The First Kiss

Nyx

I slowly turned around and standing just a few feet away from me was a man whose sheer, overpowering presence filled the entire room.

He was a mountain of a man—hulking, broad-shouldered, and massively built, standing easily at six feet and four inches.

Sharp, structured features defined his face, complete with a hard, chiseled jaw, jet-black hair that fell slightly over his forehead, and a pair of piercing, luminous amber eyes that burned into my soul like glowing coals.

In my past life, Draven had always looked charming and youthful like a prince trying to look approachable. But Alpha King Lucien had always been a mystery to the pack.

He was reclusive, locking himself away in his private wing, never attending pack parties, and skipping every single informal gathering.

In my past life, I had only ever seen him once from a distance. Everyone knew he was Draven’s uncle, a fair and powerful ruler who kept the realm safe, but he was notoriously cold, silent, and alone. Rumors whispered that he was one of the rare wolves in history born without a true mate bond, destined to rule in isolation.

And now, staring straight into his intimidating stature, my mind went completely blank. I had no idea what to do or what to say.

‘He must have left the welcoming party early, I realized.’

"I... I am so sorry," I stammered, my voice shaking as I dipped my head in a quick, panicked bow. "I didn't mean to intrude, My King. I am Nyx Rivers... from the Blood Moon Pack."

Lucien’s cold amber eyes slowly drifted down my frame, pausing for a fraction of a second on my shoulder where the hidden silver mark rested.

"The Blessed One," he stated, his voice a deep, resonant rumble that vibrated right through the floorboards. It wasn't a question. It was a flat observation.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I breathed, my hands shaking at my sides. I forced myself to stand tall, trying to regain a shred of composure.

"I sincerely apologize. I didn't intend to stumble into your private quarters on purpose. I was just—"

I stopped dead in my tracks. My mouth clamped shut.

‘I was just running away from your nephew because he and his sister drugged me with wolfsbane to steal my bloodline and murder me in my past life.’

Of course, I couldn't say any of that. If I told him the truth, he would think I had lost my mind.

Lucien watched my hesitation closely, his dark brows knitting together in a slight frown. "You were just what?"

"I... I lost my way in the hallways," I lied smoothly, forcing down my panic. "The party was overwhelming, and I took a wrong turn. But I will leave immediately."

Knock. Knock.

A sharp rapping echoed from the heavy oak door behind me.

My blood ran ice cold. Without thinking, I gasped, ducked low, and scrambled behind a large armchair, pressing my back against the wall to hide.

Lucien stared at me, looking mildly exasperated by my sudden dive for cover, before he turned his frame toward the door. He walked over, his boots clicking softly against the floor, and pulled the door open.

Standing in the hallway was the exact same servant who had tried to lead me into Draven’s trap.

"My King," the servant said, his voice laced with anxiety. "Forgive me for disturbing you at this hour, but have you seen anyone strange enter your room?"

I held my breath, squeezing my eyes shut. My heart hammered so loudly I was certain Lucien could hear it across the room. Say no. Please, please say no...

Lucien looked down at the sweating servant, his face an impassive mask of stone.

"No," Lucien replied flatly.

My shoulders slumped in a wave of relief, but the relief vanished a second later when Lucien’s deep voice cut through the air again.

"And why," Lucien demanded, his tone dropping into a dangerous, icy growl, "are you wandering the upper corridors sniffing around my door like a lost dog?"

The servant flinched, stammering frantically. "A-Ah, My King, forgive me! We only thought that a guest might have wandered into a restricted area."

"This is my wing," Lucien interrupted harshly, his amber eyes flashing with a menacing warning. "If guests are wandering where they do not belong, that is a failure of your security, not my concern. Do not disturb me again."

"Y-Yes, My King! My deepest apologies!"

Thud.

Lucien slammed the door shut in the servant's face, throwing the iron bolt back into place with a definitive click.

Slowly, I stood up from behind the armchair, my legs feeling like jelly. I looked at Lucien, a cold shiver running down my spine. Even now, they were still actively hunting for me.

If I went back out into those hallways right now, I would walk right back into their net.

"Um," I whispered. "Can I please stay here tonight?"

Lucien froze. He turned his head slowly, his gaze fixing on me with an expression that crossed between shock and skepticism.

Realizing how inappropriate my request sounded. A guest asking a strange, notoriously reclusive Alpha King if she could sleep in his bedroom. My face burned hot red.

"I-I mean just temporarily!" I blurted out, waving my hands frantically as I tried to backpedal.

"Just for tonight! There's a mouse in my room! Yes, a giant mouse, and I'm terrified of rodents."

I stopped talking. I sounded ridiculous. My clumsy excuses died on my lips as Lucien simply stood there, staring down at me in total silence.

As I looked up into those glowing amber eyes, a strange, inexplicable tug pulled at the very center of my chest. It wasn't fear. It wasn't the fake, toxic pull of the mate bond I had shared with Draven. It was something magnetic like gravity drawing two distant stars together.

For a long, agonizing moment, neither of us breathed.

Then, to my astonishment, Lucien exhaled a slow breath and gave a faint nod.

"Very well," Lucien said quietly, his voice losing some of its sharp edge. "As the Blessed One, I would accommodate you tonight. You may stay."

My shoulders dropped instantly. "Thank you. Your Majesty."

Lucien turned and walked toward the bed in the center of the room, tossing his outer coat onto a nearby hook. "You can take the bed."

I shook my head immediately, taking a step backward. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly take your bed. I can sleep on the floor, or—"

"I don't share my bed," Lucien interrupted matter-of-factly, his tone final. Without waiting for me to argue, he walked over to a wide, leather chaise lounge parked near the bookshelf, sat down, and stretched his long legs out across the cushions. "The bed is yours. Rest."

He closed his eyes, dismissing me, acting as though having a strange girl hiding in his bedroom was just another regular evening.

I swallowed hard, feeling out of my depth. Slowly, I walked over to the edge of the grand bed and lay down on top of the silk covers, keeping fully clothed.

The room was dead silent, save for the crackling of the fireplace. But despite how exhausted my body was, my mind refused to shut off.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the flash of Draven's silver dagger. I felt the cold burn of the wolfsbane. I tossed and turned, shifting from side to side, the restless energy in my veins refusing to settle.

"You're making enough noise to wake the dead." Lucien's deep voice broke the dark.

I froze, opening my eyes to find him staring right at me from across the room. He hadn't fallen asleep at all.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into the dim light, sitting up and pulling my knees to my chest. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just... I can't sleep."

Lucien sat up slowly on the chaise, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked across the room at me. In the flickering firelight, the hard lines of his face softened just a fraction.

"Why?" he asked calmly.

Thinking of death and how close I had come to losing everything, I looked at him across the shadowy room, and the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Have you ever..." I whispered, my voice trembling slightly, "...have you ever been afraid of dreaming?"

I expected him to scoff. I expected him to tell me to go to sleep, or remind me of his cold nature.

Instead, Lucien looked at me for a long moment. Then, in a low, rumbling voice that sounded different from the arrogant nobles downstairs, he answered, "Every single night. Dreams are where the past comes back to collect what it's owed. Sometimes they show you things you tried so hard to forget or things you never thought you'd have to live through twice."

We had never spoken to each other before but his words invoked a thought in my head.

"You talk as if the past owns you," I murmured, my curiosity overriding my fear of him. "I thought the Alpha King owned everything in this realm."

Lucien shifted, his jaw tightening as he answered me. "Ownership is an illusion, Nyx. The things that break you are usually the things you never saw coming."

His words hit me like a physical shock wave. They were so honest, so deeply human, that they stripped away my defenses.

Without thinking and filled with even more curiosity, I slipped off the edge of the bed and sat down on the rug right beside his leather couch, looking up at him.

Lucien’s gaze flicked down to me, cold and indifferent. "What are you doing?"

"Like I said earlier, I can't sleep," I admitted softly, wrapping my arms around my legs. "And I don't think you were sleeping either."

Hour after hour melted away in the safety of his room. He sounded grounded, weary, and real. So much different from how cold I had imagined the legendary Alpha King to be behind his closed doors.

As the fire slowly burned down to glowing embers, Lucien shifted his weight, looking down at me with those intense amber eyes.

"Dreams aren't always kind. Sometimes they feel more real than the waking world.” he murmured softly, his gaze dropping briefly to my lips before rising back to my eyes.

"You can try to run from them all you want, Nyx. But reality will still be sitting right here waiting for you.”

Hearing him say my name in that gravelly voice sent an electric shiver racing down my spine. A strange, undeniable connection bloomed in the space between us, thick and breathless.

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I couldn't look away from him. The gravitational pull between us was too strong, drawing me closer, blurring the lines of the past and the present.

A tiny voice kept on reminding me of who he was but my body refused to obey. Every single nerve ending beneath my skin was humming with a wild heat that ignored all logic and fear.

And then, unable to bear it any longer, I moved.

My hands shot out, gripping the thick lapels of his jacket, and I pressed my lips directly against his.