IN THE ALPHA'S CHAMBERS

Lyra's POV:

The moment we stepped out of the palace’s doors, wolves began to cheer.

"Welcome Luna!"

I heard lots of screams, with people calling out my name.

It was all so overwhelming and sudden that I almost found myself blanking out.

Alpha Drake stopped walking, but he still held my hand, “Take it all in,” he whispered, “This is your life now. Focus on the now and the future, not the past.”

I nodded, somehow failing to realize that I was smiling.

For the first time in my life, I was being cheered on.

I had never been cheered on before in my life. I had always just been the cursed girl.

But now, I was watching thousands of wolves celebrate me.

A couple of women in silk coats walked towards me, they bowed to Alpha Drake, then, they requested to dance with me.

I blanched, I couldn’t dance.

But that didn’t matter.

I didn’t know what happened next.

But the next hour was a confluence of different events. I danced around for a while, drank, played, and even ate together with Alpha Drake for the first time at a ceremonial dinner table.

“Welcome to our pack, Luna.” One of the women stepped forward and shook my hand, “We are so thrilled to have you here,”

I nodded at her, and flashed her a smile. “So am I.”

And this time, when I said that, it wasn’t a full lie.

The people of Dark Thorne were very warm and welcoming. They showered me with all the love and attention my family never gave me, they made me feel at home.

I couldn't say just how grateful I was for the fleeting moment of happiness. I prayed it would last forever, I hoped it would. But deep down I knew that it would never be possible.

At the corner of every celebration, I caught a woman looking at me with eyes filled with fiery rage, but whenever I caught her, she simply glanced away.

Alpha Drake was content enough to watch all of this happen with a smile on his face.

Eventually, when the night began to deepen, he stepped forward, took my hand again, and took me out of the crowds.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my tone now a whisper.

Every time he held my hand, I felt my body grow warm. He always felt warm.

"You'll see." He flashed me a smile.

I froze. I didn't know if my eyes were playing a trick on me, or if I'd just seen him smile, genuinely.

"Snap out of it." I scolded myself inwardly.

It wasn't right for me to have such thoughts, especially not towards a man of his status. The earlier I stopped these thoughts, the easier my life would be.

Alpha Drake showed me around the pack. From its enormous territories, to the bustling streets, training grounds and even down to the important buildings.

It was indeed a magnificent sight, and the more of it I saw, the more I realized that this place might just be paradise. What left me the most curious was how the people could still have all this wealth and success and still be down to earth.

Unlike how I was raised, everyone here seemed to be loved, and even had more to go around. It was like being here was a blessing and a curse at the same time. But what if the benefits weighed more?

I turned to Alpha Drake who was pointing out a land mass. It genuinely amazed me that he had decided to take his time to do this.

I had heard of Lunas being maltreated and beaten before in the past by their alphas. But even though his reputation was so terrifying, I found myself feeling so free whenever I was in his presence.

Everywhere we went, everyone stared at me.

That made me feel a bit self-aware. I wished I could disappear and maybe escape their gazes, but of course, that wouldn't be possible.

And to make matters worse, Alpha Drake wasn't letting go of my hand. Even when I subtly tried to pull away, his grip got firmer.

I knew well that he was probably being nice for the sake of his people, but I was slowly beginning to hope, that maybe, just maybe, this was real and genuine.

He was not a monster from what I had seen, not in the way people had painted him. But maybe he was, and I was just lucky to not have seen that side of him yet.

After a long walk around Dark Thorne, we headed back to the palace, and the nervousness I had been feeling earlier in the day returned.

But it was worse this time, because I had a lot to worry about.

Alpha Drake and I had to share a chamber. I knew we were mates, and it was supposed to be normal, but this was going to be my first time ever being with a man, and it left a knot in my stomach.

I knew very well what sharing a room meant, which was the main reason why I was scared.

A lot of things could happen tonight, things I couldn't even bring myself to even speak about.

The fear of the terrifying personality I was warned about suddenly returned and my brain started creating a lot of possible scenarios.

What if he was being nice to me all along because he planned to strangle me in my sleep, or maybe sell me to another powerful alpha.

What if he wanted to consummate our mating ceremony immediately?

All of those thoughts terrified me, and stepping into that chamber suddenly felt like a lot to surrender.

I took a deep breath, praying hard to the moon goddess that she would let me survive the night. I would do anything to see the breaking of a new day.

Alpha Drake stepped inside behind me and shut the door.

My body stiffened as he did. I wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from me, and before I could summon the courage to ask, I felt his hand touch my back.

I froze on the spot, my heart pounding hard like it would burst out of my chest at any moment.