Share
6
Inner Core
Planet Calluvia
“It was the only choice, Haydn.”
Prince Haydn Schaefer pursed his lips, still looking at the unconscious man in the hospital bed. “Was it?” he said quietly. “We had to act without his consent.”
“Because he was in no state to give it,” his husband said, taking his hand and squeezing it.
Haydn turned his head and smiled weakly at Royce, his smile turning more genuine as his husband’s gaze held his. It was a little embarrassing that just looking into Royce’s dark eyes affected him like this. Everything felt magically better when Royce was close and looking at him.
“I know,” Haydn said with a sigh, putting his head on Royce’s shoulder and deeply inhaling his familiar scent. It comforted him. “But Dr. Jordan said this procedure was too risky. What if he doesn’t remember anything when he wakes up?”
Royce dropped a kiss on top of his head. “Then we’ll help him remember. At least he’s back to n
Related chapters
Rejected Luna 7
Two months laterThe social season was even worse than Jules had expected. He had thought he was prepared for the utter tediousness of it, but ten days after their arrival at Faris, Pelugia’s capital, Jules already felt like punching someone. Preferably Liam’s stupidly pretty face.“Has your brother mentioned me?” said the blond alpha he was currently dancing with, casting a heated look over Jules’s shoulder.Jules didn’t need to follow his gaze to know that he was looking at Liam. They all did.Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Jules stretched his lips into a smile and ground out, “No.”The alpha looked disappointed but not disheartened. “Are you certain? Perhaps he mentioned me by my title? Most people call me by my title, not my name. Viscount Benley?”Jules smiled wider. “I’m quite sure, my lord.”As soon as the dance was over, he stro
Rejected Luna 8
Twenty-four years agoHe was fighting again.Ilona could only watch it through the window, biting her lip hard every time someone managed to land a punch on him. One small, six-year-old boy against seven older boys was hardly a fair fight, but of course no one interfered. No one ever did. Devlin’s position at the court was too precarious for anyone to interfere. He might be the king’s “nephew,” but most of the court strongly suspected that he wasn’t really Princess Lina’s son. It wasn’t hard to guess when the princess herself barely acknowledged the boy and kept him in a separate wing of the palace. Only a select few knew the truth: that Devlin was the king’s bastard, the bastard the king didn’t recognize as his son. And to make things worse, the poor boy’s designation only made him a larger target. Being a Xeus was difficult for adults too, but children could be so very cruel, and privileged chi
Rejected Luna 9
“Jules, enough. You’re being ridiculous.”Jules spluttered, glaring at his dumbass brother. “Me? I’m telling you that Westcliff is just using you for his political agenda, and I’m being ridiculous?”Liam rolled his eyes. “Yes, you’re being ridiculous. You’ve been ranting about him for an hour, but I don’t see any problem with his actions. There’s nothing wrong with caring about what people would think of our courtship. It would be worse if he didn’t care. He’s a future king, after all.” Liam smiled dreamily. “Can you imagine me as a king’s consort?”“Agh!” Jules said in frustration, throwing a decorative pillow at Liam’s head. “Are you even listening to me? He isn’t just caring about people’s opinions! That’s the sole reason he’s courting you!”“I’m sure it isn’t. He was very ch
Rejected Luna 10
Devlin Schaefer, the Duke of Westcliff, wasn’t in a very good mood. He had a headache—not a new occurrence ever since he’d woken up on Calluvia to find the previous two months of his life gone from his memory—but this morning it was particularly aggravating. For one very specific reason.“Your Grace, His Majesty is waiting for you.”Devlin gave a clipped nod before walking toward the king’s office. He paused for a moment, reinforcing the bland, neutral expression on his face, and then entered the room.The king wasn’t alone. Austin Cormack, the palace press officer, was there too. He bowed to Devlin, his gaze lowered.King Stefan regarded Devlin with a deep frown, a hint of displeasure in his scent. “Nephew,” he said coldly.Devlin briefly entertained the thought of calling the king Father. He almost laughed out loud.“Your Majesty,” he said instead, as coldly.&l
Rejected Luna 11
“I’ll see if Master Liam is home, Your Grace,” the Blakes’ butler said before disappearing upstairs.Devlin took a seat on the couch and, leaning back, closed his eyes, hoping some rest would help his pounding headache. He wasn’t used to feeling in any way sick—Xeus alphas’ heightened regeneration normally dealt with any issue. But these headaches probably had something to do with his broken bond.“Why are you napping in our house?” said a familiar voice before someone plopped down next to him.Devlin opened his eyes and found a pair of pretty brown eyes peering at him suspiciously.His lips twitched. “Hello to you, too, Julian.”Julian Blake scowled at him. “Stop calling me that.”“That? Your name?”“My name is Jules,” the brat said. “But you aren’t allowed to use my first name. It’s for my friends and family. You&r
Rejected Luna 12
Jules woke up and stretched sleepily, smiling. He felt wonderfully well rested—Because he was.Jules blinked his eyes open and evaluated his state. He did feel wonderful. Like he’d actually managed a full night’s sleep—and that hadn’t happened since...The bond.Jules carefully poked at the raw, achy thing he’d come to associate with the bond. It felt… better this morning? Not as painful as usual.Jules mulled it over, not sure what to think. He’d half-convinced himself that what happened in the zoo yesterday had been a fluke: sure, he had felt… good when Westcliff had pushed him against his scent gland and told him to breathe, but the effect had disappeared when they returned home. So he had done his best to forget about the whole thing—it had been too unsettling—and had fallen asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow. He hadn’t expected to actually sleep through the n
Rejected Luna 13
Several weeks passed like that.Westcliff called on Liam and took him out on dates, putting on that disgustingly charming mask he wore in public. More often than not, Jules accompanied them, serving as a chaperone, for appearances’ sake—officially. Unofficially, he kind of… he went because he wanted to be around the duke. It freaked him out that he felt addicted to the way Westcliff made him feel, but he couldn’t help himself. It felt so good, especially when Westcliff allowed him to rub his face against his scent gland—the euphoria was beyond his ability to express properly. Afterward, Jules felt so embarrassed, but thankfully, Westcliff didn’t make fun of him and always acted as if there was nothing weird about his behavior.“Better?” he would say in a quiet murmur, and Jules would flush and nod and look anywhere but at him. Every time he told himself it was the last time, but his resolve melted into a mass of goo the
Rejected Luna 14
Devlin followed the Blakes’ butler into the drawing room, already feeling the tension in his temples ease in anticipation.Truth be told, he hadn’t expected to enjoy courting an omega for PR reasons, but it had turned out to be surprisingly pleasant instead of irritating. His visits to the Blakes had been the highlight of his days lately—they were certainly better than all the careful political maneuvering he had to do the rest of the time. Not that marrying Liam Blake wouldn’t be a political decision—of course it would be—but at least he found the omega perfectly agreeable both in looks and demeanor. Liam was nowhere near as arrogant and vain as one might have expected from an omega of such exquisite beauty.Besides, he liked Liam’s family.The memory of Julian wrapped up in his jacket flashed to the forefront of his mind, making his fingers tingle, his claws itching to pop out.Devlin glanced down at his hands w
Latest chapter
