The moment she stepped into the throne hall, the air shifted.

Lunara’s allies filled the seats—along with media wolves who had no business being there.

Yet she had almost been turned away... because of a small bag. Her fingers curled slightly. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

This wasn’t a meeting. It was a setup.

Ken took her to their father’s hub and guided her to one of the sofas and sat beside her. Every head turned.

The weight of their stares hit her all at once—sharp, heavy, suffocating.

Some looked at her with open disdain. Others watched like she was something to be studied... or judged. She knew they had been wanting to see her since the news of the ’Alpha’s Secret Bride’ got out and so they couldn’t take their eyes off her.

Lunara’s gaze settled on her, slow and deliberate, as though savoring the moment. A faint smile curved her lips—one devoid of warmth or courtesy. It was not a gesture of greeting, but a quiet, unmistakable promise of humiliation.

Her gaze drifted toward the front row—and then stilled. Lunara’s parents were seated there, plainly within sight, yet neither of them looked her way. Not once did their eyes meet hers, as though acknowledging her presence would cost them something... or as though she simply did not exist.

Mrs. Nazar, as usual, was excessively overdressed. Her outfit was loud and ill-suited for the occasion, and the heavy makeup she wore made her almost unrecognizable.

She shifted her attention to Mrs. Yoone. With a small, polite smile, she lifted her hand in a gentle wave. Mrs. Yoone returned the gesture—but her face remained cold, devoid of warmth. She probably thought Emma was trying to bribe her with a simple gesture, but she wasn’t buying it.

Once, she had claimed to be her blood mother. That single act had almost cost her her freedom, as Daniel managed to convince Brooklyn that she was being overly secretive—so much so that she refused to tell her that her blood mother was around.

She knew her mate wouldn’t allow the correspondents to cover the meeting, but she wished he would. They need to settle everything once and for all. As for being popular, they must surely be.

All the wolves in the hall rose to their feet as Ashley, Emily, and several Keepers of the Moon Seal entered. She scanned the space and noticed Penny approaching with a he-wolf beside her...most likely her moonmate...moving steadily toward them.

She assumed those overseeing the throne hall had deactivated the silver cart due to the overwhelming number of wolves present. Indeed, they were fully prepared to humiliate her.

Penny and the he-wolf who accompanied her took a seat alone on the left side of the hall. Meanwhile, nearly half of the wolves present had been invited by Lunara to witness her humiliation, and as expected, they were all seated on the right side of the hall with her.

Ashley kissed her forehead and patted Ken on the back before taking his seat, a faint smile resting on their lips. Emily simply waved at them, then moved to sit beside Ashley.

Three minutes later, the King and his High Luna joined them. She waited for him to speak, but he only gestured for the audience to sit before taking his own seat.

Silence stretched on for more than five minutes, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on...and why no one was saying a word.

"BO is delaying the meeting," Ken whispered.

She frowned slightly, a tight knot forming in her chest. Why would he do that at a time like this?

"You mean they’re waiting... for my mate?"

Her voice came out quieter than she expected.

But something warm wavered beneath the tension—

Because if they were...

Then an entire hall was being held still... for him—if they were, then everything was on hold because of one wolf... her alpha, a Moon Prince important enough to make an entire hall pause for him.

"Seemingly," Ken responded. "He is the bone of contention here and we must wait for him," he added, as though it were the most natural order of things, while she felt a subtle warmth settle in her chest—an unmistakable reminder that her mate wasn’t just any wolf, but a powerful alpha whose presence commanded attention even in his absence.

Ken’s words settled heavily in the air, and she absorbed them with a slow, growing appreciation—so it really is him... again... how could it not be him, when even silence seems to wait for his arrival, and the entire hall bends itself around the fact that he is not yet here?

As if summoned by the silence—The golden drape shifted. And he stepped out. Calm.Unhurried. Holding Princess Elara’s hand like the entire hall had been waiting exactly for this moment. His eyes...and even his eyebrows...were still fully covered, just like always.

Her breath hitched. It hit her all at once—relief, warmth... something deeper. Like the first time he found her. Like falling all over again.

Her expression softened as she quietly remembered the day he found her—the day she fell in love with him.

He looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back. She wished she could walk right over and kiss him in front of all the wolves around them, but she managed to hold herself back and control the urge.

The pack media wolves commenced their work immediately. She was surprised he didn’t try to stop them. He just relaxed his back on the backrest and crossed his long legs. Princess Elara simply waved at them as she took her seat, and she returned the gesture with a smile.

"High-moon all," the spokeswolf began. "You all know why we are here and I sincerely do not think there is a need to start reading the reasons again. Let the two she-wolves in question stand."

Lunara and Emma stood up. A correspondent fixed his camera on them. The spokeswolf looked differently at them and continued.

"According to our convention, a moon prince doesn’t choose a mate for himself, the royal house chooses for him. The royals have made their choice already, but it seems there is a problem. We want to amicably solve the problem and make one of you see the reasons why you can’t be the Prince’s mate. We have gathered a lot of information about both of you but would like to hear more. If you have any reason why you think one of you shouldn’t be rejected, please feel free to tell us. Who wants to go first?" He asked. All eyes turned to her. She shook her head and they turned to Lunara.

Lunara looked at Mrs. Nazar and she stood up. Emma sat down and leaned on Ken’s shoulder, staring at them.

"Good day my high alpha king and the honorable council. I am Mrs. Leah... Nazar. I am popularly known in Springfield territory as Mrs. Nazar. I... owned the biggest rice farm in the territory.

"Nine winters ago, Emma Greens..."

"Point of correction... Emma Ashford," Ashley corrected her.

"Okay, Emma Gre...sorry ...Ashford was brought to me to help me on my rice farm. However..."

"Hold on," Brandon interrupted her.

"Luna Theresa Greens, how old is Emma now?" Brandon asked, his gaze steady as if weighing every breath in the hall.

"She is twenty-three winters old, my Moon Prince," Theresa responded, holding her posture firm, though her fingers tightened slightly at her sides.

"Choose your next words carefully," Brandon said, his voice cutting clean through the hall.

"Because lies won’t survive here."

"Yes, she is twenty-three winters old," Theresa said again, forcing calm into her tone.

"She is not lying," Lunara seconded, her voice cutting in with quiet certainty.

"I didn’t ask you," he snapped at her.

"Luna Emily Ashford, you gave birth to Emma, right?" Brandon asked, shifting his attention without hesitation.

"Yes," Emily answered softly, swallowing the tension building in her chest.

"How old is she now?"

"She is twenty-three," she replied, steady but cautious.

"Mrs. Nazar, the incident you are about to narrate happened when?" Brandon asked, his tone tightening as the hall fell even quieter.

"Nine winters ago," Mrs. Nazar answered, feeling the weight of every gaze on her.

"Which means she was fourteen and a minor."

"No, she was sixteen," Mrs. Nazar said quickly, as if clinging to certainty.

"Twenty-three minus nine is what?" Brandon pressed, unyielding.

"Fourteen... but Daniel told me she was sixteen. I didn’t know she was a minor," she admitted, her voice dropping slightly.

"Ignorance is never an excuse, I hope you know?"

"I know, my Moon Prince," she replied, eyes lowering in reluctant acceptance.

"Alright, you can continue."

"When she was sent to me, I took her in as my moonpup. I never allowed her to misbehave."

"You took her in after I paid you fifty thousand crowns of silver."

"What?" she said, faking ignorance, though a brief flicker in her eyes betrayed the tension she was trying to bury.

"Yes, I was the last bidder that paid you to take her out of your love den."

"Brandon!" The king called to shut him up. Brandon ignored his father and continued.

"Have you ever asked yourselves why I keep loving Emma, despite everything you have said against her?"

Silence fell over the hall—deep and suffocating, as though even breath had become uncertain.

Brandon’s gaze remained steady as he continued.

"I am the one Lunara has been referring to as the ’random he-wolf."

A brief pause.

"I am the one who went after Emma when Daniel sent her away to entertain wolves."

His voice lowered slightly, but the weight behind it only deepened.

"I am the one she was with," he said. "After we signed our legal mating papers, she became mine in every way... and I won’t deny it, not even here."

A heavy silence settled over the hall, as though the very air had been drawn from it. His gaze shifted from Emma and fixed steadily on the council, calm yet unyielding.

"If there is blame to be assigned," he said, his voice low and cold, "do not place it upon her."

A brief pause lingered between his words.

"Place it where it belongs."

A faint tremor of energy stirred through the hall’s protective seals, subtle but unmistakable.

At that moment, the King rose slowly from his seat.

"Enough."

His voice was not loud—yet it cut cleanly through the tension, leaving no space for defiance.

The murmurs died instantly. Even the correspondents stilled.

His gaze moved across the hall, measured... unreadable.

Then it settled.

And the silence that followed felt heavier than anything that had come before.