Chapter 2

Francesca Kelley POV:

I walked through the snow-covered stone corridor, the dark red hem of my dress whipping around my ankles in the freezing wind. Ahead of me, laughter and the lively music of lutes poured out from the main hall of Taylor Castle.

Servants carrying trays of wine froze in their tracks when they saw me approaching. A few guards opened their mouths to block my path, but the moment my cold gaze swept over them, their throats constricted and they backed against the stone walls without daring to breathe.

I stopped in front of the heavy oak double doors of the great hall. Through the wood, I could hear the Elder officiating the ceremony inside, chanting prayers to the Moon Goddess.

Without slowing down, I raised my right leg and drove the heel of my boot straight into the seam between the two massive doors.

Boom!

The iron latch snapped. The heavy oak doors flew wide open, slamming against the interior stone walls as splinters rained down onto the red carpet.

The music died instantly. Hundreds of richly dressed nobles from across the kingdom turned their heads in unison, gasping as they stared at the entrance.

I held my chin high, stepping over the wooden debris. My heels clicked rhythmically against the polished marble floor as I walked down the center aisle under hundreds of shocked eyes.

My gaze cut past the crowd and locked onto the high dais at the front. There stood my husband, Curtiss, dressed in ceremonial black and gold, holding the hand of Delma, who wore a lavish white wedding gown.

Curtiss's handsome, arrogant face twisted from shock into towering rage. His hand dropped to the ruby-encrusted hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Francesca! Have you lost your mind?" Curtiss roared, his voice echoing off the high vaulted ceiling as he released his Alpha pressure to crush me. "Who gave you permission to crawl out of the side courtyard!"

I didn't stop walking until I stood right at the base of the dais, looking straight into his amber eyes with a cold sneer.

"This Luna never gave her consent. Who dares hold a Bonding Ceremony while I still hold the Luna title?" My voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly to every corner of the dead-silent room.

Delma's eyes flashed with venom for a split second before filling with tears. She shrank back into Curtiss's chest, her shoulders trembling pitifully.

"Sister, I only wanted to stay by the Alpha's side to serve him," Delma whimpered, biting her lip. "Why must you humiliate me in front of all our guests like this?"

I rolled my eyes in disgust and raised my right hand, holding the silver wolf-head badge high under the chandelier light.

"Open your eyes wide and look closely! The Alpha Token is in my hand. Under the sacred law of the Silvermoon Kingdom, as long as I draw breath and hold this token, I am the sole legal Luna of the Taylor Pack!"

An uproar broke out among the nobles. Whispers spread like wildfire; in our rigid hierarchy, the holder of the Alpha Token possessed absolute domestic authority granted by ancestral law.

Curtiss's face turned the color of rotten liver. He never expected his timid wife to use pack law to corner him in public.

"Hand over the token, you shameless madwoman!" Curtiss snarled, stepping toward the edge of the steps.

I tossed the token lightly in my palm, my gaze sweeping over Delma's pale face.

"She wants a title? Fine. According to royal custom, when a lowly concubine enters the pack, she must kneel on the floor and serve tea to the Luna."

Delma's face lost every drop of blood. She looked up at Curtiss in panic, her fingers digging into his sleeve for help.

Curtiss let out a furious growl and drew his blade an inch from its scabbard, but I raised the token higher.

"What is it, Lord Taylor? Is a Pack Alpha going to openly defy the hierarchy set by the Moon Goddess in front of the entire nobility?"

That accusation hung over his head like an executioner's axe. Defying ancestral law in public was treason against the crown. Curtiss clenched his jaw so hard the veins on his forehead bulged, his chest heaving violently.

"Delma," Curtiss ground out between his teeth, turning his head away from her pleading eyes. "Serve her the tea."

Delma's whole body shook like a leaf in a storm. Big tears rolled down her powdered cheeks as a guard hurried over with a silver tray holding a porcelain cup of steaming black tea.

She picked up the cup, lifted the heavy hem of her white gown, and walked down the steps. Stopping in front of me, her knees buckled, and she knelt hard onto the cold marble floor.

I looked down at her from above, my face completely expressionless.

Trembling violently, Delma raised the porcelain cup above her head with both hands. "Sister... please drink your tea."

I didn't reach out. I simply stood there with my arms crossed, watching the white steam rise from the cup as the seconds ticked by. Her arms began to shake from the weight and the heat spilling over the rim onto her fingers.

A full minute passed in suffocating silence before I slowly uncrossed my arms and extended my right hand toward the cup.

The moment my fingertips brushed the porcelain rim, a vicious glint flashed in Delma's lowered eyes. Her wrists twisted sharply forward in an unnatural motion.

The boiling black tea flew straight out of the cup, splashing directly toward my face and chest in a scalding wave.

Gasps echoed through the hall, and Curtiss's lips curled into a cruel, triumphant smirk on the dais.

My eyes narrowed, and my muscle memory kicked in instantly as I dropped my weight backward.