Chapter 4

The carriage rumbled over the cobblestone streets of Mooncrest City, wheels grinding out a low, heavy rhythm.

My father sat across from me with his eyes closed. He looked calm, but I could feel the tension coiled tightly beneath his composed exterior.

The palace wasn't simply the seat of power. It was a den of wolves, every one of them hungry for weakness. The Alpha King's summons today wasn't about settling some pack quarrel.

I didn't go.

My father wouldn't let me. He said a daughter of Whitevale Pack, after being publicly rejected at the Moon Temple, had no business hanging her head and letting the court wolves gossip.

If anyone was going, it should be William, crawling back on his knees with his tail between his legs, begging for a second chance the way a true mate should.

But my father still repeated what he had asked Arthur to tell William. "Want my daughter? Pray in your next life."

That was our answer. That was Whitevale Pack's final word.

Word spread fast through the city. They said the air in the Alpha King's study that day was so cold that one could feel their wolf shiver.

The Alpha King sat on his throne, gazing down at the two wolves kneeling before him. One was his most trusted advisor. The other was his fiercest warlord. And now, thanks to a broken mating ceremony, these two were bitter enemies, their wolves barely leashed.

William pressed his forehead to the cold stone floor. His voice was raw and thick with regret.

"Your Majesty, all the blame is mine. I followed my wolf's instinct. Emily was in danger, and she's my fated mate. I felt her. Her fear, her call. I couldn't ignore it. I let Charlotte down and betrayed Lord Edward's trust.

"I'll take any punishment you give me. Please give me one more chance to make this right," he said. He made himself small, swallowing all the guilt. It sounded like responsibility, but it came far too late.

"You dare stand here," my father said, his voice low and lethal, "and claim that my daughter is not your fated mate?"

William did not answer. He only lowered his head. "I cannot change what my wolf tells me."

My father laughed coldly. "Then your wolf is a liar. Or you are. Either way, you're no mate for my daughter."

The Alpha King's wolf stirred. A low growl vibrated through the stone floor. He didn't need witnesses. He could smell the truth: William truly believed he'd sensed a fated mate.

"William, you really messed up," the Alpha King finally said, a weary sigh escaping him. "A mating ceremony isn't some game.

"You left Charlotte standing at the altar for three hours. You turned her and Whitevale Pack into the laughingstock of the kingdom. You handled this like a pup, not a future Alpha."

After dressing down William, the Alpha King turned to my father, his tone softer. "Edward, I know you're furious. Your daughter is your pride, and no father could stomach that kind of humiliation.

"But William has shed blood for this kingdom. Northmere's border still needs his sword. If your packs become enemies over this, the whole kingdom will bleed."

That was a classic royal move: first the lash, then the comfort, and then the guilt trip about the greater good.

Anyone else would have backed down at this point and yielded to the King's words.

But my father wouldn't.

He lifted his head and met the Alpha King's gaze. His voice was calm, but his wolf was right there behind his eyes, cold, steady, and unmovable.

He replied, "Your Majesty, I have only one daughter. I raised her to know honor, to respect pack law, to carry herself with dignity. I thought I'd found her a worthy mate, a wolf she could trust with her life.

"But on the day of her bonding, that wolf threw her away for another she-wolf's distress signal. He left her at the Moon Temple like she was nothing but a rejected pup."

His tone stayed quiet, but every word landed like a claw to the chest. "You say the kingdom's stability matters.

"Then let me ask you: if a wolf can break his vows to his mate, how can you trust him to keep his vows to his king?

"Today, he abandoned his mate. Tomorrow, what stops him from abandoning his post, his city, and his kingdom?"

The room went silent. Even the guards' breathing stopped.

My father had turned William's personal failure into a question of his loyalty, his very fitness to lead.

This wasn't a pack fight anymore. It was treason talk.

William jerked his head up, his face pale, his lips trembling. But his wolf had nothing to say, because every word struck a nerve.

The Alpha King's expression darkened. He stared hard at my father, his most trusted advisor for twenty years, seeing my father stand his ground without an inch of give.

After a long silence, the Alpha King finally spoke, his voice low, "Edward, I hear you."

He didn't try to mediate anymore. He waved a hand, exhaustion seeping into his scent.

Then he said, "William, you're dismissed. Go home and figure out how to earn forgiveness from Edward and Charlotte. I won't touch this matter again."

William, hollow-eyed and broken, was helped out by the royal steward. His wolf was whining so loud that I imagined the whole palace could hear it.

By the time my father returned to Sinclair Estate, night had fully fallen. He told me everything that happened in the Alpha King's study, holding nothing back.

When he finished, he looked at me, his voice rough. "Charlotte, I spoke harshly today. I cut off any chance between you and William. Do you blame me?"

I shook my head and poured him a fresh cup of tea. "He chose her in front of the Alpha King and you. He named her as his fated mate. Then let him have her. Let him see what kind of mate she truly is.

"Besides, mating isn't the only path for a she-wolf. If this road is closed, then I'll walk another. From now on, I want to stay by your side. I want to help you carry the weight."

My father studied me for a long moment and then nodded. "That's my girl." His wolf let out a soft, proud rumble.