CHAPTER 6

ELSPETH CROWHURST POV

"Check his pulse and get him to the emergency bay right now!" the chief Silverfang Healer shouted, pushing past the door with three assistants trailing behind him.

Elspeth Crowhurst stumbled forward, her chest seizing in sheer panic as she forced her way through the doorway. "What happened? Doctor, please, what is wrong with my father?"

"Stand back, girl!" a nurse snapped, placing a heavy hand against Elspeth's chest and shoving her out into the stone corridor. "Can't you see we are trying to save his life? Stay out of the way!"

Elspeth backed against the wall, her hands shaking so hard her nails bit into her palms. Inside the chamber, the healers hovered over Patriarch Barnabas, applying glowing blue runic stones to his chest. The faint, fluttering beat of his heart echoed weakly through the corridor. She watched through the glass, her throat tight, tears burning her eyes as the healers rolled his bed out and rushed down the hall toward the restricted emergency ward.

She ran after them until the heavy iron doors slammed shut in her face.

Elspeth sank onto a bench outside, her head buried in her hands. The silence of the stone hallway felt suffocating.

After what felt like hours, the heavy iron doors unlatched with a loud clack. A Silverfang Healer stepped out, wiping sweat from his brow as he checked a parchment scroll.

Elspeth sprang to her feet instantly. "How is he? Is my dad going to make it?"

"We stabilized his pulse for tonight," the healer sighed, looking down at the parchment with a cold, professional expression. "Are you Elspeth Crowhurst, his bloodline heir?"

"Yes, I am," Elspeth said, wiping her face with her torn sleeve.

"Then you need to know the reality of your situation," the healer said, turning the scroll toward her. "Your family's guarantee funds are completely drained. You must settle his current medical debt of one hundred thousand pack credits immediately. If you cannot pay, we are legally required to discharge him by sunrise and cease all runic life-support."

Elspeth felt as if the ground had opened beneath her feet. "One hundred thousand?"

"That only covers his current stay," the healer added coldly. "His heart is failing completely. His only chance of survival is a Lunar Heart Restoration. That operation requires a rare donor core and advanced bloodline healing. It will cost at least one million pack credits. If he does not get the operation soon, he will not survive another attack."

"I... I will get the money," Elspeth whispered, her voice cracking. "Please just give me time."

The healer shook his head with a faint sigh, turning on his heel and walking back inside without another word.

Elspeth stood frozen in the dim corridor, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. One million credits. Where could she possibly get that kind of money? Hadley had stolen her family's territorial assets and cast her out. Her father's old pack lodge was tied up in debt. Mavis might be able to lend her a few thousand, but one million was an impossible mountain.

She slid down the stone wall, pulling at her hair as a wave of pure desperation washed over her. Her father was dying, and she was completely powerless to save him.

"Excuse me, Lady Crowhurst."

A calm, polite voice broke through her spiraling panic.

Elspeth jerked her head up. A tall, impeccably dressed male in a dark gray steward tunic stood before her, holding a polished leather portfolio under his arm. He looked refined, calm, and entirely out of place in the damp hospital corridor.

Elspeth looked around the empty hallway before pointing a trembling finger at herself. "Are you talking to me?"

Percy Langridge paused, his eyes subtly taking in her appearance. Her gown was torn at the hem, her dark hair was tangled, her cheek was slightly bruised from Hadley's strike, and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She looked completely broken, like a stray wolf caught in a storm.

Percy inwardly wondered what Alpha Wrenford was thinking. Was this really the female the Alpha wanted as his Luna? Yet, keeping his expression perfectly composed, Percy offered a respectful bow.

"Yes, Lady Crowhurst," Percy said smoothly, stepping closer. "My name is Percy Langridge, personal steward to Alpha Wrenford. My Alpha sent me to speak with you regarding your father's situation."

Elspeth frowned, her guard instantly rising as she remembered the arrogant male from the dark carriage. "Alpha Wrenford? The one whose transport I damaged?"

"The very same," Percy said, opening his portfolio and pulling out a thick, official parchment bound with a dark gold seal. "My Alpha is fully aware that you lack the funds to pay your father's medical debt, let alone the one million credits required for his Lunar Heart Restoration."

Elspeth clenched her fists, her pride burning. "If he sent you here to mock me or demand payment for his carriage dent, tell him I have nothing to give him!"

"On the contrary, Lady Crowhurst," Percy said, holding out the parchment and a silver quill toward her. "Alpha Wrenford is offering to pay your father's entire medical debt immediately. Furthermore, he will personally secure a donor core and cover the full cost of the Lunar Heart Restoration."

Elspeth stopped breathing. She stared at the gleaming gold seal on the scroll, her heart hammering against her ribs. "He... he will pay for the operation? Why would an Alpha do that for a stranger?"

"There is one condition," Percy replied calmly, unfolding the document to reveal the glowing ink written across the main page. "You must sign this Moon-Bond Pact immediately. By signing, you agree to become Alpha Wrenford's legally bound Luna for a term of one year."

Elspeth stared at the bold words at the top of the scroll: PROVISIONAL MOON-BOND AGREEMENT.

"Become his Luna?" Elspeth whispered, her mind racing in complete shock. "He wants a fake bond?"

"It is a legal union to satisfy the Pack Council," Percy explained smoothly. "You will live at the Alpha Moon Residence, perform the duties of a Luna in public, and in exchange, your father receives the finest healers in Frostwick City. Once the year ends, the bond will be dissolved quietly, and you will walk away with your full freedom and a clean bloodline record."

Elspeth looked from the scroll to the heavy iron doors of the emergency room where her father lay dying. Her chest heaved as her mind fought against the sheer absurdity of the offer. She barely knew Alpha Wrenford. He was cold, arrogant, and terrifyingly powerful. But without his help, her father would be dead before sunrise.

"Do I have a choice?" Elspeth asked bitterly, taking the silver quill from Percy's hand.

"Everyone has a choice, Lady Crowhurst," Percy said softly. "But time is running out for Patriarch Barnabas."

Elspeth pressed her lips together, her hand shaking as she brought the quill to the parchment. She thought of Hadley's betrayal, Rosamund's cruel smile, and her father's weak pulse. She had nothing left to lose.

With a sharp stroke, she signed her name at the bottom of the glowing contract.

The moment her ink touched the paper, the gold seal flared with a bright, warm light, binding the contract into the pack registry.

"A wise decision," Percy said, taking the document back and bowing deeply. "A carriage is waiting outside to take you to the Alpha Moon Residence. Alpha Wrenford is expecting you in his private quarters."

Elspeth swallowed hard, a sudden wave of heat washing over her skin as the weight of what she had just done settled over her. She wrapped her torn cloak tighter around her body and followed Percy down the quiet hallway, out into the cold night air.

The sleek black transport stood waiting by the hospital gates. Wilfred opened the door, bowing respectfully as Elspeth climbed inside.

The carriage ride through Frostwick City was dead silent. Elspeth stared out the window at the passing stone buildings, her heart pounding faster with every turn of the wheels.

Twenty minutes later, the carriage pulled up to the massive stone gates of the Alpha Moon Residence. The grand estate towered against the night sky, surrounded by dense pine forests and heavily armed pack guards.

Percy guided her through the grand grand hall, up a winding spiral staircase, and stopped in front of two massive, dark wooden doors carved with the emblem of a roaring wolf.

"The Alpha is inside," Percy said softly, stepping back. "You may enter."

Elspeth took a deep breath, reached out with a trembling hand, and pushed the heavy doors open.

The room was vast, lit only by the warm glow of a roaring fireplace. Sitting at a large mahogany desk near the far window was Alistair Wrenford. He had discarded his formal tunic, wearing only a loose black shirt with the top buttons undone, exposing his muscular chest.

He didn't look up from his papers as the heavy doors clicked shut behind her.

"You took your time," Alistair said, his deep, resonant voice filling the quiet room.

Elspeth stood near the entrance, her boots glued to the rug. "I signed your contract. The debt is settled, right? My dad gets the healing stones?"

Alistair slowly placed his quill down and stood up. He walked toward her, his long, powerful strides silent against the floor. As he stopped right in front of her, his sheer size and dominant Alpha aura completely overwhelmed her senses. The heavy scent of pine and storm clouds drifted off his skin, making her wolf stir wildly inside her chest.

"The healers are already working on your father," Alistair said, leaning down until his dark eyes were locked onto hers. He reached out, his warm, calloused thumb brushing gently across her bruised cheekbone, sending a sharp spark of electricity straight down her spine. "Now it is time for you to fulfill your end of the bond."

Elspeth's breath hitched, her heart hammering against her ribs as his proximity consumed her. "What do you mean?"

Alistair reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy, dark velvet box. He unlatched the silver clasp and opened it, revealing a thick obsidian ring glowing with deep crimson pack runes.

"This is the Wrenford Blood-Luna Ring," Alistair murmured, taking her trembling right hand into his large palm. "Putting this on binds your soul to mine until the moon cycle ends."

He slid the heavy ring onto her finger. The moment the stone touched her skin, a sudden, blinding flash of dark red light erupted from the ring, burning hot against her flesh. A sharp, gasping pain shot straight to her heart as the bond locked into place.

Elspeth gasped, pulling her hand back as the crimson glow faded, leaving a dark mark stamped into her skin.

Before she could speak, Alistair’s personal communicator buzzed sharply on his desk. He turned, stepping over to pick it up and pressing the receiver to his ear.

"Speak," Alistair commanded.

A panicked voice echoed through the speaker, loud enough for Elspeth to hear every single word.

"Alpha! We have a critical emergency at the pack border! The Silverfang Infirmary just reported that Patriarch Barnabas's body has been stolen by rogue wolves!"