Chapter 5

Kael faltered. His face turned away from mine. "I know."

"You knew?"

It took everything I had to keep the tears from falling.

"Nia, don't blame her.

"She'll be the Luna of the Thunderpeak pack. Her pup will be the rightful heir. If you gave birth and the pup came for the succession, where would that leave her?

"Try to see it from our perspective. I can't give you the title, but you're the only one I've ever truly loved."

I stared at him in disbelief. I had just been stripped of any chance to ever carry a pup again, yet he was asking me to see it from their perspective.

Kael set the bowl down and continued. "After Freya came back from seeing you, her wolf became unstable. The pack's high priest says it's because our lost pup's spirit hasn't passed on. It's affecting her."

He looked at me, hesitating before he spoke.

"There is a sacred temple where the Moon Goddess's statue is enshrined. If you climb the Ten Thousand Steps on your hands and knees, then pray to the Moon Goddess in repentance and ask her to grant a soul ward talisman for Freya, this whole matter can be put to rest. Will you do that?"

My eyes burned. I locked them on his. "Kael, you and I are finished. If you want the talisman, go beg for it yourself."

I threw every last ounce of strength into getting out of bed and escaping this cage, but he caught me around the waist and held me in place.

He ignored my struggling, shifted into his wolf form, and threw me onto his back. He ran straight toward the base of the mountain where the wolf temple stood.

Two Gamma guards from the Thunderpeak pack were already waiting there.

"Keep her in line. Make sure she gets to the top."

The two guards seized me, one on each side.

After taking the abortifacient and the barren root, my body had nothing left to give. I dragged myself up the frozen steps, dropping to my knees and pressing my forehead to the stone with every step I climbed.

Blood ran freely from my forehead. The pain dragged me in and out of consciousness. The only thing keeping me going was a single thought. I would make them pay for this a hundred times over.

I had no memory of how I obtained the soul ward talisman. The next thing I knew, I was looking at Kael, and then my legs gave out and I collapsed.

Kael rushed forward and caught me in his arms. "Nia, I know this was hard on you. But I promise, even after I bond with Freya, the only she-wolf I've ever loved is you."

I closed my eyes slowly. Two days ago, I might have believed those words. Now they only made me sick.

"You have your talisman. Let me go."

My plea meant nothing to him. He saw it as nothing more than a tantrum. He scooped me up and carried me back to the estate against my will.

"Stop being difficult.

"The bonding ceremony is tomorrow. Freya has already promised me that once it's over, the two of you will stay out of each other's way. You'll still live here, and I'll come see you every day, just like before."

Before he left, he added one last reminder.

"The princess of the royal court might attend the ceremony tomorrow. Stay here and stay out of trouble."

Shortly after Kael left, the royal court's shadow guards found me. I looked in the direction he had gone and let a slow smile spread across my face.

I hoped tomorrow's bonding ceremony would be full of surprises for him.

The day of the bonding ceremony, the Lunar Hall of the Thunderpeak pack was brimming with guests.

The high priest stood at the center of the altar and raised his voice. "With the Moon Goddess as our witness and guide, today, Alpha Kael Voss of the Thunderpeak pack and Freya Edris of the Frostmoon pack shall be joined in the rite of bonding. From this day forward, they are formally recognized as mates and their packs shall enter a sacred alliance.

"I declare the commencement of the bonding ceremony!"

Kael stood tall in the formal bonding robes reserved for an Alpha. Beside him, Freya was draped in ceremonial finery with the Moonveil Crown gleaming atop her head. Together, they received the reverence of the entire pack.

Just as the two of them were about to complete the final rite, a ripple of voices passed through the guards outside the hall, each one more reverent than the last, until the announcement reached the doors.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Serafina, has arrived!"

The hall erupted.

Wolves turned to one another, whispering in disbelief.

"Princess Serafina? From the royal court? I've heard she's the Alpha King's only daughter. She was kept under close guard from birth and is rarely seen in public. They say she awakened a rare white wolf and has been groomed to be the next Alpha Queen."

"Our Alpha and Luna must be incredible to get the princess to show up in person. That's practically the same as the Alpha King himself being here."

On the altar, Freya grabbed Kael's hand, trembling with excitement. "Kael, the princess actually came! I told you spending those crystal shards on the silver moon flare was worth it. If we can get on the princess's good side, both our packs will rise."

Kael was so thrilled he abandoned the ceremony entirely and pulled Freya toward the exit.

"Put the rite on hold! Everyone, come with me to welcome the princess!"

He rushed down from the altar with his pack streaming behind him.

Outside the hall, a row of black war carriages bearing the royal court's insignia sat waiting in silence. Over a hundred of the court's elite guards stood in two perfect lines, heads bowed.

Kael and Freya hurried to the lead carriage and bent into a deep, respectful bow. "Your Highness, it is the Thunderpeak pack's great..."

The word "honor" never made it out of his mouth. The curtain of the carriage drew back.

I stepped out, dressed in the ceremonial gown reserved for a princess of the royal court.

The moment Kael saw my face, his fawning expression shattered into shock.

"Nia? How... how is it you?!"