KAINE'S POV
I watch Aria's face go pale as the alarms scream through my fortress, and something protective and ancient roars to life in my chest.
She's terrified. Ready to surrender herself to save my people from a war they didn't ask for.
"No," I say before she can speak the words I see forming on her lips. "You're not going out there."
"But they came for me. This is my fault—"
"This is Damien Silvercrest's fault for being a coward who abuses omegas and fears strong women." I move to the window where fifty wolves wait at my gates with three Alpha Council members at their front. "He came early hoping to catch us unprepared. He's in for a surprise."
Thane joins me at the window. "Do we engage?"
"Not yet. Let them make demands first. Let them show everyone watching what this is really about." I turn to Sera. "Take Aria to the throne room. If they want to see her, they'll see her as my queen—crowned and powerful, not cowering."
"Kaine, I can't—" Aria starts.
"You can." I face her fully, this small broken omega who survived twenty-two years of hell and is still standing. "In the forest, you accepted my deal. One year as my contracted queen. That starts now. Right now. So put on your crown and stand beside your king."
Her violet eyes—she's stopped wearing the brown contacts that hid them—meet mine. Fear and determination war in their depths.
"What if I mess up?"
"Then we'll fix it together." I move closer, keeping my voice low so only she can hear. "Three hundred years ago, I lost my mate to wolves like them. Cowards who kill what they fear. I swore I'd never care about anyone again." My hand hovers near her cheek, not quite touching. "But you walked into my forest bleeding and broken, and something in me recognized something in you. Maybe it's your bloodline calling to mine. Maybe it's just that we're both survivors. But I will not let them take you. I will not let them hurt you. You have my word."
She searches my face for lies and finds none. "Why do you care so much? You barely know me."
"I know enough. I know you're stronger than you think. I know you have power you haven't even begun to access. And I know—" I stop, surprised by the truth rising in my throat. "—I know that protecting you feels right in a way nothing has felt right in three centuries."
Aria's breath catches. That silver light flickers between us again, warm and steady.
"My king," Thane says urgently. "They're demanding entry. Threatening to break down the gates if we don't hand over 'the criminal omega' within ten minutes."
Criminal. They actually called her a criminal.
The beast inside me snarls for blood.
"Let them threaten," I say coldly. "Sera, get Aria ready. She has ten minutes to become a queen."
---
Nine minutes later, I stand in my throne room with my full court assembled. Lycan warriors line the walls. Council members fill the benches. Everyone who matters in my kingdom is here to witness this.
The doors open.
Aria enters wearing a gown of midnight blue and silver that Sera must have pulled from storage—one of the gowns meant for a queen I never thought I'd have. Her silver-blonde hair is styled away from her face, revealing those striking violet eyes. And on her head sits a simple crown of moonstone and silver.
She looks terrified.
She looks beautiful.
She looks like a queen.
The room goes silent as she walks toward me. Every eye tracks her movement. I see the Lycan warriors reassessing, see my council members leaning forward with interest, see Thane's slow nod of approval.
Aria reaches the throne and hesitates, unsure where to stand.
I gesture to the second throne beside mine—the one that's been empty for three hundred years. "Your seat, my queen."
She sits, her hands trembling slightly as they grip the armrests. I want to take her hand, to offer comfort, but we need to present a united front. I sit in my own throne, and together we face the court.
"Bring them in," I command.
The doors open again. Damien Silvercrest enters with three members of the Alpha Council and ten of his warriors. The moment Damien sees Aria—crowned and seated beside me—his face twists with shock and rage.
"What is this?" he demands.
"This," I say calmly, "is Queen Aria Ashenheart. My contracted mate and Luna of Lycan Kingdom. You're in our court now, Alpha Silvercrest. Show respect or leave."
Damien's eyes flash yellow with his wolf. "That's MY omega. My mate. She's stolen pack property and I demand her return."
"I'm not your mate anymore." Aria's voice is soft but steady. "I rejected you. The bond is broken."
"The bond is still active on my end because you didn't complete the rejection ritual," Damien snarls. "Which makes you still mine. And you stole my father's journals—sacred pack documents. That's punishable by death."
"I never touched your father's journals."
"Lies!" Damien lunges forward, but my warriors block him instantly. He glares at me. "You're harboring a criminal. The Alpha Council demands her arrest."
One of the council members steps forward—an older alpha with gray hair and cold eyes. Elder Marcus.
Something about him makes my beast stir uneasily.
"King Kaine," Marcus says with false politeness. "We appreciate your hospitality, but pack law is clear. This omega stole valuable property and fled justice. She must be returned to Silvercrest Pack for trial."
"Pack law doesn't apply in Lycan territory," I say flatly. "And she's not an omega. She's Moon's Chosen."
Silence explodes through the room.
Damien goes white. Marcus's eyes narrow. The other council members exchange panicked looks.
"Impossible," Marcus says. "The Moon's Chosen bloodline is extinct."
"Clearly not." I gesture to Aria. "The silver light that bonded us when we met, the power radiating from her even now—she's exactly what you've been trying to kill for centuries."
"You have no proof," Damien says, but his voice shakes.
"Then let's test it." I turn to Aria. "Show them, little queen. Show them what you are."
Aria looks at me with wide, uncertain eyes. She's not ready. She barely knows how to access her power. But we need to establish her status now, before they can dismiss her as nothing.
"Trust yourself," I say quietly.
She takes a shaky breath. Stands. Walks to the edge of the platform where Damien and his wolves stand below.
"Kneel," she says.
The command in her voice hits like a physical force. I feel it even though it's not directed at me—an overwhelming compulsion to obey.
Damien's knees buckle. He fights it, his whole body shaking with the effort to resist, but he can't. None of his warriors can. One by one, they drop to their knees before Aria.
Only the three council members remain standing, and even they look strained.
"Moon's Chosen," Sera announces from her position by the wall. "With the power to command any rank. Including alphas."
Damien struggles to his feet, rage and fear warring on his face. "This is impossible. She was omega. She was NOTHING."
"She was cursed," I say, standing to join Aria. "Someone suppressed her bloodline to hide what she was. Someone powerful. Someone who knew that a Moon's Chosen could destroy the current pack hierarchy."
Marcus's face remains carefully neutral, but I catch it—the briefest flash of panic in his eyes.
He knows something.
"The curse is breaking," Sera continues. "With each day away from Silvercrest territory, Aria's true power emerges. Soon she'll be strong enough to command the entire Alpha Council."
"Then she's a threat to all packs," Marcus says coldly. "The council votes for her immediate execution."
My warriors draw weapons. Thane moves to stand at my right. The temperature in the room drops as my power floods out.
"Touch her," I say very quietly, "and I will burn every pack territory to the ground. Starting with Silvercrest."
"You'd start a war over an omega?" Damien demands.
"I'd start a war over my QUEEN." The words echo through the throne room. "She's under Lycan protection now. Under MY protection. And anyone who threatens her threatens me."
The standoff stretches. Damien and Marcus exchange looks. I see them calculating, weighing their chances of taking Aria by force against my entire kingdom.
They're outnumbered and they know it.
"This isn't over," Marcus says finally. "The council will convene. We'll discuss appropriate action regarding this... situation."
"You do that," I say. "From outside my territory. You have one hour to leave before I consider your presence an invasion."
Damien looks at Aria one last time. "You think you've won. You think he'll protect you. But you're still mine, Aria. The mate bond still exists. And I will get you back."
"The bond exists because you won't let it go," Aria says, her voice stronger now. "But I'm done being your victim. I'm done being your anything."
"We'll see." Damien's smile is cruel. "In three weeks at the Alliance Summit. When every pack sees what you really are—a threat that needs to be eliminated."
He turns and leaves with his warriors and the council members. The doors slam shut behind them.
The moment they're gone, Aria's knees give out.
I catch her before she hits the ground. She's shaking, her face white with exhaustion and fear.
"You did perfectly," I tell her.
"I almost fainted in front of them."
"You commanded an alpha to kneel. You established yourself as Moon's Chosen. You survived." I lift her easily, cradling her against my chest. "That's more than perfect."
As I carry her from the throne room, Thane approaches with a grim expression.
"We have a problem," he says quietly. "While you were dealing with Silvercrest, scouts reported movement along our eastern border. Someone's been watching the fortress. Following our patrols."
"Rogues?"
"Worse. Organized. Professional. Like they're mapping our defenses."
A chill runs down my spine. "You think the council is planning an attack?"
"I think they're planning something. And I think we just made Aria the most wanted wolf in history."
In my arms, Aria has gone very still. When I look down, her eyes are distant, unfocused.
"Aria?"
"I can feel him," she whispers. "Through the bond. Damien's not leaving. He's circling around, hiding in the forest. And he's meeting someone." Her eyes refocus on mine, filled with fear. "Elder Marcus. They're planning something tonight. Something terrible."
"Can you hear what they're saying?"
She concentrates, then goes deathly pale. "They're going to kill Lila. My friend, the other omega. She's still in Silvercrest territory and they know she helped me escape. They're going to execute her tonight as a traitor unless..." Her voice breaks. "Unless I surrender myself by dawn."