My Moonlit Declaration

Chapter 5：The Full Moon Ceremony

Her ears were filled with such words, making Elara’s face burn with embarrassment. She lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously tightening as she gently pinched the hem of her skirt, trying hard to steady her breathing.

Elara told herself: You were just temporarily dragged here by the teacher to make up the numbers!! You are nothing. Just watch and then leave.

She repeated it to herself three times, but the thorn in her heart refused to be pulled out.

At the center of the altar, eight elders wearing robes of different colors stood in a semicircle, each holding a staff and facing east.

At the eastern edge of the sacred altar, one spot remained empty.

“The Full Moon Ceremony begins—”

A voice boomed from the top of the altar, thunderous as a roar. In the next instant, the entire crowd moved as one. “Zhora—Zhora—” The Moon Glory Salute rang out again, shaking heaven and earth.

Then, a figure rose from the center of the altar.

He wore a deep purple robe trimmed at the collar with silver-white wolf fur. A moonstone ornament adorned his forehead, the moon totem gleaming brightly. In his hand he held a wolf-skull bone staff, its head wreathed in flickering ghostly blue flames that danced in the moonlight — cold rather than warm.

A wolf-tooth totem pouch hung at his waist, and on his feet were deerskin boots adorned with silver bells that jingled with every step.

He walked slowly toward the eastern position of the altar. With each step, the runes beneath his feet glowed brighter. Pale cyan mist swirled from the wolf’s mouth atop the bone staff.

Elara gasped. The man glowing from head to toe was none other than Teacher Herman.

The Holy Elder took his place at the eastern point. Moonlight poured into him without end. He raised the wolf-skull bone staff high and began chanting in a low voice, activating the spell.

The ghostly blue flames at the tip of the staff suddenly turned crimson. A thick red beam of light, as wide as a tree trunk, shot from the staff straight toward the full moon in the east.

At the same time, the other eight elders raised their staffs. Eight beams of light burst forth — cyan, yellow, green… — intertwining in the night sky and connecting the altar to the moon.

The sky became crystal clear, as if washed by water. All the stars faded away, leaving only the brilliant silver-white full moon.

The restless murmurs in the air gradually fell silent. Every gaze converged on the center of the altar.

Elara lifted her head. In that very instant—

An indescribable heat flared in her chest, accompanied by a growing dull pain. It felt as though something inside her was being forcibly awakened. The sensation was eerily familiar, just as unbearable as during the Blood Sun Ritual.

Her heart beat faster and heavier — thump, thump, thump — like a war drum. Her blood burned like molten fire.

Why was the bloodline awakening so violently this time? The feeling was far stronger than during the Blood Sun Ritual!

But before she could even catch her breath, the heat suddenly vanished and everything returned to normal.

Just as she began to relax, the heat surged back into her chest once more.

It spread through her blood, rushing into every limb and bone. A fine, unfamiliar tremor rippled across her entire body. It felt as if an invisible silver thread was slowly wrapping itself around her heart.

She sensed a connection — something extending from her chest like an unseen thread, passing through the crowd, through the altar, through the moonlight… and linking to another person.

She could feel him. His heartbeat was synchronizing with hers. His blood was burning alongside her own…

At the same moment, from across the crowd, an extremely oppressive gaze suddenly locked onto Elara. It felt as if she had been targeted by some immensely powerful being. Her back instantly tensed, a chill racing up her spine.

She raised her head. Through the crowd and the moonlight, Elara saw him — Kael Blackthorn.

He had hair as black as night and eyes like frosted silver, cold and piercing. His tall figure stood at the very front of the crowd, shoulders and back straight as an ancient pine, his entire presence crisp and icy.

He was the most powerful heir to the Wolf King in the entire Northern Frontier.

Born with the overwhelming aura of a ruler, he seemed capable of commanding all the winds and clouds of the world.

He was the youngest Alpha of the Snow Moon Clan.

Their eyes met across the distance. In that instant, the world seemed to fall silent.

Her heartbeat suddenly lost its rhythm. Her breath caught in her throat.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. Deep within his silver pupils, a faint ripple of shock flashed by.

The next moment—

Moonlight poured down like a waterfall…

A pillar of silver-white light descended from the sky, enveloping both of them at once.

“—Mate Resonance!” The Holy Elder’s aged yet solemn voice rang out from the eastern side of the altar.

The entire area around the altar fell into dead silence.

Suddenly, someone cried out in shock: “How could it be her!?”

Elara stood frozen in place, almost forgetting to breathe…

The moonlight wrapped around them like water, locking Elara and him firmly within the same domain of light.

Thump… thump… thump…

The sound of a heartbeat grew clearer and more urgent, slowly overlapping with another rhythm.

It was not Elara’s heartbeat.

It was… his!

Elara could clearly sense that strange yet familiar throbbing, like an echo rising from the depths of her soul.

“Fated mate.” Those words exploded in Elara’s mind.

So this was the true meaning of the Full Moon Ceremony! It was the moon that had created this connection between her and him.

Screams of shock erupted all around, filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible? Oh my God!"

"Her?"

"A half-wolf hybrid was chosen?"

"Impossible! The Moon would never choose a defective bloodline."

"Look at her eyes—they're pale purple! There's not a single trace of silver!"

Shocked, doubtful, and incredulous remarks spread like a tidal wave.

The eight elders turned around in unison, looking at Elara with complicated expressions.

Elara stood frozen in place, staring at the tall, icy figure opposite her. Her mind went completely blank. Standing in the moonlight, she looked like a beggar who had accidentally wandered into a divine temple.

She looked at him — Kael Blackthorn.

He stood at the center of the sacred altar, bathed in moonlight, the silver glow flowing through his black hair. His expression was cold and indifferent, like a frozen lake in winter.

He didn't look at her. Instead, he tilted his head upward, gazing at the moon. His silver pupils reflected the image of the full moon, completely devoid of any emotion.

So... the Moon had chosen her, and her fated mate was the leader of the Snow Moon Clan?

This position she had never dared to dream of — hadn't she only been dragged here by Teacher Herman to make up the numbers?

Why? Why did it have to be her, of all people?

Would her simple life as a human now be gone forever?

As if guided by some invisible force, Kael slowly walked up the stone steps under the column of moonlight. With every step he took, the oppressive pressure in the air grew heavier.

His steps were steady and calm. Each footfall was light, yet it felt as though he were stepping on everyone's heartbeat.

Finally, he stopped at the center of the sacred altar. He raised his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air. An invisible force immediately pulled Elara directly to his side.

They stood facing each other, separated by only three steps —

So close that Elara could clearly see his cold silver eyes beneath his long lashes, and that sharply contoured face, as noble and untouchable as a god. So close that she could smell his scent — cold and crisp, like the winter wind.

At that moment, the moonlight grew even brighter, swirling around them.

The power of the mate bond surged through Elara's blood, bringing with it an irresistible urge to draw closer to him, to rub against him.

She could even feel that primal instinct driving her to approach him, to entwine with him.

But he made no movement. He simply lowered his eyelids and stared at Elara with an extremely calm, almost chilling gaze.

There was no warmth in those eyes, no ripples of emotion — not even the slightest trace of surprise.

"As long as the Clan Leader says 'I accept,' the Full Moon Ceremony will be completed, and the Moon will bestow the final mate mark upon them," the Holy Elder’s voice came from behind.

Everyone held their breath.

Everyone was waiting for their leader to utter those words — "I accept!"

The nine elders stood in an arc behind Kael, with the Holy Elder at the center, awaiting his response.

And Elara was waiting too! Her heart was pounding so violently it felt like it would burst out of her chest. Time seemed to stretch on forever, so long that even the moonlight felt frozen in place.

"I refuse."