Chapter 31 The Dead queen is alive
Today is the day. This is the day that will decide everything. It will decide if I, the daughter of a murderer and a slave who survived the pits, will truly become the Queen of Prussia. Or, it will decide if I am just the hundredth failure, meant to be thrown back into the shadows and forgotten forever.
I stood by the tall window of my room, watching the thick mist roll over the sharp, jagged peaks of the mountains. A terrifying truth had started to grow inside me like a seed. I actually loved it here. I had started to like him—no, it was more than that. I craved him. I needed him more than I ever planned to. We hadn't even had a real, deep talk about our feelings yet, but I loved the way he moved. I loved how his silent protection felt like a heavy shield around my soul. I even loved Elio and Kelvin; they felt like the siblings I had lost a long time ago. They were the family I thought I would never find again.
"If the bond is rejected," I told myself, gripping the stone windowsill until my knuckles turned white, "I will go back to the human world. I’ll start over."
But I knew I wouldn't die quietly. I wouldn't let the Moon Goddess take my life until I had tasted the blood of the man who burned my home to the ground.
Knock, knock!
The sound made me jump. "Who is there?" I asked. My voice was so thin it was barely a whisper.
"It’s me, Elio, Luna Aurora," a muffled voice answered.
"Come in," I said, taking a deep breath to steady my racing heart.
The heavy door creaked open. Elio walked in, followed by two other handmaidens. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying all morning, but she gave me a brave, shaky smile.
"Luna, it is time," she said softly. "I am here to get you ready for the final mate bond. The Elders are all gathered in the hall. The King is waiting for you."
The next hour was a blur of ancient traditions. They bathed me in warm water that smelled like crushed moon-lilies and silver-dust. It was a special mixture meant to clean my scent and prepare my skin for the Alpha’s mark. Then, they dressed me in a gown of thin, shimmering silk. It draped over my body like liquid moonlight. Elio told me it was called the "Claiming Shroud." It was a tradition meant to show the Goddess that the mate was willing and had nothing to hide.
When they finally led me to the Great Hall of the Moon, the air felt heavy. It smelled like pine trees, musk, and nervous energy. I saw him immediately.
Deacon was standing on the high platform, but my heart nearly stopped when I saw his face. He looked deathly pale. The healthy bronze color of his skin was gone, replaced by a sickly ash grey. His eyes were sunken and tired. He looked like a man fighting a war inside his own body just to stay standing. My wolf whimpered in my chest. She wanted to run to him, to heal him, to give him all of my strength.
The hall was packed with people. I saw Lady Phina standing near the front with her arms crossed, her face impossible to read. Elder Rue was there too, her eyes shining with a mean kind of hope. She wanted me to fail. Calus stood right next to the King, and his face was a mask of pure terror.
"Begin the Trials of the Blood!" Elder Rue shouted. Her voice cracked through the room like a whip.
In our world, the bond isn't always something that happens in a second. For a King, the Goddess demands three trials to prove the match is real.
Deacon stepped forward. His hand was trembling as he reached for my wrist. He leaned down and bit my skin—not a deep mark, but a ritual bite to draw a little blood. We waited. The air stayed silent. There was no spark. No gold light. Nothing.
"Rejected," Rue hissed, her voice full of spite.
A loud murmur went through the crowd. I looked at Deacon. He looked like he was about to collapse right there on the floor. My heart began to pound against my ribs. I knew the law. If we failed all three times, he would have to kill me to "cleanse" his family line.
"Again," Deacon rasped. His voice was just a ghost of the powerful roar it used to be.
He took my other hand. I felt his fangs graze my palm. I closed my eyes tight, praying to the Moon Mother. Please. Not for the crown. Not for the power. Do it for him.
The silence this time was even heavier. It felt like it was crushing me.
"Rejected!" Rue announced. She had a triumphant smirk on her lips now. "The hundredth mate is a failure. Guards, prepare the—"
"No!" Deacon roared. He swayed on his feet, looking like he might fall, but he grabbed my shoulders. His eyes locked onto mine. He looked like he was giving up, like his spirit was finally breaking. "One more. We have one more trial left."
"Sire, you are too weak," Calus whispered, stepping closer to help him. "The strain of another try will kill you."
"One... more," Deacon insisted, his teeth clenched in pain.
He pulled me hard against his chest. I could feel his heart thumping wildly. He didn't go for my hands this time. Instead, he buried his face in the side of my neck. His breath was hot and ragged against my skin.
"Stay with me, Aurora," he whispered so quietly that only I could hear him.
Then, he bit.
It wasn't a small ritual scratch this time. It was a deep, powerful bite. He was claiming me.
Suddenly, the world exploded into a blinding white light. A roar that didn't sound human or wolf shook the very foundations of the palace. A golden fire surged through my veins. It was so hot I thought I would turn to ash right where I stood. The mark on my neck began to glow with a light so bright I had to close my eyes. Suddenly, the scent of vanilla and storm-clouds filled every corner of the huge hall.
The Elders fell to their knees. All the pack members let out a loud, long howl that made the roof shake.
"Accepted!" Calus screamed, his voice breaking with pure joy. "The Goddess has spoken! The Bond is sealed!"
For the first time in two hundred years, a King’s mate had been accepted. Elder Rue looked like she had been punched in the face. She was purple with rage. Calus stepped forward and placed the heavy crown of silver and black stone on my head.
"Hail the Queen!" the pack roared. "Hail the Luna of Prussia!"
I felt the power of the bond settle deep into my bones. It felt amazing, but then... something went wrong. As Deacon’s teeth left my neck, a sharp, stabbing pain pierced my heart. It felt like a needle made of ice. I felt something warm and wet trickle from my nose.
I quickly reached up and wiped the blood away with the back of my hand before anyone could see. I forced a smile for my King. I couldn't let them see me bleed. Not now. Not when I had just won.
Deacon, however, looked like a new man. As the bond became permanent, his paleness vanished. The bright gold returned to his eyes, and his skin looked warm and healthy again. The wounds on his body—the ones from the car crash that wouldn't heal—snapped shut instantly. He looked like a God again.
He looked at Calus and gave a short, sharp nod. He looked relieved, but there was still a tiny shadow of worry in his eyes as he pulled me close to his side.
We began to walk out of the hall, and the crowd moved out of our way like water. I was the Queen. I had won. We were heading toward our private rooms to finally start our life together.
"King Deacon!"
The voice rang out from the very back of the hall. It was a voice that sounded like velvet and silk, but it was hauntingly familiar.
I froze. My blood turned to ice in my veins. I recognized that voice from the stories Elio had told me. I recognized the way the air seemed to stop moving when she spoke.
Deacon spun around. His grip on my waist tightened so hard it probably left a bruise. Every wolf in the room went dead silent as a woman stepped out from the shadows. She was beautiful, dressed in tattered white lace, and her eyes reflected the moonlight.
"I know that voice," I whispered
. My heart was hammering against my ribs so hard it hurt.
I turned around slowly, my eyes wide with shock.
"Lady Victoria?" I breathed.
The dead Queen had returned.