The Luna Queen's Rebirth novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: The Harvest Moot

Thirty packs filled the Moon Hall, and every one of them went quiet when I walked in.

It was the great hall of Aldermere, a pillared cavern of white stone with the Moon Goddess carved on the ceiling.

I had stood at the head of it, once, beside a throne.

Now I stood at the far end on Rhydian's arm, in a grey cloak, with Eirik behind us and the doors swinging shut.

"Just so you know," Eirik muttered, "if this goes badly, I'm eating all their cake."

"There's cake?"

"There's always cake at a Moot."

Whispers ran along the benches.

The Alphas of the thirty packs sat in tiers, each with a banner at his shoulder. The elders in green sat below them.

On the dais, Leoric waited on his throne.

His left shoulder was bound under his blue coat.

His face was paler than it had been at Stonehold, and his hands lay very still on the arms of the chair.

Perdita stood at his elbow in rose and cream, with a hand on the carved wood.

She smiled at me.

It was a gentle smile and I felt it in my teeth.

"We are met," said the priestess, "under the Moon Court's truce, to hear the grievance of Aldermere against Hollowmark."

Leoric rose.

He did it slowly, like a man carrying something heavy, and nobody in the hall moved.

"My lords," he said. "Alphas. I stand before you wronged."

He spoke well. He always had.

He said I had been stolen from my mate at the Rite by a foreign king, and tricked into a false marriage.

He said Hollowmark had sheltered his betrothed and ambushed his men at the Weeping Bridge.

"And at Stonehold," he finished, "the woman who was to be your Luna bit her King in front of two hundred riders."

Keep reading free with an account. Start The Luna Queen's Rebirth from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.