CH 2

Katherine’s POV

I looked around, and the courtyard had turned into a living nightmare. They already had all the women in their hands. 

Every single rogue soldier had a hostage, their jagged, filthy claws resting just a fraction of an inch away from the women's throats. 

One twitch, one command, and they would slaughter every innocent woman in this castle.

From the window above, I could hear my pups crying, their terrified wails piercing straight through my heart.

I had to do something.

“Checkmate, my beautiful Queen,” Darius purred, gesturing lazily toward the weeping hostages. “Drop the silver blade. Kneel before me, or I give the order. My men will snap every delicate neck in this courtyard, and then I will personally walk upstairs to silence those screaming pups.”

I closed my eyes and completely surrendered to my wolf. The transformation didn't hurt—it was an explosive, earth-shattering release of ancient magic. 

I shifted right in front of everyone, my human skin melting away into the massive, majestic, towering form of the Silver Wolf.

My aura slammed into the courtyard, forcing the weaker rogues to stagger backward, whimpering. 

My fur glistened like spun moonlight, and my eyes glowed with convulsive power.

Darius froze. He couldn’t help but look at me from head to toe, his eyes completely rounded in shock. 

The arrogant smirk vanished from his face, replaced by greedy, breathless awe. He had never seen anything like this in his miserable life.

“A true Silver Bloodwolf…” Darius breathed, taking an involuntary step back, his voice trembling with a mix of terror and obsession. “Magnificent. You are far too magnificent to die for a foolish King. You will be my Queen.”

Dying twice is not on my agenda! my wolf snarled in my mind. I am not going to die this time!

I didn't give him a single second to breathe. I attacked him with all my might.

I launched my massive silver body off the stone steps, moving with speed. Before Darius could even raise his arms to defend himself, I crashed into him like a freight train. 

My massive paws slammed into his chest, shattering his ribs on impact and sending him flying backward through the air.

He crashed forcefully into the stone fountain, spitting up black blood. But I did not stop. I leaped onto him, pinning the Rogue King to the crushed stone, my jaws snapping down directly toward his throat. 

Then he whispered, “Do it, and all those women in this castle will die in the hands of my rogues….” 

Every noblewoman and servant I knew was weeping, their bodies trembling as they shook their heads, desperately begging for their lives.

“Please, Luna!” Lady Antonia sobbed, a rogue’s jagged claws pressing deep into her collarbone. “Have mercy! Don't let them slaughter us!”

“My babies are down the hall, please, Queen Katherine!” another cried out, choking on her own tears.

I stood frozen in my silver wolf form, the paralyzing weight of their lives crushing the breath out of my lungs. 

When I didn’t immediately drop to the ground, Darius’s eyes flashed with cruel impatience. He gave a subtle flick of his wrist.

Without a single second of hesitation, the rogue holding one of the high nobles yanked the man's head back and sliced his throat wide open.

Blood sprayed across the marble courtyard. The women shrieked in terror as the noble collapsed, choking on his own blood while the rogue laughed.

Advisor Lou fell to her knees in the spreading crimson puddle, sobbing uncontrollably. “Luna Queen, I beg of you!” she wailed, holding her trembling hands out to me. “Surrender! He will butcher every last one of us! Please, for the love of the Goddess, just give him what he wants!”

My heart beat painfully. I glanced up toward the second-floor balcony. 

Through the glass, I could see the royal healers standing in a tight circle in front of the nursery doors. Their hands glowed with a desperate barrier magic, ensuring no rogue could step foot inside. 

But the golden light was slowly flickering. Sweat poured down the healers' faces. I knew they couldn't hold that shield much longer against a swarm of monsters.

If I fought, my people died. If I fought, the barrier would fall, and my babies would be slaughtered.

I forced my beast to recede, the shift snapping my bones back into my human form. I stood in the cold wind, entirely vulnerable but staring directly into the Rogue King's triumphant eyes.

“Let go of those women…” I breathed, my voice hollow but laced with viciousness. “…and I’ll go with you.”

He smirked, a deeply satisfied, wicked gleam in his eyes. “Very well.”

Darius raised his hand, his voice booming over the cries of the courtyard. “Drop the meat! Let them rot in their fear. Bind the Silver Queen in heavy silver iron, and if she even twitches toward a shift, gut every last survivor in this palace.”

The rogues shoved the weeping women to the ground, pulling thick, rusted chains from their belts as they marched toward me. But Darius wasn't finished.

His dark gaze shifted past me, locking onto the hyperventilating form of Sofia clinging to the stone pillar.

“Take that woman, too,” Darius commanded, his voice dripping with vile, sadistic hunger. “I want her dragged back to my camp and chained exactly where she belongs. She still owes me for ruining my fun the last time, and I’m going to make her scream under me until she forgets her own name.”

Sofia screamed, “No!!”

Then she tried to run, but one of the rogues stopped her, snatching her by the hair and dragging her backward. 

Her eyes landed on me, glaring at me with hatred, like it was all my fault.

If it weren't for my pups and for the innocent people here in the castle, I would have already killed this fucking Rogue King and bathed in his blood.

But I had to be smart. Let’s wait until we’re far from here. Once my babies were out of danger, I wasn't going to hesitate to burn them all to ash.

Then Sofia spat at me, tears streaming down her pale face, “I thought you were a Luna Queen! But you’re just a weak one!”

I held my heavy silver iron chains and tilted my head, letting a cold, mocking smile slowly stretch across my face.

“Oh, sweet Sofia,” I drawled. “The night isn't over yet.”