Chapter 2 The Rejection

The royal chambers were even colder than I'd imagined.

They'd brought me here after the ceremony fell apart into chaos. Guards had escorted me through marble corridors as nobles whispered and pointed. I'd never been in this section of the palace before. Everything shone with wealth I couldn't begin to understand. Gold fixtures. Silk drapes. Portraits of former kings looking down with judgmental eyes.

I now stood in King Alaric's private meeting room, still clad in my servant's robe with wine spills, as the most powerful wolves in the kingdom decided my destiny.

The bond hummed beneath my skin, pulling me toward him like gravity. Alaric stood at the window, his back to me, rigid and silent. Even from across the room, I could feel his wolf calling to mine. The bond was strong enough that it made my hands shake.

"This is a mistake," someone said. Beta Kael, I think. I recognized him from the packhouse, always standing beside the king. "The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. If she chose Eira as the king's mate, we have a duty to honor that choice."

"Honor it?" Seraphine's voice dripped with scorn. She circled me like a predator, her mortally pale eyes taking note of every flaw. "This thing is cursed. Born beneath the blood moon. Her mother died in disgrace. She has no status, no upbringing, no blood worthy of claiming. And the prophecy is clear. If the king claims her as his mate, his crown will burn. His reign will end in disaster."

My throat tightened. I wanted to defend myself, to prove I was more than the circumstances of my birth, but words died on my lips. What could I say? Everything she'd listed was true. I was nobody. Nothing. A servant girl who'd been somehow chosen for something impossible.

"The prophecy isn't certain," Kael argued. "It says she'll either save us or destroy us. That leaves room for salvation if the right decision is made."

"Or guarantee destruction by claiming her as his own," a second voice added. Lord Marcus, the head of the noble council. "The risk is too great. The king's duty is to the kingdom above all else, always. Personal desires cannot come before the safety of thousands."

Personal desires. As if this bond was something insignificant. As if my entire being wasn't screaming for the man who still hadn't turned, hadn't looked at me, hadn't spoken one word in my defense.

"Your Majesty," Seraphine said softly, coming forward beside Alaric. "You know what you must do. The kingdom needs a strong Luna. A proper queen of noble blood who can sit beside you without inviting doom prophecies. This child is a liability. Denying her is the only sane choice."

Deny. The word hung in the air like a poison. My wolf whimpered inside me, already sensing what was to follow.

Alaric's shoulders strained. His fists were clenched at his sides. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. "Leave us. All of you."

"Your Majesty...." Seraphine started.

"Now." The command tore through the room like thunder.

They left unwillingly, filing out with backward glances and murmured worries. Kael was the last to go, and he caught my eye briefly. Something in his face looked like pity, which only made it all worse.

The door closed. It was quiet, aside from my racing heart.

Alaric slowly turned. Up close, he was ruinous. Chiseled bone structure. Silver eyes that seemed to see right through me. A mouth set in a hard line. He looked at me like I was a riddle to solve rather than the other half of his soul.

"What's your name?" he asked gruffly.

"Eira." My voice was little more than a whisper.

"Eira." He tried it out, and my name in his voice sent shivers down my back. The bond was constructed. "What's happening here?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"Then you realize that this connection, this draw between us, cannot be allowed to be." He sounded like he was discussing the weather, remote and clinical. "The prophecy is explicit. You are a threat to everything I have built, everything my father and grandfather built before me. I have an obligation to this kingdom that comes before emotions."

"I would never hurt you," I managed to say. "Or the kingdom. I don't want power or a throne. I just want.... "

"What you want is irrelevant." His words were as sharp as glass. "What I want is irrelevant. Only the kingdom is relevant. Only the prophecy is relevant. And it says that claiming you will destroy us all."

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had survived eighteen years of abuse and loneliness. I would not break now, not in front of him.

"There are rituals," Alaric continued, turning away again as if he could not bear to look at me. "Ways to sever a mate bond before it's fully formed. It will cause pain, but you'll survive. We both will. And then you'll leave Silvercrown territory. I'll provide you with gold, enough to start a new life somewhere far removed from here. You'll never have to work as a servant again."

Money. He thought he could bribe me into agreeing to this.

"And if I refuse?" The words escaped before I could stop them.

His jaw clenched. "You won't refuse. Because if you truly care about this kingdom, about the innocent lives that would be lost if the prophecy is carried out, you'll do what's necessary. You'll let me go."

The unfairness of it took my breath away. He was asking me to be unselfish, to sacrifice my one chance at happiness for people who'd never been nice to me. And the worst thing about it was that I understood. I'd seen the fear in everyone's eyes. I'd heard the prophecy. What if they were right? What if loving me would kill him?

"When?" I breathed.

"Tomorrow night. Beneath the new moon when the goddess's strength is at its lowest." He faced me again, and for a moment, I saw something crack in his controlled expression.