Chapter 5
Adelaide
The beast's seed was still warm inside me, a liquid reminder of the claiming that had just taken place. My body trembled with residual aftershocks, each pulse of pleasure a testament to how completely I had surrendered to him. As Lycanthar slowly withdrew from me, his massive member slick with our combined fluids, I felt an unexpected sense of loss at the separation.
He padded away on silent paws, his breathing gradually slowing as the feral hunger was temporarily sated. The great silver-white form settled into the far corner where thick bear pelts had been spread across the stone floor. As his eyes closed and his breathing deepened into sleep, I caught a glimpse of the man still trapped within—peaceful now in a way that spoke of deep satisfaction.
I lay naked on the cold stone, trying to process what had just happened to me. The rational part of my mind—the princess trained in strategy and diplomacy—screamed that I had just committed the ultimate betrayal. Yet my body hummed with contentment, and I could feel something fundamental had shifted inside me, as if pieces of myself I hadn't known were missing had finally clicked into place.
"Adelaide." Thalia's voice was barely above a whisper, thick with pain and concern.
I turned to see my friend pushing herself upright against the wall where the beast had thrown her. Her left arm hung at an unnatural angle, with blood marks from the impact on her body. Despite her pale complexion, her eyes were filled only with concern for me.
"Thalia," I breathed, scrambling toward her on unsteady legs. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, kneeling beside her. "When he struck you, I should have—"
"Shh." She struggled to raise her good hand to my back, pressing her palm firmly over the Blood Moon mark between my shoulder blades. Even through her pain, she was trying to shield the damning evidence of my royal heritage from any prying eyes. "What happened was not your fault, dear friend. You couldn't have stopped it any more than you could have stopped the tide."
"What just happened to me?" I asked, trembling.
"You are Moon Bride," Thalia said softly, her voice filled with awe and fear in equal measure.
The words hit me like a physical blow. Moon Brides were the stuff of legend—women chosen by the lunar goddess herself, blessed with the ability to form soul bonds with the wolf people. I had heard whispers of them in the oldest stories, tales my tutors had dismissed as myths.
I looked down at myself in wonder and became aware of something extraordinary happening to my body. The small cuts and bruises I had sustained were healing themselves, my skin knitting together with each heartbeat. Even more remarkably, the torn flesh between my legs—evidence of my lost virginity—was mending. "I'm healing. How is this possible?"
"As a blessing for the awakening, any wounds you carried into it are now healing," Thalia explained, her hand trembling as she withdrew it from my back.
"That's impossible," I whispered, but even as I said it, I could feel the truth of it resonating in my bones. The changes in my body, the overwhelming desire I had felt, the psychic connection with Lycanthar—it all made a terrible sort of sense.
"My father, being the High Priest, once had me read some forbidden ancient texts that recorded the truth about the Moon Bride..." Thalia gasped for breath, the pain causing her speech to be intermittent. "The Moon Goddess selects her brides according to her own mysterious design. They are usually chosen from among the wolf people themselves, but occasionally—very rarely—she marks a human woman for this destiny."
She stared at my face, pale but focused. "You bear all the signs, Adelaide. The awakening fever, the physical transformation, the bond that formed between you and him."
My vision went blank, and my head spun with dizziness. "But I'm human. I'm the princess of Eldoria, sworn to protect my people from the very creatures who would—" I stopped, unable to finish as I remembered how eagerly I had welcomed Lycanthar's claiming.
"The goddess cares nothing for the politics of our world," Thalia said gently. "She sees only the soul, and yours has been marked for this purpose since birth. The Blood Moon mark on your back—I should have recognized it for what it truly was. Not just a symbol of our family's curse, but a sign of your divine selection."
A chill ran through me despite the warmth still coursing through my veins. "If what you say is true, what does that mean? Have I already become his mate?" The word felt strange on my tongue, weighted with implications I wasn't ready to face.
"Not yet. What happened between you was the first awakening, nothing more." Thalia leaned against the wall, clutching her injured arm. "The awakening cannot be stopped once it begins. Your body will crave his touch with increasing desperation until the process is complete. But Adelaide, you must listen to me—you cannot let anyone else discover what you are."
"Why?" I demanded, though part of me already suspected the answer.
Her voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "Moon Brides are beyond precious to the wolf people. They represent the only way for their kind to form true soul bonds, to share lifespans and merge consciousness with a chosen mate. If the other wolves discover what you've become, they will tear each other apart trying to claim you."
The weight of her words settled over me like a funeral shroud. Humiliation and sanctity, curse and blessing... I couldn't distinguish what it truly was. But if this fate, which I had no choice in, could bring a glimmer of hope to Eldoria, then no matter what kind of hell lay ahead, I had to continue forward.
I hugged my knees to my chest, acutely aware of my nakedness and vulnerability. "I came here to find salvation for my kingdom," I said slowly. "Instead, I discover I'm some kind of mystical bridge between our peoples. Perhaps... perhaps this is how I can help Eldoria. If I truly—"
The sharp screech of metal against metal cut through my words like a blade. Both of us froze as the heavy prison door began to swing open, the sound echoing off the stone walls like a death knell.
A tall figure appeared in the doorway. His imposing frame filled the entrance as he stepped into our cell, and the torchlight from the hallway caught the sharp planes of his scarred face. His deep blue commander's coat, adorned with his rank insignia, indicated his identity—Commander of the First Legion, Draven.
I felt nervous inside, unsure if he had heard our conversation.
Draven's gaze swept over the scene before him with disturbing thoroughness—Thalia huddled naked against the wall with her obvious injuries, me attempting futilely to cover myself with my arms, and most tellingly, the great beast sleeping peacefully in his corner.
"In three centuries," he said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of old pain and fresh wonder, "I have never seen him sleep so peacefully." His gaze moved from me to the slumbering wolf king, and something shifted in his expression—a mixture of hope and wariness that made my stomach clench with dread. "What exactly have you done to my king, little human?"