The Alpha Of My Ruins

Chapter 5

DAVINA’s POV

The wedding celebration ended not with laughter, but with silence as heavy as a gong. I left the hall with Xavier beside me. His hand was no longer bound to mine, his expression still as unreadable as ever. Behind us, the priest mumbled quickly to finish the ritual, sealing the vows in words. My cousin’s desperate accusations still rang in my memory.

Rowan. Murdered. By Xavier.

The crowd of guests had looked at me differently after that. Some with pity. Most with suspicion. But none with warmth.

Outside, the air was sharp with the scent of Blackmoon territory. The full moon sat low in the sky, and silver light shone across the mountains like poorly lit lamps. The path leading deeper into Blackmoon territory was lined with torches, their flames snapping against the wind as guards escorted us forward.

Then the whispers began almost immediately. “Traitor” I raised my brows in amusement.

“Silverfang witch”

“She sold her bloodline for survival.”

Each word struck like a whip, yet I didn’t flinch. My father had sold me to Xavier’s pack to preserve Silverfang’s fragile future, and now I was labeled a traitor on both sides. To my people, I had betrayed Rowan’s bond by standing beside his killer. To Xavier’s people, I was nothing more than an enemy forced into their territory.

I held my head high and walked forward, gracefully – even as my stomach twisted. Xavier said and did nothing. He didn’t silence them, didn’t rebuke his wolves. It was a choice. A declaration.

I was to fight all my own battles. Alone.

The gates of the Blackmoon crescent loomed ahead. The gates slowly creaked open, revealing the gigantic fortress beyond. The Blackmoon compound was nothing like Silverfang’s creek. Where my pack had built homes of pale stone and open courtyards filled with gardens, Blackmoon’s crescent was built to intimidate. Tall towers of black stone towered in the sky. Bridges of iron crossed over valleys.

Inside, wolves bowed respectfully as Xavier passed, but stiffened when their eyes landed on me, resentful, simmering with hatred behind polite facades.

Xavier led me through the grand labyrinth of corridors, lined with weapons and trophies of their past victories. My footsteps echoed in the eerie silence. And finally, he stopped at a heavy oak door guarded with iron.

“This will be your chamber,” he said flatly.

I blinked. The room was at the far end of a poorly lit corridor, far from the central tower where I assumed his own chambers were.

My lips curved into a cold smile. “So this is how the mighty Alpha welcomes his mate? With distance?”

His eyes twitched, but his face remained unreadable and cold. “Here is everything you wanted. Status. Peace. A crown. Don’t expect more”

The bond between us throbbed, sharp and insistent, pulling at me in ways I totally despised. My wolf whimpered, wanting his closeness, his touch. But my human heart boiled.

I stepped closer, so near I could see the faint stubble along his jaw, the muscle ticking in his cheek. “Do not flatter yourself, Xavier. I came here for nothing. I was dragged here. This marriage is nothing but a symbol of something. I’d rather the Moon goddess curses me than have anything more to do with you.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Anger. Heat. Or perhaps something darker. He didn’t break the gaze as he replied. “Good. That makes us both even.”

I didn’t flinch. Instead, I allowed a cold smile escaped my lips, and I hurriedly turned away from him before I collapsed from the pull of the bond. He let out a silent groan, twitching his jaw. I watched him turn away sharply, leaving with another word, and then I slammed the door shut, the band rattling the walls.

I stood in the silence of my new prison, forcing steady breaths, refusing to let the bond’s ache drag me to my knees.

The room was large and cold. The massive bed was draped in furs as black as nothingness. A fire burned in the fireplace, casting shadows that danced like mocking beings. Heavy curtains blocked out the moonlight, suffocating the space even more. It felt less like a chamber and more like a cage.

I removed the veil, furiously tossing it aside. The weight of the day bore down on me, pressing at every part of my body. Whispers still echoed in my skull. Traitor. Witch. Murderer’s bride.

I lay down on the bed, exhaustion finally dragging at me. For the first time, I allowed the tears to flow. I had never felt this out of place, this helpless. Memories came rushing to my mind. Of my pack before it was violently vandalized. Of Rowan. Of my misery and doom.

My fingers clenched around the furs as I sucked my breath in. If Xavier had truly killed Rowan… The bond between us was a curse worse than death.

Time blurred. The fire crackled, shadows shifted, and eventually, the weariness of the tears forced my eyes shut.

That was when I felt it.

Something beneath the pillow linen.

My heart thudded. Slowly, I slid my hand under the fabric, fingers brushing paper, and then I pulled it out, the texture rough against my skin.

A note.

I unfolded it, the black ink plain against the page.

"Leave before he kills you too"

The words stabbed through me, each capital letter dripped with menace. My breath grasped, my chest tightened. My wolf growled, low and unsettled. The fire crackled, shadows leaping across the walls as if laughing at me. My grip tightened on the note. I held my head as it was spinning.

Who had placed it there? A servant? A guard?

Or someone even closer?

I crumpled the note in my fist, my pulse raced, and a cold dread curled deep inside me. The whispers of the word “traitor” seemed to grow louder in my mind until they were almost deafening., and for the first time since stepping into this cursed crescent, I felt something that I had not allowed myself to feel all day.

Fear.