The Elders' eyes widened in shock and horror. What was happening?

Everyone stared at each other in disbelief, this was the first time someone had survived the Moon Trial.

Does this mean she was innocent?

Rael was dumbfounded as he gazed at her form lying on the ground, still coughing water out of her mouth.

No one dared to touch her, afraid of what would happen. This had never happened before in the history of the Bloodmoon Pack.

After a few seconds, Alpha Rael summoned courage and moved forward. He helped her stand up, steadying her. He gently moved the hair from her face, pushing it to the back of her ears, as he took a closer look at her face.

Adelaide wiped her lips with the back of her hand and slightly pushed him away, but when she nearly fell, he held her again.

Against her will, she let him hold her.

The High Priestess walked up to her and stared at her face, then she spoke;

"I told you, your Luna is here," the Priestess said with a wide smile tugging at her lips. The moment Polly had walked through those gates, she had known she was the one, but she hadn’t wanted to say it then.

If she truly was the one, the Moon Spirit would prove it. And so it did.

Alpha Rael’s eyes moved from the High Priestess to Polly, who was pale and breathing slowly, and then back to the High Priestess again.

"You must be joking..." he said in an instant, letting go of Polly. She immediately collapsed to the ground and turned to glare at him, her eyes brimming with hate.

Adelaide clenched her teeth as she pulled herself upright.

She didn’t want to process what the High Priestess had just said. Surely, it couldn't be her she was talking about. It was a long joke she was sure she didn't want to be part of.

"The Moon Spirit has chosen her as your Luna. The mark of the fated one is clear on her arm," the High Priestess said, raising Adelaide’s arm to reveal a crescent moon mark that Adelaide hadn’t noticed until now.

"The Moon Spirit has chosen your Luna, Alpha Rael," the High Priestess declared as she led Polly out of the shrine. The crowd waiting outside erupted in chaos at the sight of her.

She was alive! She was innocent?! What was going on?

"The princess has been vindicated of the accusations, and for the first time in centuries, someone has survived the Moon Trial. But that is not the only cause for celebration today," the High Priestess announced, and the screaming crowd turned to her in shock.

There was more?

Raising Polly’s arm, she showed them the crescent moon mark signifying the bond between the Alpha and the Luna and all hell broke loose.

Not only was she innocent, she was the Alpha’s fated Luna?

Adelaide breathed out as she looked at the mark on her arm. A small crescent moon with glowing inscriptions shimmered faintly in the dim light.

Ha! Just when she thought her life couldn’t get any worse.

The crowd divided. Some were screaming in jubilation, hailing her name. Others were still staring in stunned disbelief, unsure of what had just happened.

Polly glanced at Alpha Rael, who now looked at her as though she were the devil herself.

Don’t worry, I don’t want you anyway, she thought with a scoff.

Tearing her gaze from him, she walked to the front of the crowd and spoke;

"I’ve been vindicated of the accusations against me, and for that, I am grateful to the Moon Spirit. I hope the real culprit is caught and that peace is restored to the pack."

At her words, silence fell. Everyone listened.

Adelaide paused, her eyes scanning the crowd. Once she was sure she had everyone’s attention, she continued:

"However, I do not wish to be married to the Alpha of this pack not now, not ever. I reject this bond, and I reject Alpha Rael as my mate."

As though the Bloodmoon Pack hadn’t had enough shocks for one day.

Polly? Polly who had pined for Alpha Rael for years? Polly who would have crossed seven mountains and seven seas just to be close to him? Polly who had once willingly endured 7 nights in the dungeon just to catch a glimpse of his face?

Was it that Polly who had just rejected Alpha Rael in front of the entire pack?

The crowd erupted into utter chaos, but Adelaide did not wait to see what would happen next. Bowing slightly to the High Priestess, she strode out of the shrine, her head held high, her wet dress leaving a trail on the the grass.

Behind her, Alpha Rael watched, bewildered. He had been planning to reject her, but not in his wildest dreams had he imagined that she would reject him first.

The crowd became unruly, and the Elders ordered the guards to disperse them. Once it was done, the High Priestess turned to Rael, a chuckle on her lips.

"Who would have thought? Pollynia, who pined for you for over a decade, no longer wants you?"

She laughed as she walked past Rael and took a cup from one of the wooden cupboards in the shrine.

Rael gritted his teeth.

How dare she? What did she hope to achieve? If this was a ploy to gain his attention, she was sorely mistaken. He would not fall for it.

"Can we understand what just happened?" Harold, the oldest Elder of the Council, in his 90s, spoke with a crackled voice, he was holding up a stick for support, and his hands trembled as he spoke.

"From being accused of murder to being the pack’s Luna? That’s unheard of," another Elder exclaimed.

Others nodded. "There must be some kind of error. This wasn’t even the Luna Ritual. How can we believe this to be true?"

The High Priestess chuckled as she walked toward the holy stream and poured the contents of the cup into it.

The water glistened and came to a calm, shining stillness.

"I didn’t realize we’ve grown wiser than the Moon Spirit," she said, smiling. "We all know how difficult it was for the Alpha to find a mate. For over five mating seasons, the Alpha remained mateless, and we had to force-bind one to him just to keep the pack stable. Now, the Moon Spirit has chosen a Luna, and you question it?"

She laughed again.

"Well, no one can force a mate on the Alpha. However..." She turned to Rael, her gaze serious. "If he lets this one go, I highly doubt he’ll get another mate in this lifetime."