Chapter 215
Zara
If Alpha Kane did not want me as the Demon Queen, then I would not wear that crown. Power taken at the cost of his trust was not power I desired. I was his Luna, nothing more, nothing less, and that truth outweighed every dark throne the shadows ever offered me.
I was the first Luna of Sterling Empire, bound not by fear or magic, but by blood, loyalty, and a love forged in war.
The night the demons came calling, the moon was crimson, heavy with prophecy. They whispered promises of dominion, of fire bending to my will, of shadows kneeling at my feet.
They wanted a queen born of balance, light enough to rule wolves, dark enough to command demons. They wanted me.
But they forgot one thing. I was already claimed.
Alpha Kane stood at the highest balcony of the Sterling packhouse, his presence a living storm. The wind bowed to him. The wolves below stilled, feeling their Alpha King’s fury ripple through the earth.
His honey eyes scanned the forest, not for enemies, but for threats unseen. Shadows were clever. They waited. They plotted. And Kane knew they were no longer hunting him.
They were hunting his heir.
His hand rested instinctively over my stomach, possessive, protective. The future Alpha, our child, pulsed with quiet power, an echo of ancient bloodlines awakening. Sterling blood. Royal blood. A child born to rule, whether the world was ready or not.
“I will not let them touch what is mine,” Kane said, his voice low, lethal. “Not demons. Not shadows. Not gods p>
And I believed him.
Alpha Kane was not just a ruler; he was a force carved from sacrifice and loyalty. He had bled for his wolves, burned alliances to ash for his family, and broken kings who thought the Sterling Empire weak.
He did not rule through fear alone, but through devotion. Every wolf under his command would die for him, not because they were ordered to, but because he had already done the same for them.
The demons underestimated that.
They sent emissaries first, silver-tongued creatures cloaked in false honor. They spoke of balance, of destiny, of how I was meant to sit beside Kane as Queen of Shadows. They claimed it was the only way to protect our child, the only way to stop the coming war.
Kane rejected them without hesitation.
“There is no destiny worth my Luna’s soul,” he growled. “And no war I will not fight myself p>
So the shadows came next.
They slipped through borders unseen, poisoned minds, turned weak wolves against their own packs. One by one, the outer territories fell silent. Kane responded not with panic, but precision. He sent his Alphas back to their packs, ordering them to fortify, protect, and endure.
“I will handle this,” he told them. “You protect your wolves. I protect my family p>
That was the moment the title Alpha King ceased to be ceremonial. It became absolute.
Night after night, Kane fought. Claws against shadow, blood against darkness. He returned to me torn and bleeding, yet never broken. I healed him with trembling hands, my heart fracturing each time I felt how close death lingered around him.
“Let me fight,” I begged once. “Let me take the crown they offer. I can end this p>
He cupped my face gently, forehead resting against mine. “If you become their queen, you stop being my Luna. And I would rather die than rule a world without you p>
Those words sealed my choice forever.
I did not become the Demon Queen.
I became something far more dangerous.
I stood beside Alpha Kane as Luna of Sterling, not hidden, not silent, not weak. I rallied the females, the healers, the witches who still believed in honor.
I protected the packhouse with ancient wards, not fueled by shadow, but by unity. I became the heart of the empire while Kane remained its sword.
When the final assault came, it was brutal.
Shadows poured from the forest like a living void, demons tearing through the night sky. Kane shifted mid-battle, his Alpha form towering, radiant with silver fire. He fought with a savagery born of love, every strike fueled by one purpose alone: Protect his heir.
I saw him fall once. The world stopped. Then he rose. Bleeding. Broken. Roaring defiance at the heavens.
“For my pack!” he thundered. “For my Luna! For my child p>
The wolves answered him with a howl that shattered the darkness.
By dawn, the forest was silent.
The shadows retreated, fractured and defeated. The demons vanished, their queenless throne left empty by my refusal. The Sterling Empire still stood, scarred, stronger, unbowed.
Alpha Kane collapsed into my arms as the sun rose. Exhausted. Victorious.
“I told you,” he whispered hoarsely. “Till my last breath p>
I kissed his bloodied forehead, tears falling freely. “And I will stand beside you till mine p>
I was never meant to be the Demon Queen.
I was meant to be his Luna, the first Luna of the Sterling Empire, mother of its future, and witness to a king who chose love over power, and family over fate.
And because of that choice, the world learned a dangerous truth: Never threaten what Alpha Kane loves. Because he will fight until his last breath, and beyond.
He is hiding this secret from me, and he replaced me with his new secretary. The truth stings more sharply than any claw ever could. Anger coils tight in my chest, hot, restless, demanding answers.
I watch him from a distance now, Alpha Kane of the Sterling Empire, moving like a king who has learned to carry the weight of worlds alone.
And yet, even in my fury, I know him. Kane has never taken a single step without a solid reason. That knowledge doesn’t soften the wound, but it stops it from turning into hatred.
Once, I stood beside him in every meeting, every war council, every business negotiation. I was his Luna in truth, not just by title. My voice mattered. My presence steadied him. Now, there is another woman at his side, a polished shadow with sharp eyes and quiet obedience.