The journey back took less than an hour. Lucien didn't waste time. He kicked open the heavy oak doors of the pack council hall.

The massive iron hinges shrieked.

Dozens of heads snapped toward us.

Adrian stood at the head of the long maple table. He held a golden coronation chalice, his arm wrapped tightly around Vivian’s waist.

She wore a gown of spun silver. A crown of white winter roses rested on her blonde hair. Servants froze midway through hanging celebratory banners for her final Luna blessing.

The chalice slipped from Adrian's fingers. It clattered against the stone floor, spilling dark red wine across the gray slate.

"You," Adrian spat.

I kept my chin high. I didn't shrink away.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face here," Adrian snarled. He marched past the elders, stopping ten feet from us. "I banished you to the Deadlands."

"I didn't come back for you," I replied.

"Then why are you standing in my hall?" Adrian demanded. "Did you crawl back to beg for scraps?"

"I don't need your scraps," I said.

Vivian stepped out from behind him. She pressed her hands to her chest, feigning a gasp of relief.

"Oh, thank the Goddess you're alive," Vivian cooed. Her voice carried a sickly sweet tone.

I glared at her. "Cut the act, Vivian."

She pouted, leaning her head against Adrian's shoulder. "I'm only trying to help you. I know how hard it must be out there. A wolfless girl, all alone in the cold."

She turned her big, doe eyes up to Adrian. "Alpha, please. Let her stay."

Adrian frowned. "She defied my order."

"But she's pregnant," Vivian pleaded loudly. She made sure the entire hall heard her. "We can't let a pup freeze. Let her work in the kitchens. She can serve us. For the child's sake."

Serve them. My stomach churned.

"Generous as always, my Luna," Adrian praised her. He shifted his gaze back to me, raking his eyes over my dirt-stained clothes.

"You heard her," Adrian said. "You can scrub the floors. Wash our clothes. Prepare our meals."

"I won't serve you," I stated firmly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Then what do you want? Gold? A warm bed?"

He took a step closer, his gaze dropping to my waist.

"If you're that desperate for my attention, I can make an arrangement," Adrian offered.

"What arrangement?" I asked.

"You can stay in my private quarters," Adrian said. "As my mistress. You won't have the title of Luna, of course. But you'll be comfortable."

"Adrian!" Vivian gasped, her fake smile faltering.

"Hush, Vivian," Adrian commanded. He looked back at me. "It's a generous offer. A runt like you won't find a better deal."

"I would rather freeze," I spat.

My nails bit into my palms. I opened my mouth to curse him again.

Lucien moved first.

He didn't shout. He didn't bare his teeth.

Lucien simply reached out and laced his fingers through mine.

The warmth of his grip anchored me.

"She will not be serving anyone," Lucien stated. His voice carried a low, rumbling authority that rattled the glass in the windows.

Adrian laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "Are you giving orders in my hall, Lucien? You abandoned this pack."

"I am reclaiming what is mine," Lucien answered.

He lifted our joined hands high into the air.

"I present to you your true, and only, Luna," Lucien announced. "My Fated Mate."

The hall plunged into absolute silence.

No one breathed. The crackle of the hearth fire sounded like thunder.

Adrian's smirk vanished. The color drained from his face.

"Are you out of your mind?" Adrian demanded. He pointed a shaking finger at me. "She is a reject! She has no wolf! I threw her away!"

"You threw away a diamond because you were too blind to see it shine," Lucien replied smoothly. "The Moon Goddess led me to her. I have found my true mate."

"She was mine first!" Adrian roared. "You can't claim her! She is tainted!"

"The only taint on her is the memory of you," Lucien shot back.

"The elders will never accept this," Adrian argued, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "She is a weak, useless burden."

"The elders will accept their true Alpha," Lucien stated. "And they will respect the Luna the Goddess chose for him."

Adrian took a threatening step forward. "I am the Alpha of this pack!"

Lucien's eyes flashed a terrifying, glowing silver. A heavy, suffocating aura exploded from him.

The sheer force of his command forced Adrian to his knees.

"Not anymore," Lucien commanded.

Vivian shrieked and scrambled backward, leaving Adrian kneeling on the cold stone.

Elder Rowan stepped out from the crowd of stunned pack members. He stared at our joined hands, then looked up at Lucien's glowing eyes.

The old man lowered his head. He dropped to one knee.

"We welcome you, Alpha Lucien," Elder Rowan rasped. He turned his head toward me. "We welcome our Luna."

One by one, the other elders followed.

Knees hit the floor. Heads bowed.

A wave of submission rippled through the hall until only Lucien and I remained standing.

My chest tightened. No one had ever bowed to me. No one had ever looked at me with anything but pity or disgust.

Now, they offered me complete reverence.

I glanced down at Adrian.

He knelt in the spilled wine, his hands trembling. His eyes darted wildly around the room, taking in the bowed heads of his most loyal followers.

His chest heaved. The realization hit him like a physical blow.

He wasn't in control anymore. He had lost the pack.

Adrian looked up at me, his expression twisting into something ugly and desperate.

"You think you've won?" Adrian hissed, his voice trembling with venom.

Before I could answer, a sharp, agonizing scream ripped through the hall.

It wasn't Adrian.

It was Vivian.

She collapsed onto the stone floor, clawing at her own throat, her eyes rolling back into her head.