เข้าสู่ระบบI stood on the palace steps, my hand resting on the knife strapped to my thigh, watching as our convoy assembled in the courtyard. Two days of feverish planning had brought us here – six black SUVs lined up like funeral carriages, ready to deliver justice to Silver Lake. My heart hammered against my ribs, an unsteady rhythm of anticipation and dread. I was returning to the place of my nightmares, but this time not as a servant girl with a mop and bucket. This time, I returned as Queen.
Lukas stood beside me, his presence solid and reassuring. The morning sun glinted off his dark hair, highlighting the silver strands at his temples. His face betrayed nothing, but through our bond, I felt his coiled tension – the barely restrained violence of Ares lurking just beneath the surface.
"Final check," he murmured, his voice pitched for my ears alone. "Are you certain you want to lead this?"
I met his eyes, finding concern ra
The forest welcomed us like old friends, dark pines parting before our paws as we led our pack through familiar paths. Ares reveled in the freedom, his joy pulsing through our shared consciousness as we bounded over fallen logs and wove between ancient trees. The supermoon bathed everything in silver light, turning shadows into liquid pools of darkness between patches of illumination. Ahead of me, Amelia's copper fur gleamed like living flame against the forest floor, Athena's presence so vibrant I could almost feel her alongside Ares in my mind. Behind us, our pack followed in formation, their various-coloured pelts flashing between trees as they honoured their King and Queen with their presence on this sacred night.We had been running for perhaps ten minutes when Amelia's voice slipped into my mind, our mating bond allowing her thoughts to reach me directly.'Lukas, something's wrong.' Her mental voice carried an edge I rarely heard from her. 'I don't like this.'I slowed my pace s
The evening progressed in a whirl of conversations, ceremonial toasts, and traditional dances performed by the royal entertainers. I found myself constantly watching the sky, anticipating the moment when the moon would rise fully above the trees, calling to the wolf within me.At eleven, parents began gathering their yawning children. Servants appeared with blankets and pillows, transforming a wing of the palace into an impromptu nursery where the youngest pack members could sleep while their parents participated in the midnight run."How are you holding up?" Lukas asked as we had a rare moment alone, his hand finding mine in the shadows between lanterns."Better than I expected," I admitted. "Though Athena is getting impatient."'Want to run,' she confirmed, pushing closer to the surface. 'Moon calls. Pack waits.'He chuckled, the sound low and intimate despite the crowded grounds around us. "Ares too. He's been prowling since sunset."
The dust had hardly settled from my coronation before another celebration loomed. Four days since I'd knelt before the kingdom, accepting the crown not as Luna but as Alpha Queen, and already the supermoon – the wolf moon – was upon us. I hadn't even realized its approach until Lukas mentioned the preparations over breakfast, his fingers tracing casual patterns on the back of my hand as he outlined the traditional festivities. My life had become a blur of ceremonies, judgments, and adaptations, each day bringing new challenges that the servant girl I'd been mere months ago could never have imagined facing."The wolf moon celebration?" I repeated, watching steam rise from my coffee cup. "That's tomorrow?"Lukas nodded, his ice-blue eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. "The first supermoon of the year. It's... significant." He hesitated, studying my face. "Normally there would be weeks of preparation, but with your coronation—""Everything got compressed," I finished for him. My coro
I rose from my knee, taking Amelia's hand and pressing my lips to her knuckles in a gesture that was both traditional and deeply personal. Her emerald eyes met mine, bright with emotion beneath the weight of her new crown. The platinum and gemstones caught the light from the chandeliers above, transforming her copper hair into a halo of fire. In that moment, with hundreds of witnesses still kneeling around us, I allowed myself a brief indulgence—a break from the carefully maintained mask of Alpha King to simply be a mate admiring his Queen."You're magnificent, my Queen," I murmured, my voice pitched for her ears alone.Her lips curved into a smile that combined triumph and vulnerability in equal measure. "We did it," she whispered back. "We actually did it."I nodded toward the still-kneeling assembly. "They're yours now. All of them."A shadow of something—responsibility, perhaps, or the weight of what we'd accomplished—passed briefly across her
I stepped through the massive doors into the throne room, feeling hundreds of eyes turn toward me. The space stretched before me like a midnight river—obsidian floors reflecting silver banners, crystal chandeliers casting prismatic light across ancient stone walls. At the far end stood Lukas, resplendent in his ceremonial attire, his crown catching light as he watched me begin my approach. Beside him, High Priest Edmundson waited in his traditional purple robes, his ancient face solemn with the weight of ceremony. The gathered crowd rose as one at my entrance, wolves who had once looked down on me as a servant now standing in respect as I walked the path to my coronation. Athena stirred within me, her presence warm and fierce. 'Our time,' she whispered. 'Our destiny.'Each step carried me farther from the girl I had been—the orphan rejected by her adoptive pack, the servant who had scrubbed these very floors on her hands and knees. I kept my chin high, my gaze focused on Lu
I moved through the silent corridors of the palace, the heavy crown resting familiar against my brow. The ceremonial cloak draped from my shoulders in perfect folds of black velvet, its weight a reminder of three decades of rule. Silver embroidery caught the morning light, ancient symbols of power and protection woven with meticulous care. Servants pressed themselves against the walls as I passed, bowing deeply, their eyes downcast in traditional deference. None would meet my gaze today—none but Amelia, who alone saw me as simply Lukas rather than Alpha King. She would soon walk these same halls to join me, to take her rightful place as crowned Queen rather than just my claimed mate. The thought warmed me, pride and anticipation flowing through my veins. I had left her in our chambers, putting the finishing touches on her preparation with Lily's help. The image of her copper hair catching the morning sunlight, her emerald eyes bright with nervous excitement—it stayed







