Calla's POV
"Ma'am, you are ready."
I looked at the woman staring back at me. She looked nothing like the woman that was lying half-dead a week ago. My hair was tied into a bun, makeup intact like I was born this way, with a silver gown that accentuated my curves.
"Callie?" Her voice echoed before my room door opened. A broad smile plastered on her face.
"You look ethereal." She said and I smiled.
"So do you, Ami."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, concealing her smile. "Alpha Gladys is so lucky."
I chuckled. "I'm the lucky one."
The maid came with a small pendant. I stopped her. Amelia raised a brow. The side of my lips curled.
"Gladys has something better."
Slowly her lips curled. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "He got me a diamond necklace. I saw it in his room."
She held her hands up close to her chest. "I'm so happy for you. Finally."
I nodded. "Yeah. Finally."
The maid left us.
"Well. It will soon be time, let's get going."
She nodded, helping me on my heels. Then we left. The cold wind crashed against my skin. The distance from my quarters to the pack halls was not much, but these heels were making it worse.
"So you think today is the day?" Amelia asked, beaming as she helped me walk faster. My heart thudded in my chest. I pretended not to know what she was talking about.
"Day for what?"
She nudged me. "C'mon, the day he makes you his Luna."
I swallowed hard. "I know nothing about that, Ami."
She sighed. "Connect the dots. You sacrificed your wolf for his pack. He's throwing a party to reward you. What else do you think would follow?"
I kept my lips shut.
Five years.
Five years and it's finally happening now.
"Whatever, Ami." I said, keeping my eyes forward. I couldn't let her see what was sitting on my face. Despite being my favorite maid, she followed favor, and right now that favor was mine.
"Okay." She went quiet.
The pack halls were in sight. The music reached us first, then the flowers — deep red and brown at the entrance. Amelia's eyes lit up.
"It's happening. Those are deep red and brown flowers. I told you!" She squealed.
My heart thudded faster. She was right. Those colors were only ever used for something binding. Something permanent.
A mate. Or a Luna.
We are already mates. So…
We got closer to the door and my eyes found his. Green, warm and tender. He was dressed in layered black leather and heavy fur, a cloak of wolf pelt resting on his shoulders.
I smiled. He took my hands. Amelia gave a curt bow and left.
"Let's go in," he whispered, and I held my breath.
Cheers poured out of the hall as soon as he opened the doors. My gaze moved through the crowd. This is what it felt like to be chosen. They had always hated me, and now in his arms they celebrated me. I pressed my nails into my palm and pushed the bad thoughts back.
He guided me to the front seat. My heart was loud in my ears.
He took the microphone.
The elders watched me from across the room with their usual quiet contempt. I gave them my brightest smile.
"We are gathered here for two reasons. One, to express gratitude. And second, to crown my Luna."
My heart stopped.
Our gaze met. The cheers grew even louder. This is it. It's finally happening.
"Calla."
My throat went dry. My name from his mouth, soft as a prayer. I bit the inside of my cheek.
"I never saw us becoming like this." The crowd murmured warmly. "Five years ago you were just a rogue. One I couldn't stop watching, even when I cursed the moon goddess for making you my mate." He paused. "But today—" the hall leaned in— "I thank her for bringing my Luna."
The cheering rose like a wave. My heart was going to crack open from the pressure of it.
"You've stood beside me. Healed our kind. Sacrificed your wolf for this pack." His eyes met mine. "I am grateful."
I nodded. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
"But gratitude," he said, his voice shifting, "does not change what you are."
The smile slowly drained from my face.
"A rogue."
The hall went silent.
"It has never been recorded that a rogue became Luna of this pack." Each word landed clean and separate, like stones. "And it never will be."
I stopped breathing. The room, the music, the faces — all of it fell away. There was only him, standing there with the microphone in his hand, looking at me like I was a problem he was finally solving.
"I'm sorry Calla, but you are not qualified. So, we thank the goddess for bringing Elara home."
I froze.
Elara. Elara BlackRidge. His childhood crush. The one he had chosen over me, again and again, in every cold silence and every argument I hadn't understood until now.
The sound of her heels on the marble cut straight through me.
"She is qualified to be my Luna."
I shook my head. No. No. He's over her. He chose me.
I stood. My legs were steadier than they had any right to be.
"You can't do this." The words came out shaky.
He stepped closer. "An alpha and a rogue has never been heard of. It cannot be heard of."
I swallowed the bitterness down, lifted my chin, and let the words come.
"I am not a rogue. I am Calla Ashmere, the only daughter of the last warlord of the Sterling Pack. I ran from the grief of losing my parents. That is the only thing I ever ran from." I took one step forward. The sneers didn't touch me. "I am your mate. I sacrificed my wolf for this pack." My voice didn't waver. "Take me as your Luna."