Chapter Three

Chapter 3: The King’s Choice

The howl came first.

Long.

Mournful.

Close enough to rattle the stained-glass windows of Moonstone Palace.

Then another answered.

And another.

Within seconds, the night outside erupted into a chorus of wolves.

Every warrior in the throne hall reached for the weapon at their waist.

The celebration was over.

“Seal every entrance!” Commander Darius barked. “Protect His Majesty!”

Armored guards surged toward the palace doors while servants screamed and scattered. Nobles stumbled over one another in their desperate attempt to escape, elegant gowns tangling beneath polished boots.

The throne hall dissolved into chaos.

Only one person remained perfectly still.

Alpha King Kael.

His piercing blue eyes never left me.

I should have looked away.

Instead, I found myself frozen beneath his gaze, the invisible thread between us pulling tighter with every heartbeat.

My wolf paced restlessly inside me.

Go to him.

Every instinct urged me to cross the room.

Every lesson my guardian had ever taught me screamed the opposite.

Never challenge an Alpha.

Never draw attention to yourself.

Never trust the royal court.

Before I could take a single step, Prince Rowan pulled me behind him.

“No one touches her.”

His command echoed across the hall.

I stared at him in disbelief.

Minutes ago, he had claimed me before the kingdom. Now he stood between me and the palace doors like a shield.

Was he protecting me…

Or protecting what he believed belonged to him?

Commander Darius frowned.

“Your Highness, with respect, we don’t know why the Moon Hunters are here.”

“We do,” Rowan answered without hesitation.

His emerald eyes flicked toward the glowing crescent beneath my collarbone.

“They’re here for her.”

Whispers rippled through the hall.

“Who are the Moon Hunters?”

“I thought they disappeared centuries ago.”

“They slaughter entire packs…”

My stomach tightened.

I had heard stories as a child.

Monsters wrapped in silver cloaks.

Warriors who hunted wolves touched by forbidden magic.

My guardian always dismissed them as bedtime tales meant to keep pups from wandering into the forest after dark.

She had lied.

They were real.

A loud crack echoed outside.

One of the palace’s outer gates had fallen.

Commander Darius looked toward the King.

“Your Majesty, we must evacuate.”

Kael finally spoke.

“No.”

One word.

Calm.

Absolute.

“We hold the palace.”

Every Alpha in the room instinctively bowed their heads.

Even Rowan fell silent.

That was the true power of the Alpha King.

He didn’t need to shout.

The kingdom obeyed because it trusted him.

Kael descended the marble steps of the throne dais, each measured stride carrying the weight of decades spent leading wolves through war and famine.

He stopped only a few feet from me.

Close enough for me to breathe in the scent that had haunted me since entering the palace.

Cedar.

Rain.

Smoke.

Home.

The realization terrified me.

I had known this man for less than ten minutes.

Why did being near him feel like returning somewhere I had never been?

Kael looked down at the silver mark glowing against my skin.

For the first time since our eyes met, his expression softened.

“So…” he murmured. “The prophecy was true.”

“What prophecy?” I whispered.

His jaw tightened.

“You should never have been found.”

Before I could ask what he meant, Rowan stepped between us.

“You’ve said enough.”

Kael’s expression hardened once more.

“You presume too much, Rowan.”

“I presume only what everyone in this room is thinking.” Rowan’s voice was respectful, but there was steel beneath it. “If the Moon Hunters have crossed the borders after two hundred years, it’s because of her.”

The words struck harder than any blade.

Dozens of eyes turned toward me.

Some held pity.

Others fear.

One elderly Alpha took a cautious step backward.

“If she leaves,” he said quietly, “perhaps they’ll leave with her.”

Another nodded.

“We cannot risk the capital.”

“The people come first.”

Their agreement spread through the hall like wildfire.

One by one, wolves who had celebrated only moments before began looking at me as though I carried a plague.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

I hadn’t asked for the mark.

I hadn’t asked for a mate.

I certainly hadn’t asked for an army to hunt me.

Yet somehow, I had become the enemy.

The great doors exploded inward.

Splintered oak flew across the marble floor.

A freezing wind rushed into the hall, extinguishing every remaining torch.

Silhouetted against the moonlight stood dozens of figures cloaked in silver.

Each wore a mask carved from white bone.

Each carried a silver spear engraved with ancient runes.

The leader stepped forward.

His voice was deep enough to silence the frightened whispers.

“We seek only one.”

He slowly lifted his spear.

Its gleaming tip pointed directly at me.

“Deliver the girl.”

“No one else needs to die.”

A terrible silence settled over the throne hall.

Every eye turned to Alpha King Kael.

Would he surrender the orphan who had thrown his kingdom into chaos…

Or would he risk thousands of lives to protect the woman fate had declared was his mate?

Kael’s gaze never wavered.

With deliberate calm, he walked past Rowan and stood in front of me.

His broad shoulders shielded me completely.

Then, before the entire royal court and the enemies gathered at the palace gates, the Alpha King unsheathed the ancient black sword that had ended kingdoms.

Its blade shimmered beneath the moonlight.

“I have buried a queen.”

His voice rolled through the hall like distant thunder.

“I will not bury my mate.”

The leader of the Moon Hunters laughed.

“A king willing to start a war for a girl he met tonight?”

Kael raised his sword.

“No.”

His eyes blazed with a power that made even seasoned Alphas take an involuntary step back.

“A king willing to end one.”

Outside, the ground began to tremble.

From every corner of the capital, wolves answered their king’s silent call.

The Royal Pack had come.

And the first battle for Lyra Blackwood’s life was about to begin.