Claimed Before the Kingdom
1081 Words
The library fell into complete silence.
No one dared to breathe.
The Shadow Alpha remained on one knee before Selene, his head bowed in respect.
Kael stood in front of her, his broad shoulders shielding her from the mysterious intruder.
The air itself seemed too heavy to breathe.
The royal guards tightened their grips on their swords, but none of them moved.
They were terrified.
Not of one man.
Of both.
Kael’s voice was dangerously calm.
“Stand up.”
The Shadow Alpha smiled.
“I kneel only to my queen.”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Kael’s silver eyes flashed.
“I was warning you.”
The Shadow Alpha slowly rose to his feet, his crimson eyes never leaving Selene.
“You’ve grown.”
“You look just like your mother.”
Selene frowned.
“My… mother?”
The words struck something deep inside her.
She had no memories of her parents.
Only vague dreams of a woman singing beneath the moon.
The Shadow Alpha noticed the confusion in her eyes.
“They never told you.”
“Told me what?”
Before he could answer
“Enough!”
Kael’s voice thundered through the library.
His aura exploded outward, cracking the marble floor beneath his feet.
“You will not fill her head with lies.”
The Shadow Alpha laughed quietly.
“Lies?”
He tilted his head.
“Tell me, Lycan King…”
“Have you told your wife why the royal family feared the Blood Moon?”
Kael remained silent.
The silence was answer enough.
Selene looked from one man to the other.
“What is everyone hiding from me?”
No one answered.
Her heart pounded.
“I deserve the truth!”
Kael turned toward her.
“You deserve peace.”
“I don’t want peace.”
“I want answers.”
For the first time since their marriage, there was anger in her voice.
Real anger.
Kael blinked.
She wasn’t the timid servant who quietly accepted every insult.
She was beginning to fight back.
Vivienne watched everything from behind a bookshelf.
Her nails dug into her palms until they bled.
She hated the way Kael stood in front of Selene.
She hated the concern in his eyes.
Even if he refused to admit it…
His instincts were changing.
His wolf had already accepted its mate.
It was only Kael’s heart that continued to resist.
“I have to end this,” she whispered.
“Before he falls in love with her.”
The Shadow Alpha took one slow step forward.
Instantly, every royal guard raised their weapons.
“I didn’t come to fight.”
Kael’s expression remained cold.
“Then leave.”
“I came with a warning.”
The room grew still.
“The Blood Seal has been broken.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“I know.”
“No…”
The Shadow Alpha’s voice became grave.
“You don’t.”
“The creatures imprisoned beneath the Northern Mountains have awakened.”
Several guards exchanged frightened looks.
One whispered,
“The Dark Wolves…”
Another made the sign of the Moon Goddess.
“They’re only legends.”
“They’re real,” the Shadow Alpha replied.
“And they’re coming.”
He turned to Selene.
“They can sense your blood.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“My blood?”
“You are the last Blood Moon heir.”
The words echoed through the library.
Every noble, guard, and servant stared at Selene in disbelief.
“No…”
“That’s impossible.”
“The Blood Moon line died centuries ago.”
The Shadow Alpha looked directly at Kael.
“You know the prophecy.”
Kael didn’t answer.
Outside the palace…
The sky suddenly darkened.
Although it was still afternoon, black clouds swallowed the sun.
A cold wind swept across the kingdom.
Children began crying.
Animals hid.
Even the palace wolves whimpered.
An elderly priestess stumbled into the courtyard, trembling.
She looked toward the heavens.
“The eclipse…”
“It has begun.”
Inside the library…
Selene suddenly grabbed her chest.
Pain.
Sharp.
Burning pain.
The silver mark on her wrist began to glow.
She cried out.
“Ah!”
A wave of silver light burst from her body.
Books flew from their shelves.
Tables shattered.
Windows exploded outward.
Everyone was thrown backward.
Kael caught himself against a pillar.
The Shadow Alpha smiled sadly.
“So…”
“It’s finally awakening.”
Selene collapsed to her knees.
Her breathing became uneven.
Voices filled her mind.
Ancient voices.
A woman’s gentle whisper echoed inside her.
“My daughter…”
Another voice.
A man’s desperate cry.
“Protect the princess!”
Then
A horrifying scream.
Blood.
Fire.
A palace burning beneath a crimson moon.
Selene gasped as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I remember…”
She saw a woman wearing a silver crown placing a tiny moon-shaped pendant around a baby’s neck.
The woman kissed the baby’s forehead.
“If fate is kind…”
“We’ll meet again.”
The vision vanished.
Selene looked down.
Around her neck hung a pendant she had worn since childhood.
She had always believed it was a worthless keepsake.
Now…
It was glowing.
The Shadow Alpha slowly smiled.
“The Royal Crest.”
“The Queen’s pendant.”
Kael stared at it in stunned silence.
He had seen that pendant before.
Only once.
In an ancient painting locked inside the royal vault.
His breathing slowed.
“No…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“It can’t be…”
The palace doors burst open.
A bloodied scout staggered inside.
“My King!”
Kael turned sharply.
“What happened?”
The scout fell to his knees.
“The Northern Border…”
His voice shook.
“It’s gone.”
Everyone froze.
“What do you mean, gone?”
The scout swallowed hard.
“The entire border fortress…”
“…has been destroyed.”
Silence.
“There were five thousand warriors stationed there.”
“No survivors.”
The room erupted into panic.
“Impossible!”
“No army could do that!”
The scout’s face turned pale.
“It wasn’t an army.”
“It was…”
He looked toward Selene with terror in his eyes.
“They were looking for…”
“The Blood Moon Queen.”
As every eye turned toward Selene, one thought settled over the room.
She was no longer just the unwanted bride.
She had become the most hunted woman in the werewolf world.
- Writer
