The Alpha King And His Chosen Luna novel Chapter 104

Isla stayed quiet beside me after that.

Not distant.

Not closed off.

+25 Points

She was thinking, and I could see it in the way her attention moved across Ashcrest now. The territory no longer looked at her the same way, and part of her was still adjusting to what that

meant.

We continued down the main path together.

Royal guards remained stationed across the grounds while Ashcrest wolves moved carefully around them. Two guards stood near the western entrance checking movement between the lower grounds and the pack house while another group rotated near the holding wing

beneath the eastern corridor.

Nobody ignored the guards.

That alone told the pack enough.

Ashcrest no longer belonged to itself.

A few wolves stopped talking when Isla passed them near the training yard. One lowered his head immediately while another stepped aside so fast he nearly walked directly into a water

barrel beside the path.

Isla noticed both reactions.

“They’re nervous,” she said quietly.

“They should be.”

Her eyes shifted toward me briefly before returning forward again.

The farther we walked, the more the territory adjusted around her naturally. Wolves moved out of her path before she reached them. Others straightened the second they realized she was nearby. Even the servants crossing between buildings lowered their heads respectfully now instead of pretending she didn’t exist.

That part held her attention the longest.

What the pack feels now

+25 Points

I noticed it when an older she wolf stepped out of the kitchens carrying folded cloths against her chest. The second she saw Isla, she stopped immediately before lowering her head carefully.

“My Lady,” she said softly.

The woman looked nervous about saying the wrong thing.

Isla slowed slightly.

Not because she expected disrespect.

Because she still wasn’t used to this.

The older wolf waited quietly while Isla looked at her. I recognized her vaguely from the pack house kitchens earlier. Low rank. Quiet. The kind of wolf most people overlooked unless they needed something done.

She looked close to trembling now.

Not from Isla herself.

From uncertainty.

Everyone in Ashcrest understood the territory had changed hands. Nobody knew exactly where they stood anymore.

“You can go,” Isla said gently.

Relief crossed the woman’s face instantly.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

She hurried off after that.

Isla watched her leave before speaking quietly beside me.

“She used to leave extra food near the back kitchens for me sometimes.”

My attention shifted toward her fully.

“She wasn’t supposed to,” Isla continued. “Most nights she waited until no one was watching

first.”

I looked toward the kitchens briefly.

Not every wolf in Ashcrest had participated equally.

<What the pack feels now

I already knew that.

But hearing Isla say it mattered.

“She risked punishment for that,” I said.

“Yes.”

The answer came softly.

We continued walking after that without hurrying.

+25 Points

The afternoon air carried colder now, moving across the grounds while wolves kept their distance carefully around us. I watched Isla take everything in differently than before.

Not like prey anymore.

Like someone trying to understand what standing freely inside a place felt like.

A royal guard approached from the eastern side of the grounds before stopping several feet away. His attention shifted toward Isla first before lowering respectfully.

“My Lady,” he said. “The southern gates have been secured.”

Isla blinked once.

Again that slight pause.

Not weakness.

Adjustment.

“No one enters or leaves Ashcrest now without royal approval,” the guard continued. ” Additional patrols have been placed along the outer borders.”

She looked toward the southern side of the territory instinctively after hearing it.

“Good,” she answered quietly.

The guard nodded once before stepping back immediately.

I watched the moment settle around her afterward.

Not fear.

Not shock.

Realization.

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What the pack feels now

+25 Points

The guards weren’t waiting for my instructions first anymore in moments involving Ashcrest directly. They were recognizing her position beside me naturally now.

And the territory noticed it too.

A pair of Ashcrest warriors standing near the storage hall lowered their heads the second the guard addressed Isla formally. One of them looked uncomfortable enough that he avoided looking in her direction entirely afterward.

Good.

He should’ve been uncomfortable.

“You noticed that,” I said.

Isla glanced toward me slightly. “What?”

“The guards.”

Her gaze moved briefly toward the patrol near the southern path again.

“They ask me things now,” she said quietly.

“Yes.”

Another pause settled between us.

“I still expect someone to correct them for it.”

Nobody would.

That part of her still belonged to the girl trapped in the shack waiting to be told she’d stepped somewhere she shouldn’t have. The territory around us was changing faster than that

instinct inside her could keep up with.

“That won’t happen,” I said calmly.

Her eyes lifted toward mine.

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