My Alpha Used My Blood to Crown His Luna

The needle pierced my skin with a familiar sting. I flinched, but couldn't move—Dante's Alpha command held me frozen in place, my body betraying me once again.

"Stop," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Please, Dante."

His fingers tightened around my scarred left arm as he steadied the needle. The vial beneath my elbow slowly filled with dark red blood—my blood.

"This is the only part of you worth keeping," he said, his voice cold and distant. "Your blood will live forever in 'The Alpha's Empire.'"

I watched the liquid that had once saved his life now being taken to glorify another woman. Three days. Three days before what should have been our Mating Ceremony.

"The portrait needs something special," Dante continued, his eyes fixed on the filling vial. "Amaya deserves to be immortalized properly when she becomes Luna."

My heart thundered in my chest, each beat a painful reminder that I was still alive, still feeling, still hoping despite everything. "You promised," I managed to say as tears blurred my vision. "You promised I would be your Luna."

His laugh was sharp, cutting through me like glass. "A wolfless Omega? The pack would never accept you." He removed the needle, pressing a white cloth against the puncture wound. "But your blood—your blood is still valuable."

I couldn't look away from the vial as he held it up to the light, examining it like a treasure. Ten years ago, I'd given him my wolf's vitality to save him from Wolfsbane poisoning. Now he was taking what little remained of me to celebrate replacing me.

---

The Great Hall buzzed with excitement. Pack members crowded the space, their voices echoing off the high ceilings. I stood at the back, trying to make myself invisible in my plain grey dress.

"Tonight marks a new era for Shadow Ridge," Dante's voice boomed across the hall as he took center stage. The crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to him—and to the stunning woman beside him.

Amaya Gray stood tall in a white ceremonial gown that made my heart stop. I recognized it immediately—the Luna's gown that had been designed for me.

"This beautiful woman," Dante continued, his hand possessively at Amaya's waist, "has agreed to become my Luna and lead our pack alongside me."

Applause erupted. I felt dozens of eyes shift to me, then quickly away—as if my pain was something to be ashamed of, not caused by them.

"Eva," Dante called out suddenly, his voice softening into something almost gentle. "Join us."

My feet moved before I could think, carrying me forward to stand on the lower dais. Amaya's smile widened as she took in my simple grey dress, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

"Eva will serve as our Pack Ward," Dante announced, his words falling like stones into still water. "And she will continue as Pack Healer, providing her... services to those who need it."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Pack Ward—a position so vague it meant nothing. A placeholder