Chapter Ten
The packhouse had never been this alive.
From the earliest crack of dawn, the corridors were vibrating with motion. Servants hurried past one another carrying trays of polished silver, bundles of moon-flowers, bolts of emerald silk. Laughter echoed through the marble halls. The scent of roasted meats and sweet pastries drifted from the kitchens below.
In the Great Hall, chaos reigned in the most organized way possible.
"Those chairs are uneven!" Elder Mareth snapped, pointing his cane at a trembling servant. "The Alpha and Luna's thrones must sit precisely centered."
"They are centered," Elder Bella argued from across the hall. "It is your eyes that are uneven."
Lypon stood near the altar adjusting the ceremonial candles, shaking his head. "You two have argued about symmetry for twenty years."
"And we will argue for twenty more," Elder Bella replied proudly.
Dave hopped down from a ladder where he had been overseeing the draping of the golden banners. He dusted his hands off dramatically. "If this ceremony goes wrong, it won't be because of the decorations. It will be because someone forgot to breathe."
Tess walked past them with a list in her hands, smiling as she checked off items one by one. She looked lighter today radiant, almost glowing.
Dave watched her for a second too long.
"You know," he said casually, stepping closer, "for someone bossing half the kingdom around, you look dangerously pretty doing it."
Tess didn't look up immediately. "Dave, if you are not carrying something useful, kindly remove yourself from my path."
Lypon snorted loudly.
Dave looked at him Mockingly reminding him he was mateless and resumed with Tess.
"I am serious. Look at you. Smiling, glowing, commanding. It's very distracting."
Tess finally looked at him, one brow raised. "Distracting from what?"
"From my duties, obviously."
Lypon groaned. "Moon Goddess save me. I am surrounded by lovebirds everywhere I look ."
Dave turned to him. " I'm merely appreciating beauty."
Tess rolled her eyes, but her smile softened. "Focus, Dave."
Lypon folded his arms dramatically. "I pray I get a mate soon. Watching this ceremony unfold is making my wolf restless."
Dave clapped him on the shoulder. "Trust me. Somewhere out there is a brave woman preparing for the challenge of tolerating you."
Lypon gasped in mock offense. "Tess, did you hear that?"
Tess laughed a bright, carefree sound. "Both of you behave. Today is important."
She looked around the hall one more time.
And for the first time in a long time, she felt no weight on her shoulders.
Because today, she would no longer carry the silent burden of acting Luna.
Louise would.
And Tess was genuinely happy about it.
Kyle's Wing
Kyle woke before the sun fully climbed over the mountains.
He sat up slowly, running a hand through his dark hair before standing and pulling open the curtains. Light flooded the room, casting sharp gold lines across the stone floor.
Today.
He inhaled once, steadying himself.
Inside him, Kael stirred.
Ours.
Kyle ignored the possessive pulse of his wolf and walked toward the bathroom. Steam soon filled the air. When he emerged, droplets of water traced down his chest and shoulders. A towel hung loosely around his hips as he walked toward the window again, adjusting it absently.
And then
The door opened.
Louise stepped inside.
She froze.
He turned.
Their eyes collided.
The bond activated with a force that stole the air from the room.
Kael surged forward inside Kyle's mind.
Mine.
Kyle's jaw tightened. "Control," he ordered internally.
Louise swallowed but did not look away. "Tess said you'd be in your office."
His voice came out low and smooth. "And you believed that without knocking?"
Her gaze flickered just once down his torso before lifting again. "I assumed the mighty Alpha would already be buried in paperwork."
He tilted his head slightly. "Disappointed?"
She scoffed softly. "Hardly."
Silence stretched between them, thick and electric.
"You didn't come here to admire the curtains," Kyle said.
She lifted a folded parchment from behind her back. "I changed the clause."
His brows lowered. "You what?"
"You said I could negotiate," she replied calmly, stepping closer. "So I did."
He took the parchment from her fingers. Their hands brushed briefly the contact sending another spark through the bond.
Kael growled approvingly.
Kyle scanned the document slowly.
"You removed the obedience requirement."
"Yes."
"You altered financial oversight to shared authority."
"Yes."
"And added equal decision power in council meetings."
She crossed her arms. "I refuse to be ornamental."
He looked up at her.
"You are anything but ornamental."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Louise blinked.
Kyle cleared his throat lightly. "You are bold."
"I am practical."
"You are stubborn."
She smiled faintly. "That too."
He studied her for another long second before sighing. "Fine."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Fine?"
"I agree."
"That was too easy," she said suspiciously.
He stepped closer, voice dropping. "Do not mistake agreement for weakness."
Their faces were close enough now that she could feel his breath against her skin.
"And do not mistake negotiation for submission," she replied.
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
He signed.
She signed.
The parchment was sealed.
Louise took a steady breath. "I need to bathe."
He gestured toward the bathroom. "Go."
She paused at the door. "Nervous?"
He smirked faintly. "Never."
"We'll see tonight."
She disappeared into the bathroom.
Kyle stood still for a moment, staring at the closed door.
Kael was pacing restlessly.
Tonight.
He dressed quickly in ceremonial black trousers and a fitted gold-embroidered tunic. By the time Louise emerged, wrapped in steam and determination, he was fastening his cuffs.
Their eyes met again.
"Try not to faint during the ceremony," he said lightly.
She tilted her chin up. "Try not to lose control."
He almost smiled.
Then he left.
Louise's Room
When Louise returned to her chambers, the morning sunlight filtered softly through the tall windows, casting a warm glow across the velvet gown laid carefully on her bed.
Tess was already waiting, holding a silver tray with an expression far too cheerful for someone delivering what looked like a punishment.
Louise's eyes immediately brightened with expectation. "Please tell me that smells like roasted lamb, honeyed pastries, and something soaked in butter."
Tess lifted the lid with theatrical pride.
Fruit.
Just fruit.
Louise stared at it.
"…You're joking."
Tess laughed gently. "You cannot wear emerald velvet and complain about tight seams."
"I am about to stand before five hundred head packs," Louise muttered, sitting down reluctantly. "Surely I deserve something heavier than sliced apples."
"You deserve many things," Tess replied warmly, setting the tray down. "But bloating is not one of them."
Louise sighed and picked up her fork. "This is cruelty disguised as care."
"It is care," Tess corrected, brushing a stray strand of red hair from Louise's face. "And today, you must look breathtaking."
Louise chewed quietly for a moment before glancing up. "Walk me through it again."
Tess sat beside her, posture relaxed but voice steady.
"First, you meet privately with the elders, and they will formally bless your union."
Louise nodded once.
"Then you proceed to the Great Hall. The pack will already be gathered. You and Kyle will exchange vows before everyone."
"And the marking," Louise said softly.
"Yes. The marking."
Louise's fingers tightened slightly around her fork.
"It will make the bond visible," Tess continued gently. "It tells the pack that you are truly Luna."
Louise swallowed. "And after that?"
"You both sit on your thrones. Delegates from five hundred head packs will present tributes and renew allegiance. The sub-packs report through them that's why not all one thousand six hundred and seventy are here."
Louise leaned back slightly. "That is a lot of eyes."
Tess smiled softly. "They will not see weakness."
Louise didn't answer immediately.
"And tonight?" she asked after a pause.
Tess hesitated this time.
"Tonight, under the moonlight… the bond is completed."
The air shifted.
Louise looked down at her untouched fruit.
"You mean," she said quietly, "the consummation."
"Yes."
Silence filled the room.
The earlier memory of Kyle standing near the window, confident, controlled, had replayed in her mind more than once already. His voice. His certainty.
You will fulfill your intimate duty to the pack.
Her stomach tightened not from nerves, not from excitement but from reluctance.
"I do not like that part," she admitted finally.
Tess didn't look surprised.
"You don't have to like it," Tess said gently.
Louise lifted her gaze. "It feels less like choice and more like obligation."
"It is tradition," Tess replied softly. "And it strengthens the bond between Alpha and Luna. The pack believes in it."
Louise let out a slow breath. "Belief does not make it comfortable."
"No," Tess agreed.
Louise stared at the sunlight stretching across the floor.
"I barely know him," she continued. "And yet tonight, I am expected to stand under the moon and…" She stopped herself, jaw tightening. "To give myself because the pack requires it."
Tess reached for her hand.
"You are not giving yourself away," Tess said quietly. "You are stepping into your role."
"That is a poetic way to say the same thing," Louise replied, but there was no anger in her voice only thoughtfulness.
Another silence followed.
"I do not hate him," Louise said slowly. "But I do not love him either."
"You may not need to," Tess answered. "Not yet."
Louise looked at her reflection in the mirror across the room red hair like fire against pale skin, green eyes sharp and calculating.
"I will do it," she said finally.
Not softly. Not dramatically.
Simply resolved.
"I will fulfill the duty expected of me. Because if I am to wear that crown, I will not pick and choose which responsibilities I accept."
Tess's expression softened with pride.
"That," she said quietly, "is what makes you worthy."
Louise exhaled, steadying herself.
"But do not mistake acceptance for eagerness," she added firmly.
Tess smiled. "I wouldn't dare."
Louise picked up another piece of fruit and forced herself to finish it.
Outside, the packhouse buzzed with celebration.
Inside the room, however, something quieter settled in Louise's chest not excitement, not fear, but the heavy understanding that power often came wrapped in sacrifice.
And tonight, beneath the moon, she would step fully into that truth.