Chapter 4

Anger and irritation flared in Alieus's s golden eyes.

He stared down at me, his voice dangerously low but controlled.

"Break our bond? Never. Even if I no longer love you, you are my fated bond. I’ll never let you go."

He leaned in, ensuring every syllable carried the weight of his Alpha aura.

"Lyra, I have given you nothing but respect. If I owe a debt of devotion to anyone, it is Elena. I couldn't grant her the title of Luna. Yet, she stayed by my side during the bloodiest years of the territory wars without a single official title."

He turned away from me, dropping to one knee in the slush. Pulling a heavy, starlight-sapphire ring from his tunic, he looked up at her with profound reverence.

It wasn't just an ordinary ring; it was a Blackwood crest artifact he once promised to give to me when I would give him a child. Seems like people’s hearts just change so fast.

"The laws forbid me from keeping another mate while I’m already bonded with someone, but I will give you the grandest ceremony this continent has ever seen. I will let every alpha from here to the coast know that you are the true sovereign of my heart and that your child is my only heir."

Elena covered her mouth, her eyes welling with tears, but she subtly pulled away, looking down with a fragile, tragic expression.

"I cannot accept this, Alieus. I love you enough to live as a shadow, content to bear your pups in secret. But I will not be paraded as a usurper before the high courts."

"Unless..."

She slowly turned her gaze toward me, her tear-stained face suddenly sharp with malice.

"Unless Luna herself bows to the baby in my womb at the altar. Let her bear witness before the entire assembly, proving that the wolf inside my womb is just so important that Luna herself takes care of me."

I met her spiteful gaze with a face carved of stone. She wanted me to kneel before the pup who was the reason for my pup’s brutal murder.

Alieus, seeing my absolute silence, let out a low, menacing growl.

"Lyra, do not forget that your ancestors' sacred burial mounds sit directly within my territories."

"You wouldn't want their spirits disturbed, and their graves upturned the way your mother's grove just was, would you?"

A phantom blade tore through the center of my chest, making the taste of blood rise in my throat. I nodded slowly.

"I will kneel before Elena in front of everyone."

Elena wept with joy, throwing her arms around Alieus's neck. He immediately swept her away to prepare for the grand ceremony, but as he crossed the threshold of the territory gate, he paused.

He looked back at me, his voice returning to a calm, transactional tone.

"Lyra, it is merely a ritual. It does not strip you of your legal shelter in the lower compound. For the next moon cycle, you are exempt from pack labor. Just serve Elena in the meantime. Consider it my compensation to you."

I murmured a quiet agreement, and he left, satisfied with his own mercy.

On the morning of the Ceremony, Elena sat before the grand mirror, suddenly sighing heavily.

"Luna Lyra, the smoke from the ritual braziers is making me faint. Can you make me a drink?”

Alieus frowned, his protective instincts kicking in as he glanced at me.

I kept my eyes trained on the floor. Stepping forward, I sank to my knees in front of her and poured the drink into her glass.

Alieus’s expression grew deeply conflicted. His jaw tightened, and he took a step toward me as if a buried piece of his old wolf wanted to speak, but Elena gently pressed her hand against his chest.

"My Alpha, I think this dress is too tight. Can you please bring the designer to check the fittings?”

Alieus offered her a tender smile, brushing a stray hair from her forehead before walking out.

The moment the heavy oak door clicked shut, Elena’s foot slammed brutally into my sternum.

The force threw me back against the stone floor. She looked down at me from her velvet chair, her face twisted in absolute contempt.

"Lyra, you honestly believe you're Alieus's first love he can't get rid of?”

"You don't know. I've been Alieus’s hidden anchor for ten years, too."