The Truth Behind Luna Ross

No one moved.

Thousands of wolves remained on their knees. Warriors who had been fighting moments ago now stood frozen, staring at the woman in the center of the battlefield.

Ross.

The Luna they had mocked. The woman they had called defective. The wife they had whispered about behind closed doors. The woman who had supposedly possessed no wolf. Now every wolf in the kingdom was bowing before her.

Knox couldn't breathe. His eyes remained fixed on Ross. "Who are you?" he asked.

Ross looked at him.

For two years, Knox had spoken to her as though she were beneath him. Now his voice carried something she had never heard from him before. Uncertainty.

Ross turned toward the kneeling enemy Alpha. "Tell them."

The man lowered his head. "Your Majesty is the last living descendant of the First Wolf Queen."

A murmur swept through the battlefield.

Knox's expression hardened. "The First Wolf Queen?"

The enemy Alpha nodded. "Before the modern kingdoms existed, before the packs were divided and ruled by separate Alphas, there was one throne." He looked at Ross with unmistakable fear and reverence. “The throne of the First Wolf Queen." Ross remained silent. The enemy Alpha continued. "Her bloodline was believed to have disappeared centuries ago. But it did not." His gaze moved toward Knox. "She survived."

Knox stared at Ross. "You..." His voice failed.

Ross finally spoke. "My ancestors ruled this land long before your kingdom had a name." The wind moved through her hair. "Before there were Alpha Kings, there was one royal bloodline. The First Wolf Queen didn't rule wolves through fear." Ross lifted her hand slightly. "They obeyed because her blood carried the oldest authority among our kind."

A warrior swallowed. "But everyone receives a wolf."

Ross looked at him. "I don't."

The warrior looked confused. "Why?"

"Because I was never meant to have an ordinary wolf."

She looked across the battlefield. Every wolf lowered its head further. "I command them."

Knox's stomach dropped. Memories came rushing back. Ross stood silently while servants ignored her. Ross being mocked at dinner. Ross being shoved against a wall. Ross sitting alone while he walked past her without a word. Ross looked at him after he called her defective. He had believed she was powerless. She had simply allowed him to believe it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Knox asked.

Ross's eyes met his. "Would you have believed me?" He said nothing. "Would you have treated me differently?" Again, silence. Ross smiled faintly. "That's what I thought."

The enemy Alpha bowed his head. “Her identity was hidden from the world."

"Why?" Nash asked.

The enemy Alpha looked toward him. "Because when the First Wolf Queen's bloodline became known, those who wanted the throne began hunting every descendant." His eyes returned to Ross. "Her family spent generations hiding her existence. If her identity had been discovered, every ambitious Alpha in the region would have come for her."

Nash looked around at the kneeling wolves. "That plan worked extremely well."

Ross almost smiled. Almost. The enemy Alpha continued. "Her father hid her among ordinary werewolves. He allowed the world to believe she was simply a girl who had failed to receive her wolf."

Knox stared at Ross. "Your father knew?"

"Yes."

"And he still married you to me?"

Ross nodded. "Because he needed an alliance."

Knox's face tightened. Suddenly, his words from two nights ago came back to him: I only need this marriage until her father's alliance is secured. He had thought the marriage was useful because of her father's political influence. He had never imagined he was sitting beside the woman whose bloodline could unite every wolf kingdom. "How long?" Knox asked quietly. "How long have you known?"

"Since I was a child."

His eyes widened. "Then the entire time..."

"Yes."

Knox looked toward his warriors. His warriors looked back at him. None of them knew what to do. Their Alpha had spent two years treating the most powerful woman in their kingdom as though she were worthless. And now his wolf was kneeling before her.

Knox looked down at his own hands. He remembered every cruel word. Every cold glance. Every time he had allowed someone to disrespect her. Every night he had left her alone. He had believed he was punishing a weak wife. Instead, he had humiliated a queen. He looked up. "Ross.” She didn't answer. "I could have..." He stopped.

He couldn't finish the sentence. He could have been destroyed. If Ross had wanted revenge, she could have commanded every wolf beneath his rule. She could have turned his warriors against him. She could have taken his kingdom without drawing a sword. And she had done none of it. She had simply endured.

Nash slowly approached Ross, still holding his wounded arm. "So..." he said carefully, "does this mean you're technically above Knox?" Ross looked at him. Nash glanced at the kneeling wolves. "Because if so, I would like to formally apologize for every time I complained about being his Beta."

A few stunned warriors actually laughed.

Even Ross couldn't stop the small smile that touched her lips. Knox noticed. But for once, he said nothing. Ross turned toward him. Their eyes met. "You wanted a wife who knew her place." Knox's chest tightened. Ross stepped closer. Her voice remained calm. "Unfortunately for you..." She turned away. "... you married your queen."

Knox stood motionless as she walked past him.

For the first time in his life, the Alpha King understood what it meant to stand before someone he could never command.

And his wife had just become the most powerful person in his kingdom.