FOUR

Chapter 4

Third person’s POV

The entire hall remained in stunned silence long after Prince Rafael uttered the words, “You’re the one I choose.”

Noble daughters stood frozen with disbelief and humiliation. Whispering erupted across the hall as powerful Alphas and their mates exchanged stunned looks. Even the warriors stationed near the walls looked unsettled by what they had just witnessed.

The future Alpha King of the largest pack in the kingdom had rejected every noblewoman presented before him.

For a servant girl.

Meanwhile, Nora stood completely still with a silver tray still clutched tightly in her trembling hands as though she could not process what was happening either.

But Rafael barely noticed the outrage around him. His countenance was calm as though selecting an omega maid as his future Luna was nothing more than another political choice.

His attention remained fixed entirely on her, his mate.

Even now, standing across the crowded hall in a plain servant uniform, she still carried the same scent that had nearly driven his wolf mad the night before when she crashed into him at the courtyard outside the Luna Selection ceremony. Her lips had trembled before she kissed him first, reckless heartbreak shining in her tear-filled eyes as though she had already lost too much to care about consequences anymore.

He had spent years controlling every part of himself. But the second Nora collided with him outside the palace grounds last night, that control had nearly shattered completely.

The full moon always made his wolf restless. And his mate only made the effect worse. He still remembered the possessiveness that had consumed him the moment he realized who she was. His wolf had wanted to mark her immediately, claim her and take her with him where nobody else could hurt her again.

The urge had been nearly unbearable. Yet somehow, despite how unstable he felt that night, he never once wanted to hurt her. Especially when he saw the bruises on her body.

Rafael could still remember the sound of her breathing afterward while she slept beside him. For a long time, he had sat at the edge of the bed staring at the untouched skin of her neck while his wolf raged inside him to claim her properly.

But Rafael knew better than anyone how dangerous weakness could be inside the royal family.

Especially with his father watching him.

The Alpha King had spent years searching for flaws in Rafael, waiting patiently for a reason to strip him of his position as heir to the throne. Losing control over a mate during a full moon was a mistake he couldn’t afford to make, especially when she was an omega and he knew what being an omega mated to an Alpha did to his mother.

So before sunrise, Rafael left.

It was the first time in years he had walked away from something he wanted. He fully intended to bury the memory and continue preparing for the Luna Selection ceremony exactly as planned. Because despite everything, Rafael still needed a Luna.

He hadn’t expected to see her again.

The second Rafael saw her carrying a tray among the other maids, he was stunned but tried his best to remain composed. That woman? He could recognize her by her scent immediately. What was she doing here?

At first, he thought perhaps she had somehow come looking for him, but the truth became obvious almost immediately. The bruises hidden beneath her makeup, the exhaustion in her eyes, the submissive way she kept her head lowered around nobles.

He realized in that moment that she must be among the new maids brought into the royal packhouse. And Rafael knew exactly what happened to servant girls trapped inside royal walls under rulers like his father.

The Alpha King treated maids as disposable entertainment, especially omegas that were too powerless to fight back. Rafael had witnessed enough over the years to know how ugly the palace truly was beneath its polished appearance. The girls disappeared quietly. Some ended up broken. Some were assaulted by drunk nobles who faced no consequences because of their bloodline. While others simply vanished and no one ever questioned it.

The thought of Nora becoming trapped in that system made something savage rise inside him instantly. Rafael rarely struggled to control his expression, but seeing her standing there as a servant inside his father’s court pushed him dangerously close to anger.

Because she was his, even if she did not know it, even if he had walked away from her. Rafeal knew that if he allowed her to remain a maid inside the royal palace, eventually someone would hurt her or perhaps even kill her.

Just the thought of it made his chest grumble. However, he still couldn’t expose himself, especially to her. So instead, he concealed his scent carefully before the ceremony began, masking the familiar traces Nora might recognize from the night they spent together.

One by one, daughters of noble bloodlines were presented before him, each more beautiful and politically advantageous than the last, but Rafael barely listened to any of them. His attention remained fixed elsewhere entirely. On the omega girl trying desperately to disappear into the background.

When he finally stopped the ceremony and called her forward, outrage spread across the room almost immediately, but Rafael ignored every whisper and questioning look. What mattered was keeping her alive. Even if she hated him eventually. Even if she never learned the truth.

Rafael looked down at Nora now as she stood frozen before him, confusion and fear swimming in her big innocent eyes while the entire royal court watched her like she had committed some unforgivable crime simply by being chosen.

This was the only way he could protect her, he convinced himself.