Chapter 2

"Enough."

I cut through their grating laughter.

"You're here to welcome the Alpha King, aren't you?"

My voice was calm, almost unnervingly so.

"Lead the way."

The air froze.

Three seconds of dead silence.

And then.

"Hahahahaha!"

Cora was the first to break, letting out a hysterical laugh that brought tears to her eyes.

"What... what did she say?" She pointed at me, her body shaking with laughter as she held her child. "She wants us... to take her to the King?"

“Oh, Evelyn,” Asher shook his head, his eyes filled with the kind of pity one reserves for a stray dog.

“You don’t actually believe you’re still important, do you?”

“Look at the state of you,” he sneered, pointing. “That worn-out coat, the faded bag, not a single jewel on your neck, and that…”

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “…that scent. So weak it’s fading into nothing. What have you been doing with your life?”

“It’s common knowledge,” the guard captain chimed in, unable to hide his glee, “that a she-wolf cast out by her Alpha is doomed. They can’t make it alone out there.”

“True,” another added. “And the higher they were, the harder they fall. Bet it hurts, falling from grace like that.”

Cora laughed, a short, sharp sound of contempt.

“Her position was always a gift from Asher. I’ve said it a thousand times. Take away the Alpha, and the woman underneath is worthless.”

A wave of sheer disgust washed over me as I listened to them.

The fools.

This “worn-out coat” was made of royal Moon-Fiber, worth more than their entire packhouse.

My “faded bag” held a sacred healing artifact that could save a dying Alpha King.

And the “weak” scent? It was the blessed glamour the Moon Goddess grants a pregnant Queen to shield her power…

A cold smile touched my lips, my comeback ready, but their ignorant chatter droned on.

"You're not even worthy of speaking the King's name!" a guard barked angrily.

"Exactly!" another wolf added. "He's the legendary Alpha King! The absolute ruler of the entire werewolf world!"

"And we are here to welcome," Cora's voice turned fervent, almost worshipful, "the most legendary Luna in history. The true heir of the Moon Goddess!"

Asher's tone grew reverent. "She possesses the legendary 'Moonfall' scent—an aura so powerful it can make any Alpha within a hundred miles submit."

"They say one look from her can bring the wildest rogue to its knees!" a guard chimed in.

"And her healing!" Cora added, her eyes shining with a complex mix of envy and awe. "She can bring a wolf back from the brink of death!"

"And most importantly," she continued, "the Luna Queen has a sacred mark on her neck!"

"It's a mark blessed by the Moon Goddess herself!" Asher announced proudly. "The only one in the world! A silver crescent moon, wreathed in ancient, divine script!"

"They say the mark glows with a holy light on the full moon!"

A sudden gust of wind whipped my hair back from my neck.

Cora's words died in her throat.

She stared, transfixed, at my neck, her pupils shrinking violently.

"Wait..." her voice became shrill. "On your neck... what is that?"

I instinctively tried to cover it with my hair, but it was too late.

"Let me see!" Cora lunged forward, roughly pushing my hair away.

The side of my neck was completely exposed to everyone.

A stunningly intricate crescent moon mark shimmered on my skin.

The silver lines were like flowing starlight, surrounded by complex, mystical runes, located right in the sacred spot for a mating mark.

"That's it!" Cora's voice was practically a scream. "It's exactly like the legends describe! Exactly!"

Everyone crowded around.

"No... impossible..." Asher's face turned white as a sheet. "This is absolutely impossible..."

"How could she have a mark like that?" a guard stammered.

"It's a fake!" another wolf roared. "She must have used blood magic to forge it! A sacred mark would never appear on a worthless reject like her!"

"Right! It must be forged!"

"She must have used some kind of dark magic!"

Asher seemed to find his footing, grabbing my shoulders roughly, his nails digging into my skin.

"Tell me," his voice was a low, furious hiss, "where did you get this fake mark?"

"What cheap trick did you use?"

"Speak!"

I felt the sting of his nails in my skin but simply stared back at him.

"Asher," Cora's eyes flashed with venom as she pulled a strange-looking pen from her hair. "Since it's a fake, let's destroy it."

The pen glowed with an eerie green light.

"This is a Corruption Quill," she brandished it proudly. "It's designed to erase false magical sigils. If it were a true divine blessing, this quill couldn't touch it. But if it's a forgery..."

She gave a vicious smile. "It will be burned away completely."

"Don't!" I tried to wrench free from Asher's grip.

"Stay still!" Asher held me tighter. "Let's see the real you, you fraud!"

Cora pressed the tip of the quill to the mark on my neck.

"I'm going to carve my initial right over this filth," she hissed. "Let's show everyone what a blasphemous little liar you are."

The tip began to move, drawing the letter 'C' over the silver crescent.

A searing pain, like hot lava, shot through my body.

I couldn't help but let out a pained gasp.

It was a defilement of a sacred mark; every stroke felt like a thousand silver needles piercing my soul.

"See!" Cora pulled the quill back, satisfied. "A fake is a fake. So easily destroyed!"

The sacred mark was now marred by an ugly 'C', its silver light dimmed.

I frantically reached up to wipe away the smudge, blurting out in my panic:

"That's Ronan's mark! You can't touch it!"

Before I could finish.

Asher unleashed his Alpha's presence, so thick it felt like a physical wall, and slammed it into me.

I was thrown back a step, nearly falling to the ground.

"Shut your mouth!" he roared, his eyes blazing with golden wolf fire.