Chapter 7
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Twoke up in the Moon Temple with moonlight falling across the bed. The High Priestess sat beside me and handed me a bowl of medicine.
“Your body is still weak. Focus on healing first. Everything else can wait.”
She didn’t scold me for taking off my priestess robes seven years ago. She didn’t ask why I’d only come back when
I had nothing left. After I finished the medicine, she asked only one question.
“Evelyn, do you remember the priestess vows?”
I was stunned for a moment, then lowered my head. “Of course.”
They were etched into my bones. How could I ever forget?
The High Priestess nodded and had an attendant bring over a wooden box. Inside were the robes I’d brought back They had already been cleaned, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
“You didn’t throw them away.” The High Priestess said. “But whether you can put them on again depends on whether you still have the right.”
Regaining the status of priestess was never simple. I went through the prayer book again and performed the full Moon Prayer ceremony in front of the altar. The moment the prayer ended, all twelve moon lamps on the altar lit
up at once.
The High Priestess studied me for a long time, then finally pinned the moon branch, the symbol of a priestess, onto my chest.
“The Moon Goddess has opened her doors to you again. Tomorrow, we will hold the witness ceremony.”
She had invited the Alphas from six neighboring packs. It was both a witness to my reinstatement as priestess and a show of support.
On the day of the ceremony, all the Alphas removed their weapons and suppressed their auras outside the temple. I put on my robes and looked down at the Alphas bowing before me on the steps. My brow furrowed slightly.
Two uninvited people stood among them.
Kane and Selena.
Kane looked up at me, a flicker of unfamiliarity in his eyes. As if only now did he remember that before becoming his Luna, I’d had my own identity.
Selena, however, produced my Luna seal first.
“The Luna left pack territory without permission. According to Blackwood pack law, she must first return for questioning by the Elder Council.” She stared at me with open defiance. “The Moon Temple reinstating her now is against the rules.”
The High Priestess tapped her staff lightly against the ground.
“Evelyn has passed the review. She belongs to the Moon Temple now.”
Selena’s face went pale.
Kane finally spoke. “Evelyn. Come back with me.””
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His tone no longer had that old harshness, but it still carried entitlement.
All Luna authority will be returned to you. You’ll hold the seal yourself.” He paused, softening his voice. “I’ll investigate what happened to the pup. No one will restrict you ever again.”
Even now, he still thought what I wanted was power. Still thought that punishing a few people and giving back what was taken would fix everything.
I looked down at him from above. “And then?”
Kane stepped forward urgently.
“We start over. Just come back. I’ll admit in front of the pack that I made a mistake.”
That was probably the most he’d ever conceded. But his apology came too late. It couldn’t bring back my pup. And it couldn’t restore the dignity he’d worn down over seven years.
I didn’t answer him. Instead, I pulled out the application I’d prepared from inside my robes and/walked up to the High Priestess.
“As a candidate for Head Priestess of the Moon Temple, I request a mate bond dissolution trial.”
The hall fell completely silent.
Kane’s face shifted violently. “I won’t agree to this!”
The High Priestess took my application, glanced at Kane, and said flatly, “The Moon Temple doesn’t need your consent.”
In front of everyone, the High Priestess officially pinned the moon branch onto my chest.
The moon bell tolled twelve times.
From this moment on, I was no longer just the Luna of Blackwood Pack. I was Evelyn, the priestess welcomed back by the Moon Temple.
