LOGINThe impact cracked through the silent room. My head snapped back, and the force knocked me off my feet, sending me crashing into the weapon rack. Blood filled my mouth as it streamed from my nose, running over my upper lip and down my chin.I staggered to my knees, coughing violently, staring up through a haze of pain and stars.Kael stood over me, his chest heaving, his knuckles already slick with my blood. The amber fire in his eyes burned with a rage I hadn't seen since we fought together on the frontlines."Shut your fucking mouth, Lucien," Kael growled, his voice trembling with a terrifying, quiet fury as he leaned down, gripping the front of my collar to drag me halfway back up. "You don't get to speak her name right now. Not after what you just did.""I was going to tell her!" I spat back, wiping a hand across my mouth, smearing the fresh blood into my stubble. "I was on my way to talk to her, Kael!""Talk to her?" Kael threw me backward, letting me slam against the stone floor
I stepped back even farther, the sudden loss of her warmth sending a sharp, icy chill through my veins. The air between us felt heavy, charged with the lingering electricity of a kiss that had completely shattered my resolve.I stared at her.My mind was a complete battleground. Every logical part of me knew what I was supposed to say. I knew the exact words that would sever the sacred string tying our souls together. I opened my mouth to speak, to force the words past my teeth and put an end to the madness before it consumed us both.I, Lucien, reject—The words died in my throat.Nothing came out. My jaw locked, my throat tightening as if a physical hand were gripping my windpipe. The image of her softly touching my hand, the quiet grace with which she was offering to sacrifice her own happiness, and the intoxicating, undeniable pull of that kiss rushed back through my mind all at once.I couldn't do it.I stood there like a coward, staring at the woman who had done nothing but suff
Lucien's POV"What favor?" I asked, my voice rough as I broke the silence.Stella took a slow step toward me, her eyes fixed on mine. “Just one kiss,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Please. Just one real kiss from you before you break the bond.”She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself. “I know it won't change anything. I know you'll still leave. But when the bond is gone and I can't feel you anymore, I want something to remember. Just one thing that was mine. I want to know what it felt like to kiss my mate, even if you never wanted me back.”A sad smile touched her lips, as if she were trying to make the request seem easier than it was.I stared at her, completely frozen. My mind shouted at me to step back, to say no, to put an absolute end to this before it crossed another line. But the mate bond, sensing her raw vulnerability, surged violently beneath my skin. My wolf clawed at the surface, practically roaring inside my chest, deafening every rational thought I had left.K
"It is," I cut her off, unable to look her in the eye.I couldn't look at her without seeing the threat she inadvertently posed to Elara. I couldn't look at her without feeling the pull of a bond I never asked for, calling to a part of me I was fiercely trying to lock away. But as my harsh words settled over the room, guilt followed. Stella hadn't asked for any of this. She hadn't done anything to Elara, and she didn't deserve my anger.The bond gave a sharp pull in my chest, and I caught the hurt in her expression before she hid it."I'm sorry," I murmured.Stella paused with her hand on the brass handle."I shouldn't have snapped at you," I murmured, my voice losing its bitter edge as the lingering adrenaline drained out of me. "None of this mess is your fault, Stella. You didn't do anything wrong."She stood still for a long beat, letting the heavy apology settle. Then, stepping through the broken glass without a second thought, she closed the distance between us.She reached out,
"Say that again," I snarled, my voice dropping into a low growl that seemed to rattle the windows. "Look me in the eye and say those fucking words again, Damon."Damon choked, grabbing my wrist as his eyes widened at the lethal shift in my demeanor. His Alpha instincts urged him to fight back, but the sheer malice coming off me kept him frozen. "You sit in my home," I spat, tightening my grip until his breath hitched, "and you look at her scars like they make her lesser. You think strength is barking orders and throwing your weight around? You have no idea what it takes to survive what she did."I bared my teeth, the pulse in my neck hammering as I leaned closer, until our foreheads nearly touched. "I wasn't there to save my sister when bastards like you decided she wasn't 'enough' for the throne," I whispered, leaning in until our foreheads almost touched, my eyes burning amber. "I had to watch her pick up the pieces afterward. But I am standing right here now. And I swear on the Moo
Lucien's POVI almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of the question, but the cold weight in my chest killed the sound before it could reach my throat.“Are you out of your mind?” My voice was quiet, dangerously so, but the threat underneath was plain as day. “Elara isn't just 'supposed' to become Luna. She is Luna. I’d be very careful about the next words out of your mouth, Damon. Friend or not.”Damon didn’t flinch. As the Alpha of Silverpine, he was used to posturing, but the cold stillness in his eyes told me he wasn't trying to start a fight for the sake of it—he was laying out a brutal, unfiltered truth as he saw it.“Look at her, Lucien. Really look at her,” Damon said, his voice entirely devoid of sympathy. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, his gaze locking onto mine with ruthless clarity. “She’s weak. She carries herself like a survivor who’s constantly waiting for the next strike, not a leader who commands a room. Every time she speaks, she sounds hesitan
"I, Alpha Matteo of the Red Moon Pack," his voice rang loud and cold across the packed ceremonial grounds, "reject you, Lara Alvarez, as my mate and Luna."The words slammed into me like a silver blade to the chest. For a second, the world went silent. My heart stuttered, then dropped violently int
LARAI opened my eyes to a white ceiling.The room was spacious and spotless, and the sharp scent of medicine lingering in the air told me immediately that I was in a clinic. I pushed myself upright, but the nauseating smell twisted my stomach violently.A soft hand rested against my back before I
My heart rate rose sharply, despite being in a near-unconscious state. I've always been afraid of the dark. A natural phenomenon that werewolves loved and eagerly anticipated. The endless shadows between the trees, the suffocating silence, the feeling that something unseen was always watching... it
Selene didn’t speak at first.She simply stood there, her expensive heels planted firmly in my line of vision, the faint scent of her rose perfume cutting through the damp, soapy air of the laundry room. I kept my head down, my raw fingers still moving mechanically over the last sheet, scrubbing ev







