Chapter 8 The Luna’s Presentation
Maya arrived three hours before the ceremony with an army of attendants.
“Oh, Miss Sera, I mean, Luna Sera!” She burst into my suite with tears streaming down her face. “You survived! You actually survived, and you are bonded, and” She threw her arms around me.
“Maya, I cannot breathe,” I gasped, laughing.
She pulled back, examining the mating mark at my throat still red and fresh, unmistakably a claim. “It is real. You are really his mate.”
“I am really his mate,” I confirmed. Through the bond, I felt Kael’s satisfaction even though he was currently meeting with his council across the fortress.
“We have so much to do! The entire pack will be there, over three thousand wolves, Luna. You need to look perfect.” Maya clapped her hands at the attendants, who opened a large box revealing three stunning gowns.
I reached for the black dress without hesitation. It felt right. Strong. A dress for someone who had survived hell and come out the other side.
The next two hours blurred past. When they finally stepped back, I barely recognised the woman in the mirror. The black dress hugged my body before flaring at my hips, the neckline cut perfectly to frame Kael’s mating mark. I looked like someone who belonged beside an Alpha King.
I looked dangerous.
“You look like a Luna,” Maya whispered, awed. “Like a queen.”
A knock interrupted the moment. Lyra entered, stopping short when she saw me.
“Well,” she said after a long pause. “I suppose I owe you another apology. You are exactly what Kael needs. What the pack needs.” She moved closer. “I came to escort you to the ceremony. The Alpha King is waiting. Are you ready, Luna?”
Was I ready? No. But I had not survived eighteen years of abuse and a feral alpha was claiming just to hide in my room.
“I am ready,” I said, lifting my chin.
The presentation platform stood in the massive central courtyard, elevated so everyone could see.
Torches lit the space, casting dancing shadows across thousands of faces. The sheer number of wolves made my heart race. So many eyes. So many judgments waiting.
Kael stood at the centre, dressed in formal black with silver accents. When he saw me approaching, everything in his expression shifted. Through the bond, I felt his emotions, pride, possessiveness, desire, and something that felt like reverence.
The crowd parted as Lyra led me forward. Whispers followed in my wake.
“That is her? She is so small.”
“But she survived his wolf.”
“She does not look like much. How can she lead us?”
I focused on Kael. When I reached the platform stairs, he descended to meet me, offering his hand.
“You look breathtaking,” he murmured. “Every wolf here will know you belong to me.”
We climbed the stairs together. He moved behind me, hands settling on my shoulders in a gesture both supportive and possessive.
“Wolves of the Northern Kingdom,” his voice boomed across the courtyard. Silence fell instantly. “Tonight, I present to you Luna Sera Thorne, my bonded mate and your queen.”
The formal declaration sent ripples through the crowd. Sera Thorne. Not Blackwood anymore.
“Two weeks ago, Sera came to the Northern Kingdom broken by abuse and seeking freedom. She faced my wolf’s test and survived where twelve others died. Last night, she became my mate in truth, bound by the Moon Goddess herself.” He paused. “My wolf, unstable for five years, has found peace. And it is because of the strength of the woman standing before you.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Some approving, some sceptical, some openly hostile.
“As Luna Queen, Sera will rule beside me. Her word is law. Her safety is paramount. Any wolf who threatens her threatens me.” His dominance rolled out like thunder. “Does anyone wish to challenge this?”
The silence stretched. Then a voice rang out. “I challenge!”
Kael’s hands tightened on my shoulders. Through the bond, I felt his rage ignite.
A large alpha pushed through the crowd Thomas Reed, his eyes wild and fixed on me with disturbing obsession.
“You cannot claim her as mate,” Thomas snarled. “She is an unclaimed omega. Her heat scent drove every unmated male wild. I demand the right to fight for her!”
The crowd erupted. Kael’s wolf surged forward, his eyes flooding gold. “You dare question a goddess-blessed mating bond?”
“I question whether a broken wolf can truly bond,” Thomas shot back. “She carries your mark, but that does not make her yours. Not until someone proves she is worthy!”
I felt Kael’s control slipping. Thomas had just signed his death warrant.
Unless I stopped it.
“Enough,” I said, my voice carrying across the courtyard with surprising authority.
Both alphas froze.
I stepped forward, away from Kael’s protective hands. “You think I am not worthy to be Luna? You think I am weak because I am omega?”
“I think you are an abuse victim who traded one alpha’s control for another,” Thomas said. “You are not strong enough to lead this pack.”
The words should have hurt. Instead, they ignited something fierce inside me.
“You are right,” I said clearly. “I am broken. My father spent eighteen years trying to destroy me. I came here with no power, no pack, no value.” I moved to the platform edge where everyone could see me clearly. “But I survived Alpha King Kael’s wolf when twelve others died. I faced his beast and refused to break.”
The courtyard went silent.
“You think strength is physical dominance. But real strength is surviving what should have killed you. Real strength is choosing courage over fear, again and again.” My eyes found Thomas. “I will never be the strongest fighter. But I will protect this pack with everything I have. And I will prove my worth through my actions.” I turned to Kael. “But I will not prove my worth by letting you kill Thomas Reed for speaking his mind.”
“He challenged our bond,” Kael growled.
“He challenged whether I am worthy. That is his right.” I faced Thomas again. “You want proof I can lead? Then give me one month to prove myself as Luna. If I fail, I will voluntarily step down from my position.”
Shock rippled through the crowd and through my bond with Kael.
“And if you succeed?” Thomas asked warily.
“Then you will submit to me as your Luna Queen and never question my authority again.”
Thomas smiled slowly. “One month. You must earn the respect of the majority of the pack. If even half still question your worthiness, you step down.”
“Agreed,” I said before Kael could protest.
For a long moment, no one moved. Then Garrett stepped forward and dropped to one knee. “I accept your challenge, Luna Sera.”
Maya came next. Then other wolves, one by one. Not everyone. Not even half. But enough.
Thomas remained standing, arms crossed. “One month. Do not disappoint us, little omega.”
Kael pulled me back against his chest. “That was either the bravest or stupidest thing you have ever done.”
“Probably both,” I admitted.
“You just gambled your position as Luna Queen on winning over a pack that has no reason to trust you.”
“I know. But they need to choose to follow me, not be forced.” I turned in his arms. “Trust me, Kael.”
He kissed me in front of the entire pack. A claiming kiss. A public declaration.
When he pulled back, his eyes were grey again. “One month. But whether or not you prove yourself to them, you have already proven yourself to me.”
The ceremony continued with traditional rituals, but my mind spun with what I had committed to.
As the crowd began to disperse, a messenger pushed through, his face pale with urgency. He dropped to one knee before the platform.
“Alpha King, forgive the interruption.” His voice shook. “But there is urgent news from the border.”
Kael’s entire body tensed. “Speak.”
“Alpha Marcus Blackwood has arrived with fifty warriors. He is demanding the return of his daughter. And he has brought Alpha King Victor Kane as his ally.”
My blood turned to ice. My father was here. And he had allied with Kael’s greatest enemy.
Through the bond, I felt Kael’s fury explode like a supernova. His eyes flooded gold, his wolf barely contained.
The messenger continued, his words falling as hammer blows.
“They are demanding you return Luna Sera within the hour, or they will consider it an act of war.”