Blood And Ash

Tears almost escaped from my eyes, seeing a man I had admired since I was little, since I have come into existence hating me for just the mistake of my father, but I wouldn’t let him see how bad I felt as I said out loud immediately, “Lucian, you will take back what you said to me… your chosen mate.”

My voice stayed calm, it was almost sweet, but my heart hammered like it wanted to break free.

But Lucian didn’t flinch. His golden eyes burned through me, and it was cold and merciless. Then he turned fully like the alpha with pride and ego, and with a slow deliberate move, he spit on the marble floor. The wet sound cracked the silence.

“I don’t take orders from snake bloodlines. I can never take orders from Harvey's Bloodlines” he said, each word sharp as a blade like he was directly slashing on my chest.

I forced a breath through my nose, with a little smile twitching at a corner of my lipt. “You love to spit on things you fear.”

His brow lifted slightly, with the smallest flicker of surprise. “Fear? You mistake disgust for fear, this little hybrid.”

That alone almost broke me down. I hate when I'm being constantly reminded that I'm a hybrid “ hmmm... Lucian Grey, I don’t make any mistakes.” My voice carried just enough to echo in the hall. “You can hate me, Lucian Grey, but you can’t unmake what the moon has written.”

A low murmur rippled through the pack. They could feel the air thicken, though only the elders seemed to truly understand what was really happening between us.

Lucian stepped closer, his eyes glowing like molten gold. “When I speak, you stay silent!! When I speak Sophia You shut your mouth!! You are a pawn, not a queen!!”

I squared my shoulders, I'm not going to back down because he's about to become the new alpha, no way. “I am no one’s pawn. I built Sterling Atelier from nothing. I don’t bow to anyone, not even an Alpha.... Lucian, you forgot so soon that I carried Harvey's bloodline?”

The crowd whispered again. I know Lucian isn't taking it down his throat but he's forcing to be calm. His jaw tightened, as he sneered angrily. " Okay...You think a mortal company makes you strong?”

“No,” I said softly. “But my will does. And that’s what rattles you, isn’t it? That I don’t break, like you wish? After you insulted my family that I never shivered? I never wreaked fear?”

He inhaled sharply, it was barely audible, but I caught it. A crack in the stone.

“Careful, Sophia,” he warned, his voice low enough that only I could hear. I wanted to smile seeing him suffocate in anger, but no, I just wanted him to suffocate more for insulting me because of my father's greed.

I stepped closer until I could feel the heat of him. “I’m not the one who’s careful. You are. You feel the bond and you hate that it makes you want me.”

His eyes flashed, like a storm behind them. “You know nothing of what I want, Sophia. You smell betrayal and greed just like your father”

“Oh dear....Then prove it,” I whispered so only he could hear. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel it. Tell me, that the moon goddess hasn't shown me to you in the dream since the years you went to exile, like a frightened chicken.”

His breath caught. He said nothing.

The crowd stirred, uneasy, sensing the weight between us. Old Marina watched, her ancient gaze already knowing. She already knew about the war between us.

Lucian finally spoke, as his voice was hard and loud for all to hear. “I would rather let the Grey bloodline die than bind it to a Harvey.”

Pain stabbed through me like thousands of silver daggers had been stocked inside my heart, but I stood tall. “Then let it die, Lucian. I will not beg you to accept me Lucian.”

He stared at me, something dangerous flickering behind the hatred, something even he didn’t seem to understand.

A tense silence wrapped the hall until Marina stepped forward, her white robes glowing under the moonlight. She reached for me, and her touch felt like an electric.

“She’s going nowhere, Lucian,” Marina said, her voice calm and powerful. She took my trembling hand and pressed it firmly into his. His muscles locked, and a low growl rose from deep in his chest, but Marina held fast.

“Sophia Harvey is your chosen mate, Alpha Lucian,” she said for all to hear. “I’m sorry. You have no choice." She turned towards the servants that were waiting to be assigned for a job, as she said. "Prepare her for the mating ceremony tonight!”