The Luna in Chains

Seraphina

Still in shock, I barely realized he was moving until Alpha Ragnar bent down in front of me.

The entire square went quiet.

His fingers wrapped around my chained hands. Firmly, then he pulled me gently to my feet.

Gasps exploded around us.

“Is he serious…?”

“No way…”

“The Alpha touched her…”

My heart slammed against my ribs. Why is he helping me up? Before I could steady myself, his arm slid around my shoulder and he guided me forward. Not dragged, not shoved, just guided through the crowd. Every step felt unreal.

Whispers followed us like smoke. “That’s the slave…”

“The Crescent Moon killer…”

“He can’t mean this…”

We climbed the stone platform together and he pulled me to his side. My chains clinked loudly.

Then Ragnar’s voice cut through. “Like I said,” he said calmly, “Seraphina will be my Bond Slave Luna. From now henceforth….”

“RAGNAR!” The shout cracked like thunder.

Everyone turned.

An elder pushed forward from the crowd, robes swaying angrily.

Elder Markus.

“What do you think you are doing?” he barked.

More elders stood up. “We asked for a Luna,” a female elder snapped, “not a bond slave Luna!”

Ragnar slowly removed his arm from my shoulder. He didn’t look bothered. Didn’t look angry. He just looked… bored.

“You told me,” he said lazily, “to choose a Luna before the next full moon. I chose one. How is that a problem?”

“We meant a Luna from SilverShade!” Elder Clara shouted. “Not one from our enemies!”

“Well said!” Voices rose immediately, sharp and overlapping.

“Yes!”

“She’s not one of us!”

“This is madness!”

Elder Clara stepped forward, turning away from Ragnar and facing the warriors instead.

“If this concerns the future of our pack,” she called out, voice ringing across the square, “then the warriors should speak too. You are SilverShade’s protectors. Tell us, is this right or wrong?”

The crowd shifted. All eyes moved to the warriors lining the front rows. Big men. Scarred. Hardened fighters. The ones who bled for this pack.

For a moment… none of them spoke. Several glanced at Alpha Ragnar first. Like prey watching a predator.

Clara’s lips thinned. “Speak! Or have you all suddenly lost your tongues?”

Pressure built. Wolves from the back began shouting.

“Say something!”

“You guard this pack!”

“This concerns you too!”

“Do you want a slave as Luna?”

One warrior finally stepped forward. Gray haired and broad shoulders. He cleared his throat. “Alpha Ragnar has never led us wrong,” he said slowly. “If he chose her… then he has a reason. I stand with the Alpha.”

A few nodded.

“Yes. Ragnar knows best.”

“We follow the Alpha.”

But not everyone agreed. Another warrior scoffed. “That’s blind loyalty.”

He looked straight at the elders. “In truth? This looks bad. Other packs will laugh at us. A slave as Luna?” He shook his head. “They’ll call SilverShade weak.”

“That’s right!” someone yelled.

“We’ll be mocked!”

“They’ll say we couldn’t even find a proper she wolf!”

A third warrior crossed his arms. “Strength is our law. Not pity. This choice makes no sense.”

“And what if she betrays us?” another added. “She’s Crescent Moon born!”

Arguments clashed.

“Alpha knows best!”

“No, this is wrong!”

“It’s disgraceful!”

“It’s strategy!”

“It’s humiliation!”

The noise tangled together until nothing made sense anymore. Everyone is talking. No one is listening. And slowly… Murmurs spread.

The crowd grew louder and louder until it felt like the square itself was shaking. I kept my head down. This wasn’t my place. I didn’t belong here. I shouldn’t even be standing on this platform.

Then…

“Enough.” One word.

The noise died instantly.

Ragnar folded his arms, staring down at the elders like they were children.

“I have made my choice,” he said. “I didn’t fancy any other wolves. No one caught my eye except Seraphina.”

My breath caught. Except… me?

“That means,” he continued coldly, “she will be SilverShade’s Luna.”

“A slave cannot become our Luna!” Markus roared. “It has never happened in history and it will not happen now!”

The pack erupted again. “She’s a slave!”

“This is madness!”

“She’s cursed!”

Another elder stepped forward. “We already chose Cassandra as your Luna. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes!” the crowd answered in unison.

My eyes lifted slightly. Cassandra stood near the council seats, chin raised proudly.

“She is strong,” the elder continued. “Noble blood. Loyal to SilverShade. She would unite the warriors and civilians. The pack already sees her as your match.”

For a second, I thought Ragnar might give in. It would be easier, cleaner and logical. Instead…

He laughed. “Cassandra?” he said. The way he said her name sounded like an insult. “She isn’t fit to lead anything.”

Silence fell.

Ragnar’s gaze sharpened. “She makes decisions based on emotion. When she’s angry, she beats slaves to calm herself.”

Murmurs started.

“She has killed more maids and omegas than some warriors have killed enemies.”

Gasps.

“No…” someone whispered.

Ragnar turned his head toward the council seats. “Councilor Festus,” he said coolly. “Am I wrong?”

All eyes snapped to Cassandra’s father. He didn’t speak, didn’t argue. He just… looked away.

The crowd inhaled sharply. That silence said everything.

“This,” Ragnar said, voice hardening, “is the secret her father has hidden for years. SilverShade has lost countless slaves because of her temper.”

Cassandra’s face drained of color. She stared at the ground. For the first time since I arrived here… She looked small.

The elders exchanged uneasy glances. No one defended her. No one could.

Then Ragnar spoke again. “With that,” he said, “tell me…who else fits the position?”

No one answered.

My heart pounded painfully.

He wasn’t done. “And Crescent Moon has already sent proof,” he added. “Seraphina did not kill her Alpha.”

My head snapped up.

“I conducted my own investigation,” he continued. “Background checks. Records. Witness trails.”

His eyes flicked toward me briefly.

“She has no crimes. No history of violence. Nothing. Except the false charge they forced on her.”

The world tilted. He… investigated me?

The entire square went dead silent.No whispers, no protests. Nothing. Just hundreds of wolves staring at me like they were seeing me for the first time.

Not a murderer, not a curse. Just…Me.Still in chains, still shaking, still terrified. And somehow… Standing beside the most feared Alpha alive.

Ragnar’s voice rang out one final time. “So my decision stands.” His gaze swept the elders. Daring them. “Seraphina is the only one fit to be Luna.”

The silence that followed felt heavy and everyone bowed their head. And I realized something terrifying. He wasn’t asking, he was declaring, and no one could stop him.