Chapter 4

The New Moon gathering filled the ceremonial hall with wolves from

Blackthorne and the visiting packs.

Every detail had been arranged to show strength.

Ronan stood at the center in black ceremonial dress. I stood at his left

in the silver-gray mantle worn by Blackthorne's Luna.

Celeste stood among the honored guests.

I felt her watching me before I ever looked at her.

The first part of the ceremony passed without incident. Ronan spoke

about unity, stability, and the responsibility of leading beyond one

territory.

Then the questions began.

No one challenged his strength.

They challenged mine.

A Luna who could not shift.

A political marriage.

A pack asking others to trust an Alpha whose own household looked

divided.

Ronan answered the first two questions evenly.

The third lingered.

Celeste stepped forward before anyone asked her to.

"This is my fault."

Every head turned.

She looked at Ronan, not me.

"I came back at the worst possible time. People are using my history

with you against your pack."

Ronan's face tightened.

Celeste went on. "I won't let Blackthorne lose its future because you

once owed me your life. If my presence is the problem, I'll leave

tonight."

There it was.

Not a demand.

A sacrifice.

The kind Ronan had never known how to refuse.

"No," he said.

The word echoed across the hall.

Celeste lowered her head.

Ronan looked toward the gathered wolves, then at me.

I knew that expression.

He had already made the decision. He was only arranging the reasons.

"Blackthorne will not cast out someone who saved its Alpha's life," he

said.

A murmur moved through the hall.

"And I will not allow uncertainty inside my own household to weaken this

pack."

My fingers tightened beneath the folds of my mantle.

Ronan stepped closer.

"Elara."

He said my name quietly, almost as if this were private.

It wasn't.

Every wolf in the room was listening.

"Our marriage was made to secure an alliance. You have served

Blackthorne faithfully."

Served.

Past tense.

My heartbeat slowed.

"But the role of Luna cannot become a question hanging over every

decision I make."

He reached for the silver clasp at my shoulder.

For one second, his hand paused.

Then he removed it.

The Luna mantle loosened.

A sound moved through the crowd.

Ronan held the clasp in his palm.

"Effective tonight, you are released from your duties as Luna of

Blackthorne."

I looked at him.

He should have stopped there.

He didn't.

Maybe Celeste's threat to leave had made him believe he needed to prove

something. Maybe the watching Alphas had.

Or maybe he had wanted this choice long before tonight.

Ronan lifted his chin.

"As Alpha of Blackthorne, I reject the chosen mate oath that bound Elara

Voss to me."

Pain tore through my chest.

Sharp.

Ancient.

Wrong.

I refused to bend.

Ronan's face changed for the smallest moment, as if he had felt

something too.

Then his expression closed again.

"You were never meant to be my Luna."

The hall was completely silent.

The silver clasp remained in his hand.

Celeste stood beyond his shoulder, watching me.

And Ronan waited.

I could see it in his eyes.

He expected tears.

A protest.

Maybe even a plea for him to take the words back.

I lifted my head and met his gaze.