Chapter 559

Nina

The letter crinkled in Enzo’s hands as he held it out for me. I took it, my hand already shaking even though I didn’t know what was inside.

“More bad news?” I murmured, slowly lifting my gaze to meet Enzo’s. “I can’t handle any more bad news.”

Enzo shook his head. “No. Just read it.”

Carefully, I unfolded the paper and began to read. I realized almost immediately what it was just upon reading the first few lines: a summons to the Alpha Council.

The council that Enzo had attended once, and never again.

A thick knot instantly formed in the pit of my stomach as the meaning behind the letter sank in. The entire realm knew about my father’s passing, and although I hadn’t had my coronation yet, news had spread like wildfire that the Alpha King’s daughter would take his place.

The magnitude of the situation crashed over me like a wave, the breath stolen from my lungs and replaced with water. All at once, it felt overwhelmingly, paralyzingly real in a way it hadn’t quite before. This was it—my introduction to the ruling elite as the reluctant heir to a throne I had never envisioned claiming.

“They’re summoning me to a Council meeting,” I said softly, folding the paper back up with shaking hands. “I don’t…”

“You have to go, Nina.” Enzo’s firm tone brooked no argument, although his gaze was soft. “It’s what your father would have wanted.”

I opened my mouth to protest, to say that I wasn’t ready, that we’d have to reschedule, that I’d have to return to school soon and that I couldn’t take on this role—that someone else needed to do it.

But Enzo simply fixed me with that steady, unwavering gaze of his, and I knew that I had no choice. Like I had promised my mother, I had to take on this role even if I wasn’t ready. With a resigned sigh, I gave a solemn nod.

“Alright. I’ll go. But I can’t promise that I’ll know what the hell I’m doing.”

The wry smirk playing at the corners of Enzo’s lips told me that he had expected as much. “You don’t have to know what you’re doing. It’s just a formality.”

His hands found my waist, pulling me flush against him until I could barely breathe against his sturdy chest. For a few blissful moments, I allowed myself to sink into his embrace, drawing strength from his solid presence and his natural scent.

“I love you,” I murmured.

“I love you, too.” Enzo tucked his hand under my chin and lifted my face to look at him, then dipped his head to press a kiss to my lips. “And I’ll be right by your side throughout all of this.”

“You’d better.”

…

The morning of the Council meeting arrived all too quickly. Just three days later, little more than a week after my father had passed, the day came. I blinked, bleary-eyed, down at the ornate silk gown and embroidered jacket that laid on my bed.

“Is it to your liking, my lady?” a nearby servant asked.

I didn’t respond right away, not out of rudeness, but because I wasn’t used to being called that yet: my lady. When I realized that she was talking to me, though, I quickly nodded and sucked in a sharp breath.

“It’s very beautiful.”

It really was a beautiful uniform, too. It was ceremonial, made specifically for Council summits, and tailored to my exact measurements.

But as I slipped into the dress and turned toward the mirror, only to see the luxurious taffeta and brocade stretching taut to accommodate my swollen belly, a frustrated tear slipped down my cheek. I looked… absurd. Like a bloated idiot waddling beneath this mantle of extravagance that was never meant for someone like me.

“Something wrong?” a familiar voice called out from the doorway.

I looked up to meet Enzo’s gaze in the mirror. He looked as handsome as ever, leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. He wore an exquisite suit of his own, but it was far simpler than what I had squeezed myself into.

“Why do I have to wear this ridiculous costume while you can get away with a suit?” I asked through grit teeth, tugging uncomfortably at the fabric.

Enzo sighed and walked up to me. “I think you look beautiful.”

“I look like a porcelain doll. This is ridiculous. I’m not a queen.”

“Hey. None of that.” Enzo’s voice was tender but insistent as his arms circled around me from behind, his chin propped on top of my head as he studied my reflection in the mirror. “You look every inch the queen you were born to be.”

I sniffled, leaning back against the reassuring warmth of his chest as my hand strayed to the taut swell of my abdomen. “Do I, though?” I whispered. “Or will I simply be a Luna in the shadows, like all women? Your voice giving the orders while I play the ornamental figurehead? A pretty doll to look at, but have no use?”

For a beat, Enzo was silent—contemplative. When he finally spoke, his words were measured but firm.

“Your title may bear the name Luna, but make no mistake—you will reign as the Alpha Queen.”

“I don’t want to be the queen. I want to go back to Mountainview, finish medical school…”

“You can do all that.” Enzo turned me to face him, his brown eyes catching the light. “But here, you have to play your part. You don’t need to be here all of the time; but you can’t abandon a realm that belongs to you now.”

I searched his unflinchingly earnest expression for any hint of doubt or placation, but found only steadfast belief reflecting back at me. Slowly, I gave a shaky nod, squaring my shoulders beneath the heavy weight of my jacket.

“Okay,” I replied softly. “Okay, I can do this.”

With Enzo's hand securely wrapped up with mine, I allowed myself to be swept into the current of the procession toward the heart of the palace—toward the Council chambers. My father had walked this same path countless times, I was sure, but I…

I felt like a stranger here. Unwanted. Although by whom, I couldn’t be sure; maybe it was all in my head, my own inner voice telling me that I didn’t belong.

When we finally made our way to the Council chambers, I paused, pressing my hand over my belly and drawing in a deep breath to steady myself. Enzo remained silent beside me, his hand never leaving the small of my back. His presence was like an anchor. I just wished that the sea wasn’t so stormy.

After a few moments, Enzo looked down at me with a soft expression in his eyes. “Are you ready?”

I swallowed, then began to nod, then stopped—I froze for a moment, glancing over my shoulder. I could run, I thought to myself. I could open a portal and go back to Mountainview. No one would see my face, and they’d barely even know my name. Someone else could take over the throne. Someone more capable.

But as I turned to look over my shoulder, my eyes caught my reflection in a nearby mirror hanging on the wall.

It was then, as my eyes caught one another in the glass, that it felt as if the fog cleared—I saw a queen, and a mother, and a sister, and a daughter, and a medical student, and a friend, and a Luna.

Maybe I didn’t have to run.

Finally, I nodded and looked up at Enzo. “Ready.”

The guards then opened the large double doors. Taking a deep breath, I picked up my skirts and silently walked into the hall where nearly a dozen men—all Alphas of their own packs, tall and strong and much older than I—sat around a large oak table.

My heels clicked on the marble floor as I made my way to my seat at the front of the table, but the pounding of my heart in my ears drowned it out. In that moment, this was the entire world—this room of men, and I, one woman, feeling smaller than ever beneath their gazes.

When I finally made my way to my seat after what felt like an eternity, I slowly turned to face the Alphas. For a long, gut-wrenching moment, they simply stared at me; and I knew that, to them, I was nothing more than the little doll I had feared.

Or at least, that was what I thought.

But then, the first Alpha stood and bowed low, his hand over his heart, and it felt as if all time stopped.

“My Queen.”