Chapter 303

Chapter 303
【Elsa POV】

The outdoor gathering space stretches before us like an amphitheater carved into the hillside. Nearly two hundred pack members sit on wooden benches arranged in curved rows, their faces turned toward the raised platform where Leif and I stand. Spring air carries the scent of melting snow and budding trees, but I'm too nervous to appreciate the fresh breeze.

I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, hyperaware of every whispered conversation floating up from the crowd. A few people point in our direction, and I catch fragments of their words.

"Is that really her?"

"She looks so young."

Leif's Alpha aura rolls outward in powerful waves. I watch as the weaker pack members automatically lower their heads, while the stronger wolves lean forward on their benches, studying him intently. A woman in the third row whispers something urgent to her neighbor.

"They're watching for weakness," I murmur to Leif.

His hand finds mine, squeezing reassuringly. "Let them watch."

He steps to the edge of the platform, and conversations die throughout the gathering.

"I have found my mate," his voice carries easily across the open space. "Your new Luna."

The cheer that follows sounds forced—polite clapping mixed with a few halfhearted calls. My stomach drops as I watch several people in the front rows exchange skeptical glances. One man actually shakes his head.

Leif gestures for me to step forward. This time, I refuse to hunch my shoulders or stare at the ground. I lift my chin and scan the crowd, meeting their stares directly even as my heart pounds.

A blonde woman near the back leans over to her companion. "Is that really the best he could do?"

"She's from Svartskogens," someone else stage-whispers. "Enemy pack."

My jaw tightens, but I keep my expression neutral.

"Elsa has worked tirelessly to bring allies to our pack," Leif continues, his voice growing firmer. He turns slightly toward me, and I see approval in his amber eyes. "In fact, it was Elsa who brought Saga to us."

A man in the front row jumps to his feet. "Saga? The healer?"

"She saved my daughter during the attacks," a woman calls out from somewhere in the middle.

"Mine too!" another voice joins in from the back.

The energy shifts completely. People start standing up, talking excitedly to their neighbors. The lukewarm politeness transforms into genuine enthusiasm as cheers break out across the hillside.

Much better, Freyja's voice whispers through our mental link from where she lies at the edge of the platform. They respect results.

I allow myself a small smile as the noise gradually dies down. Leif raises his hand, and his expression grows serious. The gathering falls quiet again, but this time the silence feels expectant rather than judgmental.

"I want to address the rumors directly," Leif says, his voice carrying clearly in the open air. Several people lean forward on their benches. "Elsa is not defective. She is not 'wolfless.'"

A ripple of murmurs spreads through the crowd like wind through grass.

"But Alpha," calls out a bearded man from the left section, half-rising from his seat, "we all heard about Svartskogens—"

"What you heard," Leif interrupts smoothly, "was wrong. Elsa is unique." He pauses, letting his words sink in. "Her wolf stands among us now."

I watch confusion spread across faces like a wave. A young woman in the second row turns to her neighbor with raised eyebrows. Someone behind her actually snorts with laughter.

"Her wolf?" The bearded man looks around the gathering skeptically. "Where exactly?"

"I'd like you to meet Freyja."

The silver-gray dog rises gracefully from where she's been lying in the shade. Her ice-blue eyes sweep the crowd as she walks over to stand beside me, and I rest my hand on her head. The afternoon sun catches the silver in her fur, making her look almost ethereal.

The murmurs grow louder and more skeptical.

"That's... a dog," someone says flatly.

"Is this some kind of joke?" another voice calls out.

A man in the back section actually starts laughing. "Come on, Alpha. We're supposed to believe that mutt is her wolf?"

Heat rises in my cheeks, but Freyja remains perfectly calm beside me, her breathing steady and controlled.

Is time, she says simply.

I take a deep breath and step closer to Leif. The formal words feel heavy on my tongue, but I speak them clearly enough for everyone to hear: "Alpha of Norrvarg Pack, I stand before you and our people. I offer myself as your Luna." My voice grows stronger with each word. "Do you accept me as your mate and Luna of Norrvarg Pack?"

"Elsa Graberg," Leif's response rings out across the hillside, "I accept you as my mate and Luna of Norrvarg Pack."

The moment his words finish, something inside me shifts dramatically. The weak, painful connection to Svartskogens simply vanishes, replaced by warmth that spreads through my entire body like sunlight breaking through clouds. This is what a real pack bond should feel like—supportive and strengthening, without the constant undercurrent of fear.

The crowd offers another hesitant cheer. I can see people looking around uncertainly, shifting on their benches as if waiting for something more to happen.

Then Freyja's voice explodes into everyone's mind at once.

We will serve as Luna to Norrvarg Pack at the cost of our lives. This is our vow, our promise, our destiny.

The reaction is immediate chaos.

"What the hell—" someone shouts, jumping up from their bench.

"Did you hear that?" a woman gasps, grabbing her companion's arm.

"In my head! The voice was in my head!"

All across the hillside, people leap to their feet. The bearded man stumbles backward, nearly falling over his bench. Two women in the front row grab each other, staring at Freyja with wide, frightened eyes.

"That's impossible," someone stammers, but their voice shakes.

The stronger wolves in the crowd start growling—low, uncertain sounds that make the hair on my arms stand up. An elderly woman points directly at Freyja with a trembling finger.

"She's not just a dog," she whispers, loud enough for nearby people to hear. "Look at her eyes. Look at the way she's standing."

I feel Freyja's power rolling off her in waves now, ancient and wild. It presses against everyone in the gathering, making the very air feel heavier. Several pack members take involuntary steps backward, creating gaps in the orderly rows.

"This is... this is unprecedented," someone stammers from the middle section.

A young man near the back calls out, his voice cracking, "Alpha, what is she?"

Leif moves closer to me, his presence solid and reassuring. "She is exactly what she appears to be. Elsa's wolf. Your Luna's wolf."

The crowd erupts in overlapping conversations.

"Did you feel that power?"

"How is this possible?"

"She spoke to all of us at once!"

"Alpha, what does this mean for the pack?"

"Is she even really a wolf?"

I watch faces transform from skepticism to awe to uncertainty. Some people look excited, others nervous. A few appear genuinely frightened. But no one—absolutely no one—is dismissing us now.

Now they understand, Freyja says privately to me, satisfaction clear in her mental voice. Now they know what they're dealing with.