Chapter 3: Marriage Proposal
1132 Words
After Catherine had been dressed in fine clothes, she stepped out of her room. She refused to let any of the maids accompany her. With every step she took, she made her way toward the great hall, a place vast enough to hold two million people.
As she passed through the open doors, her eyes swept over the people inside. Some stood in pairs, others in groups, and a few, dressed in pure white gowns, were prepared for the ritual.
At the podium sat her man, and beside him was an empty throne meant for her as the Luna.
Her gaze went straight to Alpha Silas.
He was already looking at her.
His grip on the armrests of the throne tightened in panic, and the muscles in his body grew tense.
“My dear husband,” Catherine said softly, knowing he had heard her.
At that very moment, a voice cut through the hall.
“Listen. I want everyone to hear me...”
All eyes that had been fixed on Catherine shifted at once to the speaker.
“Do you know why I have not taken a sip from the wine glass in my hand?” Kyla asked loudly, smiling as she drew everyone’s attention.
Whispers immediately spread through the hall.
The news that had come out of the palace a few weeks ago had been deeply disturbing, but by now, everyone had accepted it—Kyla had slept with Alpha Silas.
What shocked them most was not just the scandal itself, but how the information had escaped the palace. Secrets from the palace walls rarely ever reached the outside world.
Someone, without a doubt, had been working behind the scenes.
Some of the pack elders turned toward Kyla’s father, who stood in a corner with his friends, and they began exchanging calculating glances.
“I am pregnant!” Kyla announced loudly, a wide smile spreading across her face.
Alpha Silas shot to his feet, his face tightening with worry.
Catherine’s reaction was even stronger. Her eyes filled with tears, and a suffocating pain gripped her heart so fiercely she could barely breathe. The once-quiet hall erupted into noise.
Her gaze drifted to the man she loved, and when she saw the shock on his face, her own turned pale. The depth of her disappointment cut through her.
Unable to bear it, she turned and fled from the hall.
Alpha Silas took a step forward, as if to follow her down the staircase, but stopped himself. Slowly, he withdrew his foot and sank back onto his throne in defeat.
He remained silent throughout the bonding ceremony, unable to escape the whispers or the suspicion in every gaze cast his way.
As soon as the mating ritual was over, he left the hall and retreated to his chamber, with his right-hand man, Lucky, following close behind.
“My Lord...” Lucky began.
Silas cut him off with a wave of his hand. “I know what you want to say, Lucky. I should have granted her an audience. I should have listened to her, tried to comfort her. But all of that is meaningless now. The pack elders have already made up their minds. None of them want her in the pack anymore. They want her gone. Out in the streets, they want her cast aside. I can’t watch over her all the time.”
Lucky understood his torment, but he still asked the question Silas most dreaded.
“Are you going to let her go?”
Let her go?
It was the one question Alpha Silas could not answer.
He sank onto his bed in silence, uncertainty weighing heavily on him. He did not know what decision he would make. He was unwilling to let her go—because despite everything, he still loved Catherine deeply.
But would his love be enough to protect her?
Lucky quietly stepped out, leaving Alpha Silas alone with his thoughts. Barely a minute had passed before Kyla entered.
Silas must have heard her footsteps from several meters away, because he had left just in time to give them privacy.
The moment Alpha Silas saw Kyla, his expression turned cold. Anger flickered in his eyes as he demanded, “Why didn’t you inform me before making such an announcement?”
Kyla met his gaze without fear and shot back, “Do you want the announcement of the pack heir to be inglorious?”
There was nothing glorious about her announcement. It was nothing but a calculated scheme.
“You got what you wanted. Leave. I need to think,” Alpha Silas said in a subdued voice, waving her away.
But Kyla refused to leave. She stared at him for a moment before saying, “My father is worried about my future and the future of our unborn child. Since my repu—”
Alpha Silas snapped. His eyes blazed blood-red as he howled, “Get out!”
Even Kyla was intimidated. She didn’t dare stay any longer and quickly rushed to the door.
Alpha Silas took a deep breath. He knew there was no way he could refuse to give Kyla and the child in her womb an identity.
He buried his face in his hands, frustration consuming him. Other than marrying her, there was no solution. The pack elders—and especially her father, Samuel—would never rest until he made her his wife. Public opinion had never favored Catherine.
The next morning, in court, one of the elders raised the matter.
“My Lord, for the future of the Moon Pack, for our prestige and honor, we cannot afford to leave the pack heir without an identity.”
Alpha Silas turned toward Elder Samuel at once. He knew Samuel was the one orchestrating everything. When Elder Samuel noticed Silas’s gaze on him, he bowed slightly and stepped forward instead of hiding in silence.
“My Lord,” he said, “please consider my daughter’s shame. She no longer dares to step outside the house. She is my only daughter, and I love her dearly. I cannot bear to watch her hide away in her room while others speak ill of her. It pains my heart. Please… you must take responsibility for my daughter’s honor.”
Of course, Alpha Silas knew every word was nonsense.
What shame?
What ridicule?
It was all lies. The people of the pack were jubilant over the news. They could hardly wait to be rid of Catherine.
Alpha Silas rose to his feet. His gaze swept across every face in the hall before he spoke slowly, each word heavy and deliberate.
“I will marry Kyla Samuel. Spread the news.”
Silence fell instantly.
The elders’ eyes widened in shock. None of them had expected him to agree so easily.
- Writer
