The hall felt heavy that night like the walls themselves remembered every betrayal this pack ever buried. Firelight flickered against black robes, and the air carried that thick, metallic scent of power. My heart was loud in my chest, but I kept my face still.
I wasn't Ella anymore. Not tonight.
Tonight, I was Luna.
And the crown sitting on my head wasn't made of gold. It was made of lies.
Lucas stood beside me tall, unreadable, carved from stone and storm. His voice still echoed in my head. She is mine. She is Luna.
The elders bowed, but not with hearts. I could feel their eyes slicing through me, measuring, doubting. Especially Elder Moses. His stare could've burned holes through steel. And right behind him stood his daughter Naomi the warrior from the border. The one who had looked at me like she knew something I didn't.
Now I know why.
She was supposed to be Luna.
The hall shifted. Servants moved in with trays of food, roasted meat, fresh bread, goblets of wine. A feast for everyone but me. My stomach was tight, my hands trembling beneath the table.
Lucas leaned close, his voice brushing against my ear.
Eat, he said quietly. You'll need strength.
I'm not hungry.
His silver eyes flicked toward me, sharp but not cruel. Strength keeps you alive, Ella. Eat.
So I did. I tore a piece of bread and forced it down. Every bite tasted like ash. Laughter filled the hall, but it all sounded wrong, too loud, too fake. Naomi sat across the table, her eyes fixed on me like she was watching an enemy rather than a Luna.
Then the goblets came.
Golden, gleaming, almost too bright.
One was placed in front of me bigger than the rest, etched with a crescent moon. Whispers broke out immediately.
The Luna's Chalice.
My stomach twisted. Storm, my wolf, stirred restlessly inside me.
Be careful, she warned.
I looked down at the cup. Every story I'd ever heard about it came rushing back about women who drank and never breathed again. About how the pack's bond would reject any false Luna through poison hidden beneath wine.
It wasn't toast.
It was a test.
Lucas's voice came, low and steady. Drink.
I met his eyes. What if
"Drink."
My hand wrapped around the chalice. The metal was cold, heavy, humming with something ancient. Storm's growl rippled through my mind.
It could kill us.
Or prove us, I whispered back.
I raised the cup. The red liquid caught the firelight, thick and rich. My hands shook. I brought it to my lips. The taste was sharp and bitter like iron under the grapes. For a heartbeat, I couldn't breathe. My throat burned, my stomach turned
And then… nothing.
I was fine.
I set the cup down, my hands trembling slightly. Lucas's gaze was locked on me, something unreadable flickering in his eyes confusion maybe, or relief.
The room went quiet, then erupted in whispers.
The chalice had accepted me.
Naomi's jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jump. Her eyes darkened, and she growled under her breath. The sound sent a chill crawling down my spine.
Then she snapped.
Her chair screeched back against the stone as she stood. This is ridiculous. Her voice cracked through the room like a whip.
Every conversation died instantly. Warriors froze mid-bite. The elders looked up, wide-eyed. Even the fire seemed to burn quieter.
She turned to Lucas, shaking with fury. You told me nothing of this. You let me believe her voice broke, then hardened again, I trained for this. I bled for this pack. And you stand here and call her Luna?
The words hit like blows. My chest tightened, but I didn't move. I couldn't.
Lucas didn't flinch. His voice came out calm, too calm. Enough, Naomi.
She shook her head, tears glinting in her rage. "Do you even care what you've done? You humiliated me before them all!"
Gasps rippled through the hall. No one ever spoke to the Alpha like that. Elders looked uncomfortable, some even pitying her. She wasn't supposed to lose control like this. She was Moses's daughter proud, strong, perfect.
But now, she looked broken.
Lucas's mask cracked for the first time. Not with anger. With surprise. Like he hadn't expected her to fall apart this way.
I never promised you the title," he said, his voice heavy. You are a warrior. My comrade. My friend. That is all.
The silence that followed was brutal. Naomi looked like she'd been hit. For a second, she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Then she straightened, her jaw tight, hiding the pain behind pride.
Her eyes met mine wild, burning with hurt and hate. If looks could kill, I'd be gone. But instead, she turned sharply and stormed out, her boots echoing through the hall.
And that's when Elder Moses rose.
He didn't shout at first. He didn't have to. His presence alone silenced the room.
You dishonor this pack, " he said finally, his voice low but cutting. You bring us a rogue, a healer with no name and call her Luna. And worse, you humiliate my blood before the eyes of Atlas.
The air went thick. I could barely breathe.
Lucas didn't back down. I am Alpha. The choice is mine. I never promised Naomi anything. He paused, then gestured toward me. Her name is Ella.
Moses's lip curled. That girl will bring ruin. And you bind Atlas to her?
The words hit deep. I swallowed hard. Storm growled softly in my head.
He's afraid of you, she whispered. That's why he fights so hard.
Lucas's eyes flashed silver. "Enough, Elder Moses. You forget your place."
Across the table, Beta Wood looked lost like he wanted to disappear into the floor. The tension in the room was so thick it could've cut through bone.
When the feast finally ended, the laughter didn't return. Only the whispers did. Lucas stood, placed a firm hand on my back, and led me out. I could feel the eyes following us some judging, some curious, some afraid.
The corridor outside was dim, lined with torches that hissed against the stone. The silence between us felt louder than the chaos we'd just left. My mind spun with everything that had happened Naomi's fury, Moses's warning, the poison that wasn't poison.
But then, as we passed a group of servants, one of them didn't bow like the rest. She brushed past me, slow and deliberate. A cloaked woman.
And then I heard it not in my ears, but in my mind.
Power like yours doesn't stay hidden forever, child. Be careful who drinks from your shadow.
I froze.
My blood went cold.
No one was supposed to be able to link with me not here, not in Atlas. Lucas didn't hear it. No one did. Storm went utterly still inside me.
How…? I whispered in my mind.
But when I turned, the woman was gone.
Just vanished into the shadows, like she'd never been there at all.
The corridor stretched out ahead, dark and endless. Lucas walked ahead, silent, his jaw tight. But all I could hear was her voice echoing in my head.
Be careful who drinks from your shadow.
And I knew deep down in the place where fear becomes truth that whatever had just begun tonight wasn't about crowns or titles. It was about something older. Darker. Something that was already waking inside me.
And for the first time since stepping into that hall, I wasn't sure if being Luna was an honor… or a curse.