Chapter 3

I did not turn to face him.

"You think everything revolves around you."

"You will be a laughingstock! My discarded mate, clinging to my uncle's coattails!"

"He offers me safety. Respect. You never offered either."

He laughed. A harsh, ugly sound.

"Respect? You are a pity project!"

He threw something at my feet. It clattered on the stone.

A sleek black card. The universal access key to all Blackwood assets.

"Take it," he said. His voice turned persuasive.

"Call off this farce. Come back. You can have a wing in the new manor. A quiet life."

He leaned closer.

"It is better than being his dirty secret."

I looked at the card. It was the symbol of my old prison. Gilded and hollow.

For a fleeting second, old fear whispered.

I bent down. I picked up the cold titanium card.

I focused all my will. All the strength forged in loss and rebirth.

Into my hands.

With a sharp, satisfying crack, I snapped it in two.

I let the pieces fall between us.

"The only thing I want from you is distance."

My voice was final.

"A lifetime of it."

Rage contorted his features.

"You will regret this! He does not want you! Not really!"

His voice rose to a snarl.

"Everyone knows he loved his first fated mate! A perfect Luna!"

He was shouting now.

"You are nothing but a pale, broken substitute!"

A low, vibrating growl echoed through the floor.

From the darkness of the apartment, two massive, silver-furred wolves materialized.

Their fur wasn't just grey. It shimmered with a metallic sheen under the moonlight. Their eyes held an ancient, calculating intelligence. These weren't mere guardians. They were familiars of a lineage as old as the forests.

Silas's guardians. Their molten gold eyes fixed on Caspian.

He stumbled back. Genuine fear flashed in his eyes. This was beyond a threat. This was a display of connection to forces Caspian could scarcely comprehend.

He tripped over a planter. He landed in the soil with a grunt.

"This is not over!" he snarled.

He scrambled to his feet. He shot me one last, venomous look.

He vanished over the balcony railing into the night.

The wolves took up silent posts beside me. Their presence was a solid comfort.

The next morning, a package arrived. No note.

Inside, a gown. Not white. A luminous silvery-grey. The color of moonlight on mist.

An invitation card nestled in the folds.

The Celestial Temple. One hour before the moon's zenith.

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was the true point of no return.

I dressed in the gown. It fit as if made for me.

I went to the temple alone. The great space was empty. Bathed in ethereal, colored light.

I walked the long aisle. I sensed them before I saw them.

Pine. Frost. Cloying jasmine.

Caspian and Vivian stepped out from behind a pillar.

They were dressed for a spectacle. Her gown was a violent, aggressive crimson.

His tuxedo bore the embroidered Shadowmoon crest.

"Well, well." Caspian's eyes raked over me. A slow smirk spread.

"Playing dress-up? Lost, Aurora? This place is for blessings."

Vivian tittered. She linked her arm with his.

"Not for desperate prayers from the unworthy."

"I am here for my purpose," I said. My voice was calm.

"Your purpose died when you rejected me," Caspian scoffed.

He took a step closer.

"What could you possibly be doing here alone?"

He feigned pity.

"Did your protector get bored? Come to beg for a servant's role in my new life?"

He smiled cruelly. "I might be merciful."

The audacity was almost amusing.

"You misunderstand," I said. A cold smile touched my lips.

"I am not alone. I am here to meet my fated mate."

The words hung in the sacred air.

They stared. Then, they burst into derisive laughter. The sound was harsh. Sacrilegious.

"Your what?" Caspian wheezed. He wiped a mock tear.

"What poor, deluded fool did you trick?"

Vivian shook her head. Pitying contempt filled her face.

"A fated mate? For you?" She sighed dramatically.

"Sweetheart, fate does not work that way for discarded things."

"Walk away now, Aurora." Caspian's voice dropped to a venomous whisper.

He stepped right in front of me.

"Spare this imaginary mate the ultimate humiliation of taking my leavings."

He stared intently. "It is the only decent thing you have left to do."

I held his gaze. My smile did not waver.

"My mate requires no sparing from the likes of you."

At that exact moment, the massive temple doors swung open with a resonant boom.

Silas stood framed in the doorway. Backlit by the setting sun.

He wore the full, formidable regalia of the Silvercrest High Alpha.

The cloak wasn't just fabric. It seemed woven from shadows and starlight, moving with a life of its own. The emblems upon it weren't mere decoration. They were sigils of authority recognized by every ancient pack, symbols of a mandate that predated the founding of Shadowmoon.

A ceremonial cloak of deep grey and silver flowed from his shoulders.

He did not glance at Caspian or Vivian. His eyes found only mine.

Across the vast length of the temple.

He began to walk. Steady. Unwavering.

With the absolute authority of a king. No, not a king. A sovereign whose rule was as natural and unquestioned as the moon's path across the sky. Each step echoed with the weight of generations of command.

Straight down the center aisle toward me.

He stopped before me. He reached out. He took both my hands in his.

His touch was warm and sure. Then he turned.

He kept one hand firmly in mine. He faced the gathering crowd.

His voice resonated through the temple. It didn't echo. It filled, vibrating in the stone and in the chest of every being present.

"Let there be no doubt." He paused, and squeezed my hand.

"Aurora Sterling is not under my protection."

He turned his head. He met my eyes for a blazing, private moment.

Then he announced to the world.

"She is my fated mate. My chosen partner."

He paused again.

"She is my Luna. From this moment, and for all moments to come."