The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203 An Audience with King Ryken

Cindy’s POV:

The bells of Royal Court had only just begun to toll that morning.

By custom, now that Astra had returned and returned as the sole legitimate heir of the Silverpeak Pack, he was required to enter the palace and formally present himself before King Ryken and Queen Elizabeth.

This was more than courtesy. It was a declaration. A declaration that the Silverpeak Pack had not been extinguished, and that anyone coveting its title or lands could abandon such hopes.

I rose early and went to Astra’s room.

He was already awake, sitting on the bed in a daze. His silver-gray eyes were fixed on the morning light filtering through the window, distant and unfocused. When he heard me enter, he turned his head at once. For a fleeting moment, instinctive wariness surfaced in his gaze, sharp and alert. Then, when he recognized me, it softened immediately.

“Good morning, Astra,” I said, smiling as I walked over.

Jewel followed behind me, her arms filled with several sets of newly made clothes that had been rushed through the night.

“Astra, look,” Jewel said eagerly, unfolding a robe of purple and gold brocade. “This is top-grade cloud silk, with the finest embroidery. You’ll look magnificent in it.”

Astra studied the ornate garment, his fingers brushing the smooth fabric. But he didn’t take it. Instead, he shook his head.

He pointed toward the corner of the room, where a sandalwood chest had been polished to a gleam.

Inside were a few old clothes from his childhood.

They were the ones I had salvaged from the ruins years ago, deliberately spared from the flames as keepsakes for the funeral rites.

“You want to wear the old clothes?” I asked, surprised. “But they’re too small now.”

Astra nodded firmly.

He gestured with effort, trying to explain. They smelled like home.

I understood.

The new clothes were fine, but to him, they were unfamiliar. Those old garments, even if they carried only the faintest trace of the past, gave him a sense of safety in this vast and hollow Royal Court.

“Alright. As you wish.”

I opened the chest and took out a dark purple, belted robe.

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Chapter 203 An Audience with King Ryken

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It was the one his mother had sewn for him herself shortly before he disappeared, for his fifth birthday. The stitches were neat and careful, and at the collar was embroidered the sigil of the Silverpeak Pack, a

crescent moon.

When he put it on, it was clearly too small.

The sleeves fell well short, exposing his thin wrists. The trouser legs hovered above his ankles, leaving his deformed right leg fully visible.

Yet he stood before the mirror and straightened his back with deliberate effort.

Jewel wiped at her eyes, unable to hold back her tears. She stepped forward as if to help adjust the clothes, but I stopped her.

I went to him myself and fastened the belt around his waist.

“You look wonderful,” I said softly.

And he did. Even with clothes that no longer fit, even with a body worn thin, that bearing of alpha nobility was etched into his bones. Beggar’s rags and years of degradation had never erased it.

I looked at the faint scars on his face and gently brushed a finger over them.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “Rupert says they’ll fade.”

Astra shook his head, unconcerned. He raised his hand and touched my cheek, a quiet gesture of reliance.

“Letting him wear this is the right choice,” Diana’s voice sounded in my mind, tinged with approval. “This robe carries the scent of the Silverpeak Pack. It’s faint, almost imperceptible, but to the sharp-nosed elders in the palace, it’s the best proof there is. He’s telling everyone I am the child of the Silverpeak Pack who crawled back from hell, carrying the honor of my entire clan.”

Once everything was settled, we headed out to the carriage.

Tom was already waiting at the gate, acting as driver.

When he saw Astra emerge in that visibly short, old robe, limping forward step by step, the stern, reserved steward turned away and scrubbed his face hard with his sleeve.

“Tom, let’s go,” I said, helping Astra into the carriage.

The carriage set off slowly, its wheels rolling over the stone road.

Inside, Astra was tense.

His hands clutched the fabric over his knees, his knuckles pale.

The palace, saturated with the pheromones of top-tier Alphas and steeped in power struggles, was an immense pressure field for him in his current state.

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