Isla's POV
I'm going to die.
The assassins are everywhere—dark shapes moving too fast, blades flashing silver in the moonlight. People are screaming, running, trampling each other to escape.
And they're all coming for me.
I try to stand, but my legs won't work. The Moon's Kiss still burns on my skin. My wolf is going crazy inside me, clawing to get out, but she can't. She's trapped like always. Weak like always.
Useless.
A hooded figure breaks through the crowd. His knife gleams as he raises it high, aimed straight at my heart.
I'm frozen. I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't—
Something massive slams into the assassin from the side.
The Wolf King.
But he's not human anymore. He's shifted into his true form—a wolf bigger than a horse, black as midnight with eyes like molten silver. He's magnificent. Terrifying. Beautiful.
His jaws close around the assassin's throat. I hear bones snap. Blood sprays across white marble.
I should be horrified. I should look away.
But I can't stop staring.
He throws the body aside like it weighs nothing and places himself between me and the other attackers. His growl shakes the entire temple, so deep I feel it in my chest.
He's protecting me.
The thought makes no sense. He's the Wolf King. I'm nobody. A servant. The girl everyone says is broken.
Why would he—
Three more assassins charge at once.
Kieran moves like death itself. His claws tear through one attacker's chest. His fangs rip another's arm clean off. The third tries to run, but Kieran is faster. He catches the man by the leg and drags him back.
I close my eyes, but I still hear it. The wet sound of flesh tearing. The crack of bones. The assassin's scream cutting off suddenly.
Silence.
When I open my eyes, royal guards have formed a circle around us. Dead assassins lie scattered across the temple floor. Blood pools on white marble. The beautiful ceremony has turned into a nightmare.
Kieran shifts back to human form.
I should look away—he's naked, covered in blood—but I can't. He's all muscle and power, with scars crisscrossing his chest and back. So many scars. Each one tells a story of pain, of battles survived.
He's been hurt so many times.
Someone throws him a cloak. He wraps it around himself and turns to face me.
Those silver eyes lock onto mine, and my breath catches.
Up close, he's even more terrifying. His jaw is set in hard lines. Blood—not his—drips from his hands. He looks like exactly what he is: a killer. A king who's ended hundreds of lives.
But when he looks at me, something in his expression... softens.
"Are you hurt?" His voice is rough, deeper than I expected.
I shake my head. I don't trust my voice.
He takes a step closer. I flinch without meaning to, and something flashes in his eyes. Pain? Regret?
"I won't hurt you," he says quietly, so only I can hear. "I give you my word."
A Wolf King's word is sacred. Everyone knows that. They never break their promises.
Slowly, I nod.
He reaches down, offering his hand.
I stare at it. His hand is huge, scarred, covered in blood. The hand of a warrior. A king. Someone so far above me we might as well be different species.
But something inside me—my wolf, the Moon's Kiss, or maybe just me—wants to take it.
I place my hand in his.
Lightning strikes through my entire body.
The Moon's Kiss on my neck explodes with light. Heat sears into Kieran's chest, and I see silver marks appear on his skin—matching mine, but different. The King's Bond.
We both gasp.
I feel him. His shock, his confusion, his... fear? The great Wolf King is afraid?
But underneath all that, there's something else. Something warm and protective and fierce.
Mine, his wolf whispers through the bond. Ours. Protect. Keep safe.
The connection settles, but my hand is still in his. He pulls me to my feet gently, like I'm made of glass.
"Stay close to me," he commands, but his voice is softer now. Not cold or cruel like I expected.
I realize he's placed himself between me and the crowd again. Protecting me from even their stares.
For the first time in my life, I feel... safe.
"This is WRONG!" Princess Seraphina's shriek cuts through the moment. She pushes through the guards, her beautiful face twisted with rage. "She's nobody! A servant! She can't even shift!"
Shame burns through me. She's right. I am nobody. I can't shift. What kind of mate is that for a king?
"The Moon's Kiss doesn't lie," the High Priestess says calmly, stepping forward. Her ancient eyes study me with an intensity that makes me want to hide.
"Then she used dark magic!" Seraphina points at me with a shaking finger. "She tricked the moon goddess! She—"
"ENOUGH."
Kieran's voice cracks like thunder. The entire temple falls silent.
He doesn't let go of my hand. If anything, his grip tightens—protective, possessive.
"The moon has chosen," he says, his voice cold as winter. "Anyone who questions that questions the goddess herself."
Seraphina's face goes white, then red with fury.
Kieran turns to address the crowd. "This girl is under my protection. Anyone who harms her—" His eyes sweep across the nobles, promising death. "—answers to me."
Murmurs ripple through the crowd. Some look afraid. Others angry. A few calculating.
I want to disappear. I want to run. But Kieran's hand holds mine steady.
"Can you walk?" he asks quietly.
I nod, not trusting my voice.
"Good." He unwraps his cloak and drapes it around my shoulders. It's warm from his body and smells like pine and smoke and something wild. "You're coming with me."
"To... to the palace?" My voice comes out barely a whisper.
"You're my mate now." He says it like it's simple. Like my whole world hasn't just turned upside down. "That makes you mine to protect."
His.
The word sends shivers through me. Not fear, exactly. Something else.
He starts leading me toward the exit, and I have no choice but to follow. The crowd parts before us like water. I keep my eyes down, feeling everyone staring.
"Your Majesty!" The High Priestess calls after us. Her voice echoes through the temple. "The bonding ceremony must be completed within seven days, or the mark will fade. If that happens, the kingdom's protective wards will fail."
Seven days.
I have seven days before I have to bind myself to this terrifying, powerful man who I just met. Seven days before I become queen of a kingdom that hates me.
Seven days before my life becomes something I never imagined.
We step outside into the cool night air. The moon is huge above us, silver and bright. The same moon that just changed everything.
My legs suddenly give out.
Kieran catches me before I hit the ground. His arms wrap around me, strong and steady.
"I've got you," he murmurs.
And despite everything—the attack, the fear, the impossible situation—I believe him.
He lifts me into his arms like I weigh nothing. I should protest. I should insist I can walk. But I'm so tired, and his arms feel so safe.
As he carries me toward a waiting carriage, I see something from the corner of my eye.
A hooded figure in the shadows, watching us.
Gone in a blink.
My blood runs cold. "Did you see—"
"I saw," Kieran says grimly. His arms tighten around me. "The attack wasn't random. Someone knew the moon would choose you."
"But how? I didn't even know I would be—"
"That's what I intend to find out." His silver eyes scan the darkness. "Someone planned this. And they're still out there."
He helps me into the carriage and climbs in beside me, positioning himself between me and the door. Protecting me even now.
As the carriage lurches forward, reality crashes down on me.
Someone wants me dead.
The entire kingdom thinks I used dark magic.
And I'm now bound to the most powerful—and most dangerous—man in the empire.
The Moon's Kiss throbs on my skin, reminding me this isn't a dream.
It's real.
All of it.
"Why me?" I whisper into the darkness. "Why would the moon choose someone like me?"
Kieran is silent for a long moment. Then his hand finds mine in the dark.
"I don't know," he admits quietly. "But I intend to keep you alive long enough to find out."
It's not a promise of love. Not even friendship.
But right now, it's enough.
The carriage rolls through the night, carrying me away from everything I've ever known.
Toward a future I never asked for.
With a king who might be my salvation—or my doom.