Chapter 17

Keira's POV 

The announcement of the first trial spread through the hall like wildfire, rippling with excited whispers and nervous shivers.

“Each candidate shall present herself before the Alpha King,” the producer declared in her clipped, bored tone, flipping through her clipboard as though deciding who to crush next. “You will enter one by one, introduce yourself, and respond to any command given to you.”

My stomach twisted painfully, bile rising up my throat as the words sank in. I could barely stand upright under normal circumstances, let alone walk into a throne room filled with royalty and high-ranking wolves staring down at me like I was filth under their boots.

“Line up,” the producer barked.

We scrambled to form a line, girls adjusting their dresses, checking their hair and makeup, whispering prayers to the Moon Goddess under trembling breaths. 

I was pushed to the very end of the line, my borrowed dress snagging against someone’s sharp heels. The girls in front of me smelled of lavender and rose oil, expensive body creams and silken confidence.

I smelled like soap and fear.

My wolf whimpered softly in my mind, curling into herself, but I ignored her. If I let myself fall apart now, I would never recover. 

My hands clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms until I felt blood bloom beneath them. The pain helped me stay upright, even when my legs shook so badly I feared they would collapse under me.

The line moved slowly, each girl stepping forward when her name was called, disappearing through the tall golden doors at the end of the hallway. 

Every time the doors opened and closed, I caught a glimpse of the throne room beyond, and each glimpse made my chest tighten even harder.

Polished marble floors stretched into an endless hall, columns carved with ancient runes glowing faintly under flickering torchlight. 

Velvet banners of deep blue and silver lined the walls, bearing the crest of the Alpha King’s family—a great wolf with three heads, snarling at the moon. 

At the far end of the hall sat the throne itself, carved from obsidian and iron, draped in wolf pelts, looming like a silent mountain.

And upon it… him.

The Alpha King.

I had never seen him in person before. Only whispered stories told by trembling omegas who served in the palace kitchens. They spoke of his cruelty, his iron fists, and his taste for public humiliation. I never believed them fully. I thought they were just scared servants trying to make their misery sound important.

But as I watched him from afar, his massive form draped lazily across his throne, one leg stretched out before him, one arm resting on the carved wolf head by his side, I realised they had not done him justice.

He was monstrous.

He wore a black tunic embroidered with silver thread, tight across his broad chest, dark trousers tucked into boots lined with wolf fur. His hair was silver-white despite his youthful face, falling down his back in a straight, thick curtain. 

His eyes glowed amber, so bright they looked like twin moons, and his lips curled into a permanent sneer.

He looked bored, disgusted, amused, and hungry for pain all at once.

“Keira,” the producer snapped.

I flinched so hard my shoulder cracked. The girls in front turned to stare at me, smirking, whispering as I forced my trembling legs forward.

My steps echoed across the throne room, each tap of my heel against the marble sounding like a death knell in the heavy silence. I felt hundreds of eyes on me, burning into my skin, stripping away what little dignity I had left.

I kept my gaze down, focusing on the floor as I approached the throne. When I was a few feet away, I dropped to my knees automatically, my head bowed so low my nose brushed against the cold marble. I tried to search for Kai or Dax or Riven, but they weren't in the room. 

My hands trembled where they rested on my thighs, clenching and unclenching over and over to keep myself from collapsing entirely.

“Look at me,” his voice boomed.

I flinched again, my heart stopping for a brief second before restarting with painful force. Slowly, I lifted my head, forcing myself to meet his gaze.

He leaned forward in his throne, his lips curling even higher as he scanned me from head to toe.

“You are the filthy little mongrel everyone keeps whispering about,” he said, his voice low and dripping with disgust. 

He spoke softly, but his words carried across the hall with terrifying clarity. “What is your name, girl?”

“K-Keira,” I stammered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely force the syllables out.

He raised a brow. “Keira… no surname?”

“No… Alpha King.”

He chuckled darkly, leaning back into his throne, spreading his legs wider. “How does a nameless mutt like you find herself among candidates for the Lunar Trials?”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sand. “I… I don’t know, Alpha King.”

“Don’t know?” he repeated mockingly, his lips twitching into a cruel smile. “Or perhaps you do know, but you’re too ashamed to admit how you spread your legs for a place here.”

Gasps echoed across the hall. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood, forcing my gaze to remain locked on his despite the humiliation crashing over me in suffocating waves.

“Stand up,” he ordered.

I scrambled to my feet, my knees shaking violently. I could barely keep my balance under the weight of his gaze.

He tilted his head, studying me with dark amusement. “Dance.”

I blinked. “A-Alpha King?”

“Dance,” he repeated, his voice low and dangerous now. “Dance for us. Entertain your betters.”

For a brief second, the world fell silent. All I could hear was the frantic thundering of my heart, so loud it drowned out the whispers and snickers rising around me.

Tears clung to my lashes, my vision blurring as shame and fear tangled around my chest like thorned vines. My wolf whimpered softly in my mind, pressing herself deeper into the darkness to hide from the pain.

But then… something flickered inside me.

A small ember, glowing faintly in the suffocating darkness.

Dance.

I closed my eyes, taking a shaky breath, and let my feet shift apart. Slowly, I raised my arms above my head, letting my wrists bend delicately as my fingers curled into graceful shapes. 

My hips swayed gently at first, my body remembering old movements, old dreams buried beneath years of fear and poverty.

Gasps filled the hall again, but this time they were different.