Chapter 6: Blood Moon Feast

(Grace's POV)

The dining hall was alive with chatter, yet it felt hollow around me. The Blood Moon Feast was intended to be a celebration of our unity, a gathering where the pack reaffirmed its strength and bonds. But all I could feel was the tension pressing down on me.

The scents of roasted meat and spiced wine filled the air, almost overwhelming in their richness. I pushed my plate idly, the food untouched, my appetite long gone. Wolves filled the hall, seated in their respective ranks, their quiet glances at me equal parts curious and scrutinizing.

At my side sat Alexander, the Alpha whose presence dominated the room even in silence. His broad shoulders leaned back in his chair, his golden eyes scanning the room with wary calculation. He seemed detached, as if his mind was elsewhere.

"Grace."

My attention snapped to Helena, her soft but commanding voice breaking through my spiraling thoughts. Sitting to my left, her elegant posture and glimmering violet-gold eyes still managed to radiate authority despite her more frail appearance.

“Yes?” I whispered, meeting her gaze nervously.

She leaned closer, her voice lowering to ensure our conversation stayed private. “Are you prepared for the ritual that follows dinner?”

The tension in my chest tightened. “Ritual?”

Helena’s lips curved slightly, showing faint amusement, but her eyes remained serious. “The Blood Moon Rite. Sharing blood-wine as Alpha and Luna before the pack. A sacred act to reinforce the strength of your bond.”

I faltered. My gaze darted to Alexander, who remained silent. His fingers drummed lightly on the polished table, his expression stoic. Did he remember the significance of this? Or was it just another inconvenient tradition for him?

“It’s necessary,” Helena added gently but firmly. “Now, more than ever, the pack must see unity.”

Before I had time to process, Alexander moved, his chair scraping faintly against the floor as he straightened. He reached out, clutching the ceremonial chalice that rested between us.

His golden gaze flicked to me just briefly, unreadable and distant. “It’s just a formality,” he said, his deep voice low but sharp, almost like a warning.

I swallowed hard.

Before I could respond, he lifted the chalice and tipped it to his lips, taking a deep, deliberate drink. The dark red liquid slid against the ornate silver, gleaming ominously under the candlelight.

He lowered the cup and extended it toward me. His hand stopped just inches from mine, his expression expectant but cold.

“Grace,” he said without emotion.

My fingers hovered over the cup, hesitating for only a second before I grasped it. His touch lingered against mine for the briefest moment, sending a shiver through me.

The room had gone silent.

Every wolf’s eyes were on me now, the weight of their expectations pressing like stones against my chest. Lifting the chalice, I tilted it cautiously. The metallic tang of the blood-wine filled my senses as it passed my lips. Its richness burned faintly but demanded to be swallowed.

Something about the act felt wrong, forced, as if it were a performance rather than a sacred exchange.

The wolves murmured softly then, tension melting into weak applause.

Next to me, Alexander remained unreadable, his powerful aura still dominating the air. Perhaps if I could still feel Moonlight, my wolf, I’d know what he felt. But all I had was the hollow ache of the severed connection.

“Good,” Helena said softly beside me. Her faint nod brought me no peace.

The moment passed, but the unease lingered.

---

The ritual wasn’t the only battle I faced tonight.

Sophia, Alexander's sister, couldn’t wait to create trouble.

“There’s no point pretending,” her sharp voice cut through the feast, loud enough for everyone to hear. She stood from her seat slightly below ours, her golden eyes burning with defiance.

I stiffened. My hand froze mid-reach for my goblet.

Sophia let out an open sneer, her voice dripping with disdain. “We all know she doesn’t deserve to sit there.”

A hushed gasp rippled through the crowd. Every eye turned toward us again, first to Sophia, then settling hesitantly on me.

Alexander’s jaw tightened, but he remained still. His silence prickled against the rising anxiety in my chest.

“She’s no Luna," Sophia continued, loud and brazen. “A healer playing dress-up in a seat meant for strength. How long will you let this farce continue, Alexander?”

Helena rose with steady grace, her sheer presence forcing immediate silence. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes carried a deadly calm.

“Sophia,” she addressed her daughter, voice like ice. “Enough.”

Sophia arched a brow, her grin only widening. “Why? Do you think I’m wrong?”

“You challenge our traditions,” Helena said quietly, though her tone carried weight. “Traditions that have kept us strong.”

“Traditions that are outdated!” Sophia spat, her golden eyes flaring as her wolf rose closer to the surface.

Helena’s composed expression didn't falter, but her authority became sharper. “You test me, Sophia.”

For a moment, Sophia hesitated, but the challenge flickered in her gaze again. Her wolf surged forward, refusing the usual submission required of her rank in the pack.

The tension snapped like a whip in the air.

Helena’s eyes glinted coldly as she stepped forward. For a woman weakened by her health, her command was absolute. Her wolf’s dominance surged forth, radiating power that cut through Sophia’s defiance.

Sophia staggered before dropping to her knees, her wolf forced into submission. Her head bowed low, but her gritted teeth betrayed her hatred.

“Submit willingly or disgrace yourself further,” Helena said, her voice steady and ruthless.

“I—I wasn’t serious,” Sophia stammered weakly, though her tone was bitter.

“Apologize,” Helena commanded.

Sophia glared upward, a stubborn fire still lingering in her golden eyes. But under Helena’s unyielding gaze, she ground out the words reluctantly. “I’m sorry... Luna Grace.”

It wasn’t sincere. It wasn’t honest. But I accepted it silently.

Sophia glowered as she rose shakily, muttering under her breath as she returned to her seat. “Victoria was right—she has to go.”

The words stung deeply.

But before I could process them, another voice entered the fray.

“Grace,” Dominic said casually, his deep voice carrying the distinct weight of authority. The visiting Alpha from the Silver Crest Pack strode toward the table, his piercing amber eyes landing directly on me.

He smiled slightly, but something about his demeanor was sharp, almost deliberately unsettling.

“Dominic,” Helena greeted, nodding politely.

Dominic, the Alpha from Silver Crest Pack. I heard that he was also the uncle of Alexander, the brother of the former Alpha.

But he left our pack at a very young age and built his own pack.

“Forgive my interruption, but I couldn’t help noticing something... unique,” he said smoothly, his amber gaze locked on me.

I stiffened as his nostrils flared faintly, his wolf instinctively curious. He smiled knowingly, his golden hues flashing briefly as he spoke. “My senses rarely fail me.”

A strange sense of unease twisted in my gut, though I forced a calm expression. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Your scent,” Dominic mused thoughtfully, tilting his head slightly. “It’s... different. Curious, even.”

My pulse quickened. Could he sense it? The possibilities sent panic flashing through me, though I kept my composure.

Dominic stepped closer, his posture easy yet deliberate. “Forgive me if I overstep, Luna Grace, but...” he started, pausing as though weighing his next words carefully. “I would guess you’re expecting. And quite strong, too.”

The few murmurs still lingering from Sophia’s outburst ceased entirely.

I froze. Time seemed to stall as his words sank in, the full weight of every gaze around me returning with suffocating force.

Alexander stiffened visibly beside me, his wolf almost surging upward instantly. I could feel the heat of his anger radiating even without the bond’s usual amplification.

I forced a weak laugh, trying to dismiss Dominic’s keen observation. “Alpha Dominic, I appreciate your attention, but I doubt your instincts are accurate this time.”

Alexander’s golden eyes burned as they fixed on Dominic, the line between Alpha diplomacy and territorial rage slipping dangerously. “You seem... overly concerned, Dominic,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

“A simple observation,” Dominic replied smoothly, as if Alexander’s anger didn’t even graze him.

Alexander’s wolf clawed closer to the surface, his territorial instinct flaring.

Dominic gave a knowing smile before retreating, leaving tension hanging thick in the air.

The nausea twisting in my stomach intensified. I gripped my goblet tightly, trying to steady myself, but the act only worsened the queasiness.

I blamed the blood-wine. Surely that explained everything.

A shrill, gasping sound cut through the tension.

All heads turned toward Victoria, who clutched her chest dramatically, her breath hitching as she staggered slightly in her seat.

“Alex… I…” her voice trembled weakly, and she collapsed onto the table.

Alexander was on his feet immediately, his chair scraping back loudly against the floor. He moved toward her quickly, concern etched into every line of his face.

“Alex… my heart…” she wheezed, clutching delicately at his arm as he steadied her.

The rest of the crowd watched, their interest torn between the fading confrontation with Sophia and Victoria’s theatrical turn of events.

I remained motionless as Alexander steadied Victoria carefully, his golden eyes narrowing with worry.

“Get the healer,” he barked to James, his authoritative tone carrying through the hall.

“Grace,” he said to me next, his tone clipped and formal as he turned briefly in my direction. “Stay here. You’re still Luna. Maintain control in my absence.”

And just like that, he escorted Victoria out, leaving a dull, suffocating pressure in my chest.

Sophia smirked as though she’d won.

I couldn’t breathe.

I rose from the table quietly, ignoring the whispers rippling through the crowd.

The cold air on the rooftop terrace was sharp, biting against my skin as I leaned over the stone railing. The feast continued indoors without much disruption—or rather, without me.

I inhaled deeply, trying to center myself against the endless spinning in my head.

The nausea hadn’t faded, even after so much time had passed, and the weight in my chest pressed harder every second I remained here.

Sophia’s voice slithered through the darkness, low and cruel as she stepped onto the rooftop behind me.

I turned slowly, my stomach twisting further as I met her gaze. “What do you want, Sophia?”

“Oh, nothing much,” she said casually, fake sweetness dripping from her words.

She circled me slowly, her golden eyes glinting with malice. “I just wanted to remind you where you stand—or rather, where you don’t belong.”

Her words stung, but I didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, I remained where I was, gripping the cold stone railing tightly.

Seeing my silence, she smiled wickedly and stepped closer—too close.

The brief sound of a lock clicking broke the air as she backed toward the doors.

“You’ll feel more at home out here,” she said mockingly.

And with that, she closed the doors loudly behind her, sealing them with a deliberate snap of the lock.

Panic clawed at my throat as I realized what she’d done.