Episode 3

Kendra went down the stairs until she reached the place where the servant had told her she would find the women.

"One woman has hair the color of the sun, and the other's is like night, but her eyes are the color of the sky, shining like stars," the woman said.

Kendra felt jealousy burn through her at that description. She peered into the doorway and saw them.

Rage hit her. The servant's account had not done the pair of young women justice. In truth, they were even more beautiful than the maid had said, and Kendra hated that. She had spent two long years fighting to capture Alpha Savir's attention for herself alone.

The Alpha, who in the past had kept a small group of concubines, had chosen to set them aside and accept Kendra as his only favorite. But that did not make her his wife.

That terrified her. If a woman appeared who stole the Alpha's attention, Kendra would be lost.

She stormed in and shouted, "Who are you? You're leaving this place right now! Don't think you're going to steal my man from me."

Saya rose from the floor, but she was not fast enough to stop Kendra from slapping her sister across the face and scratching her pale skin.

Saya sprang on the she-wolf savagely. No one got to touch her sister. She would not stand still for it.

Meanwhile, her father mumbled for her to stop. He was too weak even to speak properly.

Two guards came over and pulled Saya off Kendra, keeping the woman from hitting her again.

Saya was dragged away.

"Execute her! I want her killed!" Kendra screamed.

Anika cried out in terror, but they kept her from leaving. The young woman sobbed.

Saya felt fear as the guards took her outside the castle. Kendra followed them with a broad, happy smile.

Dread took hold of Saya. She knew this was serious.

"Did you think you were clever, coming here to seduce my male? Let's see how you'll do it without your head. Cut off her head!" Kendra cried.

The executioner went for his ax, ready to obey the woman who, to the subjects, seemed almost like the Alpha's female.

Savir walked back to the castle, thinking of Maeve, his first beloved mate, who had died eighteen years before. So many years of memories were piled inside his heart, and yet, no matter how much time passed, Savir could not forget her.

You're my only love, Maeve. I'll never love anyone. Only you, he thought.

Flashback:

Eighteen years earlier.

Savir remembered that day. He had not been the fated Alpha of the Luna Dagda pack then. The Alpha had been Kelly. He was young and strong, with a commanding voice that could bend every wolf to his will.

Back then, Savir was only eighteen. He was a born hunter and also served as a beta in the Alpha's army, a great warrior. But peace flooded the tribe, so he mostly helped with hunting.

That fatal day, he left early while Maeve washed clothes in the river. Savir kissed his little son in his cradle for the last time, then went away.

That day was carved into his soul. He hunted five deer by himself. They were happy. There would be a good feast, and in those days hunters earned good money for their prey.

Then they saw the man running toward them. He was from the pack, covered in blood and wounded.

"The pack was attacked!"

Fear seized Savir. He shifted into his wolf form and fought to get there, but what his eyes saw left him frozen.

The pack had been destroyed. Thousands of women, children, and elders had been murdered. He ran to his tent, wanting only to see his woman, but the sight before him broke his heart and soul. Maeve lay naked on the ground, dead, her hands stretched out and her eyes open.

"No! No, my love! Maeve!" he screamed.

Savir regained enough awareness to look for his baby, but then he saw that tiny body. The baby was dead too. He let out a scream of pain, and everything in his heart turned to shadow.

"Kill her once and for all!" Kendra's voice dragged him back to reality.

Saya was held down by the guard and forced to her knees. Terror gripped her. Her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest, and tears spilled from her eyes. She heard the executioner draw his sword and closed her eyes.

I'm going to die! Am I going to die now? she thought in horror.

The executioner raised the sword, ready to bring it down on her head.

"Stop!" Savir shouted.

Only then did the sword remain suspended in the air, and the guard stopped the executioner, who was mute and deaf. If he cut off that head against the Alpha's refusal, others would be the ones to die.

"What the hell is going on here?" Savir snarled, furious.

Kendra lowered her head, afraid. She almost never went above the Alpha's rules, much less gave orders. Today, she had lost control.

Saya rose and looked at the man.

"She hit me, Alpha!"

Savir looked at Kendra's bruised, scratched face, then turned severe, almost rabid eyes on Saya.

The young woman swallowed under that furious stare.

He came closer and looked her up and down. Other than her tears, she had no marks except the one she already had.

"You don't have a single bruise, female. Why did you strike one of my subjects? By what right?" he demanded, stopping in front of her.

Saya lifted her eyes, terrified.

"I..." Her voice shook.

"Please, don't hurt my sister. I'm begging you," Anika cried, dropping to her knees before him. She sobbed and lowered her gaze.

Savir looked at the young woman. With his hand, he lifted her chin and saw the scratches and wounds. Then he looked at Kendra and understood everything.

"You hit her? You struck my guest, Kendra?"

The woman backed away when she saw the fire of rage in Alpha Savir's eyes.

"Get out of my sight!" he roared, and the woman ran back inside the castle, frightened.

Savir turned his gaze back to the women. Anika rose from the ground and moved behind her sister as if Saya were her protective shield.

"Let us go, please. We want to return home. I promise our father will pay you for your help," Saya said.

The woman's words made Savir's eyes turn stoic and icy.

Anika grew frightened and murmured that she should be quiet.

"You won't leave here unless I say so. If I want, you live or die right now, child," he pronounced. "I don't need money. I have enough."

He walked away from them.

Saya hugged her sister and comforted her as she cried without stopping. Then they saw a woman wearing a delicate gold crown on her head, and Saya sensed she was important.

Lynn found Savir on the main balcony.

"What is it, Alpha? Have you thought about the proposal?"

"Enough, Mother Lynn. You're torturing me," he snapped.

Lynn had been his greatest support when his mother, his wife, and his son died. Still, her worst flaw was how controlling she could be. The woman touched his shoulder.

"Everyone says you're the great Alpha, that you're better than Kelly. But you lack what he had: his Luna. The pack is growing, son. If you want to remain the great Alpha, a Luna will unite your pack. You must show that you are stable, that you have your family. It is time for you to move on."

"Do you want me to marry Kendra?"

Lynn burst out laughing.

"That she-wolf is only useful for giving birth to bastard omegas. No. You need to be intelligent, son. You need alliances. I heard you have a lord from the Green Field kingdom here. It is time for you to marry a Lady. Choose between the lord's two girls. One of them will be your new Luna."

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