Filed to story: Diana Nightshade and Alpha Talon Ravenwood Book PDF Free
It was forced, but it was spoken.
Diana inclined her head slightly. She replied calmly. “Good choice.”
The hall slowly resumed its quiet murmuring, but the tone had changed. Respect now filled the air.
Willow practically vibrated with excitement.
“Oh my Goddess,” she whispered to Diana, grinning wildly. “You are not shy at all.”
From behind them, Enzo muttered under his breath, “Told you.”
Selene watched Diana closely now-not with doubt, but with dawning approval.
Sweet and shy?
No.
There was steel beneath that softness.
Rowan leaned toward his mate and murmured quietly, “She will do.”
“Yes,” Selene smiled faintly, and she agreed softly. “She will.”
The food hall had gone from lively chatter to absolute silence in a matter of seconds.
Diana stood in front of Talon, chin lifted, eyes blazing-not just with her own temper, but with Artemis pacing beneath her skin.
“And you, mate,” Diana sald, her voice low but sharp enough to cut, “do not let anyone touch you like that again. You brought me here. You called me your mate. And then I see some she-wolf clinging to you like she has a right?”
The faint shimmer of silver flickered in her irises.
Talon could hear Artemis in her tone. Protective. Possessive. Unapologetic.
“Forgive me, my mate,” he replied smoothly. “I tried to move away from her, but she was holding on rather tightly.”
His lips twitched, clearly fighting a smile.
Diana narrowed her eyes. “Next time, if words won’t work, use your alpha power and chop her arms off.”
There wasn’t a hint of humor in her voice.
After half a heartbeat of silence, Talon burst into laughter.
A deep, unrestrained laugh that echoed across the food hall.
Enzo doubled over beside him, shoulders shaking.
“Goddess help us,” he muttered under his breath, grinning. But the rest of the pack members stared at Diana as if she had just challenged the moon itself.
No one spoke to the Alpha King like that.
Not even allies.
Not even high-ranking wolves.
And certainly not in front of the entire pack.
Vanessa was the first to recover. Her face flushed crimson, a mixture of humiliation and fury. She stepped forward, chin high, posture rigid with entitlement. “How dare you speak to the Alpha King like that? And do you even know who I am? I am the daughter of an Alpha and not just any Alpha. My father is one of the strongest allied Alphas to the King. You cannot speak about me like that.”
Murmurs rippled softly through the hall.
Diana turned slowly toward Vanessa, her movements were deliberate. Controlled. “Let me tell you something.”
Artemis stirred, and the air subtly shifted. Even wolves without strong instincts felt it-the weight of something ancient pressing against their senses.
“The alpha blood that runs through your veins means nothing when it comes to mates.”
Vanessa faltered for a fraction of a second.
“And since this is the first time you are meeting me, let me be clear. do not care about your father’s alliances. I do not care about your status. If you touch my mate again… Diana stepped closer, and her voice dropped, steady and lethal. “I will make sure your arms are broken so thoroughly that you will never touch another wolf’s mate again. Do you hear me?”
Gasps erupted throughout the hall. Vanessa’s face paled. Not because of the threat alone, but because the Alpha King was standing behind Diana-silent.
Watching.
And not once did he rebuke her.
“Relax, my mate,” Talon said lightly, stepping forward and placing a firm hand on Diana’s waist. “No one will touch me again. Especially now that they know my mate is not someone to test.”
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Apparently, she cuts off hands.”
A few nervous chuckles slipped from the crowd.
“This is not funny, Talon,” Diana said sharply. She suddenly became aware of the dozens of eyes on her.
They will think I’m violent, she thought. They will think I’m unstable.
She straightened, regaining her composure. However, Talon saw exactly what she was thinking. He turned to face the pack, his expression shifting from amusement to authority in an instant. “Vanessa,”
The young she-wolf stiffened.
“My mate is not violent,” he continued, his voice carrying effortlessly across the hall. “But every mated wolf in this room understands something very simple.”
His gaze swept across the warriors, elders, and families present. “Touching someone’s mate is not something any true mate tolerates.”
Several mated wolves nodded subtly. Even older wolf who lowered their gazes in agreement.
“My mate,” Talon continued, “was civil enough to give you a warning.”
His golden eyes locked onto Vanessa’s. “And I strongly advise you to listen.”
The weight of his Alpha King aura pressed down-not crushing, but undeniable.
“I… meant no disrespect, Alpha King,” Vanessa swallowed, and she said stiffly. “I was only welcoming you.
“With your hands wrapped around my arm?” Talon asked mildly.
Vanessa had no answer.
Diana folded her arms, still glaring.
“You know,” Talon leaned slightly closer to her, lowering his voice just enough that only she could hear. “I find it incredibly attractive that you threatened to maim someone for me.”
Diana shot him a look. “This is not a joke.”
“I know,” he replied softly, amusement fading into something warmer “And that is exactly why I love it.”
Artemis preened inside her.
‘Mine.’
‘Yes, Talon agreed inwardly to Fenrir. ‘Very much mine!’
“Let there be no confusion,” Aloud, he addressed the hall once more. “Diana Nightshade is my fated mate. My Luna. And anyone who disrespects her disrespects me.”
The statement settled heavily in the room.
A formal declaration.
Public. Absolute.
“And as for alliances,” Talon continued, glancing briefly at Vanessa, “my reign does not depend on borrowed strength.”
The subtle reminder was clear.
He was the Alpha King, and he did not need favors.
Vanessa lowered her head. “Understood.”
“Good,” Talon said. He turned back to Diana, his hand still at her waist, and asked lightly. “Are we done chopping off arms for the morning?”
She tried-truly tried-not to smile. “You are impossible.”
“And yet,” he said, leaning down so his forehead nearly brushed hers, “you chose me.”
A soft flush crept into Diana’s cheeks.
The tension in the hall eased as Talon guided her toward the head table. Enzo walked beside them, still grinning.
“I have to admit, Luna,” Enzo said quietly, “that was the most entertaining breakfast I’ve had in years.”
Diana sighed. “I did not mean to cause a scene.”
“You didn’t,” Talon corrected firmly. “You set a boundary.”
He pulled out her chair himself. “And you did it beautifully.”
Around them, conversations slowly resumed, but they were different now.
Curious.
Respectful.
A little cautious.
Not because they thought Diana was violent, but because they understood something very clearly.
She was not a weak Luna and decorative mate.
She was a wolf who would bare her teeth if necessary.
And the Alpha King-
The most powerful wolf in the kingdom-
Had laughed with pride instead of silencing her.
As Talon sat beside her, he leaned close once more. “For the record, if anyone touches you like that, I won’t just break arms.”
Diana raised a brow. “Oh?”
“I’ll start a war.”
Her lips curved slowly. “Good.”
Fenrir and Artemis rumbled in perfect, satisfied harmony.
‘Mine.’
Their group continued toward the long carved oak table reserved for the ruling family and high-ranking members. The table sat slightly elevated from the rest of the hall-not enough to feel distant, but enough to command presence.
Talon guided Diana to the head of the table.
The Alpha and Luna seats.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the chair to his left and gestured for her to sit. Diana noticed the subtle shift in the hall as she took the seat. This was not symbolic. This was a declaration.
Talon sat at the head. To his right sat Beta Enzo. But the chair beside Enzo remained empty.
“Where is Leah, Enzo?” Diana placed her plate down slowly. She asked calmly, though her eyes were sharp. “She is your mate, is she not? Did you leave her at Crimson Fang?”
She did not believe for a second that Enzo would willingly leave his mate behind, especially in Crimson Fang, where the leadership had just been tested and trust was fragile.
Enzo straightened slightly. “No, Luna. My mate and her parents are in my suite. Leah decided to have breakfast there.”
Diana frowned. “Why?”
It didn’t make sense. In Crimson Fang, Leah and her parents had always eaten in the main hall. Just like Diana’s parents once believed, they held firmly to the idea that a pack should eat together to strengthen bonds, loyalty, and unity. It was one of the reasons Diana and Leah had grown close as pups. Their parents had been friends. They trained together. Celebrated together.
Until everything changed.
Until her parents died.
After that… something shifted.
Leah’s parents began avoiding her.
At the time, Diana thought it was grief.
Now she knew better. It had been guilt.
She remembered the day of the first rogue attack months ago. She had asked Robert and Pei again and again if they had seen her parents. If they know why her parents were in the forest away from the bunker If they had been separated somehow. But they always said the same thing.
They did not know.
They did not see them.
Now she knew the truth.
They had been ordered away.
Ordered by Luna Hazel.
Diana’s fingers tightened slightly around her fork before she forced herself to relax.
“My mate is still angry at me, Luna,” Enzo-admitted, pulling her from her thoughts.
Talon chuckled beside her, and he asked, one brow arching teasingly. “Really? Just angry?”
Enzo shot him an unimpressed look. “Very funny, Alpha.”
“You found your mate too, Enzo?” Willow asked suddenly, leaning forward. There was excitement in her tone… but something else too.
A thin thread of envy and something that sounded dangerously like hurt.
Diana’s eyes flickered between them.
