Chapter 4: The Choice No One Wanted

The welcome banquet began at sunset.

Long tables filled the palace's grand dining hall while nobles from both packs exchanged polite conversation. Crystal chandeliers illuminated the room, but beneath the elegance lingered an unbearable tension.

Seraphina sat beside Kael as protocol demanded.

Across the table sat Lyra beside Alpha Orion.

No one dared mention the mate bond aloud.

Yet everyone was thinking about it.

Kael barely touched his meal.

Every few seconds his wolf reacted to Lyra's scent, forcing him to tighten his grip around his wine glass.

Seraphina noticed everything.

Each small reaction felt like another crack forming in her heart.

"The roast is excellent," Orion commented, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Silvercrest's chefs never disappoint."

"Thank you," Seraphina replied politely.

She had personally selected tonight's menu weeks ago.

Back then she believed this banquet would simply strengthen the alliance between their packs.

She never imagined fate had prepared something entirely different.

Lyra quietly set down her fork.

"Alpha Kael... may I speak with you after dinner?"

The hall instantly became silent.

Every noble looked toward the Alpha.

Kael hesitated.

Before he could answer, Seraphina calmly placed her napkin on the table.

"You should hear what she has to say."

Kael looked at her in surprise.

"Seraphina..."

"Avoiding the problem won't make it disappear."

Her voice remained steady, though every word hurt to speak.

"Very well," Kael answered reluctantly.

After dinner, the guests moved into the palace gardens.

Moonlight bathed the white stone paths in silver.

Lyra waited beside the ancient Moon Tree while Kael approached slowly.

"Thank you for meeting me," she said.

"I wasn't sure you would come."

"What did you want to say?"

Lyra lowered her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For existing at the wrong time."

Kael frowned.

"None of this is your fault."

"Nor is it yours."

She smiled sadly.

"But Luna Seraphina is paying the price."

Kael remained silent.

"I've felt the bond since the moment we met," Lyra admitted.

"Every instinct tells me to walk toward you."

"Yet every time I see your Luna, I feel guilty."

"She doesn't deserve this."

"No," Kael whispered.

"She doesn't."

Meanwhile, Seraphina stood on a nearby balcony overlooking the gardens.

She hadn't intended to spy on them.

But from where she stood, she could clearly see Kael and Lyra talking beneath the Moon Tree.

She couldn't hear their conversation.

She only saw the way Kael looked at Lyra.

Not with love.

Not yet.

But with curiosity.

Hope.

And something even more dangerous.

Possibility.

"Watching them won't make the pain easier."

Seraphina turned around.

Evelyn stepped onto the balcony carrying two cups of herbal tea.

"I know," Seraphina answered.

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because part of me is hoping he'll walk away first."

Neither woman spoke again.

Several minutes later, Kael returned alone.

His eyes immediately searched for Seraphina.

"Can we talk?"

She nodded.

They walked through the quiet palace corridors until they reached the private library.

The room had always been their favorite place.

Here they had planned wars.

Dreamed about the future.

Laughed together.

Tonight it felt unfamiliar.

"Lyra wants to leave tomorrow," Kael said.

"She believes distance might weaken the bond."

"Will it?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want her to leave?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

That hesitation hurt more than any confession.

"I asked you something," Seraphina said quietly.

"Part of me does."

"And the other part?"

"The other part wants answers."

Seraphina smiled bitterly.

"Your wolf wants her."

"My heart still wants you."

"How long before those become the same thing?"

Kael had no answer.

She walked toward one of the bookshelves, running her fingers across the dusty spines.

"Do you remember this room?"

"Of course."

"This is where you asked me to become your Luna."

"I remember every word."

"Then remember one more."

She slowly turned toward him.

"I will never beg someone to choose me."

Kael's expression changed instantly.

"Seraphina..."

"If one day you decide she's the woman you truly want..."

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Then don't stay with me because you pity me."

"I could never pity you."

"Good."

"Because I'd rather lose everything than keep a husband whose heart belongs somewhere else."

Outside the library window, thunder rumbled across the mountains.

Far beyond Silvercrest's borders, deep inside the forbidden Shadowlands, the Dark Alpha stood atop a cliff overlooking the northern kingdoms.

A black wolf larger than any ordinary Alpha stood beside him.

"The Moon Bond has awakened," one of his warriors reported.

"Exactly as the prophecy foretold."

The Dark Alpha's crimson eyes narrowed.

"Prepare the borders."

"Soon... a broken Luna will come searching for freedom."

"And when she does," he said with a faint smile,

"our fate will become hers."