FORBIDDEN LOVE: IN LOVE WITH THE VAMPIRE KING

Heart racing, breath quick, I clutched the bouquet of fresh roses against my chest and half-ran, half-walked toward his house. Petals trembled with every step. So did I.

This visit was meant to be a surprise. A perfect one. I wanted him to melt the second he saw me standing there with flowers in my hands, proof of how much I'd missed him.

Three weeks. Three weeks caring for my ailing grandmother in a town two hours north, falling asleep to the sound of her ragged breathing instead of Kieran's voice on the phone. Now I was home, and every mile between his house and mine felt like an insult.

In two days I would turn eighteen. Two days, and my mate scent would finally bloom in full, sealing our bond for the whole pack to sense. I was deeply, stupidly in love with him. Kieran had always been gentle. Devoted. He'd kept his distance from every other girl at school just to prove I was the only one who mattered — or so I'd believed with my whole chest.

The day he turned eighteen, his scent had hit me like a wave, rich and intoxicating, confirmation straight from the Moon Goddess herself that we belonged together. The pull between us had burned so hot that we'd already shared our first night. He'd been careful with me. Tender. I never once regretted it. The next morning I'd packed a bag for my grandmother's, and now, finally, I was back.

My name is Lyra, of the Silvercrest Pack. My parents held respected positions within our ranks, and their standing had only climbed higher once people learned I was bonded to the Alpha's heir. Someday I'd stand beside Kieran as Luna. The thought used to make me giddy. Tonight it made my hands shake around the roses.

The month apart had been agony. I could still feel the ghost of his hands, still remember the way he smiled against my mouth, still ache thinking about how carefully he'd taken my virginity like it was something sacred. He was perfect. Everyone said so. I was the lucky one — lucky Kieran had chosen plain, quiet Lyra out of every girl in the pack.

Every night at my grandmother's, I'd lain awake replaying our last conversation before I left, the way his voice had gone soft and low over the phone, promising he'd count the days until I came home. I'd counted them too. Every single one, crossed off in the little notebook I kept tucked under my pillow like a lovesick kid.

Tonight, one day after coming home, I was already sneaking off to his place for an unplanned sleepover. Just picturing his face when he opened the door sent heat rushing to my cheeks.

The second he caught my scent, I was sure of it — he'd claim me in front of everyone, march me into school Monday morning as his future Luna. My pulse kicked up just imagining it.

I smiled to myself, pushed my glasses up my nose, and smoothed the deep-red long-sleeved top hugging my figure. Black pants, matching sneakers, hair straightened for once instead of its usual waves. Every step toward his house felt charged, electric, like the whole night was leaning forward to meet me.

At last the private mansion came into view, set apart from the main Alpha residence where his parents lived. I stopped at the edge of the driveway, swallowed hard, and checked my reflection in my phone screen one last time. Soft black hair. Clear skin. Arched brows, long lashes, a delicate nose, full lips. I looked good. Good enough to be his.

The porch light glowed gold against the dark, and for one long second I just stood there, drinking it in — the house, the quiet, the version of tonight I'd been rehearsing in my head for a month straight. Knock softly. Watch his face crack open into that grin only I ever got to see. Fall into his arms before either of us said a word.

My phone buzzed once in my pocket. I ignored it. Nothing mattered right now except getting to that door.

I could already picture it — the surprise flickering across his face, then that slow, helpless grin he never could hold back around me, arms opening before I'd even finished saying his name.

"He's going to lose it when he sees us," Ember, my wolf, whispered, practically vibrating under my skin. She wanted to see our mate as badly as I did.

"Does this outfit work?" I asked her, turning slightly.

"You look stunning. He won't be able to look away," she said, delight coloring every word.

I could feel her pacing under my skin, restless and eager, the way she always got whenever we were close to him. Ember had never doubted Kieran for a second. Neither had I, until tonight. She kept nudging at my thoughts, impatient, urging me to walk faster, like she could already smell him on the wind.

"And the flowers? Too much?"

"He'll love them. They're from you. That's all that matters."

I laughed under my breath and picked up my pace, already craving the warmth of his arms, the pull of his scent wrapping around me like it always did.

Then, as I neared the gate, music slammed through the air — bass thumping hard enough to rattle the fence. I frowned. Kieran hadn't said one word about a party. Not on any of our calls.

Still, curiosity dragged me forward. I slipped through the gate and froze. Cars packed the driveway, bumper to bumper. Something was very clearly happening here, and I hadn't been told.

A wide banner stretched over the front door: HAPPY BIRTHDAY. My stomach lurched. Kieran's actual birthday had come and gone three weeks ago — while I was away.

Maybe his friends just wanted an excuse to use the house, I told myself, grasping at anything that made sense.

I pushed the door open. Froze.

The living room was packed wall to wall. A towering, glittering cake dominated the center of the room, buried under decorations. Music thundered through speakers taller than me. People laughed, drank, smoked, danced. Two couples were making out openly against the wall, tongues and hands everywhere. None of it made sense. Kieran wouldn't throw a party — his own birthday party — without telling me. He wouldn't.

I scanned the crowd, eyes stinging, throat tight. Then a familiar voice spoke behind me.

Finn. Kieran's best friend. Future Beta.

"Lyra? You're back already?" He looked genuinely startled, color draining from his face.

"Where's Kieran?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "Is this his birthday party? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Finn shoved a hand through his messy brown hair, jaw tight, eyes full of something that looked uncomfortably like pity.

"He couldn't celebrate on the actual day. Decided to do it tonight instead."

"And that meant keeping me in the dark?" My voice cracked upward.

"Lyra, just breathe. Let me go find him —"

"No." I planted my feet. "Tell me where my boyfriend — my mate — is. Right now."

The word mate made Finn go rigid. His eyes widened with a confusion I didn't understand.

"Boyfriend... mate?" he repeated slowly, like the words didn't fit together in his mouth.

Before I could push further, a rough voice cut in from my left. A heavily tattooed guy with a thick afro and a lit cigar dangling from his lips looked me up and down like I was a joke he already knew the punchline to.

"Who exactly is her mate supposed to be?" Zane drawled, smoke curling from his mouth.

"Shut it, Zane." Finn's voice snapped like a whip before he turned back to me, quieter now. "Lyra. Can we step outside for a second?"

The way they were both looking at me — like I'd wandered into the wrong house entirely, like I was a stranger instead of the girl who'd bled her heart out for their Alpha's son — made something in my chest go white-hot.

"Lyra, seriously," Finn tried again, softer this time, glancing nervously over his shoulder toward the stairs. "Just — give me two minutes. Let's talk outside where it's not —"

"Where it's not what?" I cut in. "Where it's not everyone staring at me like I'm the punchline of a joke I don't get? Too late for that, Finn."

Zane snorted around his cigar, muttering something to the girl beside him that made her laugh behind her hand. A few feet away, someone else raised their phone, angling it toward me like I was the entertainment.

Kieran was my mate. None of this made

sense. And I was done waiting to find out why.