Chapter 3

“Luna Queen?”

As the words left my mouth, the women clawing at me finally went still.

For a heartbeat, the hall fell silent.

Selena narrowed her eyes, staring me down.

“You just said you're the Luna Queen of the North?”

“That's right.”

I cradled my belly, where the pain kept pulsing, and fought to steady my breathing.

“I carry Caius's only heir.”

“If this child comes to the slightest harm, not just you, but the families behind you will never withstand the Alpha King's fury.”

I thought that once I named my station, they would at least stop to verify it.

The safety of the royal heir was tied to the whole of the North, after all.

If they had a shred of reason left, they would send word to the Council of Elders at once.

And beyond that, the royal guard who'd come with the message was still kneeling at the door.

But in the next instant, a burst of shrill laughter erupted through Moonshadow Hall.

“Oh, I'm so frightened!”

“She actually claims to be the Luna Queen?”

“This woman's been shut away in a side hall so long her mind's gone, hasn't it?”

“Maybe she's always dreamed of being the Alpha King's mate. Now that we've exposed her filthy little secret, this is the only ridiculous lie she can invent to save her skin.”

Their laughter grew louder and louder.

The noblewoman in the purple dress at Selena's side clutched her stomach, doubled over laughing.

“Everyone knows Lord Caius and his Luna share a public Mate Mark.”

She looked me over with open contempt.

“But you don't carry a trace of His Majesty's scent.”

“If you truly were the most exalted Luna in the North, how could you have nothing but one lowborn maid and a handful of male guards around you?”

“The way I see it, those guards aren't protecting you. They're taking turns keeping you company, aren't they?”

Vicious laughter rose again all around me.

My fingers slowly curled tight.

To protect the child, Caius had personally asked the High to mask my mate scent.

The guards of Moonshadow Hall had been handpicked from the elite of the Royal Captain of the Royal Guard.

Yet all these arrangements meant to protect me were now being twisted by these women into proof that I had betrayed Caius.

Selena looked down at me, her gaze slowly turning cruel and cold.

“Here I thought you dared to defy me because you had someone important standing behind you.”

“Turns out you're just a madwoman too stupid to tell fantasy from reality.”

She bent down and seized my chin.

“Do you know what the Luna Queen is?”

“She holds power second only to the Alpha King in all the North. Every wolf across the Twelve Territories must bow their head at the sight of her. How could a woman like that be living in a side hall no one gives a second thought to?”

“Let alone without even a single decent guard of her own.”

Selena's nails dug deep into my skin.

“If you want to save yourself with a lie, you should at least invent an identity someone could believe.”

Her gaze slid to my belly, and the smile vanished from her face.

“A bastard whelp you got by whoring with a royal guard, and you dare pass it off as the heir of the North.”

“For that one sentence alone, I could sentence you to death.”

The guard kneeling at the door went pale.

“Miss Selena, everything she says is true!”

“The woman in Moonshadow Hall is Luna Daisy herself. The child in her womb has already passed the blood verification at the Moon Goddess Altar. It is His Majesty's only——”

“Shut your mouth!”

Selena spun around.

“A lowly guard set to watch over a side hall, and even you dare to deceive me?”

“I'd say you're her lover!”

The guard's head jerked up in shock.

“I belong to the Royal Captain. My number is engraved on my Silver Armor. You need only ask the Captain——”

“Seize him!”

Selena gave him no chance to explain.

The two high-ranking wolves behind her lunged at once, wrenching the guard's arms behind his back and forcing him to the ground.

He tried to fight them off, but out of fear for my safety he didn't dare unleash his wolf strength.

Selena walked over and kicked away the silver emblem at his waist, the mark of his rank as a royal guard.

The emblem skidded across the stone floor and slid into the shadows beneath the drapery.

“Forge yourself an emblem and you think that makes you a real royal guard?”

She gave a cold laugh and ordered:

“Throw him in the dungeon. Once I've dealt with this woman, I'll question them myself and find out just how they conspired together.”

Even as he was dragged out, the guard fought with everything he had.

“Your Majesty, protect the child!”

“The Alpha King has already reached the outer keep. The Council of Elders is receiving him now. Hold on just a little longer and he'll——”

A heavy fist slammed into the guard's stomach.

He grunted, and the rest of his words were forced back down his throat.

Watching his figure disappear beyond the hall doors, the last flicker of hope in my heart went out with him.

These people hadn't simply mistaken who I was.

They believed only what they wanted to believe.

Even with the proof laid out before them, they would destroy the proof along with everything else.

Selena came back to stand before me, a cruel excitement glinting in her eyes.

“So there's more than one lover.”

“No wonder you're so brazen.”

“But you'll learn soon enough that in Silvermoon Keep, no man can protect you.”

She turned to the women behind her and gave the order in a cold voice:

“Tear the clothes off her.”

“I want to see just what tricks this body used to bewitch those guards.”

The noblewomen bared vicious smiles and started toward me at once.

“Don't touch me!”