Transcription
They called her the runt of the Blackwood Pack, an embarrassment, a mistake. When Alfa Jackson Miller rejected Flora Vance on her 18th birthday, he didn't just break her heart. He sentenced her to death in the frozen wastelands. Everyone laughed. Everyone mocked her as she ran into the snow. They thought she was gone forever. They were wrong.
3 months later at the Grand Solstice Ball, the doors to the royal hall didn't just open. They were blown off their hinges. The most feared man in existence, the Alpha King, Kalin Thorne, walked in. The music stopped. The laughter died. Because the king wasn't alone, and when the pack saw what he was carrying in his arms, their blood ran cold. You won't believe the revenge that was about to unfold.
The thunder over the Blackwood territory wasn't just weather. It felt like the sky itself was screaming. Inside the pack house, however, the mood was electric. It was Alfa Jackson Miller's ascension ceremony, and coincidentally, the 18th birthday of the pack's servant girl, Flora Vance. Flora scrubbed the hardwood floors of the ballroom, her hands roar and red from the lie soap. She wasn't just a servant. She was an omega. the lowest of the low orphaned at five and raised by a pack that viewed her as a burden. But today, today was different. Today her wolf would awaken. She would find her mate.
She glanced up as Jackson walked in. He was handsome in that cruel, sharpedged way, tall, broadshouldered, with sandy blonde hair and eyes like polished slate. Flora had loved him from the shadows for years as their eyes locked a jolt of electricity stronger than the storm outside surged through her. Mate her inner wolf whispered. "He is ours," Flora scrambled to her feet, wiping her wet hands on her ragged apron. A smile, tentative and hopeful, broke across her face. "Alfa Jackson," she breathed out, stepping forward. It's you, the moon goddess. She chose us.
The music in the room didn't stop, but the people near them did. Jackson stared at her. For a second, Flora saw recognition in his eyes. He felt it, too. But then the recognition was strangled by disgust. He looked at her tattered gray dress, her messy brown hair, the dirt on her cheek. Then he looked at Tiffany Stlair, the beta's daughter, who was clinging to his arm. Tiffany was everything Flora wasn't. Blonde, curvaceious, wealthy, and cruel. Jackson laughed. It was a cold, dry sound. You, he sneered loud enough for the gathering crowd to hear. You think the moon goddess would pair a high alpha with a floor scrubbing omega rat, but the bond. Flora stammered her heart hammering against her ribs. You feel it, Jackson? I know you do.
Jackson stepped closer, looming over her. The heat of the bond was undeniable, pulling them together, but he fought it with pure ego. He grabbed her chin, his grip bruising. I, Alfa Jackson Miller of the Blackwood Pack, reject you, Flora Vance, as my mate and Luna. The words were a physical blow. Flora gasped, clutching her chest as a searing pain ripped through her soul. The feeling of a bond snapping before it could fully form. She fell to her knees, gasping for air. "Accept it!" Jackson roared, his voice using the alpha command. "I Flora sobbed tears mixing with the dirt on her face. I accept your rejection." Tiffany stepped forward, giggling, and poured her glass of red wine over Flora's head. The crimson liquid dripped down Flora's face like blood. Oops. Tiffany smirked. Looks like the trash needs taking out. Jackson, baby, you don't want this stray hanging around, do you? She's bad luck. Jackson looked at Flora with dead eyes. You're banished, Flora. Rogue, if you're not off Blackwood Land by midnight, the warriors will hunt you down for sport. The hall erupted in laughter. It was a wall of sound, mocking her pain.
Flora didn't pack a bag. She didn't say goodbye. She simply ran. She burst out the back doors into the torrential freezing rain. She ran until her lungs burned. She ran toward the northern ridge, the border of the dead lands, the territory rumored to belong to the Alpha King, a man said to be more monster than wolf. Legend said he killed anyone who trespassed. But Flora didn't care. Death by a monster was better than being hunted by the boy she had loved. She crossed the border, the snow becoming deeper, the cold biting into her bones. Her vision blurred, her legs gave out. She collapsed into a snowbank. The cold numbing the pain in her heart. Let me die, she prayed to the moon goddess. Just let it end. The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was a pair of glowing violet eyes emerging from the blizzard. Not yellow, not blue, violet. The mark of the royal lykan line. A massive shadow blocked out the wind and a scent of pine and ancient power washed over her. Then everything went black.
3 months later, the royal palace of the Lykan kingdom was a structure of glass and steel built into the side of a mountain. Tonight it was hosting the winter solstice ball, the most important political event of the decade. Every alpha from the continent was summoned. Alfa Jackson Miller adjusted his silk tie in the reflection of the limousine window. He looked successful. In the 3 months since he had rejected Flora, his pack had secured a lucrative mining deal, though rumors whispered that his temper had become volatile, his leadership shaky. Stop fidgeting, Jackson. Tiffany snapped. She was wearing a gown that cost more than most pack houses, a shimmering silver number that left little to the imagination. This is our night. We need to impress the king. If we get the Southern Alliance contract, we'll be the richest pack in the West. I know, Jackson grumbled. He felt hollow. Ever since that night in the rain since the bond snapped, he had felt a constant dull ache in his chest. He ignored it. He had Tiffany. He had power. That was what mattered. Do you think the king will actually show up? Kalin Thorne hasn't been seen in public for 5 years. He'll show, Tiffany said, checking her makeup. And when he sees me, he'll wish he wasn't so reclusive.
They entered the grand hall. It was breathtaking. Chandeliers the size of cars hung from the ceiling, casting golden light on hundreds of werewolves in their finest attire. Waiters moved silently with trays of champagne. Jackson and Tiffany mingled their arrogance radiating off them. They laughed with Alfa Marcus of the riverpack and sneered at the weaker packs from the lands. Did you ever hear what happened to that little omega of yours? Alpha Marcus asked, swirling his drink. The one you kicked out? Jackson stiffened. Flora. She's dead. No one survives the northern ridge in winter without a pack. Good riddance. She was weak stock. Pathetic. Really? Tiffany chimed in, linking her arm through Jackson's. She actually thought she was Jackson's mate. Can you imagine an Omega Luna? It would have been a laughing stock. The group chuckled, but the laughter died quickly. A deep, resonant gong sounded through the hall. It vibrated in the chests of every wolf present. The chatter ceased instantly. The massive double doors at the top of the marble staircase, doors made of solid oak and reinforced with silver began to groan. The scent hit them first. It wasn't just a scent. It was a physical force. It smelled of ozone, deep winter forests, and blood. It was the scent of an apex predator. Many of the weaker wolves in the hall instinctively bared their necks, their knees shaking. "The king," Jackson whispered, feeling a primal fear sweat break out on his palms. He grabbed Tiffany's hand, squeezing it too hard. Bow your head.
The doors didn't just open. They were pushed wide with effortless power. Silence fell over the hall. Absolute terrifying silence. Standing at the top of the stairs was Kalin Thorne. He was massive, standing nearly 7 ft tall, dressed in a custom black suit that strained against his muscles. His hair was black as a raven's wing. And his eyes, his eyes were a glowing, piercing violet that scanned the room with predatory disdain, but nobody was looking at the king's face. The entire hall froze. 300 guests stopped breathing. Because the king was carrying something, cradled in his massive arms, pressed against his chest as if she were the most precious thing in the universe, was a woman. She was dressed in a gown of midnight blue silk that flowed down past the king's arms like water. Her skin was porcelain pale, glowing with health. Diamonds glittered at her throat and ears. Jackson Miller squinted. He blinked sure he was hallucinating. The woman turned her head slightly resting her cheek against the king's shoulder. She looked down at the crowd. It was Flora. But it wasn't the flora Jackson knew. The dirt was gone. The ragged clothes were gone. The fear was gone. She radiated a power that rivaled the king himself. Her scent had changed, too. It was no longer the scent of a servant. It was the scent of winter roses and moonlight. "Impossible," Tiffany whispered, her voice trembling. "She's dead."
You said she was dead. King Kalin took the first step down the marble stairs. Thud. Every step echoed like a war drum. He didn't look at the crowd. He looked only at the woman in his arms. He walked with a possessiveness that made every male in the room want to run and hide. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped directly in the center of the ballroom. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, leaving a wide circle around them. Jackson and Tiffany were left standing at the front, exposed. Kalin gently lowered Flora's feet to the floor, but he kept a possessive arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He looked up his violet eyes, locking directly onto Jackson Miller. The temperature in the room seemed to drop 20°. Who? Kalin's voice rumbled low and deadly, sounding like grinding stones, is the man who rejected my queen. The silence in the grand hall was so absolute that the sound of champagne bubbles popping in crystal glasses sounded like gunshots. King Kalin's violet eyes bore into Jackson Miller. It was a gaze that promised violence. The king didn't shout. He didn't need to. His voice was a low rumble that vibrated through the floorboards, shaking the very bones of every wolf in the room. "I asked a question," Kalin said, his hand tightening protectively on Flora's waist. "Which one of you foolish curs threw her into the snow?"
Jackson felt his wolf whimper inside him, a pathetic sound of submission he couldn't control. He wanted to run, but his legs were frozen. Beside him, Tiffany was digging her nails into his bicep, her face pale beneath her heavy makeup. Flora looked at Jackson. For years, she had looked at him with adoration. Now her eyes were clear, cold pools of blue ice. She slowly raised a finger, pointing it directly at Jackson's chest. "Him," she whispered. Her voice was soft, but in the silent hall it carried like a bell. Alfa Jackson Miller of the Blackwood Pack. Kalin's lips curled into a snarl that exposed elongated razor-sharp canines. He took a step forward. The crowd gasped and scrambled back, terrified of being caught in the splash zone of the king's rage. You. Kalin laughed a dark, terrifying sound. He looked Jackson up and down with utter contempt. You are the one you held the stars in your hands and threw them in the mud because you wanted. He glanced briefly at Tiffany, his nose wrinkling as if he smelled rotting meat. Glass. I I, Jackson stammered, his alpha aura, usually so oppressive to his own pack, flickered and died in the presence of the king. She was an Omega, your majesty, a servant. She scrubbed my floors. She was unworthy. Unworthy? Kalin roared. The sound shattered the windows on the far side of the hall. Shards of glass rained down, but no one moved. She is my true mate. Kalin announced, his voice booming. She is the queen of the Lykan kingdom. And you, little puppy, you sentenced her to death.
The revelation hit the room like a physical blow. true mate. It was the rarest bond in existence, stronger than a standard mate bond. It meant their souls were knit together by the moon goddess herself. Tiffany, unable to read the room, or perhaps just too stupid to care, stepped forward. Your majesty, surely you're mistaken, she said, her voice high and pitchy. She's a nobody. She has no wolf. She's defective. Jackson rejected her for the good of the bloodline. Kalin didn't even look at Tiffany. He simply waved his hand as if swatting a fly. A wave of invisible kinetic energy slammed into Tiffany, lifting her off her feet and throwing her 10 ft backward. She crashed into a table of horderves, collapsing in a heap of shrimp cocktails and broken china. "Silence," Kalin commanded. "When the queen speaks, the dogs listen. He turned his attention back to Flora, his expression softened instantly, the monster receding to reveal the man who adored her. He lifted her hand and kissed the knuckles right over a scar she had gotten from cleaning Jackson's fireplace years ago. "Tell them, my love," Kalin said softly. "Tell them who you really are."
Flora stepped away from the king's embrace. She stood alone in the center of the room. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, a silver light began to glow from her skin. It wasn't a reflection. It was coming from her. Her eyes snapped open, and they were no longer blue. They were silver. Pure molten silver. The pressure in the room skyrocketed. It wasn't the heavy crushing pressure of an alpha. It was something ancient. something holy. "I am not just an omega," Flora said, her voice echoing with a dual tone vibration that commanded instant obedience. "I am the last of the Silver Moon lineage." Gasps erupted throughout the hall. Old wolves fell to their knees. The Silver Moon lineage was a myth, the bloodline of the original healers and sear wolves, thought to be extinct for centuries. They were the only wolves capable of commanding alphas without raising a hand. Jackson's jaw dropped. He had rejected a bloodline that was considered royalty among royalty. He had treated a goddess like garbage. And Flora continued staring Jackson down. I am the one who survived your cruelty. Remember this moment, Jackson, because everything you have is about to crumble.
The tension in the ballroom was suffocating. The music had not restarted. The guests were frozen, torn between terror of the king and awe of the silver moon queen. Jackson stood amidst the ruins of his pride. He looked at Tiffany, who was wiping cocktail sauce off her expensive dress, looking ridiculous and small. Then he looked at Flora, glowing with ethereal power. The regret hit him like a freight train. It wasn't just about power. The bond he had snapped was trying to reattach itself. His wolf was howling in his head, screaming, "Mate, mate, mate." But it was too late. Kalin gestured to the head table, which was set on a deis overlooking the room. "Come, my queen, let us dine. The insects can watch." He led Flora up the stairs. Jackson and the other alphas were forced to take their seats at the lower tables. Jackson found himself seated at a table near the kitchens, usually reserved for unranked wolves. It was a deliberate insult. As the first course was served, a roasted quail with truffle glaze, the whispers began. Did you see her eyes? Jackson Miller is a fool. The Blackwood pack is finished. Jackson gripped his fork until it bent. He couldn't eat. He watched Kalin feed Flora a grape, his eyes filled with a devotion Jackson had never shown anyone. How? Jackson whispered to himself. How did she survive?
Flashback. 3 months ago. The snow was burying Flora. Her heart rate had slowed to a crawl. She was minutes from death. When Kalin Thorne found her, he hadn't been looking for a mate. He had been hunting a rogue bear on his borders. He smelled the distressed sweet vanilla and rain and followed it. When he saw the small broken body in the snow, his beast roared. He scooped her up his skin burning where it touched hers. He didn't take her to a hospital. He took her to the sacred pools in his mountain fortress waters infused with moonstone. For 3 days, she lay in a coma. Kalin sat by her side, refusing to eat or sleep. He poured his own energy into her. On the fourth day, the royal healer, an elder named Thorne, came to him with shaking hands. "My king," the healer had whispered. We ran her blood work. "She she isn't an Omega. I don't care what she is," Kalin had growled. She is mine. No, sire, you don't understand. She is a latent. Her wolf was dormant because she was malnourished and abused. But her blood, she carries the silver moon marker. If she wakes up, she won't just be a lunar. She will be an empress. When Flora finally woke, her brown eyes turned silver. The abuse of the Blackwood pack hadn't broken her. It had acted like a pressure cooker, condensing her power until she was ready to explode. And flashback back in the ballroom, Flora sipped her wine. She could feel Jackson's eyes on her. She could feel his pathetic desire. It disgusted her. "He's staring at you," Kalin murmured, leaning close to her ear. "Shall I rip his eyes out?" Flora smiled a cold, calculating smile. "No, my king. Death is too easy. I want him to lose everything first. I want him to feel what I felt. Helplessness. Kalin grinned, stroking her cheek. As you wish. Let the games begin.
Kalin stood up, tapping his glass. The room went silent again. Tonight is a night of celebration, Kalin announced. But it is also a night of business. The Southern Alliance contract. I have decided to award it tonight. Jackson's head snapped up. This was it. The contract he needed to save his pack from bankruptcy. If he got this, he could rebuild. He could prove he was still worthy. The contract, Kalin said, his eyes locking on Jackson, requires a pack with strong leadership, moral integrity, and respect for the old ways. Jackson puffed out his chest, standing up. Your majesty, the Blackwood Pack, has the highest mining yield in the sector. We are the logical choice. Sit down, boy. Kalin snapped. I am offering the contract. Kalin continued to the riverpack. Alfa Marcus. Jackson turned pale. Alpha Marcus, the man he had mocked earlier. However, Kalin added a cruel glint in his eye. There is a second matter. The territory of the Blackwood Pack borders my lands. Since Alpha Miller has proven himself incompetent by banishing a silver moon wolf, I am declaring a challenge. The room gasped. A royal challenge. I will not fight you, Jackson, Kalin said smoothly. That would be unfair. I would kill you in a blink. No, you will fight for your title, but not against me. Kalin turned to Flora. My queen, would you like to name his challenger? Flora stood up. She looked at Jackson, then at the terrified Tiffany. I choose. Tiffany St. Clare, Flora said. Confusion rippled through the room. Tiffany wasn't an alpha. She was a spoiled beta. Tiffany? Jackson asked bewildered. No, Flora corrected. I don't mean Tiffany will fight for you. I mean Tiffany will fight you. Excuse me? Tiffany squeaked, stepping out from behind the dessert table. I'm not fighting Jackson. We're getting married.
Flora walked down the stairs, the crowd parting for her. She moved with the grace of a predator. She stopped a few feet from the couple. Are you?" Flora asked. She waved her hand and a large screen descended from the ceiling of the ballroom. King Kalin's spies are very thorough. The screen flickered to life. It was a video recording. The timestamp was from yesterday. It showed Tiffany in bed, but not with Jackson. She was with Jackson's own beta, a man named Silus. The audio played over the speakers crisp and clear. Jackson is such a boore. Tiffany's voice giggled on the recording. Once I'm Luna, I'll have access to the pack vaults. We can drain the accounts and leave that idiot with his failing minds. He's so obsessed with that dead Omega girl, he won't even notice. The video cut off. The silence in the hall was deafening. Jackson turned slowly to look at Tiffany. His face was a mask of shock and fury. The woman he had rejected his true mate for. The woman he had humiliated Flora for was playing him. "You," Jackson choked out. "It's a lie," Tiffany screamed. "It's a deep fake. They made it up. My spies do not lie." Kalin said from the Deis, sipping his wine. Flora smiled. "You see, Jackson, you thought I was trash. You thought she was a treasure, but in reality you threw away a diamond to pick up a piece of broken glass. And now that glass has cut you. Jackson's anger exploded. He backhanded Tiffany, sending her sprawling to the floor. You traitorous witch. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Calin tuttered. "Violence against females is frowned upon in my court, Miller. Save it for the ring. I challenge her." Jackson roared, losing his mind. I reject her. I reject Tiffany St. Clare. You can't, Flora said calmly. You already marked her. I smell it on you. You bit her last week, didn't you? To solidify your relationship before the ball. Jackson froze. He had in a moment of insecurity he had placed a mating mark on Tiffany, a mark that was binding unless dissolved by death or a royal decree. You are stuck with her, Flora said coldheartedly. Unless Unless what? Jackson begged. He fell to his knees, crawling toward Flora. Flora, please. I made a mistake. A horrible mistake. The bond, I still feel it. It's weak, but it's there. You are my mate, not him. You belong to me. He reached out to grab the hem of her dress. Crack. Before Jackson's fingers could touch the silk, a bolt of lightning, actual lightning, arked from Flora's body. It struck Jackson in the chest, blasting him backward across the polished floor. He slid 20 ft his chest, smoking. Flora's eyes were glowing so bright they were blinding. Her hair floated around her face as if she were underwater. The air smelled of ozone and burning pine. "I belong to no one," Flora said, her voice booming like thunder. "I chose Kalin, but you. You are right about one thing. The bond needs to be settled." She turned to the king. "Kalin, grant me the right of severance." The crowd murmured nervously. The right of severance was an ancient brutal ritual. It wasn't just a rejection. It was the forceful ripping out of the mate bond from the soul. If the person performing it wasn't strong enough, it could kill both parties. Kalin looked worried for the first time. Flora, it is dangerous. It requires massive energy. I am the silver moon," she said, lifting her chin. "I am the storm." Kalin nodded slowly. "Granted." Flora turned back to Jackson, who was coughing up blood on the floor. "Get up, Alfa," she commanded. "Tonight, I don't just reject you. Tonight, I erase you."
The air in the grand hall of the Lykan Palace didn't just feel heavy. It felt pressurized, like the atmosphere inside a submarine diving too deep. The silence that followed Flora's declaration was absolute, broken only by the whimpering of Tiffany Saint. Clare, who was huddled behind a velvet curtain, too terrified to look. Jackson Miller lay on the polished marble floor, smoke rising from the charred lapels of his tuxedo. He coughed a wet hacking sound that sprayed droplets of blood onto the pristine white stone. He looked up his vision, swimming and saw her. Flora, she was no longer the girl who had scrubbed his floors. She wasn't the runt he had mocked. She was a deity made flesh. The air around her distorted with heat and raw power. ripples of silver energy cascading off her shoulders like a waterfall. Her eyes, once a soft, pleading brown, were now two orbs of molten mercury, devoid of pupils, devoid of mercy. The right of severance. Alpha Marcus whispered from a nearby table, his face drained of color. She can't mean it. It hasn't been performed in 400 years. It kills the rejector as often as the rejected. I heard you, Flora said. She didn't shout, but her voice seemed to originate from the walls themselves, a surround sound vibration that rattled the teeth of every guest. She looked down at Jackson. Do you know why it kills Jackson? Because a mate bond is a root. It grows into your heart. To rip it out is to tear out a piece of your own soul. Jackson scrambled backward, his heels sliding on the floor. Flora, don't. Please think about the bond the moon goddess made it. You can't defy her will. You defied her will when you treated her gift like garbage, Flora replied. She took a step forward. The marble beneath her bare foot cracked a spiderweb fracture spreading outward. She raised both hands, palms facing the vated ceiling. "Kalain," she said. Her voice wavered slightly, a crack in the armor. The amount of energy she was channeling was agonizing. It felt like fire coursing through her veins. She needed an anchor or she would burn herself alive from the inside out. The Alpha King didn't hesitate. He had been waiting, coiled like a viper, watching every movement in the room to ensure no one interfered. He stepped up behind her, his massive frame towering over her petite form. He didn't just hold her, he enveloped her. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest, and placed his other hand flat over her heart. I am here, Flora. Kalin murmured his voice, a low rumble that vibrated through her spine. "Draw from me. Take everything you need. I am your battery. I am your shield." As soon as Kalin touched her, the erratic, dangerous flickering of Flora's silver aura stabilized. His energy, dark violet, and ancient, poured into her, mixing with her silver light. It was a beautiful, terrifying contrast. the darkness of the void supporting the brilliance of the moon. "Show it to me," Flora commanded. "Show me the bond." She closed her eyes and thrust her hands downward. A collective gasp went through the crowd. In the space between Flora and Jackson, the metaphysical became physical. The mate bond materialized for everyone to see. Usually poets described mate bonds as golden threads or ribbons of light. This was not that. Extending from Flora's chest was a beam of pure shimmering gold. It was beautiful, strong, and pulsing with life. But as it crossed the distance to Jackson, it changed. Halfway across the room, the gold turned a sickly necrotic green. By the time it reached Jackson's chest, it was black, oozing a spectral sludge that looked like tar. "Look at it!" Flora screamed, opening her silver eyes. "Look at what your cruelty did to us." The crowd recoiled in horror. The bond was infected. Jackson's rejection, his malice, his betrayal, it had rotted the connection. It was poisoning Flora, draining her light to feed his darkness. Jackson stared at the black oily tether hooking into his chest. He felt a sudden surge of possession. Even rotted, it was power. It was his connection to the silver moon. If she cut it, he would be nothing. No. Jackson roared a sudden burst of adrenaline, giving him the strength to stand. He grabbed the black energy with his physical hands, trying to haul Flora toward him. You are mine. I am your alpha. I forbid this. The pull was violent. Flora gasped, stumbling forward as the bond yanked at her heart. Kalin growled a sound so deep it shattered the crystal glasses on the nearest table. He dug his heels into the floor, holding Flora back, engaging in a tugofwar with the metaphysical connection. End it, Flora, Kalin roared. Now before it drains you dry, Flora gritted her teeth. Tears of silver liquid leaked from her eyes. The pain was excruciating, like a serrated knife twisting in her chest. She had to choose. Keep the rot and live as a servant to a man who hated her or cut the limb to save the body. She focused on the love she felt from Kalin. The warmth of his hand on her heart, the safety of his scent. "I reject you," she whispered. The air pressure in the room dropped so sharply that ears popped. "I reject you," she screamed, her voice, amplifying into a sonic boom. She raised her right hand. The silver energy condensed, swirling faster and faster until it formed a long, jagged blade of pure lightning. It buzzed with the sound of a thousand angry hornets. Jackson's eyes went wide. He realized too late that he wasn't dealing with an omega. He was dealing with an executioner. Flora await. She didn't wait. With a primal cry that echoed the pain of 18 years of abuse, she swung the lightning blade down in a vicious arc. Crackboom. The sound was louder than a cannon fire. It was the sound of destiny snapping. The blade sliced through the tether. The explosion of energy was cataclysmic. A shockwave blasted outward from the point of impact. Tables were overturned. Guests were thrown off their feet, tumbling over each other in a chaotic heap of silk and tuxedos. The chandeliers above swung violently, crystals raining down like hail. Kalin turned his back to the blast shielding Flora with his own body as the backlash hit them. He grunted as the invisible force hammered against his spine, but he did not let go. Jackson was not so lucky. When the bond snapped, the black necrotic end whiplashed back into him. It struck him in the chest with the force of a freight train. He didn't just fall. He was launched. He flew backward through the air, his body ragdolling until he smashed into a stone pillar 30 ft away. The stone cracked on impact. He slid to the floor, limp, his eyes rolled back in his head.
Silence fell over the grand hall. Dust from the shattered ceiling tiles drifted through the air like snow settling on the shoulders of the stunned guests. The silence in the grand hall was no longer the silence of anticipation. It was the silence of a graveyard. In the center of the wreckage, Jackson Miller lay on his back. He stared up at the broken chandelier swaying precariously above him. He blinked, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. His chest throbbed with a dull, aching bruise where the backlash had hit him. But that wasn't the pain that terrified him. The terror came from what was missing. For 18 years, ever since his first shift, Jackson had heard the low, guttural growl of his wolf in the back of his mind. It was a constant companion, a source of aggression, strength, and instinct. It was the battery that powered his alpha command. Now he reached out with his mind, searching for that presence. He grasped at the mental tether that connected man to beast. He found nothing. It was as if a room in his house had suddenly been bricked up. There was no growl, no instinct, no heat, just a cold, echoing void. The severance hadn't just cut the bond with Flora. The sheer voltage of a silver moon rejection had cauterized his connection to the spirit world entirely. "My wolf!" Jackson croked the sound pathetic in the vast room. He tried to sit up, but his limbs felt heavy and clumsy, like they belonged to a stranger. Without his wolf's passive healing, the bruises were already darkening, and his broken ribs grated together with sharp, biting agony. I can't I can't feel him. King Kalin stood over him. The king didn't look exhausted, despite the energy he had just expended. If anything, he looked energized. his violet eyes glowing with the satisfaction of a predator that has successfully defended its mate. He still held Flora in his arms, her feet dangling inches off the floor, treating her as if she were made of hollow glass. You were looking for something that is no longer there, "Boy," Kalin said. His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of a judge passing a final sentence. Kalin turned to address the room. The hundreds of alphas, betas, and lunas watched with baited breath. This was history in the making. Witness, Kalin bellowed. Witness the cost of betrayal. The moon goddess gives us our wolves as a gift. She entrusts us with power to protect, not to destroy. Jackson Miller used his power to crush the weak. He rejected his true mate for vanity. Kalin looked down at Jackson with a sneer of absolute disgust. And so the goddess has taken her gift back. A murmur of horror rippled through the crowd. To be wolfless, to become a null was a fate worse than death in their society. It meant you were lower than an omega. You were human, but without the ignorance of the human world to comfort you. You knew what you had lost. Jackson Miller. Kalin pronounced his voice echoing off the stone walls. I hereby strip you of the title of alpha. You are unfit to lead. You are unfit to follow. You are nothing. You can't do this. Jackson screamed. Tears streaming down his face, mixing with the soot and blood. My pack. The Blackwood Pack needs me. The mines. The contracts. The Blackwood Pack is dead. Kalin cut him off coldly. I am dissolving the charter effectively immediately. Your lands are seized by the crown. Your warriors have already been contacted by my generals. They will be given the choice to swear feelalty to Queen Flora or leave the territory by sunrise. Jackson slumped back against the pillar defeated. Everything he had worked for the status, the money, the ego was gone in a flash of silver lightning.
From the shadows of the velvet curtains, a movement caught the king's eye. "And you!" Kalin growled. "Come out!" Two royal guards, massive wolves in ceremonial armor, dragged Tiffany Stlair into the light. She was fighting them, kicking and scratching her expensive silver dress, torn her makeup, smeared into a mask of panic. Let me go, Tiffany shrieked. She looked at Jackson's broken form and then looked at Kalin with desperate, pleading eyes. Your majesty, please. I had nothing to do with this. Jackson forced me. He's the one who rejected her. I was just I was just a victim. Flora, still in Kalin's arms, slowly raised her head. Her strength was returning, fueled by the king's proximity. She looked at the woman who had poured wine on her head 3 months ago. The woman who had made her life a living hell. "A victim?" Flora asked softly. Kalin lowered her feet to the floor so she could stand, though he kept a supporting arm around her waist. Flora walked forward her bare footsteps silent on the marble. She stopped inches from Tiffany. You mocked me when I was starving. You laughed when I was banished into the blizzard. You plotted to steal the pack funds and leave Jackson bankrupt. I I was joking. Tiffany stammered, trembling so hard her teeth chattered. Flora, we were friends once, remember? In kindergarten. Please, I don't want to be with him. Look at him. He's a loser. He's a null. Tiffany turned to the crowd looking for a savior. I'm a beta. I have high breeding. I am available for mating. Anyone? The silence from the crowd was deafening. Alpha Marcus turned his back. Others followed suit, refusing to even make eye contact with her. She was social poison. Kalin laughed. It was a dark, dry sound. You seem to forget the laws of our kind, Tiffany. You wanted the status of an alpha's mate so badly that you rushed the process. The king pointed a long, clawed finger at Tiffany's neck. There, just above her collarbone, was a fading, ugly bruise. A bite mark. Jackson marked you, Kalin stated. But he's not an alpha anymore, Tiffany cried. The mark shouldn't count. The mark binds you to the soul, not the rank, Kalin explained with a cruel smile. You accepted his bite. You accepted his claim. And unlike Flora, you do not have the silver moon bloodline to perform a severance. You are not powerful enough to break it. Tiffany's face went white. She looked at Jackson, who was weeping silently on the floor, a broken, powerless man. You are bound to him," Flora said, her voice devoid of malice, simply stating a fact. "Where he goes, you must go. If he starves, you starve. If he wanders, you wander." "No," Tiffany whispered, sinking to her knees. "No, please. I have money." "My father. Your father has already sent a message downing you to save his own reputation," Kalin said, checking a notification on his phone with casual indifference. "You are penniless." Kalin waved his hand toward the shattered double doors where the cold wind of the coming dawn was blowing in. "Guards," the king commanded, "escort Mr. Miller and his mate to the border of the human lands. Give them nothing but the clothes on their backs. If they return to Lykan territory, hunt them. The guards hoisted Jackson up by his armpits. He didn't fight. He hung limp, his spirit completely crushed. Tiffany screamed as they grabbed her, dragging her heels across the floor, begging, bargaining, promising anything to stay. "Flora, help me, please." Tiffany's voice echoed through the hall. Flora didn't look away. She watched them until they were dragged out the doors and into the night. She watched until the doors were pulled shut, cutting off Tiffany's screams. Flora let out a long, shaky breath. It wasn't a breath of triumph. It was a breath of release. The boogeyman was gone. The weight that had sat on her chest since she was 5 years old had finally lifted. She felt a large, warm hand cup her cheek. She turned her face into Kalin's palm. "It is done," Kalin whispered. Flora nodded. "It is done."
Slowly, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The terror of the violence faded, replaced by a profound sense of awe. Alfa Marcus was the first to move. He walked to the center of the room, approaching Flora and Kalin. He didn't bow to Kalin. He turned slightly and dropped to one knee, lowering his head directly toward Flora. My queen, Marcus said, his voice ringing with genuine respect. The riverpack stands with you. It started a chain reaction. One by one, the proudest, strongest alphas of the continent fell to their knees. The rustle of fabric filled the room as 300 wolves bowed. They weren't bowing to her because she was Kalin's mate. They were bowing to the woman who had walked through hell, survived the ice, and wielded the lightning of the ancients. They were bowing to the silver moon. Flora looked around the room, her silver eyes shimmering with tears. She had spent her life invisible, scrubbing the floors these people walked on. Now they were at her feet. Rise," Flora said, her voice soft but commanding. "Tonight we do not bow. Tonight we start over." Kalin beamed with pride. He took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. "Come, there is one more thing you must see." He led her away from the crowd, up the grand staircase, and out onto the royal balcony. The cold air hit Flora's face, but she didn't shiver. Her blood was humming with magic, keeping her warm. The sun was just beginning to crest over the jagged peaks of the northern mountains. The sky was a canvas of violent, violet, burning orange and soft gold. Below them, the vast forests of the Lykan kingdom stretched out endlessly, covered in a pristine blanket of snow. "Look," Kalin said, gesturing to the horizon. For years, this kingdom has been waiting. Waiting for the one who could bring the balance back. My line has the strength, Flora. But your line, your line has the heart. He turned her to face him. The morning light caught the diamonds in her hair and the silver flexcks in her eyes. I have lived in this castle alone for a century. Kalin admitted his voice vulnerable. I thought I was a monster. I thought I was destined to rule a kingdom of ice and fear, but when I found you in the snow, you melted it. Flora reached up, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. They told me monsters lived in the north, she whispered. They were wrong. The monsters were back in Blackwood. I found a king. Kalin leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. You found a partner. All of this, the armies, the wealth, the land. It means nothing without you. Rule with me, Flora. Not behind me, beside me. Flora looked out at the sunrise, a symbol of a new day, a new life. The girl who was rejected in the rain was gone. In her place stood a queen. Always, she promised. As the sun fully broke over the mountains, bathing them in golden light, Kalin kissed her. It wasn't the hungry, desperate kiss of the bond snapping into place. It was a slow, deliberate seal of a promise kept. High above the mountains, a lone eagle screeched, and deep in the valleys below, thousands of wolves began to howl a song of welcome to the silver moon queen.
And that is the story of how the runt of the pack brought the entire kingdom to its knees. I honestly got chills during that severance ritual. Seeing Jackson lose his wolf was the ultimate instant karma, wasn't it? He literally lost the one thing he used to bully everyone else. And Tiffany being stuck with him as a penniles outcast. That is poetic justice at its finest. I want to know what you think. Do you think Kalin went too easy on them by letting them live? Or is living as a null actually a worse punishment than death? Let me know your theory in the comments. I love reading your debates. If you enjoyed this dramatic saga of werewolf romance, magic, and revenge, please do me a huge favor and smash that like button. It really helps the channel. And if you haven't already, hit subscribe and ring that bell so you're the first to know when the next story drops. We have an even crazier tale coming next week involving a hidden baby and a billionaire mafia boss. You won't want to miss it. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next.