Chapter 248 The Proposal

Chapter 248 The Proposal
I woke up feeling like absolute shit. My eyes were puffy, my head pounded, and my body ached from tossing and turning all night.

"He won't abandon you after everything you've been through," Julian had assured me last night, his usually playful expression uncommonly serious. "Kane might be stubborn, but he's not stupid."

Fat lot of good those words did me at 3 AM when I was staring at the ceiling, imagining Kane being pressured to choose someone "more suitable" than a disgraced, wolfless nobody with a child in tow.

I rubbed my eyes and froze when I noticed something out of place in my room. My suitcase was open on the floor, already half-packed with my meager belongings.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Elena." Daisy appeared in the doorway, wringing her hands nervously. "Mr. Marcus instructed us to prepare all contestants' luggage... just in case."

I swallowed the knot forming in my throat. "It's fine, Daisy. This isn't our first potential elimination, is it?"

Her eyes softened with sympathy. "I promise I'll put everything back the moment Mr. Kane announces you're staying."

"If he announces it," I muttered.

Across the room, Elva was meticulously placing her stuffed animals into her small pink suitcase, her little face unusually solemn. My heart cracked watching her carefully arrange her wolf plushie next to her favorite teddy bear.

I crossed the room and knelt beside her. "Hey, sweetie."

"Are we going home, Mommy?" she asked, looking up with a mixture of confusion and sadness.

I pulled her into my arms, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. "I don't know, baby. But no matter what happens, we'll be okay as long as we're together."

Hours later, I stood in the grand ballroom wearing the bright yellow gown.

"You look stunning," Isadora whispered, giving my hand a quick squeeze as she took her place beside me.

"We're going to be fine," Aurelia added, her eyes darting nervously around the room. "Kane would be an idiot to let you go."

I attempted a smile but couldn't quite manage it. "Thanks. You both look beautiful too."

My eyes tracked Kane as he entered the ballroom, looking devastatingly handsome in a tailored black suit with a silver tie. He deliberately avoided looking in my direction, his expression unreadable as he took his place near the judging panel where Alpha Alexander and Luna Diana sat with regal posture.

"I hear the staff already packed your bags," Valerie's voice dripped with venom as she sidled up next to me. "It'll be so much quieter around here without you and your brat."

I turned to her, summoning every ounce of dignity I had left. "Kane might not choose me tonight, Valerie, but if you think he's going to choose you instead, you're even more delusional than I thought."

Her face flushed an ugly red, but before she could respond, Marcus stepped forward and signaled for the cameras to start rolling.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice boomed through the ballroom, "welcome to tonight's crucial elimination ceremony of Luna Selection. Tonight, both Kane and Julian Sterling will each eliminate one contestant, narrowing our field as we approach the final selection."

My stomach twisted into knots. The lights seemed too bright, the room too warm. I caught Julian watching me with an inscrutable expression that did nothing to calm my nerves.

"First, Kane Sterling will announce his decision," Marcus continued.

I held my breath as Kane stepped forward, his shoulders rigid. But before he could speak, he suddenly broke protocol.

"Wait!" Kane's voice cut through the ceremonial atmosphere like a knife.

The entire room froze. Alexander half-rose from his seat, his face darkening. "Kane—"

But Kane was already striding toward the line of contestants, ignoring his father's warning. The cameras swiveled frantically to follow him.

"This selection process is unnecessary," Kane announced, his voice steady and clear. "Because I've already found the mate my wolf recognizes."

A collective gasp rippled through the room. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I feared it might break through.

Valerie immediately stepped forward, a triumphant smile spreading across her face as she reached for Kane's hand.

But Kane stepped past her, his eyes finally, finally finding mine. "Elena."

My name on his lips sounded like a prayer and a command all at once. The room tilted. Was I dreaming?

"Elena," he repeated, extending his hand to me.

With legs that felt like jelly, I stepped forward and placed my trembling hand in his. The familiar warmth of his touch sent electric currents up my arm.

And then, to my absolute shock, Kane Sterling—heir to the Silver Moon Pack, son of the Alpha King—dropped to one knee before me.

"Elena Williams," he said, his voice carrying through the now dead-silent ballroom, "will you marry me? Will you be my Luna?"

Time seemed to stop. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Three years of pain, of sacrifice, of longing crashed over me in waves.

"Yes," I whispered, my voice breaking. Then louder, "Yes!"

Kane rose and pulled me into his arms, his lips finding mine in a kiss that felt like coming home after a long, dark journey. The ballroom exploded with conflicting reactions—gasps, applause, angry mutters.

"Kane!" Diana's voice cut through the chaos, outrage evident in every syllable. "This violates every tradition of the Luna Selection!"

"This can't be happening!" Valerie shrieked, her composure completely shattered.

"Cut the broadcast! Now!" Alexander commanded, but the cameras continued rolling, capturing every moment of the unprecedented scene.

I pulled back slightly, looking up into Kane's golden-green eyes. "I love you, Kane," I whispered, not caring who heard.

His fingers brushed my cheek tenderly. "I love you, Elena. Be my wife. Be my Luna."

Before I could respond again, the ballroom plunged into sudden darkness. Confused shouts and screams filled the air. Glass shattered somewhere to my left, followed by heavy footsteps and the unmistakable sound of weapons being drawn.

Kane's arms tightened protectively around me. "Stay close," he growled, his body tensing.

When the lights flickered back on seconds later, the ballroom was surrounded by figures in black tactical gear. Two people stepped forward through the circle of guards—a man wearing an eagle-feathered mask with a blood-red wolf claw tattoo visible on his neck, and beside him...

Katherine!

"What the fuck?" Valerie's shocked voice cut through the silence. "There are two Elenas?"

"Hello, sister dear," Katherine smiled, cold and predatory. "Miss me?"