Chapter Five

Kelsey’s POV

The ancient Moon Altar behind the grand throne kept glowing, casting a brilliant silver light across the entire Council Hall.

The light was so bright it washed out the shadows on the walls, making the old stone look like it was carved from solid ice.

Every single elder, guard, and priest in the room dropped down onto their knees, their foreheads touching the cold floor.

Nobody seemed to know why this was happening. I stood there alone in the middle of the hall, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I was terrified because I thought I had accidentally committed another high crime, like breaking some sacred magical object just by standing near it.

"She is cursed!" an old lord shrieked from his knees, pointing a trembling finger up at me. "The altar has never reacted to a common human! She is using dark blood magic!"

"She's a witch! Kill her now!" another elder yelled, scrambling up from the stone. "We must lock her away before she corrupts the entire palace!"

"She is far too dangerous to be kept alive!" a third voice joined in, echoing off the high stone arches. "Cancel this year's breeding completely until we can purge her influence!"

I listened to every single awful word echoing around the giant chamber.

My hands shook at my sides as I realized I was literally one vote away from being dragged outside and executed on the spot.

The Council erupted into chaos, dozens of voices screaming over each other, all demanding my blood.

The elders clearly expected King Zeus to step forward and agree with them, to order the guards to pull out their swords and end my life right then and there.

Instead, the King slowly lowered his hand from his still-bleeding nose. He looked around at the frantic crowd, his dark eyes completely calm.

"No," he said.

That single, simple word cut straight through the deafening noise like a sharp blade. The entire hall went totally silent again. Everyone was completely shocked, including me. I stared at him, my brow furrowing in total confusion.

Why was the terrifying Lycan King suddenly standing up for a human as weird as me?

He stayed silent, saying nothing even as everybody seemed to have opinions completely different from the other. 

"Your Majesty, you cannot be serious!" Elder Vance shouted, stepping forward with his hands raised in desperation. "If you refuse to execute this creature, then you must officially reject her!"

"Choose another Candidate!" another lord demanded, pointing toward the doors. "There are dozens of noble women waiting in the living quarters who are actually worthy of your bloodline!"

Then, Elder Thomas stepped closer to the stairs of the throne, twisting the knife as hard as he could.

"Your Majesty... another failed year means the royal bloodline ends forever," Thomas said, his voice dropping low and heavy. "The kingdom will fall into ruin, and our enemies will destroy us. You must think of your people."

I was almost sure he'd throw me out. But he didn't give them an immediate answer. Instead, he turned his cold gaze back to the Head Physician and the old High Priestess.

"One more test," Zeus commanded softly. "That'll determine whether she stays or goes."

They rushed me into a quiet, heavily guarded side room away from the yelling elders. There were no crowds this time, just the High Priestess, the physician, and King Zeus standing near the closed doors like a silent shadow. The Priestess brought out a heavy silver bowl filled with sacred water and placed it on a stone pedestal.

"Extend your hand, child," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly as she held a tiny silver blade.

I didn't argue. I held out my hand, letting her make a small cut on my index finger. A single drop of my red blood fell into the center of the silver bowl. The second the blood touched the water, it didn't dissolve or spread out like normal liquid.

Instead, the water in the bowl instantly turned a deep, shimmering gold, swirling around in violent, tight circles as if an invisible storm was spinning inside the dish. The metallic smell of rain and wild pine filled the small room so strongly it made my head spin.

Nobody knew what it meant. The High Priestess backed away from the pedestal, clutching her wooden staff tightly against her chest as her jaw dropped open.

"I have never seen this before in my entire life," she whispered, looking between the golden water and my face with awe and fear. "The sacred bowl has never produced such a reaction."

The mystery stayed wide open, leaving me even more confused and terrified than I was five minutes ago. A few minutes later, they marched me back into the grand Council Hall. The elders were waiting in agonizing suspense, sitting up straight in their stone benches as we entered.

Zeus walked past me and I quietly followed behind him, his long black coat sweeping against the stone floor as he slowly climbed the wide stairs back to his grand throne. He didn't sit down. He stood right in front of the stone seat, turning his tall body around to face the entire room. His dark eyes swept past all the lords, past the priestess, and locked directly onto my face.

"Prepare the contract," Zeus commanded, his deep voice carrying through every corner of the huge hall.

A suffocating silence fell over the chamber. One elder near the front leaned forward, his voice barely a quiet whisper. "Your Majesty...?"

Zeus never looked away from my eyes, staring at me like he was binding my very soul to his.

"She will serve as my surrogate," he declared coldly.

I completely froze in my tracks, my jaw dropping open as the words registered in my brain.

"...What?" I gasped out loud.

The entire council exploded into utter madness once again. Lords jumped up from their seats, waving their arms around in outrage.

"She is only a human!" someone shouted from the top bench. "She will not survive the pregnancy! It is suicide for the Crown!"

King Zeus said nothing as he just kept his dark eyes fixed on me, his voice cutting through the noise.

"Then pray she’s enough.”