Chapter 3
1037 Words
I knelt in front of Noah, smoothing down his dark silver curls. My heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, but I kept my face entirely smooth, refusing to let him see the terror clawing at my chest.
"Mama has to go on a short mission for the King, baby," I whispered softly, pressing a lingering kiss to his forehead. "You stay here with Auntie, obey her, and I'll be back before you know it. Okay?"
"Promise?" Noah asked, his bright green eyes—so painfully identical to his father's—staring up at me with absolute trust.
"I promise."
I pulled away, turning before tears could spill over. Leaving him behind broke me, but bringing him anywhere near Ash River territory was a risk I couldn't take.
The journey to the Ash River Pack border felt like walking straight toward an executioner's block. As I crossed the tree line marking their territory, the scent of pine, damp earth, and familiar bloodlines hit me, instantly triggering a memory I had tried to bury for three years.
We had been deeply, hopelessly in love.
I could still feel the warmth of Renner’s hands framing my face on the morning of our bonding ceremony, the way he had whispered that I was his entire world, his heart, his Luna. But mid-ceremony, something shattered. His green eyes went cold, dull, and completely unreadable. Without warning, he tore the bond apart, publicizing my rejection in front of the entire council. He didn't just reject me—he ordered the guards to strip me of my pack rights and throw me out into the pouring storm. I remember sobbing on the mud-slicked rocks at the border, broken and begging him to tell me what I did wrong, while he turned his back and walked away.
I snapped myself out of the ghost of that memory, taking a deep, stabilizing breath. I was not that broken girl anymore.
Pack members gathered near the perimeter posts, their eyes locking onto me. Whispers erupted immediately.
"Is that Romona?"
"The weak girl who ran away three years ago?"
"Look at her clothes... she's a royal elite now?"
"Romona."
The deep, gravelly voice cut through the murmurs, sending a phantom shockwave through my chest.
Standing ten feet away near the border line was Renner.
He looked broader and sharper, but the moment his eyes met mine, a searing wave of heat rushed through my veins—the dead embers of our severed mate bond flaring up like a phantom burn. My breath hitched, but I instantly forced my posture straight, locking my expression into absolute ice.
Renner stopped dead in his tracks, his green eyes widening in pure shock as he took in my stance, my armor, and the lethal confidence radiating off me.
"You've... changed," Renner rasped, taking a tentative step toward me, genuine concern flickering across his face. "Romona, I—"
"Alpha Renner," I interrupted, my voice smooth, icy, and strictly professional. "I am here under compulsory diplomatic order from King Alistair to evaluate your Luna. Let us keep this purely business."
Renner flinched as if I had struck him, his jaw clenching hard, but he fell into step beside me as we walked toward the main packhouse.
When we stepped into the grand hall, the pack whispers reached a high pitch. Standing near the main staircase was Marcus—one of the high-ranking guards who had laughed the loudest while pushing me into the rain three years ago.
"Well, well," Marcus sneered, stepping into my path with an arrogant smirk. "The little runaway wolf comes back crawling. Did you come back to beg for a place in our stables, Romona?"
He lunged forward, reaching out to grab my shoulder to intimidate me.
Instinct took over, but something terrifying happened.
As raw anger flared inside me, an unnatural, burning heat surged from the core of my chest into my hands. Before my physical fist could even connect, a sudden, invisible shockwave of pure force slammed violently out from my body.
BOOM.
The atmospheric pressure in the room spiked. Marcus was lifted clean off his feet and blasted backward through the air, crashing hard into a stone pillar ten feet away.
The stone cracked. Marcus hit the floor with a heavy thud, gasping for air as the hall went deathly silent.
My heart slammed against my ribs in utter, hidden panic. What was that? What did I just do? Wolves couldn't throw raw force like that. I had never felt anything like it in my life. A cold sweat broke out down my spine, but I forced my expression to stay deadpan, stepping toward Marcus before anyone could process the shock. I pulled my silver dagger and rested the tip against his chin.
"Touch me again," I whispered smoothly, looking down at him with cold blue eyes, "and you won't live to regret it."
"Enough!" Renner's Alpha command boomed through the hall, vibrating off the walls.
I sheathed my dagger without breaking eye contact with Marcus, stepping back smoothly.
Renner stepped between us, his green eyes flashing with fury as he scanned the stunned crowd. "Romona is a royal guest and an elite commander of the King's guard. Anyone who disrespects her, questions her rank, or obstructs her duties will answer directly to me. Am I clear?"
The pack bowed their heads in silent compliance. Renner turned back to me, his gaze soft and pleading, searching my face for any sign of the girl he used to know.
I gave him nothing.
"Lead the way to Luna Cassandra," I said coldly.
Renner turned and walked up the grand staircase. I followed a step behind, my pulse hammering as we reached the heavy mahogany doors of the Luna's master quarters.
I stopped at the threshold—the door to the room that was supposed to be mine—knowing that behind it lay the woman who stole my life, and the innocent child I was now forced to save.
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