I sighed before facing the elders. "Who do you suggest I should take as my Luna?"
Elder Dominic stepped forward. "Alpha Allison is your best choice. She is strong and of noble blood. She cos from one of the most respected Alpha lineages in the North. She is capable... and willing."
My eyes narrowed. "She’s the sa Alpha who tried to make decisions in my pack like it was hers, she tried to poison ."
"She’s powerful," Dominic said. "And her strength will help shield your rule. She has the backing of three major packs. If you take her as your mate, those packs will stand with you against the Blood Moon."
My hands tightened on the armrests.
I hated this. Allison? Of all people?
She was arrogant and entitled. And the idea of sharing my blood with hers made my stomach churn.
Beowulf snarled low in my mind. "I told you. I’ll rip her throat out."
I tried to keep my breathing steady. My claws slowly receded.
"You’re asking to use marriage as a weapon," I said coldly even when I knew it was supposed to be a weapon, that was my plan. But after eting Ember... I felt hope after a long ti.
"You’re a ruler, not a romantic," another elder said. "What you feel doesn’t matter. What you secure does."
I closed my eyes for a second. Elia’s face flashed in my mind. Then Ember’s.
They couldn’t have been more different. One I had loved. The other... I didn’t even know what this was.
But she had the mark. And the way she looked at , like she was still trying to find sothing good behind all this darkness, made wonder if she was really my second chance.
"She is not my mate," I said, jaw clenched.
"Not yet," Dominic said. "But Alpha Allison can be. She’s willing to bond with you during the Blood Rite. The elders of her pack have already agreed."
’Of course they had.’ I rose slowly from my seat. "So this is already decided?"
"No," Dominic said. "But it is the only path that guarantees your survival. That guarantees all of ours."
Silence fell over the room like a blanket. I walked toward the window, staring out into the broad daylight.
I didn’t want this, nor did my wolf. But we have no choice. I wasn’t just Damon. I was Alpha Damon Blackthorn, the last Lycan.
Everything I did now would echo through generations.
I turned back. "If I take her, it will be for the pack. Not for ."
"That is all we ask," Dominic said, bowing his head.
Beowulf slamd against my mind. "You coward. You’d choose a leash over your heart?"
"This is for my pack. This is what I’m supposed to do as an Alpha. I need to put the pack’s needs before mine," I replied silently.
"Then why are you throwing her away?"
’Because I had no choice. Because love doesn’t win wars.’
I sat back down, my eyes cold. "Arrange the eting with Allison. I’ll speak with her myself."
Dominic looked relieved. The rest of the elders nodded in approval, like they had just secured the kingdom’s future.
......
(Ember POV)
I sat in Damon’s room, surrounded by a silence that felt too heavy to ignore. The fire had burned out, leaving behind only faint smoke and dying embers.
My hands stayed folded in my lap, my fingers fidgeting with the hem of my dress. I stared mindlessly at the fire that was burning out.
’Was this it? Was this my place? A pet... or rather a breeder with no na beyond what he called .’
I didn’t want power. I didn’t even want the kind of love people chase in stories. I just wanted to be treated like I mattered. Like I was sothing more than a placeholder in soone else’s life. But maybe that was too much to hope for... especially from soone like Damon.
Still, no matter what happened... I wasn’t going to let anyone walk over . And definitely not his Luna, if he brought one in.
’If he took a mate, where would that leave ?... At the bottom? Hidden away like a dirty secret?’
The thought made my chest feel tight.
I drew in a shaky breath and stood from the chair. But the mont I rose to my feet, sothing stopped .
The mark on my shoulder began to burn as if it were lit by fire. I groaned in pain. My vision blurred for a second.
Then a familiar sound ca, a lullaby drifting through the air.
I turned my head slowly, unsure if I was imagining it. It didn’t sound like it belonged to this world. It was gentle, haunting like it was reaching through the walls, whispering to sothing inside .
My heart skipped.
’Where was it coming from?’
I looked around, but there was nothing out of place. Just the cold room and the dim light.
Still... the lullaby grew louder. Like it was calling , telling to co ho.
The words brushed across my ear, carried by a warmth I unconsciously longed for. My body moved on its own. Step by step, I walked across the room toward the far wall, where the air shimred like heat rising off stone.
A soft, blue light, swirling and rippling like water. The voice seed to be coming from the other side of the portal.
My eyes grew dazed. Everything else faded, the cold, the confusion, the sting of Damon’s cold words. Even the pain in my back began to fade away.
I couldn’t explain it, but the lullaby wrapped around like a mory. For the first ti in a long... I felt safe and relaxed.
I believe if I embrace the calling, maybe I’ll have a chance to rewrite my fate again. Maybe it was the new beginning that I had been longing for.
I reached my hands towards the portal, a smile gracing my lips.
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