Chapter 4

For eighteen years, I had been nothing but the Bloodmoon Pack's punching bag, mocked, bullied, and abandoned by my fiancé.

But now, I had not only survived, but I had also awakened the most respected form any wolf could have.

I shifted back to human form, wearing a long dress made from Alexander's black coat.

The cave was still freezing, but I didn't feel the cold at all.

Inside me, my wolf was howling with joy, leaping with excitement, and surrendering to the man standing before me.

"Derek..." I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my skin.

The memory of Derek's smug face and Lilith's fake act flashed in my mind, and hatred burned in my eyes.

"Derek?" When Alexander heard the name, he raised an eyebrow and started casually spinning the obsidian signet ring on his thumb, the one that marked his royal authority. "You mean that young Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack?"

I nodded, my teeth clenched tight. "Yes. Today at the mating ceremony, he humiliated me in front of the whole pack for some side chick with red wolf blood. Then he kicked me out of the pack and dumped me here."

Alexander burst out laughing. His smile was pure arrogance and mockery, like everyone else was beneath him.

"Derek... Ten years without me keeping him in line, and my so-called good son thinks he runs the world now," he sneered.

He walked over and swept me into his arms with a possessive pull, his deep voice echoing through the empty cave. "Selene, my Luna.

"Derek kicked you out of his pack. But I'll conquer the entire werewolf kingdom and hand it to you as a wedding gift.

"Now it's time to go back and teach my 'good son' what rules really mean."

*****

Three months later, Alexander and I went back to the Sacraston, the heart of the Bloodmoon Pack's territory.

Today was the biggest day the Bloodmoon Pack had ever seen.

Not only was Derek finally marrying Lilith as his Luna, but today was also the day he would announce to every pack across Siastonland that he was about to be crowned the new Alpha King.

Ever since Alexander chose to seal himself away and step down from power ten years ago, the werewolf kingdom had been left without a leader.

As Alexander's only adopted son, Derek believed he was the chosen one to become the next Alpha King, especially after the Bloodmoon Pack's rapid expansion in recent years.

Inside the grand hall, lights blazed everywhere. A red carpet covered in rose petals stretched all the way to the throne at the far end.

Alphas from every pack gathered together, raising their glasses to toast Derek.

"Alpha, oh, I mean Alpha King. Congratulations on your wedding and on taking the throne."

"Lilith is absolutely stunning, and the child she carries has two rare, powerful bloodlines. This child is the future of werewolf royalty."

Derek was decked out in a fancy dark red suit, holding a glass of wine and soaking up all the praise with a smug smile on his face.

Next to him, Lilith sparkled in a wedding gown covered in diamonds, her baby bump showing, wearing the proud smile of someone who had won.

"Thank you, everyone," Derek said, raising his glass and speaking loud enough for the whole hall to hear. "Today, I'm not only marrying the wolf I love, but I'm also taking over the entire werewolf kingdom.

"I'm going to lead all of you into a future that puts the old Alpha King's era to shame."

"Well said!" someone yelled, and the crowd broke into thunderous applause.

Then a lesser Alpha from some tiny, backwater pack, drunk out of his mind, mumbled a question without thinking. "Alpha King, didn't you have a fiancée picked out for you by the Moon Goddess? What was her name again... Selene?"

The moment he said that, the whole crowded hall went completely silent.

Derek's smile dropped, and annoyance flashed in his eyes.

Lilith's eyes flickered with jealousy too, but she recovered quickly. She let out a fake sigh and put on a show of being upset. "Oh, poor Selene. She had such bad luck.

"After she got sent away to Frostmaw Mountain three months ago, no one has heard a thing from her. That place is a death zone. By now, the wild animals have probably torn her apart and scattered every last bone."

"Why did you mention that worthless loser? You're ruining a perfect party," Derek scoffed at that Alpha.

He downed his drink in one gulp, and then continued, "A defective failure who couldn't even shift. Dying out there in the snow was the best thing that could have happened to her.

"And honestly, if she walked through that door alive right now, I'd kick her out again without a second thought."

He looked around the hall at everyone who had come to bow to him, pumped up on wine and power, his ego swelling bigger by the second.

He shouted so everyone could hear, "Listen up. My adopted father's time is history. He was nothing but savage, crazy, and a total tyrant.

"But I, Derek, will take all of you into a brand new era, one that's stronger and way more civilized. From today on, I am the one and only Alpha King. Now, let's raise our glasses to a new age."

"To the Alpha King!" the crowd roared back, and the hall turned into one big celebration.

Right as Derek finished speaking, the two massive doors of the grand hall, each one thirty feet tall, suddenly exploded with a deafening crash.

Then, right in front of every werewolf's terrified eyes, those doors that were supposed to hold off an entire army were kicked open from the outside like they were made of cardboard.

The two bronze doors, each weighing several tons, flew into the hall like cannonballs. They slammed into the steps right in front of Derek's throne, leaving two giant craters in the hard marble floor.

A blast of freezing wind, carrying swirling snow, tore into the warm hall and blew out all the candles along the walls.

Then a crushing wave of pure dominance, the kind that only came from a true king, swept through the room.

Every pack Alpha in the room, including Derek up on the platform, felt their legs go weak and cold sweat soak through their backs.

The weaker werewolves couldn't handle it at all. Their knees buckled and they hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Who's there?" Derek shouted, trying to force his inner wolf to come forward, but his voice shook with fear.

Two figures slowly appeared at the entrance, surrounded by the swirling snow and wind.

"Derek, my dear son." The voice came out of the storm, deep and lazy, but dripping with murderous intent.