- 1 day ago
21 Days to Moonsever
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Every unmated young wolf in the Southern Pax Union wanted a taste of my nectar.
00:04At sixteen, I tricked my father's battle brother into taking his first sip.
00:09That night, he drank every last drop from me. By dawn, Silvermoon City exploded.
00:14His childhood sweetheart fled with tears. I moved into the most lavish estate in Silvermoon,
00:20became the wife of the North Legion's rising star, the woman every she-wolf envied.
00:25Every night, the entire manor reeked of rose nectar and pine.
00:29Tangled so thick that passing pack members didn't dare come near.
00:33Each time he rode north with the Legion, I counted the days until his return.
00:38Until this time, he returned from the Northern border as a hero.
00:41Brought back his childhood sweetheart and her two-year-old pub, Amber Eyes.
00:46His Amber Eyes, he moved them into our house.
00:49Taught the pup to call him Daddy. I didn't rage, didn't cry.
00:53I simply handed over the keys to our estate, the rights to the family properties.
00:57My place is Ironclaw's matriarch. He thought I'd finally learned to be docile.
01:02That I'd accepted my place as the unloved wife. What he doesn't know.
01:06While he was busy playing house with his sweetheart and their pup, I was on my knees before the Alpha
01:11King.
01:11Child, you once knelt here begging the Moonbloom's blessing for your mating bond.
01:16Do you understand what price must be paid to strever what the Moon Goddess has granted?
01:20Yes. To earn your consent, I will go to the Frostlands in the Prince's place.
01:25Bring me the Severance Oskrolt with his signature and yours.
01:29The next full moon after you deliver it, the Moon Goddess will answer your prayer.
01:34My remaining years traded for freedom. The countdown begins.
01:3821 days. That is all I have left. 21 days until the Goddess severs our bond.
01:4321 days until I leave this cage and ride north. Not as a discarded wife, but as a bride to
01:49the Lord of the Frost.
01:50He wanted a docile wife. Never would he get one. He'll only watch me become a legendary queen.
01:5621 days until the Moonsevering Rite.
01:59Kale returned from the Royal Palace and went straight to Seraphine's bed in the East Wing.
02:03I heard them. The night was still and my hearing had been trained sharp.
02:08Her moans, his growls, they coupled from Moonrise to Moonset.
02:12They had many such nights.
02:13Once whenever Kale returned to Silvermoon from the border.
02:17Lyra do not disturb me. Be a good wife. Be decile.
02:20I would bend every effort to please him, but all I earned was refusal and correction.
02:25Now I finally understood Dossiel was for the unloved. The loved received companionship.
02:30So I learned docility. Even when my handmaid in Meera rushed to report.
02:35Mistress. Today Kale went to the palace. He's petitioning the Alpha King for a formal title.
02:39For Seraphine. Let him.
02:41He failed.
02:42Of course. That evening, Seraphine wept in his arms, sorrowful and trembling.
02:47He would continue to fail. The Alpha King regarded me as his own daughter,
02:52so he would never consent to Kale's request. Not when it humiliated me.
02:56Then, as expected, Kale came seeking my help.
02:59Lyra.
03:00Your petition? The King refused.
03:02I will ask again. With military honors with-
03:05I drew a scroll from beneath my pillow and pressed it into his palm.
03:09Give her the title.
03:10My signature marked it. The Royal Seal marked it.
03:13Formally acknowledge her. Let her enter the halls. Attend pack gatherings. Gain standing in society.
03:19A female raising a bastard cut alone in Silvermoon? Survival is too harsh.
03:25Kale's expression faltered at my indifference. Your military honors were bought with years of
03:30blood on the northern border. Do not waste them on household issues.
03:33How did you convince the King?
03:35The King regards me as his daughter. I asked as a daughter, and he granted it.
03:39Of course the truth was simpler. I had offered to sever our mating and take the princess's place
03:44as bride to the Lord of the Frost. That was my price. Now only his signature stood between us and
03:50freedom. Sel's eyes trembled. Moved by my reasonableness. He stepped forward. Seeking to kiss me,
03:57I pushed him away. From my drawer, I withdrew the prepared family property inventory.
04:02Your signature is required to formally transfer management to Seraphine. Eager to please Seraphine,
04:08he signed and sealed without hesitation. Never noticing that buried in the stack of documents
04:13lay the mating bond dissolution agreement. I had hidden from him. Ansi signed. Once it was delivered
04:19to the moon bloom altar. On the next full moon when the moon goddess's consent arrived, he and I would
04:24be north and south never to meet again. Twenty days until the moon severing right. I secured Kale's signed
04:30documents and went to the palace. The Luna Queen received me very soon. With this severance scroll,
04:36the alpha king can arrange the moon severing right for the next full moon in twenty days. You- The
04:41Luna Queen hesitated. Lyra, there is something I think you should know. The moon bloom priests
04:48discovered large quantities of frost moon grass toxin in the calming tea samples you sent last month.
04:53This poison is extracted from the northern wastelands, colorless and tasteless, extremely cold in nature.
04:58If a she-wolf consumes it long term, she will be barren for life.
05:03The words fell softly. My mind went white. Frost moon grass toxin, a forbidden substance only the
05:10North Legion could access. In that calming tea, Kale had prepared it himself after every border return.
05:16I had drunk it for three full years. Thirty-six moon cycles. How many tears had I shed? Believing myself
05:23barren, unable to give Kale an heir, unable to make him a father. Yet Kale had said it mattered not,
05:30when elders urged him to seek other females for bloodline continuation. I will only raise young
05:35with the one I love, and I will touch no other she-wolves. I had wept at his devotion believing
05:41I was that love. Now I saw myself the complete fool. The one he wished to raise young with was
05:47not me.
05:47I was of the other she-wolves. Tears finally spilled. Unstoppable. So this was his sworn devotion.
05:54This was the mate I had loved for three years. I rushed back to the estate, desperate to confront him.
06:00The sitting room was empty. The study was empty. Then they must be in the east wing. The east wing
06:05maids could not stop my fury. I burst through the door. Seraphine's musk scent engulfed me,
06:10but the room was empty. The master accompanies Madame Seraphine on inspection of family holdings.
06:16Rage seized me. I grabbed every document on her desk to tear them apart. Then I saw it.
06:22My moon, my blood, my only. Counting the days until I need not share your shadow.
06:26Every word burned with the heat of faded mates. From sale to seraphine. From number one,
06:32the first day I miss you, to number 523. My heart flies to thee. Three years of marriage.
06:39523 letters. Messengers could scarcely have rested, delivering daily. Every day they
06:45corresponded in secret. Even on nights I believed he belonged only to me. Only raise young with the one
06:51I love. I whispered his words and I knew. This love he had performed for three years. All of it
06:57illusion.
06:58Fortunately, the moon bloom tree would sever our bond in 20 days. And Kale's formal acknowledgement
07:04ceremony for seraphine. That same day. 10 days until the moon severing right. Kale's return to silver
07:10moon grew later and later. Mira told me he spent these days taking seraphine everywhere. Pack gatherings
07:17from the alpha king's moon hunt ceremonies to the seven clans rotating blood oath banquets.
07:22Even the border military councils. Restricted to North Legion officers and silver moon officials.
07:28Sale found ways to seat seraphine among the observers. I knew what he was doing. Fastest way to
07:34establish her as future matriarch of Ironclaw. Every step climbed over my spine. But I did not care.
07:40I continued performing my duties as Ironclaw's current matriarch. Including visiting Kale's grandmother
07:46at her estate. The moment I entered, I saw seraphine kneeling beside the old woman's lounge chair.
07:52Hands folded, the picture of obedience. Kale stood behind her, palm resting on her shoulder. Fingers
07:58buried in her loose red hair. The grandmother's clouded amber eyes sharpened at my presence.
08:04You still have the face to come here? Three years mated to Kale and your belly remains empty.
08:10You wouldn't even let him seek other she-wolves to continue the bloodline. If not for seraphine's
08:17sensibility, offering to enter the house and bear Ironcloth's heir, Kale's line would have ended
08:23with you, this useless barren she-wolf. My posture froze. I looked at Kale. He only turned away,
08:30his gaze fixed on the dancing flames in the hearth. Not once did he speak to me. This was not
08:35the first
08:35time his grandmother had tormented me over the topic of bearing Young. But it was the first time
08:40he had not stood by my side. I remained silent for a long moment. Then, empty of grief or rage,
08:46it is my failing. There, there, grandmother, don't be angry. Even if sister Lyra cannot bear Young,
08:52you should calm yourself. For Kale's sake. And for your own health's sake.
09:00I lowered my eyes, hiding bitterness, and seated myself farthest from them. Soon,
09:05maids served grilled meat, the traditional morning meal of wolf nobility. I reached with
09:10silver fork for a cut of tenderloin when Kale's furious voice cracked like a whip.
09:14Who prepared silver berry sauce? 20 strips, now! I looked at Kale instinctively. Three years mated,
09:20and Kale was famous for one thing. At a moon hunt banquet, he had publicly smashed his plate,
09:26removing every dish containing silver berries. Because I was allergic, the berries swelled my
09:32throat, stripped my human form, left me vulnerable in half-wolf shape before the pack. For this,
09:37Kale became the perfect mate in every she-wolf's eyes. See how Ironclaw's master loves his wife,
09:43the trouble he takes for her. I opened my mouth to plead for the maids when I heard. Remember this
09:48well, Serafina cannot consume anything related to silver berries. If I see you forget again,
09:53I'll throw you into the northern mines to feed the snow wolves. Every fragment of my pride. So,
09:59this rare proof that he cared for me, also an illusion. Five days until the moon severing rite,
10:07the Luna Queen invited females of all clans to the Moonbloom Garden for pre-ceremony blessings.
10:12Sale had prepared the carriage early. The Ironclaw crest, Iron Wolf on cold silver,
10:17gleamed through morning mist. I reached for his hands instinctively, but he stepped back.
10:22The carriage is crowded. Inconvenient. I froze.
10:25Lyra, it truly is cramped. You'll have to take the rear carriage, I'm afraid. I laughed quietly,
10:31understanding. Inconvenient. Not the space, me. I would crowd his true love. I climbed the rear carriage
10:37alone. When I got off the rear carriage, I came to the cluster of weighing looks from clan females.
10:43Pity, mockery, rare sparks of sympathy. Serafina proudly made her formal debut before the Luna Queen.
10:49It went poorly, the Luna Queen's face iced, she demanded Kale. I am the Luna Queen appointed by
10:54the Moongoss' own oracle to wed the Alpha King. I invited clan dignitaries and their goddess-blessed
11:00mates. You dare to bring a paranormal today? Do you mean to strike my face?
11:08Kale dragged the trembling Seraphine down, not a curtsy, but the forelimb submission posture of
11:14wolves showing fealty. Your grace, Seraphine is my mate. We love truly, she is no Parazor.
11:21The Luna Queen laughed coldly, fangs glinting. Unblessed by the moon, she is no mate. Ask those gathered,
11:28who sense bond marks between you. Forget not. You stood beneath the moon bloom tree and swore to Lyra.
11:36This one before you is unbonded. She can only be the Paraman. Females of all houses spoke.
11:42The Queen speaks truth. What love, what truth, what love. Without a mating reach, she is outsider.
11:51Indeed, Kale was called the model of fated devotion. I see now all falsehood.
11:56Kale's face flushed crimson. He fled with Seraphine, disgraced. After the ceremony,
12:02the Luna Queen showered me with gifts, moonstone charms, silverberry preserves,
12:07northern furs for warmth, comfort, perhaps, or pity. The morning after our return to Ironclaw state,
12:12Mira fumed at me. Seraphine's people seized half the Queen's gifts. Best she ate it all,
12:18silverberries included. Let her be allergic, swell, and suffer. I watched Mira's indignation and gently
12:24patted her hand. She is not worth the charge of attempted murder. I went to the East Wing to fulfill
12:29my obligation of notice. My hand rose to knock. Then I heard Seraphine's weeping voice within.
12:35Kale, you swore to take me as true mate beneath the moonbloom tree. Why must I remain nameless,
12:43unacknowledged? Kale sighed, that tone I had never heard from him, soft as melting snow.
12:48Whatever outsiders say, within Ironclone you are my mate. Always. Seraphine pressed on. Then Lyra?
12:56Three years mated? Did you ever love her? I held my breath. Nails bit crescents into my palm,
13:03drawing blood. Kale was silent. Seraphine, I love you. Only you. Years ago I arranged Liba's
13:11drunkenness and my mating with her to establish myself in Silvermoon. To bring you both here. Do not be
13:17angry. I drugged her for our future. Without that knight, how would I have caught the king's eye?
13:23Become North Legion commander in three short years? My raised hand fell limp. The wolf tooth bracelet
13:30on my wrist struck the door ring. A sharp cry. Who is outside? Kale threw the door open,
13:37met my burning eyes. L-Lyra? I forced a hideous smile. The queen's gifts Seraphine took included
13:44silver berries. I came to warn her not to consume them. Sel reached for my hand, blocking my departure.
13:50Lyra, listen to me. A pained wail cut him short from within. A maid's voice rose.
13:55Master! Madam Seraphine feels unwell. Please attend her. His hand withdrew. I turned and left without
14:02looking back. One more second and I would have lost control. The wine would have escaped. My half-wolf
14:08foe would have shown my shame. I bit down until blood filled my mouth. Eyes crimson, even walking away.
14:14I felt Kale's panic. Burning gaze on my spine. Kale, you disgust me. To the core. All these years
14:20I blamed myself for that impulsive knight. Believed I had forced you into marriage. Now I learned I was
14:26your ladder to power. Your tool to claim Alpha King's attention. Your key to unlock my late father's
14:31Northern Legion connections. Three years of marriage I had cherished. Every moment, deception. Three days
14:38until the moon-severing rite. Late that night, a drunken Kale pushed open my door. I sat up,
14:43pulling the quilt to cover my thin nightgown. Who permitted you entry? Kale pressed me down into
14:49the bedding. His face buried in my neck. His voice rough with irritation. You are my mate. Blessed
14:55beneath the moon bloom tree. We are fated pair. Why may I not come? He tried to kiss my jaw.
15:02I turned away,
15:02calling loudly for me. Mita! He is drunk. Arrange for him to be escorted to his own chamber. Kale braced
15:08himself on one arm. The other forcing me to face him. I saw the flush drain from his face. Who
15:14says I
15:14wish to return to that chamber? Then deliver the master to Seraphina's east wing. Sale flung himself from
15:20the bed, standing to glare at me in fury. Lyra, have you lost your mind? You would send me to
15:27another she-wolf's quarter? Do you even regard me as mate? I pulled at the corner of my mouth.
15:33Do you ever regard me as mate? Lyra, I know granting Seraphina title displeases you.
15:38I only- I only wish to give you a young. Give me a young? So Seraphine is avatar of
15:46the fertility
15:46goddess? Thanks to her blessing, I who never conceived may now bear fruit? Or perhaps she
15:52is a miracle healer, able to purge three years of frost moon grass toxin from my blood? The
15:57drugging laid bare in mockery. Kale froze, reaching as if to grasp me. Lyra, I- Master! Madam Seraphine
16:04feels unwell. Please attend her. A maid's voice cut through from beyond the door. Sale loosened his
16:10hand, standing silent. Go. I lowered the bed curtains, separating myself from him. Sale did not
16:17move. He only watched me for a long while. The voice outside continued. Master! Master! Sale finally
16:23turned, as he left. Do not dwell on it. I will still treat you well. Liars speak devotion so easily,
16:30performing depth for whom to witness. Disgusting. The following days, I had Mira inventory all my
16:36personal property. I would take nothing belonging to Ironclaw. Leave nothing of myself behind.
16:42If we do, Munister, we sever it clean. Three hours until the moon severing right. The estate was hung
16:48with silver, white silk, and moon bloom branches. Decorations reserved for true mating ceremonies.
16:54Seraphine had insisted. Seal had granted it. Mira entered, interrupting my gaze through the window.
16:59Madam, all your personal assets have been inventorated and packed. She helped me remove the Ironclaw
17:05crested cloak before the mirror, dressing me in gowns from my maiden days. Beautiful. You look as
17:11you did then. The door opened. Sale stood in mating rights attire, a groom's finery. Yet his face
17:17carried something like sorrow. Soon I go to swear with Seraphine beneath the moon bloom tree. Have you
17:24nothing to say to me? May your bond hold firm. May you bear many young. Kale's eyes dimmed after silence.
17:32Rest assured, I will still treat you well. I said nothing. Rose pushed past him toward the door.
17:38Kale, I never wanted your charity, especially not built on lies. Three hours until Alpha King's envoy
17:44arrives. The incense of the moon bloom herb filled the estate to purification for ritual space.
17:51One hour until the moon severing right. I stood in the main hall. Pity, mockery, schadenfreude. I
17:57smiled at them all. Thirty minutes until the moon severing right. Kale took Seraphine's hand. The pair
18:03advanced toward the temporary altar in the estate gardens, surrounded by guests. He paused passing me,
18:10eyes holding something I did not understand, would not understand. I only watched coldly as the pair
18:16prepared their vows. Swear to the moon goddess. Swear to the pack. Swear to decree from the Alpha
18:22King. Silver armored guards burst through, escorting moon bloom priest Eldrin in moon white ritual robes.
18:30Moon bloom priest Eldrin spoke calmly. I trust my arrival does not interrupt your celebration?
18:39Priest you jest. What business brings the Alpha King's decree? Today is Kale's joyous occasion. The king
18:48surely brings honors. Obvious is it not? The king himself approved this second mate. He comes to add
18:55blessing. Ah, but if so, Lady Lyra will be thoroughly shamed. First the king's approval for Seraphine,
19:02now wedding day honors. She'll have no standing left in Silvermoon nobility. Shh. Lyra might hear.
19:08I felt their pity, mocking eyes. My face remained serene. I stepped before Eldrin,
19:13kneeling to receive the decree, then was roughly pulled aside. Kale's grandmother surged forward,
19:18fawning smile for Eldrin, venomous glare for me. Move aside. This must be the king's blessing for Kale
19:25and Seraphine. Do not disgrace us here. Her whisper carried. Kale's face darkened. He reached for me. I evaded.
19:31Grandmother Lyra is my first mate. How could she disgrace us? Such words shame me. Whatever comes,
19:36Lyra remains Ironclaw's first lady. Shock rippled through the hall. Especially Seraphine.
19:42What do you mean? You said I was the mate you wanted. Lyra was only a convenience.
19:47Guests beyond heard clearly. What I misheard. Kale never loved Lady Lyra. Only the parasite. This is
19:54ridiculous. Seraphine flung her bouquet to the floor. Lyra, hear me well.
20:00Kale never loved you. Never. He married you from necessity. Even your mating night,
20:05he spent it writing to me. Silence!
20:11Lyra, listen. I can explain. She is mad. Her words are false. I love you. I truly love you. I
20:17looked at
20:18his face and felt only irony. Three years married. Three years I loved him truly. In return, 523 nights of
20:25secret letters. Poison in my tea made barren before his grandmother's contempt. Now I woke. Now I chose not
20:33to love. Yet he spoke of love. Eh. I laughed. Ironic. Absolute belated devotion. How cheap. I smoothed my
20:40disheveled hair. Knelt slow and certain before Eldrin. Priest. Read the decree. Eldrin nodded,
20:47opening the moonstone casket, withdrawing the gold-sealed scroll. All knelt to hear. Only Kale
20:52remained frozen, standing. Some foreboding gripped him. As though something precious would slip away.
20:58Kale's voice cut through. All turned to stare-shock confusion. His grandmother seized his ritual
21:05garment, whispering urgently. Whatever it is, wait until the priest finishes. Kale opened his mouth,
21:11met Eldrin's displeased gaze. Kale, you repeatedly interrupt Alpha King's decree. Do you question the
21:18king's proxy of the moon goddess's will? The threat woke him. He knelt silent. Eldrin
21:23cleared his throat, unrolled the gold-sealed scroll. By the moon goddess's name, the Alpha King decrees.
21:29The king's ward Lyra Silverstone and Kale Ironclex Moonbloom Blessed Bond is formally severed at the
21:34consent of the moon goddess. Henceforth, each may wed where they will.
21:40So ends the decree. Eldrin's voice fell. Kale and his grandmother cried out together.
21:46Priest, have you misread? How could the king permit Lyra to sever our moon bonding?
21:52This must be error. His grandmother followed. Lyra is Kale's mate, blessed beneath the moonbloom
21:57tree. How can severance be so casual? Eldrin ignored them. Congratulations, Miss Lyra.
22:02You may return home today. I received the gold-sealed scroll with both hands, my truest smile in
22:09days. Priest Eldrin, my thanks. Eldrin sighed, his gaze fond. No need. I watched you grow from cub,
22:17child. The king grieves for you too. Then all remembered who I was.
22:22Veyond Kale Ironclaw's first mate, I was Silverstone's daughter, only child of the late North
22:28Legion commander. When my parents fell, the Alpha King and Luna Queen raised me among their own.
22:34Before marriage, few noble females, but the princesses in Silvermoon ranked above me,
22:39married to Kale. His careful construction made my first attribute Kale Ironclaw's wife,
22:44erasing my old fame as the pearl of Silvermoon. Eldrin departed soon after, the festive estate fell
22:50silent. Guests exchanged glances, then withdrew as one. The royal carriage arrived,
22:55with twenty moon guards to transport my belongings. As I left, Kale seized my sleeve.
23:03Lyra, did you petition the king for this severance?
Comments