Chapter 12
The Sacred Grove was prepared for their mating ceremony. The ancient trees were adorned with moonstone crystals, though the sacred light seemed dimmer than usual – as if the Moon Goddess herself disapproved.
I arrived before the ritual began. Silvana was crouched beside her pup, adjusting his ceremonial furs. “Happy, Hunter? From today, you’re no longer a lone wolf. You’ll be an Alpha’s heir!”
Thorne scented me before he saw me. “Rayne!”
His eyes couldn’t meet mine, his Alpha confidence wavering.
Among the gathered packs, whispers grew like wind through dead leaves.
“Isn’t that his Ex–Luna? Has she come to challenge the ceremony?”
“Challenge? She’s the one who paid for this ceremony with her stolen inheritance…”
“By the moon, did you hear? He forced her to lose her pup just to make room for this Arctic wolf!”
“After she supported him through his rise to Alpha…”
The whispers grew into snarls. Silvana’s face twisted with rage. She grabbed the ceremonial horn, her voice cutting through the gathering. “Enough! Have you forgotten whose mating ceremony you’re attending?”
“Silence, you worthless curs who can’t hold your tongues!”
The truth was already in the open – if Silvana had handled it with grace, the packs might have quieted. But her display of dominance over higher–ranked wolves only fueled their anger.
“A beta who stole her Alpha’s mate, and an Alpha who betrayed pack law – and they dare demand our silence?”
“Even this ceremony was bought with their Luna’s stolen relics. We’re only here out of respect for
her!”
Pack after pack rose, turning their backs on the ceremony – a grave insult in wolf society.
“Alpha, what do we do? I didn’t know they’d disrespect you like this…” Silvana whimpered, still
fusing to acknowledge her own fault
Guptes A
xhaustion crept into Thorne’s stance. Regret clouded his scent. What madness had possessed him to arrange this mockery of a sacred ceremony?
His eyes searched for me among the dispersing packs. Soon, he told himself. Soon Silvana would pass beyond the veil, and he could reclaim his true máte, return to the peaceful life they’d shared.
Only now did he realize that simple life had been his true happiness.
Silvana sensed his change of heart instantly – a beta’s instinct for survival. Her performance was immediate: clutching her belly, she collapsed with a cry of pain.
Thorne carried her to the healers‘ den, leaving the sacred grove in chaos.
he ceremony remained uncompleted – as if the Moon Goddess herself had intervened.
