Chapter 2 - The Moon Goddess Mark Appeared, and the King Realized His Mate Had Been Hunted for Years
Isolda could not sleep.
The royal bed was larger than the room she had grown up in.
The sheets smelled like lavender.
There was a fire in the stone fireplace.
A tray of untouched food sat beside her.
And still she could not stop shaking.
Everything had changed too quickly.
Three days ago, she had belonged to Tristan.
At least, that was what she had believed.
Now she was inside the castle of a man whose name was whispered in every territory from the Northern Wastes to the southern sea.
King Cedric Ashford.
Her mate.
Her buyer.
Her protector.
And, according to what he had called her, possibly her queen.
She pulled the blanket tightly around herself.
“No,” she whispered.
The door opened.
Cedric stepped inside.
She immediately sat upright.
“I didn't invite you.”
“I know.”
His response was so calm that she frowned.
“Then why are you here?”
“To make sure you're still breathing.”
She almost laughed.
“I think I've done that rather consistently.”
A tiny smile touched his mouth.
It disappeared quickly.
He moved toward the fireplace but kept a respectful distance.
“I owe you an apology.”
Isolda stared at him.
“For what?”
“For frightening you.”
“You bought me.”
Cedric's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“You paid a gold sovereign for me.”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like buying.”
“It was.”
His honesty confused her more than an excuse would have.
“Then why apologize?”
“Because I should never have allowed you to believe you were anything I owned.”
Isolda looked away.
Cedric remained silent.
After a moment, he said, “Tomorrow morning, I am publicly declaring that the contract used to sell you is void.”
Her head snapped around.
“You can do that?”
“I am the king.”
“Kings can do anything?”
“No.”
His expression softened.
“But they can choose what kind of king they become.”
Those words stayed with her long after he left.
The next morning, Beatrice entered carrying a dress.
It was simple but beautiful, made of dark blue velvet.
“I thought you might like this.”
Isolda touched the sleeve.
“Why is everyone so kind?”
Beatrice smiled sadly.
“Because cruelty was given too freely to you.”
Isolda looked at herself in the mirror.
Her silver-blonde hair was still damp.
Her violet eyes looked strange.
She had never seen herself like this.
Most of her life, she had avoided mirrors.
Now she couldn't stop staring.
Beatrice noticed.
“You're beautiful.”
Isolda lowered her eyes.
“I don't know how to believe that.”
“You don't have to believe it today.”
A knock interrupted them.
Gideon entered.
“Lady Isolda.”
She turned.
“The king requests your presence in the council chamber.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Gideon's expression was unusually serious.
“Because three messengers have arrived from the south.”
When Isolda entered the council chamber, she saw twelve wolves gathered around a long table.
Cedric stood at the head.
Maps covered the walls.
A large red region had been circled.
“Riverlands,” he said.
Isolda looked at the map.
“That is Tristan's territory.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Gideon placed a report on the table.
“The Riverlands are dying.”
The room went silent.
“Crops have turned gray. Livestock are refusing water. Two rivers have become black overnight.”
Isolda's heart thudded.
Cedric looked at her.
“The changes began the morning after your rejection.”
She stared at him.
“That can't be because of me.”
“No one said it was.”
But nobody in the room looked convinced.
An elderly scholar stepped forward.
His name was Elias.
He was the royal historian and keeper of ancient texts.
“Your Majesty,” Elias said, “there is another matter.”
He opened an ancient scroll.
On the parchment was an illustration of a woman with silver hair and violet eyes.
Isolda stared.
It looked like her.
“What is that?”
Elias swallowed.
“The Lunar Queen of Valoria.”
“The dead queen?”
“The records say her bloodline disappeared.”
“And?”
Elias looked at her.
“The records were wrong.”
A pulse of energy moved through Isolda's body.
Her chest tightened.
The violet marks Tristan had called a disease suddenly spread across her wrists.
Everyone stepped back.
Cedric moved toward her.
“Don't.”
His voice was gentle.
“I've got you.”
She looked down.
The markings glowed.
Not violet now.
Silver.
The windows of the council chamber rattled.
A wind swept through the room despite the closed doors.
Then every wolf in the castle howled.
Isolda screamed.
Cedric caught her.
The moment his arms surrounded her, the energy stopped.
Elias whispered:
“The Moon Mark.”
Cedric stared at Isolda.
“What does it mean?”
“It means the heir has awakened.”
“No.”
Elias looked at the ancient text.
“It means the queen has awakened.”
Cedric's face became unreadable.
Then a guard burst through the doors.
“Your Majesty!”
Cedric turned.
“What?”
“A messenger from Oak Haven.”
The guard was pale.
“He says Tristan Caldwell has issued a public declaration.”
“What declaration?”
The guard looked at Isolda.
“Alpha Tristan claims the Northern King kidnapped his cursed mate.”
Silence.
Cedric's eyes darkened.
“He called her cursed?”
“Yes.”
“And now he wants her returned?”
“Yes.”
Cedric smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile.
“Send him my answer.”
The guard swallowed.
“What answer?”
Cedric walked to the window.
“Tell Tristan Caldwell that I don't return what another man deliberately threw away.”
The messenger nodded.
But Elias wasn't smiling.
He looked worried.
“Your Majesty.”
Cedric turned.
“What?”
“There is something worse.”
“Explain.”
Elias pointed to the prophecy.
“Valoria's queen doesn't simply heal lands.”
He slowly turned the parchment over.
There was a second passage written in red ink.
“She will awaken when the blood of her father's murderer rises to reclaim the throne.”
Cedric stared.
“Her father was murdered?”
Elias nodded.
“And whoever killed him has been searching for her ever since.”
Isolda's face went pale.
“Why?”
Elias looked at her.
“Because the queen cannot be killed until her power awakens.”
“And after?”
The scholar's voice dropped.
“After she awakens, whoever controls her blood controls the ancient Moon Throne.”
Cedric stepped in front of Isolda.
Nobody could see her from the table anymore.
His body became a shield.
“They will not touch her.”
Elias met his gaze.
“That may be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Because if the legend is accurate, the hunters are already in your kingdom.”
That night, a stranger arrived at the castle disguised as a servant.
He slipped into the royal gardens.
He carried a silver dagger.
But before he reached Isolda's window, Cedric appeared behind him.
“Who sent you?”
The assassin trembled.
“I don't know.”
Cedric grabbed him by the throat.
“You have one chance.”
The man smiled.
“Then you should ask the woman you rescued.”
Cedric's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
The assassin whispered:
“She isn't the last Valorian.”
Then he laughed.
“She isn't even the only heir.”
And before Cedric could force another word from him, the assassin bit down on a poison capsule.
He died smiling.
Cedric stared at the body.
Behind him, Isolda stepped into the doorway.
“Cedric?”
He turned.
She looked frightened.
He walked toward her.
“What did he say?”
The king hesitated.
Then he looked into the eyes that had haunted the legends for centuries.
“He said you have a family.”
Isolda's breath caught.
“My family is dead.”
Cedric shook his head.
May you like
“Apparently not.”
And somewhere beneath the mountains of Valoria, an imprisoned woman opened her violet eyes for the first time in twenty years.
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