Chapter5

Layla's POV

I packed my last small bundle.

Inside was the moonstone pendant my mother left behind, my father's worn wolf-fang necklace, and several family leather scrolls covered in ancient symbols.

These were enough to prove who I was, and enough to earn me shelter in another clan.

I'd leave tonight, while the celebration wound down and everyone was tired.

The door was violently thrown open. Kael's towering figure blocked the moonlight.

His gaze swept over the bundle on my shoulder, his expression instantly darkening like the sky before a storm.

"Where do you think you're going?" His voice was low but carried terrifying pressure.

Before I could answer, he strode in, his iron-grip hand seizing my wrist, bones aching from the pressure.

"Let go, Kael." I tried to struggle, but his strength was absolute.

"Let go of you?" He laughed coldly, dragging me with my feet barely touching the ground through the corridor into his private chamber. He roughly released me, pulling from a hidden compartment a metal cylinder covered in thick dust, extracting a roll of ancient, darkly colored parchment.

He unfurled the parchment, shoving it before my eyes. The writing was in dark brown ink like dried blood—my father's name and seal, beside it the old Blackrock Alpha's seal.

"Look closely," Kael's finger jabbed viciously at one line. "'My daughter Layla Moonshadow's loyalty and service, pledged to Blackrock Clan in exchange for protection. Until released from duty by the current Alpha, or until bloodline is severed.'"

He looked up, staring at me, his eyes devoid of warmth. "Your father pledged you to Blackrock. Your 'loyalty and service,' Layla. Without my release, you're going nowhere. This is a blood pact witnessed by the Moon Goddess."

I went ice-cold all over, staring at my father's familiar handwriting.

Mother never told me this. She only told me to hide.

"This pact came into my keeping when I inherited the position." Kael rolled up the parchment, his voice returning to that cold, commanding tone. "So put away your ridiculous escape plans. You belong to Blackrock Clan until I say it's over."

He moved closer. "Since you want to leave, I'll give you a chance to 'serve.' At tomorrow's alliance binding ceremony, I want you to publicly present the 'Heart of Blackrock' to Selena."

I jerked my head up. The Heart of Blackrock was the sacred site's core, a mineral stone condensing generations of clan energy, symbolizing ruling power. Usually only the Alpha or Luna had the right to touch and transfer it.

"You want me to... present it to her?"

"Exactly." Kael's lips curved into a cruel arc. "Use your hands to present the symbol of the clan's old loyalty and service to the new mistress. Let everyone see that your era has passed, that you calmly accept your position and submit to the new Luna."

He wasn't giving me an opportunity. This was publicly trampling me in the most visible way, nailing my last shred of dignity to the pillory, paving the way for Selena's authority.

I looked at his certain, defiant gaze, at that scroll determining my fate.

Resisting the pact would invoke the Moon Goddess's harshest punishment, possibly even affecting my deceased parents.

I had no power to directly fight this.

My blood felt frozen solid. But after the extreme cold, a strange calm settled over me.

"Fine." I heard my voice say, dry but steady. "I'll do it."

Kael seemed somewhat surprised by my compliance, but satisfaction quickly replaced it. "Good. Remember your place, Layla. Always remember."

He left with the blood pact scroll, leaving me alone in the cold chamber.

I slowly crouched down, picking up the family scroll that had fallen during the struggle, gently brushing off the dust. Moonlight leaked through the high window, illuminating the ancient symbols—those markings belonging to the White Wolf bloodline, daughters of the Moon Goddess, faintly glowing silver that only I could see.

I gripped the scroll tight, my fingertips white with pressure.

Kael, you'll get the submission ceremony you want.

It will be the last "service" I, Layla Moonshadow, render to you and Blackrock Clan.

I swear it.