Chapter 3 The Chosen Luna
1328 Words
Elsa Pov~
I heard the sound of car engines echo through the courtyard long before I saw them.
From my tiny window overlooking the servant’s path, I caught a glimpse of silver glinting between the trees. They were cars. Sleek, powerful cars, nothing like the ones that ever visited the Wolfsburg estate. My stomach tightened, Alpha Ryan Carson was back.
The man I had met in the garden seven nights ago whose voice still lingered in my dreams, deep and calm, like it could command the wind to still.
I hadn’t forgotten how his gaze had felt on me, he hadn’t looked away despite finding me in the dirt.
I could still remember the faint scent of smoke and rain that clung to him, and the way his stormy grey eyes had softened when he said my name.
It had sounded different and special in his tongue.
But that was a week ago, this morning, I woke to Flora’s sharp voice snapping at everyone in the halls.
“The Silver Pack has arrived! Everyone, to your stations!”
The shout was followed by the frantic footsteps of servants running to their stations.
No one came for me, of course. Today, I was supposed to stay out of sight as always.
Still, I could feel the tension in the air even from behind my locked door.
My sisters were in a bubble of happiness. Mabel's laughter floated down the hall, and Molly’s heels clacked too loudly, her voice filled with the arrogance she’d been fed all her life.
They were readying themselves for him.
Even Zoey, the only one of my sisters who actually gave a s**t about me, was over the moon for him.
The thought made my chest ache in a way I didn’t understand. I told myself it didn’t matter that he wouldn’t even remember me, but that didn't remove the memory of him from replaying in my head.
When footsteps stopped outside my door, I turned quickly.
The handle twisted, then the person outside began to bang on the door. “Open it!” Mabel’s voice.
Before I could react, Molly’s sharp tone followed. “She’s in there, hiding like always.”
The lock clicked. Flora must have given them the spare key.
The door flew open, and all three of them stood framed in the doorway like painted queens. Mabel in gold silk, Zoey in pale pink, Molly draped in silver sequins that shimmered like ice.
Mabel’s smile curved, cruel and bright. “Guess what, little mute?” she said. “Prince Charming came back.”
I swallowed hard, stepping back as they entered.
Zoey shut the door behind them. “But here’s the thing,” she said sweetly. “He asked for all of us, including you.” She pointed at me in disgust.
My hands stilled, all of us?
Molly crossed her arms. “He wants to meet every daughter before deciding. Father nearly choked when he said it.”
My breath caught, so he did remember me. My smile tugged my lips slightly.
“Don’t look so thrilled. He doesn’t know who you are, probably just being polite. But since Father has to obey him…” Mabel said, smirking.
She reached for the ribbon tying back my hair and yanked it loose. “We’ll make sure you look…” she paused, eyeing me up and down, “…presentable.”
Molly’s giggle was mean. “You mean pitiful.”
They moved around me like vultures. Mabel found one of Flora’s old dresses, too tight at the shoulders and faded at the seams, and shoved it into my hands. “Wear this.”
Molly grabbed a brush and yanked it through my hair until tears burned my eyes. “Don’t cry, darling,” she mocked. “You might smudge the masterpiece.”
Then came the powder, heavy and chalky, they smeared it across my cheeks until I looked ghostly. Bright red lipstick and bruises of dark eyeshadow that made me look sick instead of elegant.
When they were done, Mabel stood back, admiring their work. “Perfect,” she said. “No Alpha would pick you now.”
Their laughter filled the room as they swept out.
The door shut, leaving me in silence again.
I stared at myself in the cracked mirror. I looked like a parody of their beauty, like someone’s cruel joke.
A soft knock came moments later.
“Elsa,” a voice hissed. It was one of the maids, Clara. “They’re calling you. Alpha Edward says to come down at once.”
My knees weakened.
By the time I reached the grand hall, the air was thick with tension and perfume. Everyone was there Father, Flora, my sisters lined up like jewels, and across from them… him.
Ryan Carson.
He stood tall and still, hands clasped behind his back, dressed in black with the faintest silver trim along his collar. His presence filled the room, cold, composed, dangerous. Even surrounded by guards and his stepmother, he was the only one who seemed completely unbothered.
When his gaze lifted and landed on me, my world tilted. For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
His eyes widened slightly, but I saw it. First was recognition, then confusion and something softer.
I wanted to look away but couldn’t. My heart pounded so loud I could hear it in my ears.
Flora’s voice broke through the moment. “Alpha Ryan, I apologize for the delay. This is…” she hesitated, forcing a smile, “…our fourth daughter, Elsa. She’s… shy.”
Katerina’s eyes narrowed, taking me in like a stain she couldn’t scrub away. “I wasn’t aware there was a fourth daughter,” she said.
Father's jaw tightened. “She’s of no importance,” he muttered. “A servant child. Wolfless and my bastard.”
Ryan said nothing and just studied me in silence, his expression unreadable.
Katerina laughed softly. “Surely, Ryan, we can proceed with the others. The Carson name…”
“I’d like her to stay,” Ryan interrupted. His voice was calm, but final.
The room froze.
Mabel’s smile faltered, and I heard Molly gasp under her breath.
Flora stepped forward. “You must be joking. She can’t even speak.”
Ryan’s gaze flicked toward her just one look and she went silent. “I said,” he repeated, “she stays.”
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut through bone.
When he finally turned to Edward, his tone was polite, but filled with authority. “You said I could choose freely, didn’t you?”
Edward swallowed hard. “Of course, Alpha. But she’s…”
Ryan didn’t let him finish. “Then I choose...”
He turned back to me, and every whisper in the room faded until I could only hear my pulse hammering in my ears.
“I choose her.”
The hall erupted.
Flora’s voice cracked into a shriek. “You can’t be serious!”
Katerina’s face went pale, then furious. “Ryan, this is beneath you. You’ll humiliate yourself…”
He didn’t look at her when he spoke. “That’s my decision.”
Father’s voice trembled between rage and disbelief. “I will not allow…”
Ryan’s gaze snapped at him. “Are you defying me, Alpha Edward?”
The power in his voice rippled through the air. After a long moment, father exhaled shakily. “If she accepts you, then fine. But she must say yes herself.”
He turned on me then, his eyes burning with hatred that only I could read. “Think carefully, girl,” he hissed low enough for only me to hear. “You know what happens if you embarrass me.”
My throat tightened.
All eyes were on me. He didn't move toward me, but his gaze held mine.
Overwhelmed with the desire to not make my family hate me even more. I shook my head.
No.
That was my final answer.
- Writer
