ChapterThree: The Moon Assembly

​I had no memory of how I escaped the council hall.

​One moment, I was standing beneath the suffocating weight of hundreds of staring eyes. The next, I was floating through the endless, echoing corridors of the palace like a ghost.

​The parchment confirming my pregnancy was still clutched in my fist. It was crumpled and creased now, a physical manifestation of how violently my world had just shaken.

​Slowly, I lowered my gaze to my stomach.

​"Our baby..." A single, hot tear slipped down my cheek, splashing onto the wrinkled paper. "No matter what happens... I will protect you. I promise."

​A sharp knock shattered the silence of my chambers.

​"Luna?" It was Mira, my personal maid, her voice trembling. "You've been summoned."

​I scrambled to wipe away the dampness on my cheeks, desperately swallowing the sob rising in my throat. "Summoned?"

​"Yes, Luna. The Moon Assembly begins in less than an hour. Every ranked wolf in the territory has already gathered in the courtyard."

​An hour.

​Kael wasn't even going to afford me the dignity of a private conversation before making his announcement. Not as his wife. Not as his Luna. Not after three years of shared breathing, shared duties, and shared bedsheets. He was discarding me like an expired contract.

​The Moon Assembly Grounds were completely suffocating.

​Thousands of wolves stood shoulder-to-shoulder beneath the cold, silver radiance of the full moon. The pack elders occupied the high stone platform, their expressions grim, while the Beta, Gamma, and elite commanders stood in rigid, uneasy rows below them.

​The air vibrated with a frantic, low hum of whispers.

​"Why did the Alpha call a midnight assembly?"

"I heard the woman who went missing years ago has come back from the dead."

"They say she's Alpha Kael's true mate. His first love."

"Poor Luna Lyra..."

"I heard she's about to be stripped of her title."

​Every whispered word felt like a silver blade plunging into my chest, dragging across my ribs.

​Yet, I forced my chin up. I walked onto the sacred stone platform, the silk train of my white Luna gown fluttering in the crisp evening breeze. As I passed, a few loyal wolves dipped their heads in deep respect. Others just stared at me with heavy, suffocating pity.

​I despised their pity. I would rather they hate me.

​A sudden, booming blast of the ceremonial horn echoed through the square. The thousands gathered instantly fell dead silent.

​Alpha Kael appeared from the shadows of the grand staircase. He wore his formal ceremonial robes of midnight black, heavily embroidered with silver wolves that seemed to glint under the moonlight.

​And directly behind him walked Seraphina.

​She wasn't dressed like a rescued prisoner. She wasn't dressed like a guest. She wore a sweeping, crimson gown cut identically to a Luna’s ceremonial robes.

​Sharp gasps rippled through the massive crowd. My fingernails dug so deeply into my palms that I nearly broke the skin.

​Kael ascended the steps to the platform without casting a single glance in my direction. Seraphina glided to a halt right beside him, close enough that their shoulders brushed.

​The High Elder stepped forward, bowing deeply. "My Alpha, the Moon Assembly awaits your command."

​Kael gave a single, firm nod. His dark, impenetrable eyes swept across the sea of his subjects.

​"Five years ago..." His deep, commanding Alpha voice carried effortlessly across the silent square. "I believed the woman I loved had been torn from this world."

​He reached out, his large hand wrapping around Seraphina’s delicate fingers.

​My heart didn't just break; it turned to ash.

​"But the Moon Goddess has seen fit to return her to me," Kael announced.

​The crowd erupted into a frenzy of hushed chatter. Seraphina lowered her head with practiced shyness, playing the part of the fragile, innocent survivor perfectly.

​Kael raised his other hand, instantly silencing the pack. He didn't hesitate as he continued. "I married Lyra because my pack required a Luna to maintain stability."

​Every word felt like a physical blow, stealing the oxygen from my lungs.

​"I respected her," Kael paused, his voice completely flat. "But I never loved her."

​The silence that followed was absolute. Suffocating.

​Every single wolf in the courtyard was staring directly at me. I could feel hundreds of eyes burning into my skin as my dignity, my devotion, and my three years of sacrifice were stripped away, sentence by agonizing sentence.

​Kael's gaze finally shifted to me. There wasn't a flicker of warmth, regret, or even basic empathy in his dark eyes. "You have fulfilled your duties well, Lyra. But this marriage... ends tonight."

​The ground seemed to tilt violently beneath my feet.

​No... Please, not like this. Not in front of everyone.

​A wave of uneasy murmurs spread through the crowd. Some looked horrified by the brutality of it. Beta Rowan clenched his jaw so tightly the muscle ticked, looking as though he wanted to step forward and object. But no one challenged a ruling Alpha. No one dared.

​Desperate, I forced my frozen lips to move. "Kael... I—"

​He raised a sharp hand, cutting me off before the first syllable could fully leave my mouth. "You will have your opportunity to speak," he said, his tone utterly devoid of emotion. "But first... bring me the Luna's crest."

​The High Elder froze, his old eyes widening. "My Alpha..."

​"That was an order."

​With trembling hands, the elderly wolf walked toward me. Tears welled in the old man's eyes as he reached for the silver, crescent-shaped brooch fastened over my heart—the sacred, irreplaceable symbol of the Luna.

​"I... I am so sorry, child," the elder whispered, his voice cracking so low only I could hear.

​My vision blurred into a smear of moonlight and shadows. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

​But as the elder’s shaking fingers unclasped the heavy silver crest from my dress, a sudden, blinding pain shot straight through my lower abdomen.

​A gasp caught in my throat, and I instinctively pressed my hand flat against my stomach.

​A primal, suffocating wave of pure terror washed over me. Not now... Please, Moon Goddess, not my baby.

​The sharp cramp vanished as quickly as it had struck, but it left my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. The physical reminder of the child inside me shattered my paralysis. I had to tell him. Right now. Before he finalized this nightmare. Before he destroyed our family.

​"Kael..." My voice trembled, thick with unshed tears. "I have something important to tell you. You need to listen to me."

​He looked down at me, his expression remaining an unreadable block of ice.

​But before I could force the word pregnant past my lips, Seraphina tilted her head. Her emerald eyes locked onto mine, and a sickening, triumphant smile spread across her face.

​She knew.