Chapter5
The air went still. Like the entire room held its breath.
His pupils shrank, and for a moment, he said nothing. Then he let out a low laugh-sharp, mocking.
“Isolde, you really think my brother would marry you? Do you even know who he’s supposed to marry? The
future Luna of this pack.”
He leaned in close, voice nearly a snarl.
“You? You’re not worthy.”
“Leander!”
A sharp voice cut through the tension like a blade.
We turned.
At the entrance stood Alec’s grandfather-head of the Blackmore family, the most respected Alpha on this
land.
His gaze pierced through Leander like a sword.
“Stand up.”
Leander’s jaw tightened, the muscle ticking, but he obeyed.
“Apologize to your sister-in-law.”
Four words. Crisp. Commanding.
Leander’s mouth pressed into a hard line. A long pause, then a reluctant murmur.
“…Sorry.”
I didn’t look at him.
I rose, walked to Alec’s side.
He was already returning, his grandfather beside him. Alec’s hand slid naturally around my waist, pulling
me close.
“Everyone,” Alec said, voice calm and firm, “I’ve gathered you here to announce something.”
“Two weeks from now, I will marry Isolde Frost.”
The room fell into a frozen hush.
I could feel the heat of someone’s stare-furious, burning-but held tightly in check.
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Alec dipped his head slightly, glancing at me. There was no question in his eyes. Only certainty.
“She will be the Luna of the Blackmore pack.”
Whispers stirred around the table.
Selah’s face twisted from disbelief to bone-white rage. Her fingers clenched around her napkin like a
lifeline.
Leander stood motionless, his face storm-dark, like the sea before a hurricane.
And I raised my glass to him.
Smiling.
A smile with no trace of surrender.
The Mating Ceremony hall shimmered with light. The velvet on the long table was a deep, blood-red,
glowing under the chandeliers. The Elders were here. So were the heads of every family, and the most
powerful voices in the pack.
Wine scented the air, but it didn’t bring warmth. It felt like a heavy blanket had been thrown over the room,
smothering every breath.
I stood beside Alec, my fingers cold.
The whispers around us were like invisible needles pricking at my ears.
“She’s going to be Luna? Seriously?”
“She’s a no-name Omega. What does she have?”
“Heard she’s been with both brothers…”
Alec’s voice dropped like stone into the noise, calm and unshakable.
“From today on, Isolde is my wife-and the Luna of this pack.”
The murmuring rose instantly, louder now.
The first voice of challenge came from Selah.
She wore a gown threaded with gold, glittering and sharp, like a rose with thorns. Her tone rang high and
deliberate.
“Luna? Alec, you can’t be serious.”
She stepped slowly to the table, her gaze cutting toward me like a blade.
“This Luna,” she said sweetly, “has quite the history. Ten years entangled with your brother, drugged you
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into bed-this is the woman you want leading our pack?”
A few people chuckled under their breath. I could feel their eyes on me, dissecting, judging.
My lungs seized up. I couldn’t breathe. My throat burned as if someone was squeezing it shut. My palms were already damp with cold sweat.
Alec glanced at me, expression unreadable, then turned to Selah.
“My decision,” he said flatly, “does not require your approval.”
Selah smiled, taking a casual step back, then added with mock sweetness, “Oh, and let’s not forget-her parents died for the pack. Though the way they died… hardly honorable, if the rumors are true.”
My ears rang. Air left my lungs like a punch to the chest. For a moment, my vision blackened at the edges.
Alec noticed. He reached down, fingers brushing mine, steady and quiet.
“They want you to bow,” he whispered. “So lift your head higher.”
I pressed my lips together. Slowly, my fingers curled around his.
I rose to my feet. My legs still trembled, but I didn’t sit back down.
“You want the truth?” My voice shook, but underneath was a rising frost.
The room went silent. Every eye locked onto me.
“Yes,” I said clearly, “I did spend that night with Alec.”
“No, I won’t deny it.”
“And yes-Leander asked me to do it.”
The silence cracked like ice.
“I won’t excuse it. But I won’t pretend either.”
I turned toward the Elders now, my gaze steady.
“As for my parents, they died so your children could live. Their names should be carved into the stone of honor, remembered and respected. But tonight, I heard them used as weapons to shame me.”
My voice grew colder.
“Anyone who speaks of them like that has no right to call themselves part of this pack.”
Selah’s perfect smile finally broke.
But I didn’t give her time to interrupt.
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