The ceremony ended, but Elaine felt no sense of belonging. No pride. No warmth from the crowd.
The hall hummed with noise: low conversations, clinks of cups, and the heavy pressure of wolves watching her with unreadable eyes, but none of it was for her.
They weren’t celebrating her becoming Luna.
They were only here because this ceremony rarely happened in King Kael’s kingdom. It was more curiosity than honor. More spectacle than joy.
Kael stood beside her, tall and unreadable, accepting greetings from council members and warriors. They bowed to him, not her. Their gazes slid past her as if she were a shadow beside him.
The bond mark on her chest still pulsed faintly with heat, like the magic hadn’t fully settled yet.
Elaine tried to breathe through the tightness in her throat… but
