her black hair, and Orion reached out to brush them away from her cheek. His fingertips lingered, sending shivers throughout her body.

"This is crazy," Seraphina said, yet she didn't pull away. "I barely know you, and yet..."

"And yet?" The question was a challenge and an invitation.

"And yet I feel like I've known you forever." The words tumbled out. "It's not logical. I'm a scientist. I should be questioning everything about this situation, but when I'm with you..."

"When you're with me?" Orion prompted, leaning forward until the fabric of his shirt brushed against her bare shoulder.

Seraphina took a steadying breath, gathering her courage. The rational part of her brain—the astronomer who calculated celestial movements and probability factors—was screaming that this was absurd. But her newly awakened senses told her something different: that this connection with Orion was as real and powerful as gravity.

"When I'm with you, I want things I've never wanted," she whispered. "I'm drawn to you in ways that defy explanation. I've been... thinking about you. Wanting you. Since the moment I saw you."

Orion's eyes darkened, stormy gray like thunderclouds gathering on the horizon. His posture shifted slightly—shoulders squaring, chin lifting, every inch the alpha male claiming his territory.

"I've wanted you from the moment I first sensed your awakening," he confessed, his thumb tracing a path along her jawline. "For centuries, I've ruled without a true partner. I've led my pack, fought battles, protected my people—but always doing it alone. Then you appeared, and suddenly everything I thought I knew about myself, about what I wanted, changed."

"What do you want now?" Seraphina asked, unable to look away from his intense gaze.

"You," he said simply, the word carrying the weight of four hundred years of solitude. "In every way possible. As my Luna, my partner, and my lover."

The possessive growl underlying his words sent a delicious shiver through her. Whatever strange magic bound them—whether it was wolf instinct or cosmic fate—Seraphina could no longer deny its power.

Her mind raced with the implications of everything she'd learned since her birthday: psychic visions, wolf shifters, and being someone's destined mate. It was beyond overwhelming.

"This is all so much," Seraphina said, her voice catching as she gazed at him. "Can we just... forget about it all for a moment? The Luna responsibilities, the powers, everything you've told me in the last day."

Her eyes searched his face, drinking in the sharp lines of his jaw, and the subtle curve of his lips beneath his neat beard.

"Could we pretend that nothing else is going on in the whole world? That only we exist in this mere moment—just a man and a woman who both clearly want each other?"

The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile that sent her heart racing. He raised one hand to cup her cheek, his thumb grazing her lower lip in a touch so light, it might have been imaginary.

"This is much more than a mere moment to me," Orion said, his voice lowering to a silken rumble that seemed to vibrate through her bones. "And I'm going to make sure you remember this no matter what else happens between us."

Before she could respond, he dipped his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss started soft, almost tentative—a question more than a demand. But when Seraphina sighed against his mouth, something primitive and powerful uncoiled within him.

His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against his solid chest. His other hand threaded through her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. His lips became fierce, claiming her with a possessiveness that should have frightened her but instead ignited something primal within her own body.