All Chapters of CROWNED BY BLOOD: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The cold wind rushed through my hair as I stepped out of the armored carrier and onto the hallowed grounds of the Silver Moon pack gathering. It had been years since I last stood here, a girl rejected, discarded, and presumed dead by many. Now I returned cloaked in moon-white armor, embroidered with the sigils of the old royal bloodline, flanked by warriors who had pledged their loyalty not to just a title, but to me.Gasps echoed through the crowd like ripples on a still pond. Dozens of Alphas, pack Elders, and envoys from other supernatural factions had gathered for what was supposed to be a routine summit. No one expected to see the ghost of Luna Blackwood walking among the living.My gaze swept across the crowd until it landed on Marcus.He stood frozen at the center, golden eyes wide, mouth agape. His usually imposing presence faltered as he struggle to recognize me. The color drained from his face, and again, I saw not the Alpha who had rejected me, but a man unraveling before

The morning mist still clung to the forest floor as I stepped out of my tent, the scent of pine and dew mixing with the earthy strength of the wolf. My camp no, our pack buzzed with life. Warriors trained in the clearing, pups laughed as they chased each other, and elders gathered around the fire pit, exchanging stories of old. The Moonclaw Pack was no longer a secret gathering of rebels. We were becoming something real. Something powerful.We had started with scattered rogues, outcasts, and those disillusioned by corrupt Alphas. Now, we were forging a home. I named our ranks, blending old werewolf tradition with the royal legacy I carried in my blood. There would be no more tyranny. No blind obedience. Here, strength came from unity, and titles were earned, not inherited.Kai moved through the camp with his usual quiet command, offering advice to sparring wolves and reviewing patrol rotations. As my second-in-command, he had taken to leadership like he was born for it. But he never o

The nausea wouldn't stop.I blamed stress. Fatigue. The weight of lives lost and the growing burden of leadership. But as I stood alone in the sacred spring’s grove, my body trembling and my pulse too loud in my ears, I could no longer pretend. This wasn’t war-weariness. This was something deeper.Even dou shocked at what Elira mentioned some days ago, yet i kept it to myselt because i am yet to believe any of itI pressed a hand to my abdomen.No.It couldn’t be.I stumbled back into the heart of Moonclaw, breath shallow and head pounding. I found Celeste in her healer’s tent, arranging herbs in precise rows that glowed faintly under her magic. She looked up the moment I entered."Luna?" Her eyes narrowed. She saw too much. She always did."Something’s wrong," I whispered. My voice cracked. "I need you to check."Without a word, she guided me to the padded cot and began her quiet examination. Her fingers glowed with soft green energy as they brushed over my skin, pausing over my core

Grief is a strange thing. It doesn’t crash all at once, like the stories say. It seeps in slowly, a creeping mist that coils around your heart and settles into every bone, every breath, until the weight of it drags you down like the deepest ocean.The safe house was buried deep in the mountains, a forgotten sanctuary wrapped in ancient wards. Even the trees seemed to lean in close, whispering secrets to the wind as if to shield us from the world beyond. Celeste had brought me here after the battle. After Kai… But I couldn’t say his name aloud yet. Not here. Not now.I curled up on the cold stone floor, back pressed hard against the unforgiving earth. The fire flickered unevenly, its warmth barely reaching my shivering limbs. My hand rested on my belly soft, round, a silent pulse of life beneath my palm. That small heartbeat was my tether, my fragile thread to hold on to.I wanted to fall apart. To dissolve like smoke, vanish into the mist that surrounded us. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

The document was ancient, the parchment brittle and darkened with age, the ink faded but unmistakable. As my eyes scanned the names hidden within its folds, a sickness took root in my stomach, a cold, growing dread deeper than any grief I had known.Lord Aldric.The name echoed, repeated under aliases, masked beneath false identities and centuries of forged alliances. He had been orchestrating this war long before I was born. Long before my parents ruled. He had moved the pieces of this grand game like a master tactician, always in the shadows, always unseen until now.I sat in the war room, the cursed parchment spread before me, its seals broken, its truths revealed. Celeste stood silent to my right, her expression unreadable but taut with fury. Marcus hovered near the door, his fists clenched, jaw rigid. The room, once humming with strategy and urgency, had gone still."He was there," I whispered. "He helped plan the massacre. He empowered Victoria. And he’s the reason Kai is dead.