Chapter 4

Caden POV

The opulent scent of the banquet hall stirred a faint weariness in me.

I stood on the elevated platform, swirling the wine glass in my hand, my gaze sweeping carelessly over the fawning faces below. I had endured this sort of occasion too many times to count. The so-called "Luna Coronation Ceremony" was nothing more than a political performance designed to consolidate the pack's standing.

Elena stood beside me, smiling with flawless perfection, like an exquisite porcelain doll. She gently looped her arm through mine, her voice as sweet as if she were acting coy. "Caden, look—everyone is blessing us. That elder just said I'm the most elegant Luna the Iron Moon Pack has seen in a century."

I lowered my gaze to her. Elena was beautiful, born into a distinguished family, formidable in strength—the ideal choice for our alliance through marriage. Looking at her, my usually cold-as-ice eyes melted instantly, replaced by a habitual indulgence.

She was the one who should be my chosen mate, the love of my life.

"You are the most beautiful, Elena," I murmured, lowering my voice. "They're right. You deserve the very best of everything. Tonight, if anyone causes you even the slightest displeasure, I will make them disappear."

Elena's smile grew even brighter. She leaned closer to me, whispering softly, "Oh, don't mention those killjoys. By the way, that woman called Sera... I heard her daughter died? Such a pity, but it has nothing to do with us, does it? After all, today is our day."

At the mention of that name, my brow furrowed slightly beyond my control.

The image of that woman howling in despair on a rainy night flashed unbidden through my mind.

That hollow, soul-rending madness in her eyes stirred an inexplicable irritation and discomfort within me.

"Dead?" I swirled my wine glass lazily, trying to suppress that flicker of unease, my tone indifferent. "That's her own fate. She's not one of us—her life or death is none of my concern. As long as you're unhappy, that's my fault. Tonight, I don't want any noise disturbing you."

"You're so good to me, Caden." Elena rose on her tiptoes and brushed a light kiss against my cheek.

I pulled her closer by the waist, holding her tightly in my embrace.

Yes, Sera was merely an accident, a lowly Wolfless, a stain I refused to acknowledge. As for that dead pup... it was the price she paid for failing to adapt to the pack.

"To the future of the Iron Moon Pack," I raised my glass, announcing to the crowd below in a cold, commanding voice, "and to my Luna."

Thunderous applause erupted from below.

The final and most important part of the banquet was the blessing from the pack's most venerable elder.

Victor, his hair silver with age, rose slowly with his wine glass in hand, his gaze sweeping the hall with authority before settling on a conspicuous empty seat, his brow furrowing tightly.

"On this sacred night," Victor's voice carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall, "we gather together to witness the union of Alpha Caden and Elena. Having such a powerful she-wolf join our pack is an honor for the Iron Moon Pack."

He paused, his tone suddenly turning severe and displeased. "However, I am deeply disappointed that a member of our pack has shown such ingratitude by being absent from such an important celebration. Sera, as a member of this pack, is nowhere to be found on this joyous occasion. The pack has given her shelter, given her a place to belong, yet instead of showing gratitude, she uses this arrogant absence to dampen everyone's spirits. Such ungrateful behavior is nothing short of a challenge to the Alpha's authority!"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd below, followed by a chorus of condemnation.

At that moment, Vera actually stepped forward from the crowd.

She wore an elaborate gown specially prepared for tonight, her face plastered with an ingratiating smile.

"Alpha Victor, Alpha Caden," Vera's voice was shrill and obsequious, as if afraid no one would hear her. "Please forgive Sera—I failed to discipline her properly. She's always been so willful, so foolish. That dead bastard daughter of hers was a burden from the start, and now she's probably sulking somewhere over that unlucky business. As her guardian, I'm ashamed of her! Someone like her, who doesn't know the rules or gratitude, doesn't deserve to stay in the Iron Moon Pack!"

Vera's words were like salt poured into a wound.

Though I too found Sera's clinging distasteful, hearing her guardian curse her so viciously stirred an inexplicable sense of absurdity within me.

Amid the chorus of agreement, Elena sighed softly and stepped forward. She reached out, gently clasping Vera's hand, her eyes slightly reddened.

"Aunt Vera, please don't speak of Sera that way," Elena's voice was as soft as a spring breeze. "Losing a loved one is painful—perhaps right now she's hiding in some corner, crying. I don't blame her, truly. As long as she still has the pack in her heart, still has Caden, one day she'll understand our good intentions."

The hall fell silent for an instant, then erupted in applause and praise even more fervent than before.

"The Luna is so kind!"

"This is the grace of our future Luna!"

I looked at Elena beside me, my eyes nearly overflowing with admiration and affection.

She was always so proper, so understanding.

"You're always so soft-hearted, Elena," I leaned down, whispering near her ear.

Just as the banquet's atmosphere reached its peak, the heavy doors of the hall were suddenly slammed open.

A guard responsible for watching the forest's edge stumbled in, his face pale as paper, soaked through as if he'd just been pulled from water.

Ignoring all protocol, he fell to his knees. "Alpha! Something terrible has happened!"

"What kind of behavior is this, acting so flustered? What is it?"

The guard swallowed hard, stammering out his words. "It's Sera... Sera took that dead child's urn and broke into the Sacred Spring! She sank down with the urn!"

The entire banquet hall fell into a deathly silence.

I froze.

An unprecedented chill shot up from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head, my heart contracting violently as if seized by an invisible hand.

That woman who always followed me like a shadow, who refused to leave no matter how I humiliated her—was she dying?

I felt the air around me drop in temperature, and somehow the wine glass in my hand had already been crushed to pieces.

"Foolish woman!"

I snarled, my voice carrying a violence and panic that felt foreign even to me.

It was my wolf, roaring within. Didn't she know what would happen to me, her fated mate, if she died?

I whipped my head toward Elena, who was staring at me in shock, seemingly frightened by my current ferocious expression.

But I had no time to comfort her.

"What are you standing there for!" I roared at the guard, my voice hoarse and terrible. "Seal off the Sacred Spring! Bring every healer we have! If she dies, all of you will join her in death!"

With that, I charged out of the banquet hall without a second thought, my black coat billowing behind me like the wings of an enraged beast.

Elena's panicked voice called after me, but I couldn't make out what she was saying.

Only one thought screamed madly through my mind:

She cannot die.

That woman who carried my secret, who loved me even as I trampled her—she absolutely could not die in the Sacred Spring!