Esmira (Enora)
My breath caught in my chest as I saw Lysara.
She was dressed in matching ceremonial regalia like mine, her red hair blazing against the pale silk.
She walked down the aisle with a soft smile on her lips, her green eyes fixed on Roderic with an expression of quiet triumph.
I turned to Roderic.
He had a broad smile on his face, which was shocking because I’ve never seen him smile, at least not like this.
Was this what he’d been talking about earlier?
About Lysara helping him out of a difficult position?
Had he brought her here, dressed like me, to stand beside him at the altar?
And for what?
Beside Lysara walked a broad-shouldered man with greying temples.
I didn’t know who he was, but from the familiarity between them, I suspected they were family.
I couldn’t breathe.
My eyes darted to my right where Alpha King Eldric stood rigid, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscle in his cheek twitched, his fists balled at his sides.
The pride that had been radiating from him moments ago had turned to something dark and volatile.
I looked to my left and Lord Aven stood perfectly still, his expression betraying nothing.
There was no surprise, no anger, no reaction at all.
Had he known?
Or was this another of his ploys?
When Lysara finally reached the platform, Roderic took her hand from the man who’d escorted her, and then pulled her close so she stood next to him, facing the hall.
The room had grown silent.
Everyone was staring in our direction.
“As I mentioned earlier,” Roderic began again, “I intend to take Lysara as my second mate by invoking the ancient rite of Luna Solace and put an end to all the rumours that she is nothing but my mistress. Before the court and before the law, I will mark her, because my wolf favours her.”
He turned to me, his gaze meeting mine briefly before drifting back to the crowd.
“This doesn’t mean my wife, Luna Queen Esmira, is any less important, but I am making this decision for the sake and stability of my wolf, and I hope this doesn’t cause any misunderstanding moving forward.”
From the corner of my eye, I felt the High Priestess’s gaze on me.
When I turned, she was staring at me with concern.
“Are you alright with the arrangement, Luna?” she asked quietly.
“It is one thing to invoke the rite of the Luna Solace, but I cannot proceed without the blessing of the first Luna.”
I turned to Lord Aven, who gave me a slight nod, and then I turned back to the High Priestess.
“I agree to the arrangement,” I said.
Roderic’s brow arched as he regarded me coolly.
Did he think I was going to fight about it? Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
If only he knew he was doing me a lot of good.
The High Priestess studied me for several seconds, doubt flickering in her eyes.
I couldn’t blame her.
The Esmira I’d come to know — the one they called the Witch Luna — would have thrown tantrums and vehemently refused.
But to me, this was a relief.
Anything that diverted Roderic’s attention from me was a gift.
After a moment, the High Priestess took a deep breath and beckoned to Lysara and Roderic.
They walked up to her, and she unwound the red thread from Roderic’s wrist and wound it around Lysara’s hand instead, binding them together.
Roderic was beaming as he faced Lysara.
He looked happy.
“Please recite your vows,” the High Priestess said.
“I, Alpha King Roderic of House Valdren of the Kingdom of Valdren, accept you, Lady Lysara of House Vaelis, as my Luna Solace. I promise to honour, cherish, and love you all the days of my life. With this mark, I seal the testament of our love and bind you to me forever.”
He leaned forward, settling his head beside Lysara’s neck.
For a moment, our eyes met across the platform, and I could have sworn I saw satisfaction in his gaze before he sank his canines into the base of Lysara’s neck, marking her.
Then it was Lysara’s turn.
“I, Lady Lysara of House Vaelis, accept you, Alpha King Roderic, as my joined mate and husband. I promise to honour, cherish, and love you all the days of my life. With my mark, I stake my claim and bind you to me forever.”
She leaned forward and repeated the same action.
The moment they were done, the red thread came alive between them, wrapping around their joined hands — a sign that both wolves had accepted each other.
Lysara’s father, who had remained at the bottom of the platform, crossed to stand beside Alpha King Eldric, a satisfied smile on his face.
Eldric’s expression could have curdled stone.
Neither man exchanged more than heated glances.
Without a word, I slowly unwound the red thread from my own wrist and gathered my heavy gown as I walked back to my seat.
Someone had placed an additional chair beside mine for Lysara, and I watched as Roderic escorted her to it before taking his own throne.
“Lords and Alphas,” Beta Harwick announced from the front of the platform.
“I present to you Alpha King Roderic, his Luna Queen, and his Luna Solace.”
The hall rose in unison, their voices echoing off the vaulted ceiling.
“Long may they reign.”
As the ceremony gave way to celebration, Roderic and Lysara busied themselves greeting the crowd.
I sat quietly on my throne, hoping I looked devastated.
When courtiers approached me, I could feel pity in their gazes, their hushed condolences and sympathetic nods.
I was the woman who, after all, had been humiliated in public, but to me, it just showed everything was going far better than I’d anticipated. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
Everything was going far better than I’d anticipated.
“Are you alright, darling?”
Alpha Eldric’s voice boomed beside me.
I jumped, startled by the sheer volume, and when I saw it was him, I managed a bright smile.
“Yes, Father,” I said.
“You don’t need to worry so much about me.”
He sighed heavily and lowered himself into the chair Roderic had vacated, his massive frame making it creak.
He reached for my hand and held it between both of his.
“I’m sorry, cupcake,” he said, his voice dropping to something gentler than I’d thought him capable of.
“I’m sorry for putting you in this situation in the first place. I know how much you love Roderic, and I know watching him mark another woman must hurt like hell.”
The tenderness in his voice caught me off guard.
This was the same man who had described unspeakable acts to Roderic’s face with a smile, and yet here he was, holding his daughter’s hand, calling her cupcake, his eyes soft with remorse.
I reached up to pat his arm gently, offering comfort.
“Father, really, I’m—”
The words were barely out of my mouth when the room spun.
A lurching sensation coursed through me as though the floor had dropped out from beneath me.
My heart slammed against my ribs and a pressure built behind my eyes until my vision blurred and the great hall dissolved around me.
When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else.
I was in a room.
Ornate, richly furnished, with shattered plates and broken glasses scattered across the floor, and in the centre of this wreckage sat a young woman, Princess Esmira.
Her face was almost like mine, but the skin was a shade lighter, and her eyes were harder and wilder.
Her dark hair was dishevelled, and tears streaked her face as she screamed at the man standing above her.
It was Alpha King Eldric.
This was Ceranthia from the crest on the walls.
“If you don’t accept the marriage arrangement with Valdren and marry me to Roderic, I will kill myself!” Esmira yelled, tears flowing down her cheeks in torrents.
“I swear it, Father! I will end my life!”
Alpha Eldric sighed and crouched beside her, his massive hand resting on her shoulder.
“My darling, Roderic doesn’t love you. He doesn’t even like you. Whatever fantasy you’ve had about him since childhood, it’s faded into nothing.” His voice was soft but firm.
“There is nothing worse than being unloved by a man. I won’t sentence you to that.”
He straightened and stood, looking down at her with weariness that made him look older.
“You can throw all the tantrums in the world, Esmira, but I won’t accept it. In time, when you find someone who can reciprocate your love, you’ll appreciate this decision.”