C5

SELENE POV

"Get down right now," Lucian Lycan says to me.

The Territory Rider opens the door of the big pack carriage. I see the high walls of Moonshade Manor right outside the window. I hate this place. It is just a big iron cage for my wolf.

"I don't want to go inside," I tell him. I push myself back against the leather seat.

I don't want to be the woman of the Bloodmoon Throne. I don't want this scary man telling me what to do every day.

Before I can jump out and run into the trees, two big hands grab my waist. Lucian lifts my body like I weigh nothing at all. My front is pressed right against his big, hard chest. I feel the crazy hot warmth of his wolf skin touching me. My heart goes thump-thump-thump inside my ribs.

He carries me straight through the heavy doors. A Manor Caretaker is walking down the hall, and her mouth falls open. She looks like her eyes are going to pop out because she saw me get thrown out by Amelia Lycan two hours ago, and now the Supreme Alpha King is holding me like a pup.

He drops me down on the long skin couch. Then he takes my right hand and pulls it up. The sharp cut from the broken glass hurts so bad when he touches it.

"Bring the basket of healing herbs right now!" Lucian barks.

The caretaker shakes her head fast. "Yes, Alpha King! Right away!" She runs to the table and puts the small box down. "Do you want me to clean the blood, Alpha? You should not touch a messy she-wolf."

"Get out," Lucian says. His voice makes the whole room shake.

He takes a small leaf with wet blue juice on it and rubs it on my skin.

"Ouch! Stop! It hurts!" I scream. I hate pain more than anything. I try to pull my arm back, but his fingers are like iron cuffs around my wrist.

"Be still, Selene. Just wait a little bit," he says. His voice sounds super soft now. He sounds like a nice father talking to a small child.

He is over six feet tall and looks like a mean fighter, so hearing him talk so sweetly makes my brain go completely blank. The bright light from the high window hits his face, and he looks very calm and beautiful.

He puts a white cloth around my cut, and then he blows soft air on it. His warm breath feels like a little tickle on my hand.

I pull my arm away fast and look at the floor. "Thank you. Can I walk back to the forest now?"

"Are you silly?" Lucian looks at me with crazy eyes. "This is your pack house. You live here."

He talks like he forgot all about the paper I signed with Alaric Wolfsbane. I feel so worried, but I know I cannot hit a King, so I try to talk like a big girl. He never cared about me for three long years. Is he doing this just because we shared a bed in the Moon Eclipse Lodge Chamber?

"We broke the bond today!" I shout. "You are keeping me locked up against the pack laws!"

Lucian reaches out and pinches my chin tight. He makes me look right into his dark eyes. A mean little smile comes on his face.

"You know about the Grand Wolf Assembly laws, little bird?" he laughs.

My face gets hot like a campfire. He is making fun of me.

Lucian bends his head down until his nose almost touches my nose. "If the papers are torn up and the Alpha Council Lords did not see them, the bond is still alive. You are still my wife by law."

He is too smart and tricky. He made his lawyer bring the papers, but now he is changing the rules. A simple girl like me cannot win a fight against a big, bad wolf.

Ring! Ring!

The phone in his leather vest makes a loud noise. The strange feeling between us breaks.

Lucian answers it fast.

"Alpha King, the Grand Wolf Assembly lords from the big city are waiting at the Alpha Citadel," Raze Blackclaw says over the line. "They have an emergency about the border lines. The carriage is ready at the gate."

"I am coming," Lucian says, and he shuts the phone.

He lets go of my chin and fixes the front of his coat. I see him moving to leave, and my brain starts thinking about how to run out the back window.

Lucian walks to the big wooden door, but then he stops and looks at the big fighters standing outside. "Watch this room. Do not let her step one inch outside the house."

"Yes, Alpha King!" the big warriors shout together.

My heart falls all the way down to my toes. He is really turning me into a prisoner. I kick the air with my foot and watch his big back disappear down the trail.