CHAPTER FIVE

Jean’s POV

I didn’t have a clue what I was walking into when I swung that door open. Maybe I was expecting the usual just Agora , alone, hunched over one of those damned ledgers, plotting, scheming, whatever it is he does when he thinks no one’s watching.

But what did I walk in on? Not in my wildest or twisted imagination did I plan for this.

Or maybe I did. 

Abigail ’s laugh. My sister laughs.

It sliced right through me. Sharp, sweet, and just a little too intimate for this room my room. My legs just stopped working. I felt the air freeze as my lips turned numb.

And then I saw. 

Really saw.

Agora didn’t even bother trying to cover himself up. No panic, no swearing, not even a flicker of guilt. He just looked at me. Straight on. Those eyes were cold, unbothered, like I’d just interrupted a boring meeting instead of, you know, my sister’s hands all over his chest and her lips swollen from his kisses.

Screaming seemed like a good idea. Ripping her hair out, maybe tearing his throat open with my wolf’s teeth both excellent options. Instead, I just stood there. Stuck. This was one of life's cruel jokes. 

Abigail , bless her rotten heart, flashed me that evil smile. “Sister. You should have knocked.”

And I think something inside me just snapped in two. Not because I didn’t expect this kind of betrayal, I mean, come on, it’s Abigail , but because I remembered that kid who used to hold my hand in the Moonveil woods, swearing she’d keep me safe from monsters like him. From pain like this.

My voice barely made it out. “How could you?”

Agora shoved Abigail aside and got up, not even bothering to hide the sweat, his stare cutting through me like a blade. “Because you’ve failed me,” he said, like it was obvious. “Because she might give me what you never could.”

Those words? Way worse than the scene itself. “I’m your mate,” I managed. “Your Luna.”

He didn’t blink. Didn’t hesitate. “You’re barren. A Luna who can’t give her Alpha an heir is nothing.”

I nearly collapsed. My wolf howled inside me raw, broken, loud enough I thought the whole place would come crashing down. 

I ran. 

I had to. 

Anything to get out before they saw me break.

I ran down the halls as they blurred past me. I had no idea where I was going. My feet just moved, dragging me along. I tried to mute the sobs with my hand, but it didn’t work. I felt humiliated. I hated myself for letting him see me like this. Hated giving Abigail the satisfaction.

Somehow I ended up in the gardens. The rain was still dripping, roses half-drowned in mud. Smelled like earth, crushed petals. I felt myself gasping for air. I dropped to the ground and dug my fingers into the dirt, desperate for something real to hold onto.

And then he was there.

Seth.

The Alpha King moved like my knight in shining armor. I knew it was him before I even looked up. His presence, heavy, electric, and weirdly gentle, settled over my skin.

“Jean.” His voice came in, concern echoing from it. 

I tried to get up, but my body betrayed me. I just shook, tears running down my face. “Go,” I choked out. “Please. Just go.”

He didn’t listen. Of course, he wouldn't. He crouched right in front of me, his dark cloak soaked from the rain, one hand reaching up to wipe a tear from my cheek. I flinched, but he just continued. His fingers warm and cool and steady.

“Who did this to you?” His voice was all steel under the velvet, dangerous in its calm.

I shook my head. “Don’t. Don’t ask.”

But he already knew. His jaw clenched, eyes going gold. For a second I thought he might go back inside and rip Agora apart. Instead, he looked at me, really looked, and I saw something even scarier than fury.

He actually cared.

“Jean,” he said, like my name was something that would soothe his scared face.

That was it. Whatever was left inside me just broke. I sobbed harder, letting myself fall against him. His arms caught me, strong and warm, holding me tight so I wouldn't let go.

For the first time in a long, long while I actually felt safe.

I couldn’t pin down the exact moment safety turned into hunger. Maybe it happened when he tangled his fingers in my hair, forcing me to look him dead in the eyes. Or when his breath ghosted over my lips and I could practically taste the battle between wanting and holding back. Or hell, maybe the universe had always planned for this thing between us, breaking through every wall we tried to throw up.

“You don’t belong to him,” Seth breathed out. Same words he’d thrown at me in thecorridor, but now it sounded like a promise.

My lips parted, barely a whisper. “And if I belong to you?”

His eyes went dark, wild, something animal snarling just below the surface. “Then I’ll burn the whole damn world before I let him lay a finger on you again.”

Then he kissed me.

Everything else is just gone.

It was nothing like Agora , all teeth and bruises, like he needed to stamp his mark on me. Seth kissed me like I was the last thing keeping him alive, like he’d been starving and I was the first breath of air he’d had in years desperate, hungry, but somehow still gentle.

My hands grabbed fistfuls of his cloak. I needed him closer, wanting to crawl inside his skin. He growled, deep and rough, and I felt it everywhere, shivering through me as if the bond itself was pulling us under.

Somewhere outside, rain hammered the garden. It didn't matter. All I could feel was his strength pressed tight against me, the fire of his hands moving down my arms, waking up parts of me I thought were dead.

“Seth,” I gasped when his mouth found my throat.

He shuddered, his control snapping, teeth brushing my skin not biting, not yet, just testing how much he could take before he lost it.

And God, I didn’t want him to stop.

“Please,” I begged, voice cracking, half-ashamed of how much I needed him. “Just… don’t let me be alone tonight.”

That was all it took.

He scooped me up like I weighed nothing, carried me through empty halls slick with rain, straight to the warmth and shadows of his room. Set me down like I was something holy and broken at the same time. His kisses trailed fire over my skin. His hands learned every scar, every secret, like he could piece me together just by touching me.

I let myself fall. Into him, into us, into the bond that was the only thing that made sense anymore.

We burned through the night, until there was no difference between holding on and giving in.

And when every last bit of restraint shattered, we weren’t king and Luna, we weren’t traitors and captives. Just two wolves, lost and found in the dark.

Weeks later

The nausea hit first. I tried to shove it away grief, stress, lack of sleep, anything but this. But when my hand drifted to my stomach, my wolf growled out the truth my mind couldn’t handle.

I was carrying life.

Agora had come to me again, rough and cold as always, needing proof that I could give him what he demanded. And Seth his touch still burned into my skin, the memory of his mouth on mine refusing to fade.

I stood alone in my chamber, staring at my reflection. Hands trembling as they pressed over the barely-there swell only I could feel.

Pregnant.

And I had no idea whose child I carried.