nor

ed from his grasp. He was a human priest who had served the packs for thir

, offered no love, only a binding contract. He slid a heavy moonstone ring onto my finger. The metal was free

essing was spoken, there was no kiss. Kaelen simply turned his massive frame to face th

ackwood, Luna to the Lycan King, and step

quarters were a cavernous den of dark mahogany, heavy animal pelts, and ancient weapons mounted on the s

by the door, his broad shou

chilling. "Do not mistake the silence of my warriors for safety. They

o lower my eyes, to submit to the apex predator in the r

g with barely suppressed fury. "I must discipline my di

and walked out, the heavy oak

ast's lair, a fragile human-like girl surrounded by monsters.

a glass of water. It was Elena, the Dowager Luna's personal servant. She se

red, her eyes raking over my white lace gown with undisguised contempt.

speak to me this way on my first night, I would be dead by morning. I straightened my

ween us, my voice droppin

sed me become your Queen. It was my choice that saved the Blackwood name today.

Even without an inner wolf to project an aura, the sheer weight of my new title and my un

owered her head, her voice tight with fo

cally fled

won my first battle, but as I looked at the empty, cavern

n this room tonight, the entire pack would know it. It would be a silent rejec

ve in this den, I had t