Chapter 2

Elara POV:

The stone floors of the Luna Queen's inner chamber were freezing against my bare knees. I knelt in the center of the grand room, surrounded by towering gothic pillars and massive stained-glass windows.

The Luna Queen, the mother of the entire Silver Crown Pack and the ultimate symbol of our social order, was pacing furiously.

"Incompetent fools!" she screamed.

A heavy, pure silver goblet flew across the room, smashing into the stone wall and denting with a loud clang. The royal guards standing by the doors flinched, but I remained perfectly still.

The Queen stopped pacing and looked down at me. Her angry expression softened just a fraction, a brief flash of guilt crossing her aging features.

"You were meant to be his Luna," the Queen sighed, rubbing her temples. "This high-tier marriage was supposed to unite the ancient bloodlines."

I kept my head bowed, my expression numb. I was the daughter of a fallen pack elder, an Omega in status but carrying an ancient lineage.

"Do you know how that wretched girl seduced my son?" the Queen asked, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

I shook my head slowly.

"Selene used a witch doctor," the Queen spat in disgust. "She brewed a foul perfume to mimic the sacred scent of the Moon Goddess Reincarnation."

My breath caught in my throat.

"Rowan was blinded by his own arrogance and that fake scent," the Queen continued. "He did not even truly look at you tonight. If he had, he would have seen the true face of the Goddess."

I stared at the intricate patterns on the stone floor. I remembered the day the Queen had forced this betrothal upon me, trapping me in the suffocating politics of the Royal Pack.

Deep down, a quiet sense of relief washed over my soul. Because of Rowan's cruel game, I was finally free from the nightmare of marrying a tyrant.

"However," the Queen said, her tone turning cold and practical again. "You are ruined now. You spent the night in a room filled with mating incense with a Beta."

I gripped the fabric of my dress, waiting for the inevitable blow.

"You can no longer be his official Luna," she declared. "But I will secure you a place. I will offer you to Rowan as a concubine. You will have no status, but you will live in the castle."

A heavy silence filled the vast chamber.

I turned my head slightly, looking past the Queen toward the tall stained-glass windows. Outside, the winter snow was falling heavily in the royal courtyard. Through the colored glass, I could see Silas. He was kneeling in the freezing snow, refusing to leave, waiting to see if the Queen would execute me.

I turned back to the Luna Queen and pressed my forehead against the icy floor in a deep bow.

"I must decline your generous offer, my Queen," I said clearly.

The Queen gasped, her aura flaring with sudden anger.

"Excuse me?" she hissed.

"Alpha Prince Rowan used the Alpha's Command," I replied, keeping my voice steady and respectful. "He officially gifted me to Judge Silas. To break an Alpha's Command would be a violation of Pack Law."

The Queen's face turned a pale, furious shade of white. She knew I was right. An Alpha's Command was absolute, bound by ancient blood magic. Even she couldn't casually overturn a public decree without triggering a massive political revolt among the elders.

"Fine," the Queen snapped, turning her back on me. "Go to your Beta. But mark my words, Elara."

I stood up slowly, my legs trembling from the cold.

"When Rowan realizes what he threw away tonight," the Queen whispered, looking at me over her shoulder. "When he sees your face and understands the truth of your bloodline, he will drown in a madness of regret."

I bowed one last time and walked out of the chamber, leaving the royal cage behind me.

But the Queen's final words followed me like a shadow, a prophecy I desperately hoped would never come true.

And in that moment, I made a silent promise to myself: I was not declining out of blind obedience to pack law. I declined because Rowan's own command was the only legal shield I had. As long as I belonged to Silas, the Queen could not drag me back into Rowan's reach.

Let them think I was a pawn respecting the rules. I was using their own laws to build my cage—and my escape route.

Little did I know, the cage I had chosen would soon become a battlefield of its own.