BOUND TO THE MAD ALPHA

Chapter 4

The air inside the Royal Sanctuary was thick with ancient magic and unbridled ambition, so heavy it seemed to settle inside the lungs.

High above the polished obsidian floor, banners bearing the Lunaris crest hung from the vaulted ceiling. Hundreds of she-wolves stood in rigid, nervous lines, their expensive silks rustling as they waited, each silently praying to be chosen.

Caelia stayed near the back, half-hidden behind a group of high-ranking noble daughters.

Every muscle in her body was locked tight.

“Just stay quiet.”

She repeated the words like a desperate mantra, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

Let them pick their golden princess. Let Cassandra win. Let anyone win, as long as I walk out of here alive.

On the raised dais, High Alpha Alaric Kade sat like a stone king, flanked by the pack elders.

Beside him stood Julian.

He was immaculately groomed now, dressed in dark royal velvet, his black hair swept neatly away from his face. His dark obsidian eyes appeared calm on the surface.

But Caelia could still feel the phantom heat of his mouth against her neck.

Her skin prickled at the memory.

Julian's sharp gaze swept across the crowd, studying every face with quiet, lethal intensity.

Then his eyes passed over Caelia's section.

Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

Julian's brow twitched faintly.

A shadow of doubt crossed his features.

The haze of his Blood Madness had clouded his memory, blurring the face of the mysterious girl who had appeared in the restricted corridor. Was this quiet, hooded girl in the back the little kitten who had run from him after somehow taming his beast?

Or was his mind simply playing tricks on him?

His eyes narrowed as he tracked her.

Before he could study her further, the herald's voice rang through the sanctuary.

"Candidate Cassandra Damon of the Lunaris Pack!"

Cassandra stepped forward with absolute Alpha pride.

Her chin was held high as she glided toward the altar, every movement calculated to command attention. Before stepping onto the raised platform, she cast one triumphant look over her shoulder.

Then she placed both palms against the jagged crystal hovering above the iron pillar.

The Moon Stone flared.

Golden light flooded the sanctuary, humming in perfect resonance with Cassandra's high-tier bloodline.

A soft murmur of approval passed through the elders.

Cassandra smiled.

Her golden eyes immediately lifted toward Julian, clearly expecting him to step down and claim her.

Julian didn't move. Not even an inch.

His expression remained completely unreadable, his gaze almost dismissive.

Cassandra's smile slowly faltered.

Her jaw tightened as humiliation burned beneath her carefully maintained Alpha composure.

She stepped down from the altar and moved aside, her golden eyes burning with barely concealed rage as the Moon Stone failed to enact the official wolf bond signal.

The evaluation continued.

One candidate after another approached the Moon Stone. The crystal responded with varying shades of blue, gold, and green, each color signifying different levels of compatibility.

But none produced the legendary crimson flare associated with a true fated bond.

Then the herald called the next name.

"Candidate Caelia Moon of the Moon Line!"

A cold tremor ran down Caelia's spine.

The line of she-wolves parted, leaving her exposed in the middle of the aisle.

No.

Her hands began trembling beneath her sleeves.

“No, no, no.”

“Not yet. I'm not ready for this.”

She hadn't even taken a step when a shrill, arrogant voice cut through the solemn silence.

"Wait!"

Caelia's stomach dropped. She knew that voice. She snapped her head toward the upper balcony.

Evelyn was descending the marble stairs, Cassian following closely behind her.

“What is she doing here?”

Horror flooded Caelia's chest.

She was supposed to stay at the estate.

Caelia strode quickly to Evelyn. “What are you doing here, Evelyn? You're not even a candidate?”

Evelyn only looked at her with disgust and pushed Caelia aside, offering a performative bow toward the high dais before pointing directly at Caelia.

"Your Highness! Elders!" she announced, her voice echoing throughout the sanctuary. "There has been a massive mistake!"

She pointed at Caelia.

"That girl is Caelia Moon, my disgraced older sister. She is a wolfless, zero-rank outcast! She possesses no aura, no wolf spirit, and no standing!"

Cassandra immediately stepped forward, seizing the opportunity.

"I knew it!" she spat. "I caught this rat sneaking around the restricted wing earlier! She doesn't just lack a wolf, Your Highness. She's a deceitful parasite who snuck into Astraea Academy to pollute the Royal Selection!"

She wants me executed.

Caelia's breath caught.

Evelyn brought me here to be a sacrificial lamb, and now she's using Cassandra to make sure I don't leave this room alive.

This whole selection was a death trap from the beginning.

"It is true, my Lords," Cassian added, stepping beside Evelyn with proud Beta authority. "She is a disgrace to our pack. Allowing a wolfless fraud to stand before the sacred Moon Stone is an insult to the Lunaris Royal line."

Gasps echoed throughout the sanctuary.

“Wait!” Caelia pleaded, “What are you saying, Evelyn? I–”

Whispers spread among the noble families like wildfire. Dozens of hateful, disgusted eyes turned toward Caelia.

Cassandra took two deliberate steps toward her.

"Look at her! She can't even defend herself! Speak up, trash! Tell the Court how you faked your way through the gates!"

Caelia swallowed hard.

She tried to summon a shred of authority, but her voice cracked beneath the weight of hundreds of watching Alphas.

"I... I didn't sneak in." She forced her chin upward. "I was summoned by the official mandate. My father sent me—"

"Your father sent a broken, defective to insult the King!" Cassandra cut her off viciously. "You have no right to speak, zero-rank!"

High Alpha Alaric's brow furrowed.

His crushing Alpha pressure filled the sanctuary as his voice thundered across the hall.

"A wolfless candidate sent to the Royal Selection? The Moon family dares insult the High Court with trash?"

"She should be executed on the spot, Your Highness!" Cassandra demanded.

Her voice rang with lethal certainty.

"Cleanse the sanctuary of her blood!"

"Execution!"

Several elders echoed the demand.

"Drag her out!"

Caelia stumbled backward. Her back struck a cold stone pillar.

Around the sanctuary, armored guard warriors stepped forward, iron spears leveling directly at her chest.

This is it. Tears of sheer frustration burned behind her eyes.

I survived the corruption. I survived the Mad Alpha. And now I'm going to be executed because my own sister lied.

"Hold your weapons."

The clear command sliced through the chaos.

Princess Rosalia Kade, Julian's younger sister, stepped toward the edge of the royal platform.

She was draped in shimmering silver silk, her expression one of cool aristocratic disdain as she looked down at Cassandra and Evelyn.

"The royal mandate demanded a daughter of the Moon line," Rosalia said smoothly. "She stands here as a daughter."

Her gaze shifted toward the altar. "If she is truly wolfless, the Moon Stone will simply reject her and remain cold."

Then her eyes returned to Cassandra.

"So why are you so terrified of letting her touch it, Lady Cassandra?"

A faint smile touched her lips. "Are you afraid a wolfless girl might outshine you?"

Cassandra flushed bright red. "Princess Rosalia, I only seek to protect the honor of—"

"Enough."

Rosalia waved one delicate hand toward the altar. "Let her test the Stone. If it remains black, you may execute her for wasting our time. If it reacts, the law stands."

High Alpha Alaric raised his hand.

The guards immediately stopped.

His eyes settled on Caelia. "Touch the Stone, girl."

Caelia stood frozen in the center of the aisle. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run.

There was nowhere to go.

Please.

She prayed silently to the Moon Goddess as she forced her feet toward the obsidian altar.

Reject me.

Stay cold.

Be dead.

Let them call me a fraud and throw me out of the territory.

Just don't light up.

The holy heat radiating from the crystal made the corruption inside her chest writhe violently.

Pain stabbed through her core.

Her hands trembled as she raised them.

Please... stay silent.

She pressed both palms against the surface of the Moon Stone.

For one agonizing second, nothing happened.

Then the crystal went completely dark.

Its white light vanished.

Evelyn immediately let out a victorious laugh.

"See! I told you! She's a useless, wolfless—"

CRACK.

The sound of a shattering mountain exploded through the sanctuary.

A blinding shockwave of pure energy erupted from the Moon Stone.

Heavy banners tore from the stone walls. Several guards were thrown from their feet.

The crystal didn't glow blue. It didn't glow gold.

It exploded into a magnificent storm of deep crimson and blazing silver.

Light shot toward the vaulted ceiling, flooding the sanctuary in blood-red radiance.

Ancient runes carved into the walls began to sing; even the crystal chandeliers rattled violently overhead.

The Moon Stone wasn't simply reacting.

It was roaring.

Sacred magic tore through Caelia's body.

Her hood was ripped from her head by the magical gale, revealing long silver-black hair whipping wildly around her face.

Her silver eyes blazed with pure, unyielding light. The entire sanctuary fell silent.

Every elder rose to their feet.

High Alpha Alaric gasped, gripping the arms of his throne so tightly that the wood cracked beneath his fingers.

Evelyn dropped to her knees, her face completely drained of color.

Cassandra stumbled backward. She stared at the blazing crimson light in absolute horror.

A fated mate bond.

A Tier-Zero absolute royal match.

A legend that hadn't been witnessed in more than three centuries.

Caelia tore her hands away from the Moon Stone. She gasped for air as though she had just surfaced from deep water.

Slowly, the crimson light receded into the crystal.

Silence returned. A stunned, suffocating silence.

"No..." Caelia stumbled down the altar steps, clutching her burning chest.

"No. This is a mistake." Her voice shook. "I refuse this!"

Whispers erupted throughout the sanctuary.

“Refuse a fated bond?”

“She rejected the High Alpha Heir?”

"You cannot refuse what the Moon Goddess has written, girl!" an elder shouted, his voice trembling with both awe and fury.

Caelia shook her head violently.

"I don't care!" She backed toward the main doors. "I reject it!"

Heavy footsteps echoed across the obsidian dais.

Measured.

Unhurried.

The crowd parted.

Julian Kade descended from the high platform.

The moment Caelia's hood fell and her scent filled the sanctuary, the fog that had clouded his memories vanished completely.

The silver eyes.

The defiant, terrified voice.

The sweet, impossible scent of autumn rain and vanilla.

It was her.

The little kitten who had paralyzed his blood and stolen his sanity in the restricted hallway.

His dark obsidian eyes locked onto Caelia with absolute focus.

He crossed the distance between them. Then stopped two paces away.

His gaze dropped briefly to her neck, where his own lips had left a faint, flushed mark. Then his eyes returned to hers.

A slow, dangerous smile curved across his sharp lips.

Caelia took a step backward, raising her hands defensively.

"Stay away from me, Alpha Kade. I am leaving."

Julian reached for her.

His massive, calloused hand wrapped firmly around her wrist.

The instant they touched, a violent golden spark of electricity shot through both their bloodstreams.

The fated recognition sealed. Caelia gasped and tried to pull free.

His grip didn't move. It was an iron vault around her wrist.

Julian pulled her an inch closer, lowering his head until his dark, possessive gaze consumed her entire world.

His voice thundered across the silent sanctuary, echoing against every stone wall.

"You can run all you want, little wolf."

His lips curved into a dark smile. "But you're mine.”