MasukAfter the Silvermoon pack lost the war, the vampire prince demanded a noble she-wolf as the price of peace. Everyone knew what that meant. No she-wolf sent to the Blood Court had ever been allowed to return to her pack. Our Alpha had no daughter, so he ordered his Beta’s two daughters Evelyn and me to draw lots. Before the draw, my fiancé Rowan whispered to me, “I marked the safe parchment with a crescent moon. Choose that one.” I trusted him and I chose the crescent. But when I unfolded the parchment, two words stared back at me: VAMPIRE BRIDE. My mother pulled Evelyn into her arms in relief. “Thank the Goddess it wasn’t Evelyn.” My father showed no sympathy. “You’re the eldest. Protecting the pack is your duty.” Rowan wouldn’t meet my eyes. “You saved the Alpha’s life once. If anything happens, he’ll bring you home. Evelyn has no such protection.” They all thought I had a way back. They didn’t know I had already used the Alpha’s life debt three years ago to save Rowan from execution. The draw had never been fair. They had chosen me to be the daughter who never came home. Fine. I would leave and never return.
Lihat lebih banyakThe Blood Court offered Silvermoon enough antidote and winter provisions to survive the Moonblight.In return, Silvermoon would withdraw its warriors from the disputed northern valley.The terms were generous, but Rowan still refused to sign.I looked across the council table at him.“Is there a problem with the terms, Lord Rowan? Silvermoon came here asking for our help. Do you want peace, or do you want war?”Instead of looking at the agreement, Rowan looked at me.“I’ll agree to every term if you return to Silvermoon with me.”A soft laugh escaped Lucien. He looked at Rowan as though he couldn’t believe the man had dared to make such an offer.“I am not returning to Silvermoon. If its envoy insists on making personal demands, this negotiation is over.”Panic crossed Rowan’s face.“Elara, wait.”In front of both courts, he unbuckled his sword and placed it on the table between us. Then he bowed his head.“I was wrong. I rigged the draw. I convinced myself the moonstone would protect
Three years later, Moonblight swept through Silvermoon territory.The forests withered and even the strongest wolves began losing their ability to shift. With winter approaching and its warriors weakened, the Silvermoon Pack had no choice but to ask the Blood Court for aid.Rowan, now Silvermoon’s commander and the Alpha’s appointed envoy, led the delegation.I almost didn’t recognize him when he entered the Blood Court chamber.He was thinner, and the easy confidence I remembered had disappeared. Gray threaded his dark hair at the temples, though he was not yet thirty.Then he saw me.The petition slipped from his hand.“Elara...”I sat beside my Prince Lucien, dressed in black velvet with the garnet circlet of the vampire royal family resting on my head.I glanced at the parchment near Rowan’s feet.“Lord Rowan, you dropped Silvermoon’s petition.”Rowan took a step toward me, but the royal guards blocked his path.“Elara, I searched for you for three years.” He locked me into eyes.
Rowan reached the border gate before dawn, but the Silvermoon guards refused to let him pass.“Open the gate,” Rowan ordered.The captain stood his ground. “The moment an armed wolf crosses into Blood Court territory, the vampires will call it an invasion.”Rowan drew his sword and pressed it to the captain’s throat.“I said open it.”The captain dropped to one knee, but he didn’t move aside.“If you want through, you’ll have to kill me first.”Before he could speak, a messenger came racing up the mountain.“The royal convoy was ambushed by rogues,” he said, struggling to catch his breath. “The carriage overturned. Lady Elara is missing.”He handed Rowan a torn piece of ivory fabric stained with blood. The crest of the Silvermoon Pack was still visible beneath the dark stain.It had come from the gown I wore when I left.Rowan stared at it as if he had forgotten how to breathe.Then his knees gave out beneath him.“Elara...”News of my disappearance reached the Ashford manor by midday.
When Rowan stormed into the Beta’s manor, Evelyn was sitting before the mirror, trying on the bridal circlet Mother had commissioned for my bonding ceremony.Mother was adjusting it over Evelyn’s hair.“Elara is gone,” she said softly. “There’s no point leaving everything locked away. If you like it, you can keep it.”The door burst open. Rowan stood there, holding the Alpha’s record.He looked past Evelyn and fixed his eyes on my father. “Beta Ashford, the moonstone is gone.”Father frowned. “What are you talking about?”Rowan threw the record onto the table.“She used the Alpha’s life debt three years ago.” His voice cracked. “She used it to secure my pardon.”My brother snatched up the record and read the words beneath the Alpha’s seal.Favor granted: Full pardon for Rowan Hale.Mother saw it too, her face went pale. “That can’t be right. Why didn’t she tell us?”“She did.” Rowan’s eyes flashed with the fury of his wolf. “She told all of us, and none of us believed her.”My brother






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