The Day Before the Convocation

Elsa’s pov

The palace was in chaos. Everywhere I turned, people rushed about with arms full of decorations, trays of polished silverware, and bolts of silk to drape across the great hall. The air was heavy with the scent of wax, polished wood, and nervous excitement. Tomorrow was the day of Crystal’s convocation the day she would be formally recognized as Luna.

And today was the day she would make certain I remembered my place.

I was ordered into the fitting chamber early, long before the others. Crystal lounged in front of a wide mirror, surrounded by gowns that shimmered with beads and gems. She didn’t even glance at me as I bowed stiffly.

“You’re late,” she said lazily, though we both knew I wasn’t. “Help me dress.”

Her tone was casual, but the command pressed down like iron. I stepped forward, unfastening the gown she wore. Her perfume was sweet and sharp, clinging to my skin as I worked. My reflection in the mirror looked pale, tired, nothing like the girl who once dreamed of standing here as Caleb’s mate.

Crystal’s lips curled. “Careful with the fabric. This dress costs more than your life.”

I swallowed back my pride and tied the next gown across her shoulders. The seamstress murmured about adjustments, but Crystal silenced her with a raised hand.

“Elsa will hold it,” she said, motioning toward the hem.

I knelt on the marble floor, smoothing the train while Crystal turned side to side, admiring herself. My knees ached against the cold stone, but that was the point. She wanted me low.

The attendants giggled behind their hands as Crystal spoke loudly enough for all to hear. “Imagine, the Alpha’s former mate reduced to this. A living warning. Isn’t it poetic?”

Heat flared in my chest, but I forced myself to stay silent.

By the time the fitting was done, my back burned and my legs trembled from kneeling. I thought, foolishly, that she might let me go.

Instead, Crystal’s eyes glittered with new cruelty. “Guests are arriving. You will serve them. I want everyone to see exactly what you are now.”

Her words were final.

The courtyard was already filling with visitors..,elders in fine robes, warriors with hard eyes, women dripping with jewels. They had come from allied packs to witness the convocation, to pay their respects to Crystal and Caleb.

And they watched me with open curiosity as I carried trays of wine goblets among them.

“Isn’t that her?” one woman whispered.

“The former mate?” another replied, her voice dripping with disdain.

“I thought she was gone.”

“Apparently not. How pathetic.”

The words clung to me like nettles, but I kept moving, balancing the tray as though the whispers meant nothing. My wolf clawed at the inside of my chest, begging me to bare my teeth, to fight back. But I pressed her down. One wrong move and Crystal would get exactly what she wanted my destruction.

I reached a group of elders, their sharp gazes following every movement. One of them a man with a cruel smile reached for a goblet and tipped it deliberately, spilling red wine down the front of my dress.

“Clumsy girl,” he said dismissively.

Laughter rippled through the group.

I bowed stiffly, even as wine dripped down my skirts. “My apologies.”

Crystal’s voice rang out across the courtyard. “Be careful, Elsa. Do not embarrass the pack before our honored guests.”

More laughter.

I clenched my fists around the tray until my knuckles ached, but I forced myself to continue serving. Every step was a battle not to crumble.

Hours dragged by. My arms burned from carrying endless trays. My stomach twisted with hunger, my throat dry with thirst. All the while, Crystal drifted among the guests, glowing like the center of the sun. She made a point of calling me over whenever she could, snapping her fingers to demand some small task straighten her gown, refill her glass, adjust her necklace.

And each time, I obeyed.

By evening, the courtyard shimmered with torchlight. The guests were laughing, toasting, speaking eagerly of the grand ceremony tomorrow. And still, I stood there, silent, enduring.

When the last of the visitors had gone to their quarters, Crystal dismissed the other maids with a wave.

“Elsa stays.”

Lila hesitated, her eyes darting to mine, but I gave her the faintest shake of my head. Go. Don’t risk it.

The courtyard grew quiet as Crystal circled me, her heels clicking softly against the stone. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes glittered with malice.

“You humiliated me today,” she said softly.

My throat tightened. I hadn’t spoken out of turn, hadn’t raised my voice. But she didn’t need a reason.

“Do you know how?” she asked.

I stayed silent.

“By existing,” she hissed suddenly, her sweetness gone. “Every time someone looked at you, they remembered you were his mate before me. That will not do.”

Her fingers caught my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze.

“So tomorrow, during my convocation, I will prove once and for all that you are nothing. A servant. A failure. A forgotten mistake.”

She released me with a shove. “Now go scrub the halls. I want the floors shining for my glory.”

My body ached. My pride was raw and bleeding. But as I knelt in the silent hall with a bucket and cloth, scrubbing until my hands throbbed, a thought burned in my mind.

Crystal thought she was breaking me.

But she wasn’t.

Her cruelty was only hardening me.

I pressed the cloth harder into the stone, my reflection wavering in the water.