The gasp that escaped the assembled guests was loud enough to momentarily drown out the low, ceremonial music. Every head in the hall, from the highest-ranking visiting Alpha to the lowest Brave Pack Omega, was turned toward the open door.
The man who had just stepped in, Helios, was a physical manifestation of power, utterly eclipsing the calculated formality of the room. He was the only thing that mattered. It seemed like the other two that had just entered didn't matter, despite the great aura they eluded.
Hera felt the impact of his stare before her mind could process the features of the man. It wasn't the shock of an intruder; it was the sudden, overwhelming completion of her very being.
The gnawing fear of the impending heat, the cold dread of forced marriage, all vanished. Her wolf, which had been frantic and caged, surged forward with a power she had never known.
A blinding surge of energy shot through her, a visceral, magnetic pull so strong it nearly dragged her across the marble floor. In that moment, her defiant wolf finally knew peace. In that towering stranger, whose eyes were suddenly shifting to a brilliant, terrifying gold, she saw the answer to her every prayer, the end of her every fear. She saw her Mate.
Helios felt the same seismic shift. The world shattered and reformed around the exquisite scent of cinnamon and storm, wild, forbidden, and sacred. His agonizing search was over. His Lycan wolf, fully awakened and consuming his very core, roared a silent, deafening declaration that was felt by every Wolf in the room: Luna.
He took one instinctive, magnetic step toward her.
Prince Zack, enraged by the interruption and sensing the catastrophic surge of energy that threatened to derail his entire coup, moved first. He roared, his voice amplified by his Alpha command.
"Who dares intrude on my coronation and my wedding!" Zack yelled, stepping directly between Helios and Hera, shielding her with his body. "Security! Remove these intruders!"
Helios stopped. He didn't look at the shouting Alpha. His golden eyes remained fixed on Hera, an expression of possessive, protective fury tightening his handsome features.
"You are mistaken," Helios said, his voice deep, resonating with a power that vibrated off the packed walls of the hall. It was the voice of a true Alpha, one who had no need to shout. "The wedding is over."
Zack turned, his face contorted with rage, staring at the man who had just claimed his intended Luna at the altar. "This is my territory! This woman is mine!"
Helios finally shifted his gaze to Zack. "No," he stated simply, powerfully. "She is my mate. I am Alpha Helios of the Silverborn Pack."
The declaration struck the hall like a physical hammer blow. The Silverborn was a myth to most, a name only used in hushed tones by the oldest Alphas.
The Priestess, who had stood silent throughout the chaos, dropped her ceremonial Staff. It hit the marble with a sharp, resonant sound that cut through Zack's rage. She looked from Hera's glowing, terrified face to Helios's golden eyes, and then to Zack's furious expression. A prophecy was unfolding before them.
"The wedding cannot proceed!" the Priestess announced, her voice trembling but clear. "The bond has been claimed! The goddess has delivered the true Alpha to the true Luna!"
Zack whirled on the Priestess. "Silence! You are performing a ceremony, not interpreting fate! Guards, seize him!"
The Brave Pack guards hesitated, intimidated by Helios's sheer presence, but they began to move forward. Darian and Cassia immediately stepped forward to cover Helios's flanks, their posture defensive but disciplined. Darian's mind was a frantic mess of relief and tactical analysis. He had made it just in time.
"Hold your hands, Brave Pack!" bellowed one of the visiting Alphas from the front row, a grizzled, powerful elder known as Alpha Silas.
"The Priestess of the Lycan bond! This is a matter of tradition and divine law, not territory!"
The resulting uproar was deafening. The foreign packs began arguing amongst themselves, some backing Silas's appeal to tradition, others whispering about the Brave Pack's stability.
Hera watched the scene unfold, her fear battling a dizzying sense of elation. She had to act. She had to choose her escape and validate the chaos.
Before the guards could close the distance, Hera stepped out from behind the altar.
"Stop!" Hera commanded, her voice surprisingly steady, bolstered by the powerful surge of her Lycan wolf now finally recognizing its partner. The authority in her voice caused the nearest guards to falter.
She walked purposefully toward Helios, passing Zack entirely. She stopped directly in front of her mate, a defiant challenge in her eyes. The space between them was charged with electric energy, drawing the eyes of every Alpha in the room.
"Alpha Helios," Hera said, acknowledging him with a formal bow, refusing to show her fear. "I thank you for your... unexpected attendance. However, this is a matter of Brave Pack loyalty. I cannot leave."
Helios looked at the woman in front of him, he didn't understand her but he also understood how confused she must be in the moment. He reached out a hand, not to touch her, but to block the nervous advance of a Brave Pack guard "
"It is every Alpha's concern when the prophesied Luna is being held captive and forced into a mating against her will," Helios stated, standing over the enraged Zack. He did not ask. He claimed. "She is coming with me. Now."
Princess Sylvia, who had been frozen in shock by the altar, finally found her voice. She ran forward, not to her brother, but to Hera and Helios.
"She goes nowhere with you, usurper!" Zack roared, pulling himself up, blood visible on his lip.
Sylvia positioned herself beside Hera, facing her brother. "Be quiet, Zack! This is a sacred declaration! She is the Luna of the Lycans! You will bring war down upon this Pack!"
"She is my political solution!" Zack snarled. "And you, sister, are a traitor!"
Helios looked down at Hera, a flicker of pure certainty in his golden eyes. He spoke to her, but his words were meant for the audience. "We will not shed blood on holy ground, or interrupt a ceremony meant to mourn the dead. She will not be your wife, Prince Zack."
Helios slowly, deliberately, reached his hand back and found Hera's trembling hand. The contact was electric, flooding her with protective warmth. He pulled her gently from behind him."
Princess Isadora who had entered the hall for minutes now but whose presence wasn't noticed, cleared her throat and with a commanding voice that made the hall silent.
"This is obviously our Luna, so she will be coming with us, but to give her time to prepare we will wait till after the day before the full moon before leaving. Please carry on with the banquet, the wedding is over"
Prince Zack has never felt anything like it before now, she wasn't his mate but how could her voice tame his wolf. He stared at her for some minutes then he stormed out with his guards running after him.
Micheal, princess Sylvia's mate, who was the anchor of the event, called for the people to seat as the banquet will start as the wedding had been cancelled.