When The Moon Hides Her Crown (Seraphina) by Pooja novel Chapter 236

**Chapter 236: The Proposal**

**SERAPHINA**

He held up a stack of papers, the crisp edges glinting under the dim light of the Grand Hall. “These documents bear your mother’s signature,” he declared, his voice dripping with a condescending tone. “They are an agreement to your marriage with the King. Your father has already cast you aside. You stand here now, a powerless woman teetering on the brink of her own destruction. Yet, in a rare moment of mercy, the Council offers you one final opportunity to reclaim your life by becoming the King’s Luna. His bride. You should be grateful—”

“Grateful for something I never wanted?” I interrupted, my voice slicing through his condescending speech like a sharp knife. “That might have been an arrangement my mother agreed to, but she is gone now. I refuse to be a pawn in her game! I was just a child back then—no, I was probably an infant—kept in the shadows of this twisted legacy for far too long!”

Before I could elaborate further, one of the wolves yanked the chain around my neck with a brutal force, sending a jolt of pain radiating through my body. The silver burned like fire against my skin, igniting my pride along with it, yet I stood firm, refusing to show weakness.

“Then what is your plan?” Elder Milton’s voice boomed through the Grand Hall, his composure cracking under the weight of his own arrogance. “Do you truly believe you can ascend to the Supreme Alpha throne without a marriage?” He leaned closer, his eyes ablaze with fury. “You need to awaken from this fantasy of yours. The day a woman rules, that day will never come to pass in this realm’s history.”

His words struck deep, cutting through the air like a whip.

“Look around you,” he spat, gesturing wildly at the assembly. “From the Alpha instructors to the Council members, every single one of them is a man. No one will ever bow to a female leader. No one will ever submit to you. But…” he paused, letting the silence stretch, his tone shifting to something deceptively smooth. “Everyone will submit to you when you sit beside the Alpha King. That is the crucial difference you are too blind to recognize.”

He let out a slow, patronizing sigh that seemed to echo in the stillness. “This is your last chance to reconsider your circumstances. You could restore your honor, reclaim your reputation. Even your father, who turned his back on you, would have no choice but to bow before you. The entire realm would kneel at your feet. You would be Queen. The Luna Queen. A figure no one would dare to defy.”

He raised the papers once more, his voice taking on a sweet, enticing tone. “Just sign these documents, agree to what your mother arranged, and everything you have ever lost will return to you.”

His alluring words reverberated through the hall, every eye fixed on me as I stared at the documents in his grasp, the supposed resolution to all my troubles.

“So, what do you say?” Milton pressed, impatience creeping into his voice. “Sign your name on this document, which was sealed by the Alpha King himself twenty years ago, and all charges against you will be dismissed. By signing, you acknowledge your mistakes, withdraw from the Academy, and accept the King’s proposal. Just one signature, and your life will change forever.”

The hall fell into a stifling silence, thick with tension.

I stared at the papers trembling in his hand, the silver chain biting into my neck, the heat still radiating from my skin. The offer hung in the air like a treacherous fruit, glistening with the allure of promise yet laced with poison.

Elder Milton’s patience frayed. “Don’t overthink it. Sign them, and we’ll head to the King’s palace.”

“May I see the papers?” I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

“Now there are no documents signed by your King tying me to him in marriage, and no proposal left for me to accept,” I interjected sharply, lifting my chin defiantly. My gaze remained locked on Elder Milton’s, unwavering. “Label it rebellion or crime if you wish, but I, Seraphina, defy every rule you’ve established against the women of this realm and every decision this Council has made for me. I was a student in this Academy, and I emerged victorious in the last trial for the Supreme Alpha throne. I am prepared to fight to the death for that right, but I will never submit… not even if the Alpha King himself comes—”

“Really?”

The single word sliced through the air like a blade, freezing me in my tracks. The entire hall fell silent, every gaze snapping toward the source of the voice. Elder Milton’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock just as an overwhelming aura of dominance flooded the room like a tempest. One by one, the wolves around me sank to their knees, followed by the Council members, and even Alpha Gideon himself.

The atmosphere grew suffocating, thick with a power so potent it pressed down on my very bones.

Then, a warm breath brushed against my ear, the voice low, dark, and unmistakable—

“Then it’s a good thing I came myself, Seraphina…”

My heart plummeted. A chill swept through my entire being.

The Alpha King had arrived.