Chapter 4: His Rules, My Prison

The first morning as Kael Draven's wife felt strangely ordinary.

That was the problem.

I woke up beside him.

I ate breakfast in the same room as him.

I heard his footsteps outside my bedroom.

I watched servants call me Luna as if the title had always belonged to me.

And somehow, everything felt normal.

Except nothing about my life was normal anymore.

I stared at the silver ring on my finger.

Three years.

I reminded myself.

Three years, and this would all be over.

I would leave the Draven estate.

Return to my own life.

And forget the man sleeping ten feet away from me.

Simple.

At least, that's what I thought.

“Elara.”

I looked up.

Kael stood by the doorway, already dressed.

Black shirt.

Black trousers.

His sleeves were rolled up.

He looked annoyingly effortless.

“What?”

“Breakfast.”

“I can eat later.”

“No.”

I frowned.

“No?”

“You have a meeting.”

“What meeting?”

He walked toward me and placed a folder on the table.

“Your Luna duties.”

I stared at the folder.

“You're giving me homework?”

“I'm giving you responsibilities.”

“I've been your wife for twelve hours.”

“Exactly.”

I sighed.

“Do you ever relax?”

“Not often.”

“Clearly.”

He almost smiled.

Almost.

“Get dressed.”

“Bossy.”

“Luna.”

“Still bossy.”

He turned to leave.

Then stopped.

“Wear something blue.”

I blinked.

“Why?”

“It suits you.”

And before I could respond, he walked out.

I stared at the doorway.

Then at my clothes.

Then back at the doorway.

“Was that a compliment?”

Breakfast was worse.

Not because of Kael.

Because of everyone else.

The moment I entered the dining hall, conversations became quieter.

Some wolves looked at me.

Some whispered.

Some didn't even bother hiding it.

That's the Valen girl.

She's really the new Luna?

Can we trust her?

I kept my face neutral.

Kael was already sitting at the head of the table.

His eyes immediately found me.

“You're late.”

I pulled out the chair beside him.

“I'm three minutes late.”

“You're still late.”

“You really like that word.”

“I do.”

I sat down.

A servant placed breakfast in front of me.

I started eating.

Then someone spoke.

“Alpha.”

I looked up.

A woman stood several feet away.

She was beautiful.

Tall.

Elegant.

Confident.

And very obviously comfortable around Kael.

“Is there something you need?” Kael asked.

She smiled.

“I wanted to welcome our new Luna.”

Her eyes moved toward me.

“I hope you'll forgive me for saying this, but the pack has always been very protective of the Draven bloodline.”

I smiled politely.

“I understand.”

“Especially after everything that happened.”

Kael's expression hardened.

“That's enough, Mirelle.”

So.

She was brave enough to challenge me.

Or stupid enough.

I wasn't sure which.

Mirelle smiled.

“Of course, Alpha.”

She walked away.

I looked at Kael.

“Friend of yours?”

“No.”

“Ex?”

“No.”

“Someone who wants to be?”

His eyes narrowed.

“Elara.”

I smiled.

“What?”

“You're enjoying this.”

“Maybe.”

He shook his head.

But I caught the smallest twitch at the corner of his mouth.

After breakfast, Kael took me around the territory.

Apparently, being Luna wasn't just about wearing pretty dresses and standing beside the Alpha.

I had meetings.

Pack finances.

Charity programs.

Medical facilities.

Food distribution.

Housing.

Council matters.

By noon, my head was spinning.

“I didn't know being Luna involved this much work.”

Kael glanced at me.

“You wanted to marry an Alpha.”

“I didn't want to.”

“You signed.”

“You threatened me.”

“I gave you a choice.”

“A terrible choice.”

“A choice.”

I rolled my eyes.

He smiled.

“You're adapting quickly.”

“To what?”

“Being my wife.”

I stopped walking.

“Don't say it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you're actually happy about it.”

He looked at me.

For a second, his expression became serious.

“I'm not unhappy.”

My heart skipped.

Before I could ask what he meant, he walked ahead.

I followed.

That afternoon, I visited the pack clinic.

The moment I entered, several people greeted me.

One elderly woman approached.

“Luna.”

I smiled.

“Hello.”

She took my hands.

“Thank you for coming.”

Her smile was warm.

It surprised me.

I expected everyone to hate me.

But not everyone did.

Some were simply curious.

Some were cautious.

And some, apparently, already accepted me.

A little girl ran toward me.

“Luna!”

I crouched.

“Hi.”

She smiled.

“You're pretty.”

I laughed.

“Thank you.”

“Are you really Alpha Kael's wife?”

I glanced toward the doorway.

Kael was standing there.

Watching us.

“Yes.”

The little girl giggled.

“Does he love you?”

I nearly choked.

Kael raised an eyebrow.

The entire room became silent.

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

Then he said calmly,

“That's a question for your Luna.”

Traitor.

I smiled awkwardly.

“We're... still getting to know each other.”

The little girl nodded as if she understood.

Then she whispered,

“But he looks at you differently.”

My eyes widened.

Kael's expression became unreadable.

“Go play,” he told her.

She ran away.

I looked at him.

“What does that mean?”

“What?”

“She said you look at me differently.”

He walked closer.

“Do I?”

“I don't know.”

“You've been watching me enough to know.”

I froze.

He smiled.

Then walked away.

I hated him.

That evening, I found Kael in the training grounds.

He was sparring with Zayden.

And apparently, watching your husband fight was one of the most dangerous hobbies a woman could have.

Because he was good.

Very good.

Fast.

Controlled.

Powerful.

His movements were almost effortless.

I stood near the entrance.

Zayden noticed me first.

“Luna.”

Kael turned.

The moment his eyes found me, he stopped.

“You're here.”

“I was looking for you.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to ask about tomorrow's council meeting.”

He nodded.

“Later.”

I looked at him.

He was sweating.

His shirt clung to his body.

I immediately looked away.

Unfortunately, not fast enough.

I caught his smile.

“You were staring.”

“I was not.”

“You were.”

“I was looking at your fighting.”

“Same thing.”

“No.”

He walked toward me.

“Then what were you looking at?”

“Your technique.”

“Interesting.”

His eyes held mine.

“Your face is red.”

“It's hot.”

“It's cold.”

I glared.

“Do you enjoy embarrassing me?”

“More than I should.”

I didn't know what to say.

Zayden suddenly cleared his throat.

“Should I leave?”

“Yes.”

Kael and I answered at the same time.

Zayden laughed.

“Right.”

He walked away.

I covered my face.

“This is ridiculous.”

“What is?”

“You.”

He smiled.

“You like me.”

I stared at him.

“I tolerate you.”

“That's a start.”

That night, the rules changed.

I was standing in front of the window when Kael entered.

“There's something we need to discuss.”

I turned.

“What?”

“The council.”

“What about them?”

“They don't trust you.”

“I figured.”

“They'll test you.”

“How?”

“Questions. Accusations. Provocation.”

I sighed.

“So what do I do?”

“Don't let them see you're afraid.”

I frowned.

“Are you saying I'm weak?”

“No.”

He stepped closer.

“I'm saying you don't have to prove anything to them.”

His voice softened.

“Not while I'm there.”

I stared at him.

That was the closest thing to reassurance I'd heard from him.

“Why are you protecting me?”

He looked away.

“Because you're my Luna.”

I smiled faintly.

“Only because of the contract?”

His jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“Right.”

I turned away.

But before I could take another step, his hand gently caught my wrist.

I looked back.

His expression was unreadable.

“Don't misunderstand me.”

“I won't.”

“Good.”

He released me.

But neither of us moved.

There was something in the silence.

Something unspoken.

Something dangerous.

Then his eyes dropped to my lips.

My breath caught.

He noticed.

His hand slowly lifted.

His fingers brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.

“Kael…”

He stopped.

His hand remained near my cheek.

For one second, I thought he would kiss me.

Instead, he stepped back.

“Goodnight, Elara.”

I stared at him.

“Goodnight.”

He left.

I touched my cheek where his fingers had been.

My heart was racing.

And I hated that I wanted him to come back.

Later that night, I lay awake.

I couldn't sleep.

Not because I was uncomfortable.

Not because I was afraid.

Because I kept thinking about him.

The way he looked at me.

The way he protected me.

The way he almost touched me.

The way he almost kissed me.

I closed my eyes.

It's just attraction.

That's all.

It didn't mean anything.

He was my husband because of a contract.

I was his Luna because of a deal.

Three years.

That's it.

But somewhere deep inside me, a tiny voice whispered something I didn't want to hear.

What if three years is too long to pretend you don't love him?

I opened my eyes.

“No.”

I shook my head.

“Absolutely not.”

Because I wasn't going to fall for Kael Draven.

I couldn't.

Not when his marriage to me had been built on revenge.

Not when I knew there were secrets between our families.

And definitely not when I knew that someday... the contract would end.

What I didn't know was that Kael was lying awake in the room next to mine.

Staring at the ceiling.

Thinking about the same thing.

How had his enemy's daughter become the one person he couldn't stop wanting?