Chapter 3: The Alpha Ceremony I

Rhiannon's POV

The former Alpha raised his hand, and the crowd fell silent.

"People of Crescent Moon," his voice boomed across the square, carrying the weight of authority he'd held for thirty years. "Today marks a new chapter in our pack's history. Today, my son becomes your Alpha."

Cheers erupted. I clapped along with everyone else, my palms damp, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.

Darius stepped forward.

He moved with a confidence I'd never seen before—not like the man who'd held me last night, vulnerable and loving in the darkness. This was the Alpha. The leader. Every inch of him radiated power and command.

He knelt before his father.

The crowd pressed closer, everyone straining to see. I was caught in the crush of bodies, unable to move forward or back. A woman's elbow dug into my ribs. Someone stepped on my foot. I barely noticed.

All I could see was Darius.

"Darius Nightshade," his father began, his voice carrying the weight of ritual and tradition. "Do you swear to protect this pack with your life?"

"I swear it." Darius's voice was steady, strong.

"Do you swear to lead with wisdom and strength?"

"I swear it."

"Do you swear to put the pack's needs above your own, now and always?"

A pause. So brief I might have imagined it.

"I swear it."

His father placed both hands on Darius's shoulders. "Then by the power vested in me by blood and bond, I name you Alpha of Crescent Moon. Rise, my son. Rise and lead."

Darius stood.

The crowd exploded. Howls filled the air—the traditional pack response to a new Alpha. Wolves shifted partially, their eyes glowing with their animals' presence, acknowledging their new leader.

I wanted to howl with them. But I had no wolf to call. So I just clapped until my hands hurt, tears pricking my eyes.

He'd done it. He was Alpha.

And in a moment, he'd announce me as his Luna.

My stomach fluttered with nervous excitement and terror. Everyone would know. The pack girls who'd mocked me. The warriors who'd looked through me. The elders who'd treated me like I didn't exist.

They'd all know that Darius Nightshade had chosen me.

The former Alpha raised his hand again. Silence fell more quickly this time—absolute, expectant.

"And now," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice, "comes the moment you've all been waiting for. As is tradition, as has been done for generations, our new Alpha will announce his chosen mate."

My breath caught.

"The woman who will stand beside him as Luna. The woman who will help him lead, who will bear his children, who will be second only to the Alpha himself in authority and honor."

The crowd stirred with anticipation. I saw several pack daughters straighten, their faces carefully neutral but their eyes gleaming with hope.

Fools. He'd already chosen.

"Darius Nightshade." His father's voice swelled with pride. "Who do you choose as your Luna?"

The square went deathly silent.

You could have heard a pin drop. Hundreds of wolves, all holding their breath, all waiting.

I stood frozen in the crowd, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.

This is it. This is the moment everything changes.

Darius stood tall on the platform, the morning sun catching in his dark hair. He looked every inch the Alpha—powerful, commanding, untouchable.

His eyes swept across the crowd.

Slowly. Deliberately.

I waited for them to find me. Waited for that moment when our gazes would lock, when everyone would see what we'd hidden for six months. When he'd reach out his hand and call me forward.

Come on, I thought desperately. Look at me. See me.

His gaze moved over the section where I stood.

For one heart-stopping second, his eyes met mine.

Gray and storm-dark. The eyes that had looked at me with such love last night. The eyes that had promised me forever.

I smiled. Small, tentative, full of hope.

Recognition flashed across his face.

Then something else. Something I couldn't name but that made ice shoot through my veins.

His eyes slid away.

Moved on.

Like I was just another face in the crowd.

Like I was no one.

No.

My smile faltered. Confusion replaced the joy that had been building in my chest.

He was still scanning the crowd. Looking for me, maybe. Perhaps he couldn't see me clearly from up there, with the sun in his eyes and so many people pressed together.

That had to be it.

"Darius?" his father prompted gently. "Your choice?"

Darius's jaw tightened. His hands, I noticed suddenly, were clenched into fists at his sides.

Something was wrong.

The crowd began to murmur. Confused. Impatient. This pause was going on too long.

"I choose—" Darius's voice rang out, clear and strong.

I held my breath.

His eyes swept the crowd one more time. And this time, they didn't even come close to where I stood.

They landed on the front row. On the section reserved for visiting dignitaries and allied pack members.

On a tall, blonde woman in a gown that shimmered like moonlight.

Isolde Ravenclaw.

Daughter of the Northern Alliance's Alpha.

The woman I'd heard mentioned in passing but never thought about twice.

The woman who was staring up at Darius with cool, composed expectation.

Like she'd been waiting for this.

Like she'd known.

"I choose—"

Time seemed to slow down.

I saw his mouth form the words before I heard them.

Saw the way his father's face lit up with satisfaction.

Saw Isolde's small, triumphant smile.

"—Isolde Ravenclaw."

The world stopped.