My heart was beating against my chest, my eyes blurry as I stepped forward, one step heavier than the last.
I was changing my destiny.
My fate.
I had watched my best friend die in front of me.
Smelled her blood and listened as how my own sister, my younger sister who I took care of from childhood plot my own death.
Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me, shock and disdain clear in their gazes. I could feel their whispers like daggers at my back, their murmurs turning into a dull roar.
“She’s insane.”
“She’ll die before the week’s out.”
“A mere omega with the beast king? What is she thinking?”
Amira’s violet eyes widened in disbelief, her lips parting as if she couldn’t form the words to express her horror. Max, standing beside her, looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
The once-confident sneer he wore now faltered, replaced by confusion.
Even the Lycan king himself paused. Alaric, towering above everyone else at the foot of the staircase, stared at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.
The silence that followed my words felt eternal.
Then came his voice, deep and sharp as steel. “Repeat that.”
I took a shaky breath, feeling the eyes of everyone present in the room.
My legs trembled, but I straightened my shoulders, meeting his icy blue gaze.
“I volunteer… to be your mate,” I said again, my voice steady this time.
The room erupted. Some people gasped; others burst into laughter.
“She’s committing suicide!”
“A poor little omega? The king will tear her apart!”
“What kind of joke is this?”
Alaric raised his hand, silencing the room with just a gesture. The sheer authority he commanded made the air grow heavy. His piercing gaze remained locked on me, his expression unreadable.
“You,” he said, his voice low but dangerous. “A mere omega, barely able to hold your own against your own pack… How do you expect to stand as a Luna? My Luna?”
My throat felt dry, but I forced myself to reply. “I will be better. I will prove myself.”
His lips twitched, almost as if he were suppressing a smirk. “You’ll prove yourself? Bold words for someone who can barely lift their own shadow.”
The man beside him shifted slightly. He was tall, leaner than Alaric but no less intimidating.
His blond hair was cropped close, a few stray strands falling across his sharp brow. Unlike Alaric’s cold, calculating demeanor, this man’s gray eyes carried a hint of something quieter, something genuine and friendly.
But then again the most friendly faces are the worse enemies.
His stance was relaxed, yet there was no mistaking the authority he wielded.
He leaned toward Alaric, speaking in a low tone I couldn’t hear. Whatever he said made Alaric’s mouth quirk slightly before returning to his usual stony expression.
Alaric turned back to me. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking for?” His voice cut through the air like a blade.
I swallowed, my voice trembling. “I know what I’m doing.”
The murmurs in the room grew louder, but I didn’t dare glance away from him.
“You’ll regret this,” someone muttered from the crowd.
“She doesn’t stand a chance,” another voice added.
Alaric studied me, his gaze dragging over every inch of my face as though searching for cracks in my resolve.
“Why?” he finally asked.
The question startled me.
My breath hitched, but I forced myself to answer. “Because I have nothing left to lose.”
His eyes narrowed.
For a moment, curiousBut it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
The man beside him spoke again, louder this time. “She’s wasting your time, Your Majesty. Let her go.”
Alaric raised a hand, silencing him. “No. I want to hear her.” He stepped forward, descending the staircase slowly, each step echoing in the silent hall.
I fought the urge to shrink back as he approached, his towering form casting a shadow over me.
“Do you understand what being my mate entails?” His voice was softer now, but no less dangerous.
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I truly did.
“This isn’t a position you can simply claim, little wolf,” he said, his tone almost mocking. “It requires strength. Tolerance. Patience.Power.”
“I’ll find those things,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
He tilted his head, his icy eyes boring into mine. “You think you can survive in my world? Do you know how many women have stood where you’re standing now? None of them are alive to speak of it.”
My breath hitched, but I stood firm. “I won’t end up like them.”
The room fell deathly silent. Even Amira, who had been whispering furiously to Max, stopped to watch.
Alaric let out a quiet laugh, a cold, humorless sound that sent chills down my spine. He turned to the blond man beside him, who raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry.
