Chapter 4

I kicked open the doors to the great hall. A few elders who'd already surrendered were kneeling in the corner, and Jenna stood beside the rogues with a fawning smile.

In the middle of the hall, several rogue leaders had Leo pinned to the floor. Marcus's combat boot was on his back, and he drove a silver-coated dagger hard into Leo's thigh.

Leo's whole body convulsed. Sweat mingled with the blood streaming down him, but he clenched his teeth and refused to beg.

When he saw me walk in, his bloodshot eyes went wide.

Though his chest and shoulders were covered in wounds and a silver rod had shattered his spine, Leo threw off the wolves around him. Dragging his injured leg, he crawled toward me until he was between me and Marcus.

"Claire, why did you come back? Run, get out of here!"

I crouched down and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm not leaving. I can't sleep without you holding me."

Leo went still, then hugged me back tight with his bloody hands.

"You idiot. You're going to get yourself killed coming back."

Marcus walked over holding a silver blade and stomped hard on the hem of my couture lace dress.

"Leo, this is the human trash you'd die to protect?"

He bent down to look me over, his laughter full of contempt. "She's definitely hot. When you're dead, I'll take good care of her for you.

"As long as she strips and crawls around on the floor a few times to entertain my boys, I'll throw her a scrap of food."

"Don't you dare!" Leo roared and lunged at him, but Marcus kicked him back to the floor.

Marcus stepped on Leo's injured leg and patted his face with the flat of the blade. "Look at the state you're in. What are you going to fight me with?"

"If anyone touches her, I'll come back from the dead and rip out his throat!" Leo snarled.

Marcus laughed out loud, pulled five bloodstained wolf fangs from inside his coat, and slammed them down on the marble dining table.

"Save your strength and open your eyes. Look at what these are!"

The five fangs landed in a row, the gold markings on their surfaces still clear.

Marcus lifted his chin and announced to everyone, "I spent ten years digging through every patch of muck in Death Gorge to find all five sacred relics of the Silver Moon Court!"

He spread his arms, his expression arrogant. "The 3,000 Silver Moon wolves outside the castle answer to me now, and the whole werewolf world will be mine to rule!"

When Morton saw that, he scrambled over to grovel beside him, begging over and over. "Alpha Marcus, you can have Claire. Just spare the Crescent Moon pack, please!"

Jenna rushed to prove her loyalty too. "This woman only ever drags the Alpha down. She deserves to die. I'll lead the Crescent Moon pack to swear allegiance to you."

Leo looked up and saw the fangs. The last glimmer of hope went out in his eyes, but he still shielded me with his body.

My eyes landed on the dining table, and for a moment, I just stared.

Ten years ago, I'd grown tired of settling disputes between the packs, so I'd personally disbanded the Silver Moon Court, an order made up of the werewolf world's most elite warriors.

The day I left Death Gorge, I'd also decided the five fangs were too heavy and tossed them into a mud pit. All I left behind was the rule that whoever gathered the fangs could call the Court back.

I never expected a sucker to spend ten years fishing every one of them back out for me.

I poked my head out from behind Leo and carefully counted them. "Are you sure you didn't miss a single one?"

Marcus burst out laughing. "A human who can't even grow a full coat of fur thinks she's worthy of inspecting the Silver Moon relics?"

"It's been a while since I've seen them."

I sighed, reached out, and tapped the fang in the middle. All five fangs lit up with silver light at once.

My bloodline, sealed for ten years, broke free. As my eyes blazed gold, the full force of an Alpha queen's power swept through the castle.

It rolled across the entire estate.

The smug look on Marcus's face froze. He clutched his chest in disbelief, while Jenna and Morton were forced flat on the floor by the pressure, unable to even lift their heads.

At the same moment, outside the estate, 3,000 warriors of the Silver Moon Court retracted their claws in unison, lowered their heads, and bared their throats.

"Who told you to stop? Kill her!" Marcus screamed.

But not a single wolf obeyed his order.

The next moment, five captains of the Silver Moon Court's guard crashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, went right past Marcus, and came to stand in front of me.

They dropped to one knee.

A deafening roar followed, shaking the whole castle.

"Hail the First White Alpha Queen!"