Chapter 8
The silver moon hung high, casting its glow over the Silvermoon Temple, now ablaze with radiant light.
I stood atop the ceremonial stage, clad in a flowing silver gown. Beside me stood Zane, dressed in a dark suit, his aura so intense it stole the breath of everyone present.
Below us, representatives from all the wolf packs had gathered in solemn witness.
Zane suddenly leaned in, his nostrils flaring as he whispered near my ear, “You smell like another male wolf.”
My gaze instinctively flicked toward the edge of the hall where Darren and Landon stood, eyes locked on the crest at the hem of my gown. “Some people cling like ticks. Hard to shake off.”
Zane’s voice dropped to an icy growl. “I’ll make sure they learn the consequences of coveting what’s mine.”
The solemn voice of the elder cut through the tension, interrupting our whispered exchange.“Today, the Princess of the Moonflame will bond with the Lycan King of Nightshade. The bloodlines of two great kingdoms will unite to lead our kind.”
Zane’s hand closed gently over mine, his touch warm and steady.
“Hannah Greene,” his voice was low and commanding, brimming with authority, “will you accept my mark, to become the Luna Queen of Nightshade?”
I looked up at him, a small smile curving my lips. “I will.”
He leaned in, his fangs brushing against the nape of my neck. His breath was warm, sending a shiver down my spine.
Just as his fangs were about to pierce my skin-
“Hannah!”
A desperate shout shattered the silence.
Gasps erupted through the hall.
I slowly turned to see Darren charging forward, his with agony and regret. “Don’t let him mark you… please, come eyes filled back!”
Landon followed close behind, his voice choked, “We’ve exiled Xandra from Duskwood! Please… forgive us!”
Seeing my indifferent expression, Darren hastily added, “I swear I’ll give you a grander marking ceremony this time!”
“Enough,” Zane cut in coldly. “My Luna won’t go back to mangy dogs.”
Darren let out a tortured howl, his eyes bloodshot. “Hannah’s being forced! She doesn’t love you-”
Boom!
Zane suddenly unleashed his aura, and Darren was slammed to the ground by an invisible force, his knees striking the marble hard enough to crack two tiles.
Aaron stepped forward, chuckling darkly as he flung a stack of documents onto the floor. The papers embedded themselves into the stone like blades.
“For abuse of a royal, disruption of a sacred marking, and endangering our future Luna Queen, the Duskwood Pack is hereby sanctioned by both Moonflame and Nightshade.”
“Effective immediately, all land privileges are revoked, weapon supplies cut off, and entry to the capital forbidden.”
The two of them went pale, casting pleading glances at me.
“Forget them. Mark me.” I didn’t spare them another look. Turning back to Zane, I brushed my hair aside, revealing the nape of my neck.
His expression darkened-
However, a gust of wind howled through the hall.
“Watch out!” Zane pulled me behind him just as a poisoned arrow brushed past Darren and embedded itself in the spot where we had stood seconds before.
“Protect the King and Queen!” Zane’s Beta shouted.
In the chaos, I saw Darren whip around in disbelief and roar at the shadow near the pillar, “Are you insane?!”
“I won’t let you take her back!” Xandra hissed, nocking another arrow, this time aimed at me. “A bitch like her should-”
Her words were cut short.
Zane’s shadow streaked across the hall like lightning. A moment later, his claw pierced Xandra’s throat, silencing her forever.
Blood sprayed across Darren’s face as he instinctively stumbled back.
“No trial needed,” Aaron clapped slowly, expression bored. “Attempted regicide, immediate execution.”
Zane scanned the crowd before locking a deadly gaze on Darren. “Anyone who dares harm my Luna Queen–this is your fate.”
Zane flicked the blood off his claws, and as he walked back to the dais, every step left a bloody paw print on the marble.
When he sank his fangs into the back of my neck again, the marking process, mixed with the smell of blood, sent a shiver through the pack.
The intense pain, accompanied by a surge of scorching energy, swept through my body. My blood seemed to boil.
Silver light burst from my body, illuminating the entire temple.
The Moon Goddess bloodline within me had fully awakened.
I opened my eyes–now pure and silver, my body radiating an aura of regal power.
Every wolf in the hall bowed instinctively in submission.
The silver light I released even healed the poisoned wound Darren had suffered.
“Why save him?” Zane asked, displeased.
I gently wiped blood from his lips and replied, “Living with regret is far more painful than death.”
Pride and possession burned in Zane’s eyes.
As Zane and I stepped out of the temple, my silver gown shimmered in the twilight, like moonlight.
“Hannah!”
The anguished howls of Darren and Landon echoed behind me- more pitiful than any I had heard on the battlefield.
But I never looked back.
The moon hung high above the stained glass dome, casting cold
silver light across the velvet–draped bedchamber.
Every inch of this room was soaked in Zane’s scent: cedar, pine smoke, dark musk, and… the scent of his arousal. It invaded my senses, as intimate as his touch.
I sat at the edge of the bed, my right arm still bound in a sleek white cast, propped carefully on a mound of down pillows.
The silk of my nightgown clung to my skin–cool to the touch, yet doing nothing to ease the warmth building beneath it.
Zane had been pacing like a predator barely leashed, jaw tense, his dark eyes pinned on me from the moment we entered.
When he finally approached me, it was slow, deliberate, his body heat rolling off him like a fever.
“You smell like need.” His voice was low, guttural.
My heart slammed against my ribs. “So do you,” I whispered, pulse fluttering like wings.
I didn’t miss the way his nostrils flared when he stepped close enough to cage me between his arms, careful not to touch my right side. His lips hovered near my throat, breathing me in.
“The way you smell when you’re mine…” His voice dropped, eyes now glowing faintly gold. “It’s driving me insane.”
He pressed his forehead to mine, trying–failing–to stay restrained. “Tell me to stop.”
I tilted my head. “I won’t.”
A low growl vibrated in his chest, and then he kissed me—slow and deep, mouth moving over mine with a heat that melted my spine.
My left hand gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. Our bodies collided with hungry friction.
Clothes were stripped away in desperate tugs, his hands mapping every inch of me like he was memorizing the skin beneath.
When he laid me down on the silk sheets, it wasn’t rough—it was reverent. But there was a tremor in his muscles, a brutal self–control.
“You sure?” he rasped, kneeling over me, his breath shallow.
I looked up at him—this king, my mate, my everything–and whispered, “Claim me, Zane.”
That was all it took.
His mouth crashed onto mine again, and this time there was no restraint. He kissed down my collarbone, teeth grazing lightly, hands bracketing my hips.
He moved lower, tongue tasting the line between pleasure and reverence, until I was writhing under him.
And when he entered me–slow, thick, stretching me open for the first time–it wasn’t pain I felt. It was completion. Like something ancient clicking into place.
He stilled inside me, shaking with the effort not to thrust.
“You’re… tight,” he groaned. “Fxxking perfect. Made for me.”
I gasped his name, and that broke him.
He moved with deep, consuming strokes, every thrust designed to reach the deepest part of me.
He was careful of my arm, bracing himself to avoid jarring it, but that didn’t stop the raw power behind his movements.
Each
snap of his hips sent a shockwave through me, his scent and voice anchoring me in this storm of heat and hunger.
He kissed me through it–his mouth at my neck, his canines grazing the spot he’d marked.
I cried out, trembling, pleasure blooming sharp and bright.
He followed me over the edge with a roar, burying his face in my throat as he spilled inside, warmth flooding me in deep, possessive pulses.
But even then, he didn’t pull away.
He hovered over me, breathing hard, eyes wild but tender.
“I could’ve lost you today,” he said hoarsely, kissing my jaw. “Never again.”
“Never again,” I whispered back, threading my good hand through his sweat–damp hair.
One year later, at the Nightshade Palace.
I stood on the balcony, gazing down at the kingdom below. Since Zane and I began ruling together, our territory had doubled in size, with wolves from all clans pledging their loyalty to us.
Darren and Landon had been exiled to the borderlands after that night—banished for life, never to return.
“The border warriors sent word,” Zane murmured, wrapping his arms around me from behind, his chin resting atop my head, his voice laced with cold finality. “Darren and Landon have died of malaria.”
A soft chuckle escaped my lips. “They got what they deserved.”
Zane’s hand slid gently over my belly, where a small life was now growing–our pup.
“Our kingdom will only grow stronger,” he whispered. “And no one will ever hurt you again.”
I leaned into his embrace, closing my eyes.
There was a time when I thought I’d be trapped forever in the shadows of the past–betrayed, abandoned.
But now-
I was Luna Queen of Nightshade Kingdom.
And the life growing within me would inherit the mightiest bloodlines…and one day, write a legend of their own.
The End
