Alright... let’s make this fun for all of us. 😌

Here’s how I’m rewarding you, my special readers, and the ink to my pen.

1. Hit a top ranking for a week straight → mass release of 3 Chapters.

2. Send a super gift → mass release of 5 Chapters.

Now for the real mischief, these are the rewards. Also, this is where the real chaos lies.

1. Top interactive reader in a week → gets a shoutout

2. One-time super gift → gets a Chapter dedicated to you.

3. Repeated super gifts → you start getting little spoilers + future hints.

4. Highest Golden Ticket sender of the month (20–30 range) → you get a permanent role in the book

Yes, an actual role. 😅🥹 Immortality secured.

Let’s build this story together 🤍

....

Gasps erupted immediately.

Several guards reached for weapons instinctively, but Nate did not even look at them.

His gaze stayed fixed entirely on the elder, cold, violent, and lethal.

The elder froze mid-sentence.

The atmosphere inside the hall shifted so sharply it almost felt physical.

Aire turned toward Nate in shock.

He walked forward slowly past the rows of nobles and council members. The sound of his boots echoed heavily through the silence.

No one dared interrupt him. His wolf was too close to the surface now, and everyone could feel it.

Nate stopped directly before Aire.

To the complete shock of the hall, he lowered himself onto one knee.

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

Aire’s breath caught instantly. Nate placed his sword carefully on the ground before her feet in devotion and protection.

He bowed his head. "My sword, body, destiny, and name is yours to command." Then finally, he lifted his eyes toward the hall, and spoke.

"Any wolf who raises a hand against you," he said quietly, yet enough for everyone to hear the warning, "shall answer to me first."

Uncomfortable silence filled the hall. Nobody breathed properly. The weight behind his words struck the hall with a physical force.

Nate had just publicly chosen a side.

And that side was Aire, his mate.

Several elders looked horrified, and others looked stunned.

Torak exhaled slowly beneath his breath.

Alaric’s mouth almost curved slightly for the first time in days.

King Elijah remained perfectly still atop the platform.

Aire stared at Nate. She no longer recognized him fully, and had no idea what to say to such vow.

He met her gaze steadily with no hesitation, but just certainty.

The elder who had spoken earlier looked furious now. "You would threaten your own people over her?"

Nate’s eyes shifted toward him slowly. Somehow, that calmness felt more dangerous than anger.

"I would protect my mate," he answered. "Surely you know what that means, having a mate yourself."

Aire stood frozen in place.

Mate.

He had said it publicly, and openly. Before the entire kingdom. For the first time, she didn’t hear disgust in his voice.

Nate rose slowly back to his feet without taking his eyes off the crowd.

"If any wolf still believes fear grants them the right to harm her," he continued coldly, "then test that belief against me."

The challenge settled heavily into the hall.

No one answered, and even the furious elders hesitated now. Because this was Nate. The most restless wolf theyvhad ever known, and has been feared since birth.

And tonight, he looked fully prepared to spill blood over her.

Aire’s fingers trembled faintly at her sides.

Nate finally turned back toward her fully. His expression softened immediately. The change was so subtle but Aire noticed it.

"You are my mate. Silver haired, or not," he said quietly enough for only her to hear.

A sudden movement erupted from the upper council level. Xander descended the crescent stairs of the hall.

The atmosphere shifted instantly again.

Unlike Nate’s cold control, Xander looked openly furious. His wolf pressed visibly beneath his skin.

The hall quieted again slowly as wolves turned toward him.

Xander ignored every single stare.

He stopped directly beside Aire, close enough that his shoulder nearly brushed hers.

Without hesitation, hereached for her hand.

Aire startled faintly at the contact, but Xander’s grip was careful, and gentle. It felt nothing like restraint, so she let him.

He lifted her hand slightly before the hall.

With that, he wa making a public claim.

His gaze swept across the assembly slowly. "You call her unstable," he said coldly, "after driving her into fear yourselves."

Nobody answered him, but they also couldn’t ignore the authority, and claim oozing from him.

Xander’s jaw tightened harder.

"If any wolf in this kingdom believes she stands alone," he continued, his voice rising through the hall, "then look again."

A pulse of silence followed his words.

Aire’s eyes lifted toward him slowly, and for one beautiful second, everything inside her softened.

Xander had never looked at her with fear, not once.

"The Moon Goddess marked her mine," Xander snarled, "before any of you learned her name."

Gasps broke again throughout the chamber. Most wolves gasped because they felt insulted by his words.

Several elders looked scandalized now, and others looked unsettled.

A whole lot of them hated that this was no longer one Alpha heir choosing Aire again openly.

Now Xander stood beside her openly too, and the hall could feel what that meant.

Aire’s throat tightened faintly. Her lips thinned, and her eyes shimmered as she stared at Xanden

Xander lowered her hand carefully but did not step away from her afterward.

He stayed beside her deliberately.

It was a statement all on its own.

An elder scoffed, visibky losing it. "So the kingdom truly has lost its mind over one girl." He murmured under clenched teeth.

The words had barely settled before the metallic sound of steel sliding against steel echoed sharply through the chamber.

Everyone froze.

Alaric slowly unsheathed his blade halfway. The sound alone silenced the hall more effectively than a reply could have.

His eyes lifted toward the elder who had spoken.

"Choose your next words carefully," Alaric said softly.

The elder visibly paled.

Unlike Nate’s anger or Xander’s fury, Alaric was known to be capable of killing someone without changing his expression before or afterward.

"I will not hear another word against my mate," he continued coldly, "from wolves too cowardly to face the real enemy."

The hall shifted uneasily.

King Elijah’s gaze sharpened slightly at that line.

So did Torak’s. They had planned to not disclose this to the wolves today

Alaric finally looked toward the assembly fully now.

"While this kingdom tears apart its own Luna," he said, "wolves are disappearing beyond our borders."