The iron chains rattled against Molly’s wrists as two beta guards hauled her through the marble corridors of the Silverstone Palace.
She kept her eyes down, her bare feet silent against cold stone, her threadbear dress hanging loose on her thin frame.
23 years she’d survived in the forgotten corners of the kingdom, sleeping in abandoned barns, eating scraps, speaking to no one but the wild wolves who’d raised her in the woods beyond the pack lands.
She’d never set foot in the royal territory before tonight.
Now she was being dragged to the grand hall like a criminal.
“Move faster, mongrel,” one guard snarled, yanking her forward so violently she stumbled.
Can’t believe we have to touch this filth.
Molly said nothing.
She’d learned long ago that words only made things worse for wolves like her.
Wolves with no family, no pack status, no worth.
The massive doors to the grand hall swung open, and suddenly she was standing before what looked like every ranked wolf in the kingdom.
Hundreds of them seated in teiered stone rows that rose toward a vated ceiling painted with scenes of the moon goddess.
Their eyes tracked her with contempt, with curiosity, with something that looked like hunger for entertainment.
At the center of it all, on a raised deis of black marble, sat the alpha king.
Jonas Iron Hart was everything the stories whispered he would be.
Broad shouldered and commanding with dark hair that fell to his collar and eyes like hammered silver.
He wore black leather and a fur cloak that spoke of countless victories.
And when his gaze landed on Molly, she felt it like a physical weight.
His expression revealed nothing.
He simply watched as the guards forced her to her knees on the cold floor.
There she is.
A woman’s voice rang out from the deis, dripping with satisfaction.
The little barn rat who dared to claim royal blood.
Molly’s head jerked up despite herself.
Standing beside the alpha king’s throne was the most beautiful sheolf Molly had ever seen.
tall and elegant in a gown of deep crimson with auburn hair cascading in perfect waves and eyes like green poison.
Morgan Ashwood, daughter of the high elder, future Luna Queen, according to every rumor that reached even Molly’s forgotten corners of the world.
Morgan smiled, sharp as broken glass.
Look at her, my king.
Does she look like someone who carries the bloodline of the moon blessed alphas? She’s barely more than a rogue.
The crowd murmured agreement.
Molly’s chest tightened.
She had no idea what Morgan was talking about.
Moon blessed alphas, royal blood.
Molly barely knew her own parents.
She’d been found as an infant crying in the ruins of what might have been a cottage, raised by a pack of wild gray wolves who’d shown her more kindness than any shifter ever had.
Jonas leaned forward slightly, his silver eyes never leaving Molly’s face.
Explain why she’s here, Morgan.
Of course, my king.
Morgan descended from the deis with practiced grace, circling Molly like a predator.
This pathetic creature has been spreading lies throughout the outer villages, claiming she’s the lost daughter of the Starborn Line, claiming she deserves a place in this court.
I never, Molly started, but a guard’s hand clamped over her mouth.
Let her speak.
Jonas’s voice cracked like a whip.
The guard’s hand dropped instantly.
Molly drew a shaking breath.
I never claimed anything, Alpha King.
I don’t even know what the Starbbor line is.
I’ve never spoken to anyone in the villages except to beg for food.
Lies, Morgan purred.
My sources heard you telling the baker’s wife that you’d seen visions of the moon goddess, that you’d been marked by her.
I did have visions, Molly whispered because it was true.
But I never said I was anyone important.
The goddess comes to me sometimes in dreams, but I thought I thought maybe she took pity on me because I’m alone.
The crowd’s murmuring grew louder, more hostile.
Someone shouted that visions were sacred, reserved for alphas and highborn wolves.
Someone else called her a fraud, a rogue trying to steal power she hadn’t earned.
Morgan’s smile widened.
There’s a simple way to settle this, isn’t there? She turned to Jonas, her voice honey sweet.
Make her shift, my king.
If she truly carries blessed blood, her wolf will prove it.
But if she’s lying, if she’s just another weak omega with delusions of grandeur, her wolf will show that, too.
Molly’s blood turned to ice.
She’d never shifted in front of another person in her entire life.
The wild wolves had taught her to hunt and survive in human form.
And when she did shift, she did it alone in the deepest parts of the forest where no one could see.
She had no idea what her wolf looked like to other people.
She only knew it felt different from what she’d glimpsed in other shifters.
Lighter somehow, stranger.
[snorts] Jonah studied her for a long moment.
Can you shift? Yes, Alpha King.
Then do it now.
The chains around her wrists fell away as a guard unlocked them.
Molly stood on shaking legs, acutely aware of hundreds of eyes watching her, waiting for her to fail.
Morgan stood off to the side, arms crossed, her expression one of barely contained glee.
This was what she’d wanted, public humiliation, proof that Molly was nothing, that any whisper of blessed blood was a lie that deserved punishment.
Molly closed her eyes.
She reached for the familiar presence of her wolf, that warm consciousness that had been her only constant companion since childhood.
“Please,” she thought, “Please don’t let them hurt us.
” Her wolf surged forward, eager and unafraid, and Molly’s body began to change.
The shift was always painful.
Bones reshaping, muscles reforming, but she’d learned to breathe through it.
What she hadn’t expected was the sound that rippled through the grand hall the moment her transformation completed.
A collective gasp, sharp and shocked, that echoed off the marble walls.
Molly opened her eyes, golden now instead of her usual brown, and saw the assembly staring at her in something that looked like horror or awe.
She couldn’t tell which.
“Impossible,” [sighs] someone breathed.
She looked down at herself and froze.
Her wolf wasn’t gray or brown or even the rare black of alpha bloodlines.
Her fur glowed like captured starlight, silvery white, with threads of actual light running through it, pulsing gently with each breath she took.
Where her paws touched the marble floor, tiny pin pricks of luminescence spread outward like ripples in water.
She was larger than she’d realized, too, nearly the size of a beta, which should have been impossible for an omega.
This is a trick.
Morgan’s voice shattered the silence.
Some kind of magic, some illusion.
A Starlight Wolf hasn’t been born in 500 years.
She can’t be.
The rest of her words died in her throat.
Behind the Alpha King’s throne, carved from white marble and standing 20 ft tall, was the ancient statue of the moon goddess.
The same statue that had watched over Silverstone pack gatherings for three centuries.
unchanging and eternal.
Molly had glimpsed it when she first entered.
A beautiful figure with arms outstretched, face turned toward the eastern window where moonlight would enter.
The statue was moving.
It turned with a sound like grinding stone, slow and deliberate, until the goddess’s marble face was pointed directly at Molly.
Her carved eyes seemed to glow with inner light, and her outstretched hands shifted downward, palms open toward Molly in a gesture of blessing that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.
The grand hall erupted in chaos.
Wolves were on their feet shouting, arguing, some falling to their knees in reverence.
Morgan stumbled backward, her face drained of color.
The guards who dragged Molly in were pressed against the walls, fear naked in their eyes.
And Jonas Jonas rose from his throne in one fluid motion, his massive presence commanding instant silence.
He descended the day a step slowly, never taking his eyes off Molly’s glowing form, and she realized with a jolt that his wolf was close to the surface.
She could see it in the way his eyes had gone completely silver.
The way power rolled off him in waves that made every wolf in the room dropped their gaze in submission.
Every wolf except Molly.
She couldn’t look away from him.
Her wolf was doing something strange, making a sound deep in her chest that wasn’t quite a growl, wasn’t quite a wine.
recognition,” her instincts whispered.
Her wolf recognized something in him, something essential and undeniable.
Jonas stopped 3 ft away from her, so close she could feel the heat of him, smell cedar and night air, and something wild that called to her very bones.
A starlight wolf.
He reached out one hand slowly, giving her time to retreat if she wanted.
“May I?” Molly didn’t understand what he was asking, but her wolf did.
She lowered her head, allowing his fingers to brush through the glowing fur at her neck.
The moment his skin made contact, light blazed between them, silver and white intertwining, and Molly felt it like lightning down her spine.
The mate bond snapping into place with enough force to make her stagger.
His eyes widened.
He felt it too.
Everyone out.
His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried absolute authority.
Now the crowd moved as one, scrambling toward the exits.
Elders and betas and highborn families who’d sat in judgment of Molly moments ago were now fleeing the alpha king’s presence, sensing the predator.
beneath his skin.
Morgan lingered near the deis, her hands clenched into fists.
“Jonas, you can’t possibly.
” I said, “Out, Morgan.
” She flinched like he’d struck her.
For a moment, Molly thought she might argue, might try to cling to whatever claim she thought she had on the Alpha King.
But Jonas’s wolf was too close to the surface, his power too absolute, and Morgan wasn’t stupid.
She turned and fled, the doors slamming shut behind her.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Molly shifted back to human form, not because she wanted to, but because she couldn’t maintain the transformation with her heart racing like this.
The glow faded from her skin, leaving her standing naked and vulnerable in the center of the enormous hall with the most powerful alpha in the kingdom, staring at her like she’d just rewritten his entire world.
He shrugged out of his fur cloak without a word and draped it around her shoulders.
It swallowed her small frame, still warm from his body, carrying his scent.
What’s your name? Molly.
Just Molly.
I don’t have a family name.
You do now.
He cuppuffed her face in both hands, tilting her chin up so she had to meet his eyes.
You’re my mate.
The goddess herself just confirmed what my wolf knew the moment you walked into this hall.
Do you understand what that means? Molly shook her head.
She could barely process the last 5 minutes, let alone understand ancient mate bonds and destiny.
I don’t understand any of this.
I don’t know why my wolf looks like that or why the statue moved or why you’re Her voice cracked.
I’m nobody.
I sleep in barns.
I eat scraps.
Yesterday I was grateful to find half a loaf of stale bread.
Now you’re saying I’m your mate.
Something fierce and protective flashed across his face.
You’re not nobody.
Not anymore.
Maybe not ever.
He kept one hand on her shoulder, steady and grounding.
Tell me everything.
How did you end up alone? Who were your parents? I don’t know.
I was found as a baby in burned ruins near the northern border.
No one claimed me.
The pack at that territory said I cried for 3 days before a wild wolf pack came and took me into the woods.
She pulled his cloak tighter around herself.
They raised me, taught me to hunt, to survive.
When I was old enough to shift, they showed me how.
But I’ve always been alone among other shifters.
No one wants a wolf with no pack.
No family.
Jonas’s jaw tightened.
The northern border 23 years ago.
It wasn’t a question.
The Starborn Massacre.
The words meant nothing to Molly, but they clearly meant something to him.
He turned toward the moon goddess statue, which remained facing them, her blessing unmistakable.
It’s not possible.
They said everyone died.
Who died? He looked back at her and in his eyes she saw calculation, protection, and something that looked like rage at a decades old crime.
The star-born alphas were the most powerful family in the kingdom.
Direct descendants of the first wolves blessed by the moon goddess herself.
They could communicate with her, receive visions, prophecies.
Their wolves carried her light.
He gestured to where Molly had stood in her glowing form moments ago.
Just like yours.
That’s impossible.
I’m an omega.
I’m nothing.
You’re not an omega.
His hands framed her face again, forcing her to hold his gaze.
Star-born wolves couldn’t be ranked by traditional standards.
They existed outside the hierarchy because they answered to the goddess herself.
[gasps] What you’ve been reading as omega weakness was probably suppressed power.
You’ve been half starved and alone your entire life.
No wonder your wolf seemed small.
The pieces clicked together in a way that terrified her.
If that’s true, why didn’t anyone find me? Why didn’t anyone look for survivors? Jonas’s expression darkened.
Because I was 8 years old when it happened, and my father was alpha king.
He declared the entire Starbor line eliminated, assassinated by rogues, he said.
He ordered the territory burned and sealed.
No one was allowed to investigate.
His voice dropped to something dangerous.
No one was allowed to look for survivors because he didn’t want survivors found.
Your father killed my family.
I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.
He pulled her closer, his arms coming around her in a gesture that was both protective and possessive.
I swear to you, Molly, on my life, on my pack, on the goddess herself, I will uncover the truth, and I will keep you safe.
” She wanted to pull away, to run, to hide in the forest with the wild wolves who’d never demanded anything of her except survival.
But her wolf was purring under his touch, and the mate bond was singing through her veins like joy and certainty, and she realized with startling clarity that she didn’t want to run, not from him.
Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.
You’re mine.
The words came out rough, primal.
The moment you walked into this hall, my wolf knew.
The goddess confirmed it.
And even without all of that, he pulled back just enough to look at her properly.
Even without the bond, I would never let them hurt someone who’s been suffering since childhood because of crimes committed by the previous generation.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.
Jonas’s head snapped toward the sound, a growl building in his chest.
I said I wanted privacy.
The doors opened anyway, and three men entered, older, wearing the elaborate robes of the high council.
The one in front, silver-haired and sharpeyed, was clearly the leader.
He took in the scene with practiced calm.
Jonas standing protectively in front of Molly, the moon goddess statue still turned in blessing, the lingering traces of starlight power in the air.
Alpha King, we must speak with you immediately.
This matter concerns the stability of the entire kingdom.
Jonas didn’t move.
Elder Grayson, I don’t recall summoning the council.
The transformation we witnessed, the statue’s movement, these are events of extraordinary significance.
Grayson’s eyes flicked to Molly.
If this girl truly carries Starborn blood, there are protocols, investigations that must be conducted, bloodline verification, historical review.
She’s not this girl.
She’s my mate.
and she’ll be treated with the respect that position demands.
The three elders exchanged glances.
Another one, shorter and rounder, spoke up.
Of course, Alpha King, we meant no disrespect.
But surely you understand.
The Starorn line was believed extinct.
If she survived, others may have as well.
There could be claims to territory, to power, to to nothing that threatens my authority.
If that’s what you’re worried about.
Jonas’s power filled the room, making the elders step back.
Molly is under my protection.
She will stay in the palace.
She will be guarded, and anyone who even thinks about harming her will answer to me personally.
Are we clear? Yes, Alpha King.
Perfectly clear, Alpha King.
Grayson was slower to submit, his calculating gaze still fixed on Molly.
And what of Morgan Ashwood? The betroal contract between your families has been in place for is void.
There will be no marriage to Morgan.
Jonas pulled Molly closer to his side.
The moon goddess chose my mate for me.
The council can draw up whatever documents are needed to formalize that.
Dismissed.
The elders had no choice but to bow and retreat.
But Molly saw the way Grayson’s eyes narrowed.
The way his lips pressed into a thin line.
This wasn’t over.
Whatever conspiracy had destroyed her family 23 years ago, she’d just become a threat to it all over again.
When they were alone once more, Jonas turned to her with an expression that was part apology, part frustration.
I’m sorry.
This is too much, too fast.
Everything in my life changed in the last hour.
I don’t even know what to feel.
You don’t have to feel anything right now except safe.
He guided her toward a side door she hadn’t noticed.
I’m taking you to my private chambers.
You’ll sleep, eat, recover.
Tomorrow we’ll figure out the rest.
She should have protested.
She should have been terrified of being alone with the alpha king in his private rooms.
But exhaustion was crashing over her in waves, and the mate bond was humming with trust, with rightness, with the bone deep certainty that he would protect her no matter what.
Okay.
His chambers were nothing like the cold marble halls of the rest of the palace.
Warm wood and soft furs, a massive fireplace already burning, windows that looked out over endless forest.
He led her to a chair near the fire and then disappeared into an adjoining room, returning with sleep clothes that would swallow her hole.
“These will be too big, but they’re clean.
There’s a bathing room through there if you want to wash.
” He paused, something vulnerable crossing his features.
I’ll sleep out here.
You can have the bed.
I won’t touch you unless you want me to.
The offer was so unexpectedly kind that Molly felt tears prick her eyes.
Thank you.
She bathed quickly, washing away the grime of the barn where she’d slept the night before, the fear sweat from the tribunal, the remnants of her old life.
When she emerged in Jonas’s sleep shirt, drowning in fabric that smelled like him.
He’d laid out food on a small table.
Real food, more than she’d seen in months.
Bread and cheese and fruit and meat.
Eat, please.
You’re too thin.
Molly ate, trying not to cry at the simple kindness of it, at the way he watched her with such fierce protectiveness, like she was something precious instead of the worthless barn rat the world had always told her she was.
When she finally climbed into his bed, massive and soft and smelling of cedar, he settled into the chair by the fire, a blanket across his lap.
Sleep, Molly, I’ll keep watch.
You don’t have to.
Yes, I do.
You’re mine to protect now.
She drifted off to those words, to the sound of the fire crackling, to the overwhelming sense that her life had just transformed as dramatically as her wolf had in the grand hall.
She woke to shouting.
Molly jolted upright in the darkness, her heart racing.
The fire had burned down to embers and Jonas was no longer in the chair.
The shouting was coming from beyond the chamber doors.
Multiple voices, angry and afraid.
Saw her enter the alpha king’s chambers.
Unacceptable.
She’s bewitched him.
Molly scrambled out of bed just as Jonas came through the door, his expression thunderous.
Stay in here.
Lock the door behind me.
What’s happening? Morgan has half the noble families convinced you’re a threat to the kingdom.
They’re demanding I hand you over for trial.
His eyes flashed silver.
I’m going to explain to them why that will never happen.
He was turning to leave when Molly caught his arm.
No.
If this is about me, I should face them.
Absolutely not.
They’ll tear you apart.
They’ll tear us both apart if you choose me over the entire nobility.
Let me show them I’m not afraid.
Let me show them my wolf again.
She lifted her chin, channeling a courage she didn’t know she possessed.
The moon goddess blessed me.
If they have a problem with that, they can take it up with her.
Something like pride flickered across Jonas’s face.
You’re either very brave or very foolish.
I’ve survived 23 years sleeping in barns.
I can survive a room full of angry nobles.
He studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
Stay close to me.
The moment I sense real danger, you shift and you let your wolf show them exactly what the goddess thinks of their complaints.
They emerged from his chambers together, Jonas in full alpha regalia and Molly still wearing his oversized sleep shirt, her hair wild and her feet bare.
The hallway was packed with nobles, with Morgan at the front of the crowd, her beautiful face twisted with rage.
“There you see, she’s already moved into his chambers like some common whore.
” Several wolves growled agreement.
Jonas’s power slammed into them like a physical force, driving them back.
Anyone who insults my mate again will lose their tongue.
Try me.
She’s not your mate.
She’s a rogue, a nobody.
Probably a dark witch who enchanted you.
Morgan pointed at Molly with shaking hands.
We had a betroal contract, Jonas.
My family has served yours for three generations.
You can’t just throw me aside for this this barn rat.
The moon goddess herself turned to bless me last night.
Molly’s voice rang out stronger than she expected.
If you think I’m a witch or a fraud, then you’re calling the goddess a liar.
Is that really the accusation you want to make? The nobles shifted uncomfortably.
Challenging another wolf was one thing.
Challenging divine will was something else entirely.
Elder Grayson pushed forward from the back of the crowd, his expression grave.
No one questions the statue’s movement, young lady, but there are concerns about the circumstances.
The Starborn line was destroyed for attempting to overthrow the previous alpha king.
If you carry their blood, you carry their treason.
I was an infant.
How could I possibly? The Starborn line was destroyed because my father feared their power.
Jonas’s words cut through the crowd like a blade.
I’ve spent the last three hours in the archives reading documents that were sealed under his authority.
documents that show he ordered the assassination himself, unprovoked, because he believed they were becoming too influential with the people.
Gasps rippled through the assembly.
Grayson’s face went carefully blank.
Alpha King, those are serious accusations against your own father.
My father was a tyrant who murdered an entire bloodline of innocent people because he was too weak to share power.
I am not my father.
His arm wrapped around Molly’s shoulders, pulling her against his side.
Molly is the last survivor of that massacre.
She is my mate, chosen by the goddess, and she will be Luna Queen of this pack.
Anyone who has a problem with that can challenge me directly.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Challenging an alpha king was suicide.
Everyone knew it.
Even the most ambitious, most powerful bettas wouldn’t dare.
But Morgan, driven by jealousy and humiliation, stepped forward with her eyes blazing.
I challenge her.
Not you, her.
Let her prove she deserves the title of Luna Queen.
Her smile was vicious.
Or is the precious Starlight Wolf too weak to fight her own battles? Morgan, don’t.
I accept.
Molly’s words surprised even herself.
But she could feel her wolf surging beneath her skin, eager, unafraid.
When and where? Right now.
Right here.
First shift wins dominance.
The crowd pulled back, forming a rough circle in the wide hallway.
Jonas gripped Molly’s arm, his expression torn between pride and terror.
You don’t have to do this.
I can stop it.
I need to do this for myself.
She looked up at him, saw the fear in his eyes, and felt the mate bond pulse with his concern.
Trust me.
Trust my wolf.
He released her slowly, stepping back to the edge of the circle.
If you kill her, I’ll execute you myself.
She’ll submit long before it comes to that.
Molly and Morgan faced each other across 10 ft of marble floor.
Morgan shifted first, her transformation smooth and practiced.
Her wolf was beautiful, russet fur, sleek and powerful, easily the size of a large beta.
She snarled, showing teeth radiating aggression and dominance.
Molly closed her eyes and let her wolf free.
The transformation was faster this time, easier.
One moment she was standing in Jonas’s sleep shirt, the next she was on four paws with starlight blazing through her fur.
She was bigger now.
She could feel it, the difference from yesterday.
Wellfed for the first time in her life, safe for the first time ever, her wolf was expanding into her true size, she matched Morgan’s height, and when she looked at the other sheolf, her eyes glowed pure gold.
Morgan lunged without warning, going for Molly’s throat in a move designed to end the fight instantly.
But Molly’s wolf moved with instincts honed by years of hunting with wild packs, by fighting for every scrap of food, by surviving against odds that would have killed softer wolves.
She twisted aside, and Morgan’s teeth closed on empty air.
The Starlight Wolf was faster, stronger, and she carried the moon goddess’s blessing like a mantle of power that made the very air shimmer.
Molly didn’t attack back.
She simply stood her ground, her light intensifying until it was almost blinding.
Until every wolf in the hallway had to look away.
Morgan circled her, snarling, snapping, trying to find an opening.
But every time she got close, the light pushed her back like a physical barrier.
ancient and terrible and beautiful, echoing in every wolf’s mind simultaneously.
Enough.
The word reverberated through the palace, through the very bones of the earth.
Every wolf, noble and servant, alpha and omega, dropped to the ground in submission, their foreheads pressed to marble.
Every wolf except Molly.
The moon goddess statue from the grand hall was glowing now, visible through the walls themselves, as if stone had become transparent.
Her light connected to Molly’s, silver threads of power that lifted the Starlight Wolf off her paws, suspending her in midair as the goddess’s presence filled every corner of the palace.
This one is mine.
Marked by my hand.
Blessed by my light, chosen to restore what was stolen.
Any who raise claw or tooth against her raise them against me.
The presence faded slowly, leaving only the aftershocks of divine power, and Molly settling gently back to the floor in her wolf form.
Around her, nobles were weeping, trembling, some praying aloud.
Morgan had shifted back to human form and was curled on the ground, her hands over her face.
Molly shifted as well, and Jonas was there instantly, wrapping her in his cloak, pulling her against his chest.
That was I’ve never seen.
He couldn’t seem to finish a sentence.
You’re incredible.
Elder Grayson was on his knees, but his eyes were still calculating when he looked up.
The goddess has spoken.
We acknowledge her will.
A pause.
But Alpha King, there is still the matter of the investigation into the Starborn massacre.
If your father truly ordered it, there may have been accompllices, co-conspirators who still hold positions of power.
Jonas’s expression hardened.
“Then we root them out.
All of them.
” He looked down at Molly.
“Starting tomorrow.
Tonight, my mate needs rest.
” He carried her back to his chambers despite her protest that she could walk, dismissed the lingering nobles with a snarl, and locked the door behind them.
The moment they were alone, he set her on the bed and knelt in front of her, taking her hands and his.
I know this is fast.
I know you barely know me, but I need to say this.
He pressed his forehead to her clasped hands.
You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.
You survived horrors that would have broken anyone else.
You faced down a challenge you had every right to refuse and the goddess herself claimed you in front of the entire kingdom.
He looked up, his silver eyes intense.
I swear to you, Molly, I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never sleep in a barn again, that you never go hungry, that you never feel worthless.
His voice dropped to something raw and honest.
Let me take care of you.
Let me be worthy of you.
Tears spilled down Molly’s cheeks.
You already are.
He kissed her hands, then pulled her into an embrace that felt like coming home.
The mate bond sang between them and Molly felt her wolf settle for the first time in her entire life.
Content, safe, loved.
What happens now? Now I investigate every elder who served under my father.
I find out who helped him murder your family, and I make sure they pay for it.
His arms tightened around her.
But that’s tomorrow’s problem.
Tonight you sleep and this time I’m staying right here with you.
She wanted to argue that she was fine, that she wasn’t fragile, that she’d survived alone for 23 years.
But the truth was she didn’t want to be alone anymore.
She wanted this.
his arms around her, his steady heartbeat beneath her ear, the safety of knowing someone would keep watch while she rested.
“Okay.
” They lay down together, fully clothed, his body curled protectively around hers.
“Sleep, Starlight.
I’ve got you.
” And for the first time in her life, Molly believed it.
The investigation took three weeks.
Jonas was relentless, pulling documents from sealed archives, interviewing servants who’d been too afraid to speak during his father’s reign, following threads of conspiracy that went deeper than anyone had imagined.
Molly watched him work from her new position as his acknowledged mate, learning the politics of the pack, slowly building relationships with wolves who’d once looked at her with contempt and now regarded her with cautious respect.
Morgan had been banished to her family’s distant territory, stripped of her titles, her betroal contract publicly burned.
The Ashwood family lost their council seats and most of their holdings.
It was harsh, but Jonas had been clear.
Anyone who’d challenged the goddess’s chosen would face consequences.
Elder Grayson was harder to deal with.
The investigation revealed he’d been one of the architects of the Starborn Massacre, a young adviser to Jonas’s father at the time, whispering poison in the old king’s ear about threats to his power.
But Grayson was clever.
He’d covered his tracks well, left no documents with his name, relied on verbal orders and intermediaries, until Molly had a vision.
She woke one night with the goddess’s voice in her mind, showing her a hidden room beneath the palace, a locked chest containing letters written in Grayson’s own hand, outlining the plan to eliminate the Starbbor line and divide their territories among loyal allies.
The letters were 23 years old, perfectly preserved, undeniable proof.
Jonas had the chest retrieved at dawn.
By midday, Grayson was in chains.
The trial was public, held in the same grand hall where Molly had first shifted.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Grayson had orchestrated everything.
The assassins, the fire, the coverup.
He’d grown rich on starbor land, risen to high elder on the foundation of their bones.
Jonas stood before him every inch the alpha king terrible in his judgment.
For the crime of orchestrating the massacre of innocent wolves, including children and infants, you are sentenced to death.
Execution at dawn.
Grayson’s composure finally cracked.
Please, Alpha King, mercy.
I was following orders.
I was young.
I didn’t.
You murdered an infant’s entire family and left her to die in the ruins.
The only reason she survived was because Wild Wolves showed her more compassion than any shifter did.
Jonas’s power filled the hall.
You will receive the same mercy you showed them.
None.
The sentence was carried out the next morning.
Three other co-conspirators followed him to execution.
Lesser nobles who’d helped plan the attack, who’d profited from stolen land, who’d kept the secret for over two decades.
It should have felt like victory.
But that night, Molly stood on the balcony of Jonas’s chambers, looking out at the forest and felt only emptiness.
They’re gone.
All of them.
I can’t ever know who my parents were, what they were like, if they loved me.
Jonas came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
You know they loved you.
They hid you in the ruins, wrapped in blankets, protected enough that you survived the fire.
That was love.
I wish I remembered them.
Maybe you will.
Starborn wolves were said to carry generational memories in their bloodlines.
As you grow into your power, you might access them.
He turned her in his arms, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“But even if you don’t, you have a family now.
You have me.
You have this pack.
” And he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.
“If you’ll have me, you’ll have forever.
” Molly’s breath caught.
He opened the box to reveal a ring unlike any she’d ever seen.
Silver metal shaped like a crescent moon with a white gem in the center that glowed with inner light.
Starlight captured in stone.
I know we’ve only known each other a few weeks.
I know this is fast even by mate bond standards, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.
He took her hand.
Molly, last of the starbor line, blessed by the goddess, keeper of my heart.
Will you marry me? Will you be my Luna queen? She should have hesitated, should have asked for time, for space to adjust to her new life.
But her wolf was singing with joy, and the mate bond was pulling her toward him like gravity, and she’d spent 23 years alone.
She didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Yes.
Yes, I’ll marry you.
He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her like she was the most precious thing in his world, like she’d always been the most precious thing.
Even when she was sleeping in barns and begging for scraps, the mate bond blazed between them, sealing the commitment.
And Molly felt her wolf howl in triumph.
Thank the goddess.
He picked her up and spun her around, both of them laughing.
I was terrified you’d say no.
After you executed people for insulting me, how could I possibly say no? I would have executed them anyway.
They deserved it.
She kissed him again, and this time it deepened into something heated, something that made her wolf purr and her blood sing.
Jonas pulled back with obvious effort, his eyes silver.
We should wait until the wedding.
You deserve to be courted properly, celebrated, given time to I’ve waited my whole life to feel safe enough to want this, to want someone.
She cuped his face in her hands.
I don’t want to wait anymore.
He growled low in his chest, a sound that was pure wolf, pure mate, pure need.
You’re sure? I’ve never been more sure of anything.
He carried her to the bed they’d been sharing platonically for weeks, and this time there was nothing platonic about it.
The mate bond guided them, intensified everything until Molly was drowning in sensation and connection, and the overwhelming certainty that she was exactly where she was belonged.
After lying tangled together in the moonlight, Jonas traced lazy patterns on her shoulder.
My starlight mate.
Your starlight mate who still doesn’t know how to behave like a Luna queen.
You’ll learn.
And even if you don’t, he kissed her temple.
The kingdom will just have to adjust to a Luna queen who speaks her mind and doesn’t care about court politics.
She laughed, the sound foreign but wonderful.
A year ago I was sleeping in a barn.
Now I’m marrying the alpha king.
It doesn’t feel real.
It’s real.
You’re real.
This is real.
He pulled her closer.
and I’m going to spend the rest of our lives making sure you never doubt it.
” The wedding was held under the full moon three months later.
The entire kingdom attended, packing the grand hall and spilling out into the palace gardens.
Molly wore white and silver with the starlight gem at her throat.
And when she walked down the aisle, the moon goddess statue, which had been moved to a place of honor behind the ceremonial altar, glowed with approval.
Jonas waited for her in formal alpha regalia, but his expression when he saw her was pure adoration.
You’re beautiful.
You’re not so bad yourself.
The ceremony was traditional, overseen by a priestess of the moon goddess, witnessed by thousands.
But when Jonas slipped the Luna Queen’s crown onto Molly’s head, silver and delicate, shaped like moon beams, and spoke the binding vows, there was nothing traditional about the power that blazed between them.
I claim you as my mate, my Luna, my queen.
From this day until the end of our days, you are mine as I am yours.
I accept your claim.
From this day until the end of our days, I am yours as you are mine.
The mate bond flared bright enough to see silver and white light intertwining around them.
The crowd gasped, then erupted in cheers.
And somewhere deep in the forest, wild wolves howled their approval, celebrating the lost pup who’d become a queen.
Jonas kissed her in front of everyone, possessive and tender and absolutely shameless about claiming his mate.
I present to you Luna Queen Molly Ironheart, blessed of the moon goddess, last of the starbor line, and the love of my life.
The cheering was deafening.
But Molly barely heard it.
She was too busy kissing her mate, her king, her future.
She was too busy feeling whole for the first time in her entire life.
That night at the celebratory feast, Jonas pulled her aside to the same balcony where he’d proposed.
Happy, more than I ever dreamed possible.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and they watched the moonlight paint the forest silver.
Somewhere out there, the wild wolves who’d raised her were watching, too.
She could feel them, could feel their approval, their joy that she’d found her place.
I wish I could tell them thank you.
The wolves who saved me.
They know.
They can probably feel it through the bond between wild packs and shifters.
He kissed her hair.
We should establish a sanctuary for them.
Protected territory where they can live without fear of hunters.
Really? Really? They gave me the most precious gift in my world.
The least I can do is ensure they’re safe.
Molly turned in his arms, overwhelmed by love for this man who understood her so completely.
How did I get so lucky? The goddess chose well.
He cupped her face, his thumb brushing her cheek.
I promise you, Molly, every day for the rest of our lives, I will make sure you know how loved you are, how valued, how absolutely essential you are to me and to this kingdom.
I know.
I can feel it in the bond.
I can see it in your eyes.
She pulled him down for a kiss.
But I’m still going to need you to remind me frequently.
I think I can manage that.
They stayed on the balcony until the moon reached its peak, wrapped in each other and in the certainty of their bond.
The girl who’d slept in barns had become a queen.
The lonely omega raised by wild wolves had found her true pack.
And the alpha king, who’d thought he’d marry for politics, had instead found a mate who made his heart sing.
Under the goddess’s watchful eye, in a kingdom finally healed from old wounds and older crimes, Molly and Jonas began there forever.
Two souls perfectly matched, bound by fate and blessed by the moon.
The Starlight Wolf had found her home and she would never be alone again.
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