The King Who Could Not Sleep

The storm arrived shortly after midnight.

Rain lashed violently against the palace windows while thunder rolled across the kingdom like the growl of an angry beast.

Blackthorn Palace slept uneasily beneath the darkness.

But inside the royal chambers, no one slept.

Especially not Kael Draven.

The Alpha King stood beside the enormous window overlooking the kingdom.

His broad shoulders were tense.

His hands were clasped tightly behind his back.

And his silver eyes remained fixed on the sleeping girl lying several feet away.

Selene.

His mate.

The word still felt strange.

Unfamiliar.

Dangerous.

For years Kael had convinced himself he would never find another mate.

Never want one.

Never need one.

He had buried that part of himself long ago.

Buried it alongside grief.

Alongside regret.

Alongside memories he refused to revisit.

Yet somehow, in the middle of a crowded ballroom, fate had placed Selene directly in his path.

A servant.

A rejected noble daughter.

The cursed child everyone feared.

His mate.

The irony was almost laughable.

The Moon Goddess had a cruel sense of humor.

A soft groan pulled him from his thoughts.

Kael immediately turned.

Selene was restless.

Sweat covered her forehead despite the cool temperature of the room.

Her breathing remained uneven.

Painful.

Even in sleep, she looked exhausted.

Broken.

As though life had spent years testing how much suffering one person could endure.

Something about that realization unsettled him.

The physician's words echoed through his mind.

"The power inside her isn't wolf magic."

Kael hated mysteries.

And tonight had created too many of them.

The prophecy.

The awakening power.

The strange reaction of the shadows.

None of it made sense.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

Three sharp knocks.

Kael's expression hardened instantly.

"Enter."

The doors opened.

A tall man stepped inside.

Commander Rowan Blackwood.

Captain of the Royal Guard.

Kael's closest friend.

Perhaps the only person in the kingdom who spoke to him without fear.

Rowan's sharp green eyes immediately landed on Selene.

"So the rumors are true."

Kael sighed.

"The entire palace knows already?"

"Half the kingdom probably knows already."

Rowan folded his arms.

"You claimed a maid in front of five hundred nobles."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Not exactly subtle."

Kael ignored the comment.

"What did you find?"

The amusement vanished from Rowan's face immediately.

His expression became serious.

Dangerously serious.

"We have a problem."

Kael already disliked the sound of that.

Rowan approached the desk and placed several documents on its surface.

"The nobles are furious."

"No surprise there."

"The Western Alpha Clan is demanding an emergency council meeting."

Kael's eyes darkened.

"Vanessa."

"Most likely."

Rowan nodded.

"They're already spreading stories that the mate bond has affected your judgment."

A dangerous silence filled the room.

Kael wasn't surprised.

The nobles had spent years trying to influence him through marriage.

Now all those plans had collapsed overnight.

Because of Selene.

Rowan glanced toward the sleeping girl.

"You realize this won't stop."

"I know."

"They'll attack her."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"I know."

"Some may even try to kill her."

The room suddenly became very cold.

Rowan recognized that look immediately.

The king's murderous look.

The one usually seen moments before executions.

"Then they'll die," Kael said quietly.

And he meant it.

Every word.

Rowan studied him carefully.

For the first time all night, concern appeared in his eyes.

Not for Selene.

For Kael.

"You're already attached."

Kael's gaze snapped toward him.

"No."

"You are."

"No."

Rowan laughed softly.

"You carried her through the palace yourself."

Silence.

"You put her in your chambers."

More silence.

"You threatened half the kingdom for her."

Kael looked away.

Which was answer enough.

The captain shook his head.

"The mighty Alpha King is in trouble."

"I'm not."

"You are."

Kael didn't bother arguing.

Because deep down...

He wasn't entirely sure.

Several hours later.

Selene woke up screaming.

The nightmare felt real.

Too real.

She sat upright suddenly, gasping for breath.

Darkness surrounded her.

For one terrifying moment she didn't know where she was.

Then memories crashed into her.

The ballroom.

The king.

The mate bond.

The strange power.

Her chest tightened immediately.

It wasn't a dream.

It had all happened.

Every terrible second.

A small sound escaped her lips.

Half panic.

Half despair.

What was she supposed to do now?

A servant becoming Luna?

The idea was ridiculous.

Impossible.

People already hated her.

The kingdom would never accept her.

A lump formed painfully in her throat.

For years she had learned how to survive by staying invisible.

Now she was the most visible person in the kingdom.

The thought terrified her.

"You're awake."

The deep voice nearly made her jump.

Selene turned sharply.

Kael was sitting nearby.

Watching her.

The fireplace illuminated his features with warm golden light.

Without the royal court surrounding him...

Without the crown...

Without the terrifying Alpha aura...

He looked strangely human.

The realization surprised her.

Kael stood slowly.

"How do you feel?"

Selene hesitated.

Nobody had asked her that question in years.

Not genuinely.

"Confused."

A faint smile almost appeared on his face.

Almost.

"Understandable."

Silence settled between them.

Awkward.

Heavy.

Selene lowered her eyes.

She couldn't look at him for too long.

The bond made it difficult.

Dangerously difficult.

Every time their eyes met, she felt things she didn't understand.

Things she wasn't ready to feel.

Finally, she whispered the question haunting her mind.

"Why me?"

Kael stilled.

The vulnerability in her voice caught him off guard.

"Why me?" she repeated.

Tears threatened to form.

"I don't understand."

Her voice cracked slightly.

"Everyone hates me."

Kael's chest tightened unexpectedly.

Selene continued before she could stop herself.

"My family abandoned me."

Her fingers clenched around the blanket.

"My own father called me a curse."

Pain flashed across her face.

"I spent years trying to disappear."

The room grew silent.

Painfully silent.

Because neither of them could ignore the sadness in her voice.

The loneliness.

The damage.

Selene laughed softly.

A broken laugh.

"And then suddenly the most powerful man in the kingdom tells everyone I'm his mate."

Her eyes finally met his.

Raw emotion filled them.

Fear.

Confusion.

Heartbreak.

"Why?"

The question hit Kael harder than expected.

Because he didn't have an easy answer.

Not one she would understand.

The truth was simple.

When he saw her...

Something inside him recognized home.

Not beauty.

Not status.

Not power.

Home.

And after years of emptiness...

That feeling terrified him too.

Kael moved closer.

Not enough to frighten her.

Just enough.

His voice became quieter.

Gentler.

"Do you know what I saw when I looked at you in that ballroom?"

Selene slowly shook her head.

Kael held her gaze.

"I saw a woman who survived."

The words stunned her.

"You were surrounded by people trying to humiliate you."

His eyes darkened.

"And you still stood."

Selene stared at him silently.

Nobody had ever described her that way before.

Never.

"You call yourself broken."

Kael's voice remained calm.

"But broken people don't survive what you've survived."

Something inside Selene cracked.

A wall.

One she'd spent years building.

Her eyes burned suddenly.

Dangerous tears gathering.

Kael noticed immediately.

So did she.

Embarrassed, she looked away quickly.

But a single tear escaped anyway.

Rolling silently down her cheek.

For a moment neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Then slowly...

Very slowly...

Kael reached out.

And wiped the tear away.

The gesture was simple.

Gentle.

Yet it shattered something inside her completely.

Because no one had ever cared enough to do that before.

Not once.

Outside, thunder rumbled across the sky.

Inside the room, neither noticed.

Neither realized that far beyond the kingdom's borders, dark forces had already begun moving.

Nor did they know that hidden within Blackthorn Palace itself...

Someone was listening.

Someone who had waited eighteen years for Selene Vale to awaken.

Someone who smiled from the shadows.

And whispered only three words.

"She has returned."