Chapter 4: Bound by fate

The weight of what had just transpired pressed down on me like an unrelenting storm. The whispers of the pack buzzed in my ears, their shock and fear thick in the air. My golden fur still gleamed under the moonlight, but the heat of Lucian’s gaze burned hotter.

His claim had been made, and now, there was no turning back.

Lucian took a step toward me, his movements fluid and controlled, a predator approaching what was his. I felt the magnetic pull between us, something primal and inescapable. My wolf stirred, but not in fear no, she recognized what he was. What we were meant to be.

Mine, his voice echoed in my mind, deep and possessive.

I hesitated. The logical part of me screamed to run, to resist, to fight against the fate I had hidden from for so long. But my wolf knew better. The bond had already begun to weave its threads around us, unbreakable, undeniable.

The pack remained frozen, waiting. Watching.

Lucian’s eyes flickered with something dark and unreadable as he addressed them. “Your Luna stands before you.”

The words sent shivers through the crowd. The murmurs grew louder, uncertainty and resistance laced in the hushed voices of my packmates. Some lowered their heads in submission, while others exchanged uneasy glances.

Then, my father, Beta Damien, stepped forward, his face an unreadable mask.

“I wish to speak.”

Lucian turned his gaze to him, expression neutral. “Speak.”

My father exhaled slowly. “She is my daughter,” he said, his voice steady but heavy with something unspoken. “But this revelation changes everything.”

I stiffened, my heart pounding. What was he about to do?

Damien’s eyes flickered to me. For the first time, there was no disgust in his gaze only hesitation and uncertainty. “The pack has believed her weak for years. Now, you ask us to see her as something else entirely. It is… a difficult shift.”

A low growl rumbled in Lucian’s throat. “Are you questioning my claim?”

Damien’s expression darkened. “No. I am questioning her readiness.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened, but before he could respond, I stepped forward.

“I am ready.”

The words came out steadier than I felt, but I forced myself to meet my father’s gaze. I had hidden for too long and allowed myself to be beaten down for too many years. That time was over.

A tense silence stretched between us before Damien gave a slow nod. “Then prove it.”

Lucian’s eyes flashed, his possessiveness flaring at the challenge, but I spoke before he could intervene. “I will.”

The Beta’s eyes lingered on me for a moment longer before he turned back to the pack. “Then Silvercrest acknowledges the Alpha King’s claim.”

It was done.

The murmurs of the pack quieted as the weight of the moment settled over them. One by one, they lowered their heads, some reluctantly, some with reverence.

Lucian stepped closer, his voice low so only I could hear. “You are mine now, Elizabeth. And I will never let you go.”

A shiver ran through me not from fear, but from something far more dangerous.

Desire.

And just like that, my fate was sealed.