Chapter 6

Isla's POV

It had been two days since Rowena stood in the middle of the royal hall, pointed at me, and called me a thief.

Two days had passed since Kael had stepped between Damon and me, challenging the Alpha of Blackthorn without hesitation.

Two days...

And somehow, I was still waiting for justice that would never come.

For a brief, foolish moment after Rowena's accusation, I believed Damon would punish her.

Not because I wanted revenge, but because I knew Damon would have done the same for me. As his Luna, one mistake always earned me hours of lectures, insults, and physical pain, so I waited for him to hold Rowena to the same standard. Instead, he walked right past me and went straight to her.

"It's alright," he whispered as he gently cupped her cheek before pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. Then he pulled her into his arms, protecting and comforting her in a way I hadn't been held in years.

"You've been under too much stress."

His voice had been gentle.

Patient.

Loving.

As if she were the victim, Damon held Rowena while I stood forgotten. In that moment, I accepted the truth: he had never married me for love, only because the last heir of House Nightfang needed a mate before the Council would recognize its ruler.

Days after my parents' funeral, before I could even grieve, my future had already been decided.

"Princess Isla," Elder Magnus said.

"The kingdom cannot remain without an Alpha. You must choose a husband. The future of House Nightfang depends on it."

I was only eighteen, lost, broken, and left alone in a palace that felt unbearably empty after my parents, especially my father, Alpha Alaric Nightfang, were murdered.

Then Damon appeared, bringing fresh bouquets of moon lilies, white roses, and silver orchids to my door every single morning and evening.

Then came the letters.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Eventually...

Hundreds.

Beautiful handwritten letters filled with promises.

"I'll protect you, you'll never be alone again, I love you, Isla, and I'll carry your pain."

Back then, I believed every word because I was drowning in grief, and Damon, the kind older boy I'd admired since childhood as Beta's son who always found me when I was lost and helped me when I fell, became the only wolf I thought I had left, though there was another wolf too.

Kael.

Kael Blackthorn, Damon’s younger brother.

Even before my parents died, Kael had quietly pursued me with honesty instead of flowers, challenging me during training, making me laugh, treating me as an equal, and later sitting beside me in silence without ever asking me to move on.

Looking back, perhaps that had been real love, but I never gave him a chance because Damon told me exactly what my broken heart wanted to believe.

"The Moon Goddess made us for each other. We're fated mates."

Everyone believed him.

The Council believed him.

The elders believed him.

Even my wolf accepted him without question.

So...

I chose Damon.

Just a few months after burying my parents, I became Damon's wife, and on our wedding day, he became Alpha, not because he had earned the title, but because he had married the last heir of House Nightfang, replacing my family's centuries-old kingdom with Blackthorn Pack, while I believed we were building a future together.

For a while, I thought we were happy, until the royal physician looked at me with pity and said, "I'm sorry, Luna." "You'll never be able to bear a child."

That single sentence changed everything: the flowers disappeared, the letters stopped, Damon no longer reached for my hand, and when Rowena returned, I overheard him call her "the woman I was always meant to be with," making me realize our marriage had ended long before either of us admitted it.

A sharp knock pulled me back to the present; my heart skipped a beat.

"Come in."

The heavy doors opened, and for the first time in weeks, Damon stepped into my room, making a pathetic spark of hope flicker inside me as I wondered if he had finally come to ask how I was or if he regretted what had happened two days ago.

Maybe…

Without a word, Damon walked straight past me.

A thick stack of official folders landed on my desk with a heavy thud.

"I need your signature."

The tiny spark of hope inside me died instantly.

For years, I had signed whatever Damon placed in front of me without a second thought.

He was my husband, my Alpha, the wolf I had trusted with everything, so out of habit I reached for the fountain pen until Damon placed his hand over the documents. "Read them first," he said, and when I looked up in surprise, I replied, "You've never asked me to read them before."

His expression never changed. "The Council has become stricter. They require your acknowledgment before anything can be finalized," he said, but something in his rehearsed tone made my stomach tighten as I pulled the first document closer.

The royal seal of Blackthorn was stamped across the top, followed by another crest I hadn't seen in years.

The silver wolf of House Nightfang.

My breath caught.

I turned the page.

Then another.

My fingers slowly grew cold.

Every page transferred another piece of my family's legacy, my father's properties, my mother's businesses, everything that had remained under my name since their deaths, into direct control of House Blackthorn, and when I asked,

"...Do these really need my approval?" Damon answered too quickly,

"They're just formalities. The Council requires your signature."

I stared at the documents, realizing everything listed belonged to House Nightfang... belonged to me, and for the first time, I hesitated because only a few days ago, I would have signed every page without reading a single word.

Because that was what wives do…

Wasn't it?

I had always believed that once I married Damon, there would no longer be any difference between mine and him.

What belonged to me...

Belonged to him too.

That was how marriage worked.

That was what I had convinced myself of all these years. But something inside me had changed. Maybe it began when he forgot our anniversary. Or when he spent my birthday with Rowena.

Maybe when he stood there and let another woman accuse me of stealing.

Maybe when Rowena buried me alive, maybe when he chose her over and over, or when everyone made fun of me, his parents insulted me, and he did nothing but laugh and call me weak. Or maybe... it happened the moment I finally admitted Damon no longer loved me.

"You trust me, don't you?"

His voice pulled me back.

I met his eyes, and there it was again.

That question.

Once upon a time, I would've laughed at how ridiculous it was, and of course, I trusted him.

I trusted him more than I trusted myself.

I trusted him with my heart.

My title.

My future.

My family's legacy.

Now...

I wasn't so sure.

I picked up the pen. A flicker of satisfaction crossed Damon's face. He thought nothing had changed.

That I was still the same foolish Luna who would obey without question.

Fine.

If Damon wanted to play games...

Then I'd play too.