Chapter 10 Public Humiliation

Gasps shatter the heavy silence as Selena Frost emerges smugly from the shadows. Publicly, Alpha Prince Kael accepts her as his chosen partner before the entire kingdom. My father and Marcus are blocked by guards, leaving me standing utterly alone as the weight of a thousand mocking stares burns into my skin.

Gasps ripple through the crowd, followed by a suffocating, heavy silence.

Selena Frost, the Alpha King's daughter, steps out from the shadows, a smug, victorious smile on her lips.Kael extends his hand to her, publically accepting her as his chosen partner before the entire kingdom.

My father and Marcus try to reach me, but the guards block their path, keeping the disgraced family separate.

I stand alone in the center of the clearing, the weight of a thousand mocking and pitying stares burning into my skin.

A sudden cold draft sweeps across the open stone courtyard, whipping my linen dress against my trembling legs. The scent of sweetberries—the ones Kael used to share with me behind the old oak tree—feels like an ancient memory from another lifetime. The boy who promised I would be his Luna is gone. In his place stands a cold war hero who traded a lifelong vow for political expediency, discarding me to secure power.

I swallow hard, feeling the physical agony of a broken expectation pulsing through my chest. The crowd whispers, their sharp comments cutting through the crisp mountain air like cold daggers. Some stare with raw, malicious amusement, glad to see a Beta’s daughter humbled before royalty. Others avert their gaze out of uncomfortable pity. Kael doesn't look back at me once; his fingers remain firmly locked around Selena's as he leads her toward the high altar to seal their grand alliance.

Gasps ripple through the crowd, followed by a suffocating, heavy silence. The air turns bitter cold, thick with the scent of cheap perfumes and damp earth. I stand frozen, every eye in the sacred clearing burning directly into my exposed skin. The collective stare feels like a physical weight, crushing the remaining breath out of my lung

Selena Frost steps out from the shadows, a smug, victorious smile on her lips. Her dark eyes linger on me for a fraction of a second, filled with sharp triumph. She moves with a sickening, slow grace toward the raised stone dais.

Kael extends his hand to her, publically accepting her as his chosen partner before the entire kingdom. He does not look back at me. He doesn't glance down at where I stand, trembling, trying to keep my knees from buckling under the fresh shock of the broken bond. The golden light in his eyes is completely gone, replaced by the flat, cold ambition of a prince who just sold his soul for political gain.

"Aurora!"

My father and Marcus try to reach me, but the guards block their path, keeping the disgraced family separate. Spears cross in front of my brother's chest, forcing him back. Marcus snarls, his claws extending as he tries to throw his weight against the iron shields. My father looks ten years older in a single moment, his head bowed, his hands shaking at his sides. They are being pushed toward the perimeter, isolated, branded as outsiders in the very land they served for decades.

I stand alone in the center of the clearing, the weight of a thousand mocking and pitying stares burning into my skin. Whispers break through the heavy silence like the hissing of serpents. People I grew up with, warriors I shared meals with, turn their faces away or exchange cruel sneers behind their hands. The humiliation burns worse than the physical tear in my chest, hot and suffocating.

Do they think I am weak? Did Kael truly believe I would fall to my knees and weep for a man who traded a lifetime of loyalty for a crown?

I swallow the copper taste of bitter blood where I bit the inside of my lip. I force my spine to straighten, locking my knees into place. I refuse to give them the show they want. I stand tall in the direct center of their contempt, my eyes fixed on the cold blue sky above, holding onto the tiny, flickering ember of my own dignity.