Eloise Hollowmere POV

"The part belongs to Meredith Thornvale!" Moon Trial Elder Ronan Stormclaw shouts, standing up from his big chair. "Her singing is so great today. I did not want to invite her because the Silverhowl Bard Guild pushed me too hard, but she proved me wrong."

"Wait a minute!" a loud voice screams from the back. "Meredith Thornvale singing like a beautiful nightingale? That is a huge lie!"

"Isolde Ravencrest!" Caedmon Frostfang yells, stepping in front of me fast. "Keep your mouth shut! Meredith is very sick with a pack virus. Do not make up bad stories!"

"She is a big fake!" Isolde points her finger right at my wolf mask. "I know that is not Meredith under there. She hired a human double to steal the song. Take off that mask right now!"

"If she takes it off, everyone in this performance arena will catch her terrible fever!" Caedmon barks back. "We are not selfish wolves. We must keep the mask on!"

"Do you think we are stupid pups with no brains?" Isolde laughs. "That is the worst excuse I ever heard!"

"You..." Caedmon turns to me, his eyes wide and scared. He gives me a fast look that means Do not touch that mask!

"Elder Ronan, what do we do?" the assistant scribe asks. "The Moon Herald Keepers are pushing inside with their magic recording stones. It is getting too loud!"

"Miss Meredith, why are you hiding your face?" a news bard yells, running onto the stage.

"Is it true you are too scared to show your real skin?" another wolf shouts, crowding around me.

"Are you really Meredith Thornvale?"

I look at Caedmon. He is trapped outside the crowd of jumping wolves. He is shaking. I want Meredith to lose everything. I want her name ruined in every pack territory. I take a deep breath and pull the wolf mask off my face.

"Elder Ronan, I am so sorry," I say, bowing my head down. "I am not Meredith."

"What?" Elder Ronan drops his book. "You are Eloise Hollowmere!"

"The human queen of songs from two years ago!" a bard screams. "The one who stopped singing to work in the back rooms!"

"Why are you wearing Meredith's mask?"

"Are you trying to steal her pack fame today?"

"Did the Silverhowl Bard Guild force you to do this because you are just a fat human with no power?"

"You have no pack backing you anymore!" a mean wolf leader yells from the front row. "No one cares about a human with no Alpha to protect her! Your beautiful voice means nothing without a strong wolf!"

Elder Ronan looks very sad and mad. He thinks I tricked him on purpose. The bards push closer and closer. They block the doors. I have nowhere to run.

"Who do you think you are, human girl?" the big pack sponsor shouts, stepping on the stage. "You think you can play tricks in our sacred arena? You are nothing!"

"How pitiful," a very deep voice booms through the room.

The heavy doors bang against the wall. Lucan Ashcroft walks inside with giant steps. He looks so cold and scary that every single wolf stops talking right away. The bards run to the sides, opening a wide path for him because he is the Alpha Lord of the Moonsong Dominion. He walks straight toward me, and his golden eyes lock onto mine.

"Why is Alpha Lord Lucan here?" a news bard screams. "What is the Moonsong Dominion doing at a small Silverhowl trial?"

"Look at him," another wolf whispers. "He must be so mad at this fat human girl. Eloise is finished in this territory. She just dug her own grave."

"Your singing voice has a lot of power," Lucan says, stopping right beside me. He nods his big head. "It is very good."

"You saw me?" I ask, my eyes getting very wide.

"I saw everything," Lucan says.

"What do you think, Trial Elder Ronan?" Lucan asks, turning his cold golden eyes to the stage.

"Miss Eloise sings like a true queen," Elder Ronan says, looking very worried and sweating. "We all saw it. But she just played a trick with the mask..."

"I do not see a problem with that," Lucan says.

"No way!" the big pack sponsor yells, shaking his fists. "Meredith Thornvale must get this song! We already put all our pack resources into her! We cannot change the plan for a human!"

"Does she have to get it?" Lucan asks. His scary Alpha air fills the whole room and pushes the sponsor back. "Meredith has no soul in her voice. She is not good enough. Eloise is the only one who can sing this part."

"Are you backing this human, Alpha Lord?" the sponsor asks, his voice shaking now.

"Yes," Lucan says.

"This is crazy!" the sponsor mutters. He is too scared to fight Lucan, so he runs out the door to find Rowan Blackthorn.

"We will stop the trial for today," Elder Ronan sighs, looking at Lucan with sad eyes.

"Let us go, Corwin," Lucan says, looking at me one more time before he walks out.

"Eloise, you are a very bad girl!" Caedmon Frostfang yells, running up to the stage after the bards chase Lucan away. "You are toxic! Just you wait, Rowan will make you pay for this!"

"Tell him I am waiting," I say. I throw the wolf mask right into the trash bin. "I am not scared of him anymore."

I walk out the back door fast before the bards come back. Lucan's big black truck is idling in the dark lot. The dark glass slides down, and his handsome face looks out at me.

"Get in," Lucan says.

"Thank you," I say, climbing up into the seat.

"You are my wife now," Lucan says, cutting me off before I can say more. "Do you think I will let other wolves bully my woman?"

"If I bring bad trouble to the Moonsong Dominion..." I start to say, rubbing my hands together because I feel so nervous.

"If I was scared of trouble, I would not have gone to the Bond Hall with you," Lucan says.

"Where are we going now?" I ask, trying to stop my heart from jumping so fast.

"To my home," Lucan says, looking at my dazed face with a small smile. "I do not like to wait. I will make this marriage something you can never forget."

"I am willing," I say.

Eloise Hollowmere POV

"My rule is simple," Lucan says, looking down at my face. "Once a bond starts, it never ends."

"I know how you do things in the Moonsong Dominion, Alpha Lord," I say, keeping my voice strong. "I will be your good wife with all my heart, but I have one rule too."

"Speak," Lucan says.

"I want to finish my fight with Rowan Blackthorn by myself," I say. "I do not want to use the big power of your royal pack."

"Good," Lucan says, nodding his head. "I like that."

He walks with me right into the big Ashcroft Silverclaw Citadel.

"I have pack papers to read in my study," Lucan says, pointing his big hand down the hall. "Go rest first. My bedroom is right over there."

"Alright," I say, and my face feels very hot.

My phone shakes in my pocket. I pick it up fast. It is Selene Moonwhisper.

"Eloise, it is done!" Selene laughs over the phone. "Everyone on the pack web is reading about Meredith Thornvale buying her way into songs. We told them she uses Rowan to steal resources and hurt the young human girls in the guild."

"Thank you so much, Selene," I say.

"Do not thank me," Selene says. "The workers in the guild gave me the proof. They hate Meredith because she bites them. We all want to help you."

"Did you tell them she has a baby coming?" I ask.

"Not yet," Selene says. "Are you really sure about this? Do you still love Rowan?"

"No," I say, looking toward Lucan's dark room. "My path is not with that bad wolf anymore."

"Who is with you?" Selene asks, sounding very sharp. "Is there another wolf?"

"I must go," I say.

"Wait, the Wind Speaker bards are calling me now!" Selene shouts. "I have to get the news out!"

"Goodbye," I say, hanging up.

I feel so different now. You have to walk down a new path to see the bright sun.

"You are very quick to strike," Lucan says from right behind me. His wolf ears must have heard everything.

"You heard that?" I ask, turning around fast. I feel so scared he will think I am a bad person.

"I like a girl who fights," Lucan says. He steps close and touches my chin with his big fingers. His golden eyes are very bright and dangerous.

"I only do what is right," I say, looking right back at him. "Do not think bad things about me."

"I only believe what my own eyes see," Lucan smiles, letting me go to open the cold box for a drink.

My heart feels so warm. This new Alpha husband is almost perfect.

But across the territory, Rowan Blackthorn is screaming. He throws his phone against the stone wall of the Silverhowl Bard Guild.

"Who did this?" Rowan roars at his wolves. "Tell me right now!"

In thirty minutes, all the Moon Herald Keepers called him. The whole pack web is full of stories about Meredith stealing songs and bullying the young pups. The big sponsors are demanding their pack resources back.

"It is Eloise!" Meredith cries from her bed, looking very ugly and mad. "She wants to ruin my life because she hates me!"

"No," Rowan shakes his head. "If Eloise knew about us, she would come crying to me. She is just a fat human. I will find out who is really behind this game."

"Investigate?" Meredith screams, stomping her wolf paws hard on the stone floor. "By the time your trackers find anything, the Moon Bard Guild will throw me out forever!"

"Then what do you want me to do?" Rowan roars back.

"Remember when Eloise stopped singing because she wanted to stay with you?" Meredith asks, rubbing her body against his arm to make him soft. "She gave up everything for your pack. If she did it then, she will do it now. Write a pack scroll from the Silverhowl Bard Guild. Tell everyone she is desperate for a comeback but no pack wants a fat human."

"What else?" Rowan asks.

"Say she is jealous of my big name," Meredith snarls. "Tell them she saw me get hurt, put on my wolf mask, and tried to steal my glory to make herself famous. Tell the territory she paid bad bards to spread lies about me!"

"This is very harsh," Rowan says, biting his lip. "She did a lot for my pack these past two years."

"If you do not crush her, she will rip the Silverhowl Bard Guild to pieces!" Meredith yells.

"Director Parker!" the big pack sponsor shouts, kicking the door open before Rowan can speak. "If this is how you run your territory, our deal is dead!"

"What is wrong now?" Rowan snaps.

"The magic web is full of pictures of you and Meredith kissing in secret!" the sponsor roars. "It hurts our pack resources! We are taking our gold back right now!"

"Who did this?" Meredith screams, her face turning red and ugly.

"I did it," Selene Moonwhisper says, walking straight into the room. She slams a big box of memory stones onto the table. "Here is the proof of Meredith biting the young pups in the academy. The stories online are just the start."

"Are you crazy?" Rowan growls, his wolf eyes flashing. "I will kick you out of the territory!"

"I am leaving anyway, you stupid wolf," Selene laughs, ripping her pack badge off her neck and throwing it at his face. "You make the whole guild smell bad."

Rowan does not even watch her leave. He calls his territory keepers fast.

"Put all the blame on Eloise!" Rowan orders. "Tell the packs she is a lying human!"

He spent too much gold making Meredith a star. He cannot let her name stay dirty. By afternoon, all the wolf bards are shouting that I am a bad, jealous human who stole a mask.

But right before sunset, the Moon Scribe from the Moonsong Dominion sends a giant red eagle to every single pack leader.

"If any wolf bards speak bad words about Eloise Hollowmere, Alpha Lord Lucan will destroy their lands."

"Does the supreme Alpha protect a human?" the pack leaders whisper in fear.

They stop the news right away. All the bad stories turn back onto Meredith.

"You did this, right?" I ask, looking across the table at the huge man cutting his meat.

"It is nothing," Lucan says. He swaps his plate with mine so I can eat the best pieces. "You are a big target for Silverhowl now. Do you want to stop singing?"

"No," I say, chewing my food. "They say I want a comeback. So I will go back to the stage and show them a human can win without them."

"Are you not scared?" Lucan asks, his golden eyes shining dark. "If they lock you out of the guild halls, I cannot jump out to save you every time."

"I am not scared at all," I say, looking right into his scary eyes. "Once I start a fight, I finish it. Nobody stops me."

Eloise Hollowmere POV

"Rowan does not care if I live or die," I say, putting my fork down. "He did not even try to send a mind-link or a message bird. That wolf is dead to me now."

"You are smart to leave him," Lucan says, watching me with dark eyes.

"I want a completely new start," I say, looking at his handsome face. "I am just a human girl, but I feel a strong pull toward you."

"Alpha Lord, the things you wanted are inside the sleeping chamber now," the pack steward says, bowing his head very low.

"Go rest," Lucan says to the steward.

"Are you ready?" Lucan asks me, standing up from the table.

"Yes," I say, but my hands start to shake because I feel very nervous.

I follow him into the big royal bedroom. The floor is covered in soft white fur and sweet moon-flowers. The bed is huge and wide.

"I will go wash the dirt from my skin first," Lucan says, looking at my big body with kind eyes. "Get ready. I want you to be the lady of the Ashcroft pack with no fear, but I will not force you to do anything tonight."

"Wait," I say, reaching out fast to grab the edge of his grey shirt.

"What is it, Eloise?" Lucan asks, turning his big body around.

"I know you will not make me sad," I say, throwing my arms right around his big neck.

"You are very beautiful tonight," Lucan says, his voice getting deep and warm. "But I do not want to rush you when your heart is still sore from that bad pack."

"Did I do something wrong?" I ask, my voice small because I am scared he does not want a plus-size human.

"No," Lucan says fast.

"Then why are we stopping?" I ask.

"We have plenty of time," Lucan says, lifting me off my feet with his big, strong arms. He places me gently on the big furs. "We do it or we do not do it, you are still my wife."

"Why are you so good to a human like me?" I laugh, my face getting very red as he kisses my cheek.

"This is our fate," Lucan says, his golden eyes glowing in the dark room. "The Moon Goddess put us together. You belong to the Alpha King now."

"I like being here with you," I whisper, hiding my face against his warm chest.

"Sleep now, my little queen," Lucan says, pulling the heavy blanket over my shoulders. "Tomorrow, the whole territory will know your name."

"The big pack sponsors are making huge trouble for Rowan now," Selene Moonwhisper laughs over the phone line. "The Silverhowl Bard Guild is losing all its power fast. Meredith had to stop all her song recordings today. You won the first fight, Eloise!"

"I am happy to hear that," I say, sitting at the big table.

"What about the song part?" I ask, because I want to know if Trial Elder Ronan picked a wolf yet.

"They did not choose anyone yet," Selene says.

"You must hide now, Selene," I say, holding my phone tight. "Rowan is very mad. He will hunt you down."

"Do not worry about me," Selene says.

"If you need my pack warriors, just tell me," Lucan says from across the table. He moves his wolf ears and looks at me.

"I will," I say, nodding my head with a big smile.

"I must go to the Alpha Dominion Hall for a big council meeting now," Lucan says, standing up. "Keep your body safe."

"You too," I say, watching him walk out.

I look at the sun. It is time for me to go to the guild hall. I want to make Rowan feel even worse today.

I walk straight into the front doors of the Silverhowl Performance Hall. I wear a simple blue shirt, and my hair is tied up high. I look very strong as I walk right into Rowan's big room.

"Eloise!" his wolf scribe yells, dropping her papers.

"You still dare to show your face here?" Rowan roars, jumping out of his chair. "Look at what you did to my pack territory!"

He slams a hot news scroll onto the stone table. It shows Meredith's face with big angry words about her buying songs.

"We spent too much pack gold on Meredith!" Rowan screams. "If her name stays dirty, our guild will lose everything!"

"Rowan, what are you talking about?" I ask, blinking my eyes like a small pup. "I do not understand."

"Selene came here and threw memory stones at me!" Rowan barks, his eyes turning wild and red. "You are pretending to be stupid! Why did you attack Meredith and my pack?"

I look at him. I remember how he always shields Meredith from danger. He never cared about a fat human like me.

"We are supposed to go to the Bond Hall soon," I say, making my voice sound sad and fake. "Why would I hurt your guild? That does not help me."

"Fine!" Rowan gasps, trying to calm his wild breath. "Where did you run to after you took off that mask? I searched the whole forest for you!"

"I was running away from the angry bards," I say, coughing a little bit. "If I came straight to your den, the bards would know you helped me hide the fake song."

"Is that true?" Rowan asks, staring at me like he wants to bite my neck. "Your human tricks put me in a huge mess!"