My arms, which had been locked in a death grip around my daughter's ashes, fell slack. And then, in a movement that sent a shockwave of stunned silence through the hall, I dropped to my knees.

The impact of my kneecaps against the hard marble floor was a dull, sickening thud that echoed in the sudden quiet.

Ryker's lunge faltered. He froze mid-grab, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

I didn't stop there. With a slow, deliberate agony, I bowed my head. I tilted my neck to the side, exposing the pale, vulnerable column of my throat to him.

It was the ultimate act of submission in the werewolf world. Baring the neck. It was an admission of guilt, a plea for mercy, a complete and total surrender of one's life and will to a superior. A gasp rippled through the onlookers. A Luna performing such a profound act of fealty to her Alpha was something reserved for the most solemn of ceremonies or the most heinous of crimes.

*The humiliation!* my wolf howled in my mind, her pride shredded. But I crushed her dissent with an iron will. My pride was a currency I was willing to spend. For Cora's peace, I would bankrupt myself of dignity.

"Alpha," I whispered, my voice a broken, trembling thing that clung to the floor. "I was wrong. Please... forgive my madness."

I didn't explain. I didn't defend. I took the role they had assigned me-the unstable, hysterical female-and I played it to the hilt.

"I... I have not seen you in so long," I stammered, weaving a pathetic, nonsensical excuse that would appeal to his ego. "My emotions... they overwhelmed me."

I forced sobs from my raw throat, letting fat, hot tears splash onto the cold stone. "I was wrong to push Zane. I never meant to frighten Freya. Please, Alpha... punish me as you see fit. But I beg you... leave the box."

My voice was a wretched, pleading whine. I was disgusting. I was magnificent.

"It... it was my father's," I choked out, the lie coming to me in a flash of desperate genius. "It's all I have left of him."

Gideon Thorne. My father. He had been a respected warrior, a man of honor, before a rogue attack had taken him years ago. His name still carried weight with the pack elders. I felt a few pairs of eyes on me soften. Respect for the relics of the dead was a cornerstone of our culture.

The lie worked like a charm. It gave them a reason for my "insanity" that they could understand, a reason that wasn't a direct challenge to the Alpha's perfect family.

I could feel Ryker's rage falter, doused by the sheer, overwhelming spectacle of my submission. His authority had been challenged, and now it had been affirmed in the most public and absolute way possible. His Luna was kneeling at his feet, begging for his mercy.

But the fire in his eyes didn't turn to warmth. It cooled into a flat, dismissive disgust. He was repulsed by my weakness, by this messy, emotional display. He found my groveling distasteful.

Lyra started to say something, no doubt to press her advantage, but Ryker shot her a look that silenced her instantly. The game was over. He had won.

He slowly retracted his hand, his posture towering and imperious as he looked down at me. His voice was still cold, stripped of all emotion. "Your father's relic? And for that, you would endanger the pack's children?"

I didn't dare look up. I pressed my forehead to the icy floor, a gesture of even deeper debasement. "I was wrong, Alpha. I will accept any punishment."

The wooden box was tucked safely beneath my body, shielded by my own pathetic form. I was a mother animal, using my own body to protect my young, even in this degraded, twisted way.

This utter, complete capitulation seemed to finally make him uncomfortable. To punish his Luna, now that she was so thoroughly broken before him, would be unseemly. It would mar the celebratory atmosphere of the Naming Ceremony.

All he wanted was for me to disappear.

He let out a short, contemptuous sound. "Your punishment will be decided after the ceremony. For now, get out of my sight. Go to your room. Do not inflict your presence on us any longer."

The words, though harsh, were the sweetest sound I had ever heard. It was a pardon. A reprieve.

The tension that had held my body rigid for what felt like an eternity finally snapped. I had done it. I had saved her.

Cora's ashes were safe.

Chapter 5

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