MasukA year ago, Kei mother met her true mate.His name is Alden.He had already lost his first chance mate years ago during childbirth. She died bringing their son into the world. He never remarried. Not for five years. Not ten. Not twenty or thirty. In a world where men were once encouraged to replace a dead mate quickly, to secure the line and the legacy, Alden chose to stay alone. He made a promise to himself that he would remain alone for thirty years to honor the woman he lost.His son is almost Kei's age now.That alone still amazes me.He raised his son himself. He worked. He cared for his family. And when he finally found his true mate in Kei's mother, he didn't demand anything from her. He didn't push. He simply waited.Kei's mother hasn't accepted him yet She told me once, her voice quiet and firm, "I know he seems like a good man, Ravelle. But knowing a man is good and allowing him into your life are two different things."I didn't argue. She deserves all the time she needs.A
I wake up thinking about the little boy sleeping in the next room.My son.The word still feels foreign on my tongue even after two years. Sometimes I'll watch him sleep, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, and I'll trace the shape of his nose, the stubborn set of his jaw, and I'll wonder how I managed to give birth to a tiny version of Kei. A perfect, miniature copy of the man I love.Fuck, I wanted a girl.Not because I have anything against boys. I don't. It's not that simple.I just wanted a daughter. A girl who could grow up knowing she never had to shrink herself, never had to make herself smaller because she was born female. A girl who could sit on this throne one day and never hear a whisper that she wasn't strong enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. A girl who could continue what I started, who could carry this torch forward without the scars I carry.Instead, the Moon Goddess gave me a son.And sometimes, when I look at him, a cold fear snakes through me. I w
For a moment, neither of us speaks. His face is pale, his eyes wide with a terror I have never seen in him before. Not for himself. Not for the kingdom he lost to me. But for me."Father?""Don't argue," His voice comes out rough, strained.He lifts me into his arms, cradling me against his chest. I stare at him, completely bewildered. "Put me down.""No.""I can walk.""You can barely stand." His tone is firm, but there is no cruelty in it. No command meant to break me. Just raw, desperate concern.He starts carrying me toward the exit, his long strides eating up the distance. Turning to the guards, he barks, "Call the hospital. Tell them to prepare for the King. Now."The guards hurry ahead, their boots pounding on the stone floor. I stare at my father's face, at the lines of worry etched around his eyes, at the set of his jaw. My mother was right. Maybe he really is changing.For months she had been relentless, her voice a constant refrain in my ear. "The cell changed him, Ravelle
The class ends almost an hour later. I remain seated as the men begin filing out stiffly, their faces a mix of irritation, thoughtful contemplation, and outright embarrassment. A few of them won't meet my eyes as they pass.The young warrior, the one who asked about children, stops beside my chair, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Your Majesty?"I look up. "Yes?"He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I just... I wanted to thank you.""For what?"He glances toward the door, where the other men are disappearing down the hall. "My mate and I, we argued all the time. About everything.""And?"He lets out a short, humorless laugh. "I used to think winning arguments was my responsibility. My right, as her mate."I raise an eyebrow. "What changed?"He smiles, a little awkwardly. "I listened to her. Actually listened. Not just waiting for my turn to talk.""And?"He shrugs. "Turns out she's usually right."I can't help but laugh. "Usually?"He grins, his eyes lighting up. "Almost al
Two months later, the palace has learned a new word.Accountability.I like the way it tastes on my tongue. I like the way it makes stubborn men sweat, the way it makes their polished armor feel a size too tight.The class used to have another name.The Lunar Virtue Conclave. A place where young women were taught to lower their eyes, soften their voices, and obey their mates — to accept whatever life gave them without complaint, and to make themselves smaller so the men around them could feel bigger.I remember sitting through those lessons, the air thick with cloying perfume and unspoken resentment. I remember Matron Elswyth's cane tapping a relentless rhythm against the marble floor while she explained that silence was a woman's greatest virtue, that ambition was a sin, that a woman's highest calling was to be a pleasing, unobtrusive shadow to her mate.Now the class has a new name.The Lunar Conduct Assembly.And the students are men.I stand outside the heavy oak doors for a mome
His eyes slowly rise to mine, haunted and defeated."Watch."He says nothing, his jaw working.I gesture toward the man being punished, his cries growing weaker. "This is what happens when men forget their place."His jaw tightens, a muscle twitching in his cheek.I smile, but there is nothing warm in it. "Does that sound familiar?"He looks away, his gaze dropping to his hands."Don't." My voice hardens, the warmth gone. "You made me watch this."His eyes return to mine, a flicker of the old fire in them, quickly extinguished."You sat right here and told me this was the way of the world." I point toward the clearing, at the scene playing out. "You told me women needed punishment because we were too emotional. Too stubborn. Too difficult." I pause, letting the words hang in the air. "Now you're going to sit here and learn."My father swallows, his throat moving convulsively.The punishment continues, each thud of the wood a steady beat of the new order I've established. The crowd is
I pull out the omega uniform from under my bed—plain brown cloth, shapeless, loose, ugly, and absolutely perfect for hiding the red dress beneath it. No one looks twice at omegas. Not in a palace that employs hundreds.I braid my hair up, tuck it beneath a dull omega scarf, then close my eyes to co
The Lunar Virtue Conclave is unbearable even before the gossip begins—or the class itself.The hall hums the way it always does: too many voices layered on top of one another, laughter sharpened with envy, silk skirts whispering across polished stone floors.I sit near the back, posture perfect, ex
Revulsion claws up my throat the moment I see him.Of all the men in this cursed kingdom, he is the one who walks like the world should kneel simply because he was born male. Always lingering too close, always wearing that smirk I’ve been tempted far too many times to wipe clean off his face. He ac
The first scream splits the clearing before the whip ever lands, and I don’t flinch. I learned long ago not to.The woman is on her knees in the dirt, wrists bound behind her back, hair torn loose and matted with sweat and dust. Her mate stands behind her, chest puffed out, jaw locked in righteous







