Chapter 5: The Crown and the Clock

POV: Roxana

I was more than surprised when the maids came to my room to dress me up, saying that the Alpha has an announcement to make.

After the dressing up, the guards escorted me to the royal hall.

I thought I was just a mistress and it will continue that way till maybe after I give the Alpha a heir. But I was wrong, because the Alpha is about to make me his Luna.

And honestly, I don't know the reason why but I like it. And also, being a Luna means I have more authority than the Alpha’s two wives. So yesterday wasn't bad Afterall, I am not just a tool for the heir.

The morning sun blindingly filled the grand courtyard as hundreds of wolves stood in perfect, silent rows. 

I stood on the elevated royal platform, my breath catching in my throat as Magnus stepped up beside me. 

He wore his formal black alpha armor, looking every bit the brutal ruler the pack feared.

Magnus raised his hand, signaling the royal guards to step forward with the ancient silver crown. Victoria stood in the front row below us, her face twisted into a mask of pure rage, while Jaxon gripped Seraphine’s hand so tightly her knuckles were white. 

Magnus took the heavy crown and placed it firmly onto my head, his touch firm and public.

"Behold your supreme Luna!" Magnus’s deep voice boomed across the territory, sending a vibration straight through the stone beneath my feet. 

The wolves in the courtyard immediately dropped to one knee, a sea of bodies bowing down to me. I was officially crowned. Like I am the pack's official Luna. From the discarded Omega to The Pack’s Luna, the Wife not a mistress to the Alpha and soon to be mother of his Heir.

But the triumph somehow lasted less than a second, because someone decided to ruin it.

An old woman with long, matted gray hair and a black cloth tied over her eyes stepped onto the platform. It was Morana, the pack Seer, and her presence instantly chilled the warm morning air. She stopped right in front of me, her head tilting as if she could see right through my soul.

"The heavens demand a true bloodline to secure the throne from ruin," Morana proclaimed, her raspy voice carrying clearly over the silent crowd. "The spirits have set the clock, Luna Roxana. If you do not conceive a male heir within three months, you are a curse to this pack, and your head will be taken at the execution block."

My heart stopped completely, the heavy silver crown suddenly feeling like a crushing weight on my skull. 

My entire plan to slowly seduce Magnus and make him fall in love with me shattered into a million bloody pieces, although I don't think I still need his love for protection, but just to be on the safer side. 

And right now, I don't have time for romance; I had exactly ninety days to live.

As soon as the assembly was dismissed, panic took over my body, forcing me to slip away from the royal guards. 

I ran toward the dense woods bordering the pack lands, my lungs burning as I hurried to find my secret childhood friend, Hestia. She was a rogue witch living in hiding, and she was my only hope for a fertility remedy to force a pregnancy.

I pushed through the thick brambles, heading toward her hidden cabin, but the sudden sound of growling and shouting made me freeze behind a large oak tree. Peering around the trunk, my blood ran cold as I saw four royal guards in silver armor. They were brutally dragging a bruised and bleeding Hestia across the dirt.

Witches were strictly forbidden on pack territory, a crime that carried an immediate sentence of public burning or hanging. 

Hestia’s clothes were torn, her hands bound in heavy iron chains that suppressed her magic as the guards threw her to the ground. I gasped, covering my mouth to keep from screaming out loud.

Before I could move, one of the guards kicked Hestia in the ribs, forcing her to look up toward the treeline. Her eyes scanned the shadows and they somehow locked directly onto me, hiding behind the oak tree. 

Normally she wasn't supposed to see me, but she's a witch, so she saw me. And I somehow expected her to as for help, but instead, her expression twisted into a mask of pure, burning hatred.

"You betrayed me!" Hestia screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice dripping with venom as she glared at me, so I quickly hid myself well.

Wait a minute. She thought I had traded her location to Magnus to secure my own safety as the new Luna? 

"I curse you!! I hope the executioner's blade cuts deep!" I heard her scream towards my direction.

"Silence the witch!" the lead guard shouted, slamming the butt of his spear into the back of her head until she went limp. 

I stumbled backward into the bushes, my chest heaving as the guards began dragging her unconscious body back toward the pack mansion. 

My only ally now hated me, and my clock was ticking down. Worst of all, she might be thinking I betrayed her.