Chapter 2

Seleste's Pov

By the time we reached the palace outskirts, the sky had turned an eerie silver-blue, the moon hanging low and full. The guards who met us wore matching black armor trimmed in crimson. They didn’t look at us like people. They looked at us like we were some wild animals.

We were dragged out of the wagon like cattle, forced to stand in rows as a hooded figure in a velvet robe moved down the line, examining us like we were livestock.

When he reached me, he paused.

“Name?” he demanded.

I said nothing. He stepped closer, tugging at the chain around my neck. “Speak, girl.”

“I have no name,” I said, not because I’d forgotten it, but that name no longer belonged to the girl they buried alive with her parents. That earned me a slap to my cheeks and I tasted blood.

“Put her in the front,” he ordered the guards. “She’ll learn the hard way.”

I was shoved into a new cage, this one smaller, reinforced with silver bars. Every part of it was designed to suppress. No scent. No strength. No freedom.

The next few hours blurred into one long torment. A meal was tossed into the cage, stale bread and water thick with rust. I didn’t touch it.

From where I sat, I could hear the guards laughing, talking about an upcoming hunt.

“Prince Ralph’s got his eye on the blonde this year. He said he wants a slow chase.”

“What about the new cursed one?” another chuckled. “The dark-haired girl. The wild one.”

“You mean the branded omega?” The first voice lowered.

“Yeah, that one. She’s different. Kinda looks like she’d bite your face off before you touch her.”

“She might. But that’s why they’ll let Prince Darren pick first.

“I doubt it. That cold bastard wouldn’t even attend the ceremony. But a pretty little savage like her? Might stir something in his blood.”

My fists clenched.

I wasn’t here to stir anything in anyone’s blood.

I was here because the world hated girls like me. Girls who burned too brightly. Girls whose parents dare not speak the truth.

I curled myself up in the corner of my cage as tears started to roll down my eyes, every part of my body burned like I had been lit on fire. My fingers traced the brand on my shoulder, a mark meant to shame me, meant to silence me.

I didn’t know what the hunt was about. I didn’t know if I would survive it or even make it out of here alive.

But I swore on the graves of the only people who had ever loved me:

If I made it out of here alive…

I would burn this kingdom down to its cursed, blood-soaked bones.

Darren’s POV

The worst part about being a royal wasn’t the crown.

It was the expectations that came with it.

“Your brothers have already fulfilled their duty,” Queen Leah said as she swirled wine in her glass, her gaze fixed on me like a blade. “You are the last of the triplets. The only one still unbound. It is becoming inconvenient.”

I said nothing, simply stared out the tall glass windows of the council chamber. Below, the palace gardens bloomed under the fading summer sun. But peace was a lie here. In this room, it was politics and power that bloomed, and I was tired of being harvested like a pawn.

“My mate hasn’t appeared yet,” I said, keeping my voice even.

“Then choose one,” Ralph snapped from across the room, lounging in a high-backed chair with the ease of someone who'd never been denied anything. “You think fate cares about your whining? You think our ancestors waited around like sulking puppies?”

“I think they didn’t marry strangers out of desperation,” I replied coolly. Ralph’s jaw twitched. Mason snorted behind his goblet, pretending not to enjoy the tension.

King Donovan, seated at the head of the table, finally spoke. His voice was low, heavy with command.

“Enough. Darren, we’ve given you time. But time is a luxury we no longer have.”

“Why?” I turned to face them. “Why now?”

The Queen rose, setting her glass down with a soft clink.

“Because the packs has grow restless. Because alliances are sealed with bloodlines, not brooding silences. And because you.” she stepped toward me, “Are not exempt from your duty.” She waved a hand, and a side door opened.

My stomach turned the moment Alora Caddal stepped inside. She was elegantly draped in her silk deep auburn hair cascading down one shoulder, her lips curved in a polite smile. She bowed respectfully, though her eyes gleamed with self-assured satisfaction.

“I am sure you can remember her, she is from the Caddal bloodline,” the Queen said. “A noble blood. Strong. Loyal. She has been educated in court matters, battle training, diplomacy, and the traditions of Luna Ascension. She would be a fitting Luna Queen.”

“She’d be a fitting political pawn,” I muttered.

“Is that not what we all are?” the Queen countered sharply. “Even you.” I watched in shock as Alora approached with graceful confidence.

“I don’t seek to replace your fated Mate, Your Highness,” she said sweetly. “I only wish to serve your future and ours.”

I didn’t respond.