Semua Bab The cruel alpha’s hired Luna: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Selena’s povThe palace was quieter than usual.Not silentpalaces were never truly silentbut quiet enough that I could hear my thoughtsThoughts that I didn’t want to think as I folded freshly laundered clothes into the basket.A pair of socks. A shirt that still smelled faintly of Sisi’s lavender shampoo. A towel with a faded moon embroidery on the corner. Familiar things. Simple things.Things that should have grounded me.But instead, my hands stilled when I heard the footsteps pause outside the open door.“Did you hear?” a maid whispered to another, barely loud enough to catch.“Hear what?”“A letter came this morning. An invitation. The Alpha of the Silverrun Pack is getting married tonight. They say the celebration will be grand—fire lanterns, wine that never runs dry, a guest list full of nobility…”My spine straightened.“Tonight?” the second maid asked.“By seven,” came the reply. “They say Lord Cassian’s expected.”My heart… did something I didn’t have a word for. Not exac

Cassian’s POV The ride was quiet.Not tense. Not awkward. Just… quiet.Selena sat beside me, legs crossed, one hand resting on her lap, the other gently stroking Sisi’s soft curls as the girl leaned against her shoulder, already half-asleep from the excitement of getting to attend a real royal event.But I couldn’t look away from her.The red dress. The curve of her neck. The way her lashes swept down when she glanced out the window. And now.Even the sir in the car felt like it was chargedLike silence between us was awake just needing a small touch Needing to be touchedConfessed And brokenI cleared my throat. “You look…”She didn’t turn.Not at first.Then—quietly—“I know.”That made me smile. Just a little.There she was. The edge. The fire. Not the hollow, haunted woman who had been walking past me all week like a ghost.I leaned back against the seat, eyes still on her. “Sisi looks excited.”“She is.” Selena nodded, her voice softening. “She said this would be her first for

Selena’s POV They all laughed Not the trained one they had been offering me sinceThis was uncultured in the realest way possible And it did something to my chestIt was good to know that even the noblest of women could have a laughter so untamed.“Truly?”“Well, I wasn’t gagged or chained, if that helps,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “Let’s just say it was… unconventional.”“How very Cassian,” someone sighed. “Always dramatic.”Another leaned in with curious eyes. “So how was it, then? Coping with all that distance between you? The contract, the politics… Surely it wasn’t easy?”I tilted my head slightly. The softness in her voice was false. She was digging.Trying to see if the cracks would show.I could’ve told the truth. That I was nothing but a palace maid for Zevran That I was banished from his pack and I somehow wandered here?That I’m with Cassian under contract?That he kept me because he believes his daughter’s speech is somehow tied to me?But what would that do? Con

Cassian’s POV I watched her nodIt was slow but not enough to be a full agreement, but it was more than silence. And in this moment, I’d take what I could get.The photographer ushered us toward a decorated arch woven with glowing white roses and charmed crystal vines. It looked like the moon had been taken from the sky and dropped directly above us.Sisi stood in the middle, holding both our hands. Mine with a quiet certainty. Selena’s with a giddy, childlike squeeze.“Alpha, could you place your arm around your mate’s waist?” the photographer asked politely.I hesitated. Just for a second.But then Selena moved first. Her body angled slightly toward me, and she stepped just close enough that I could rest my hand on the small of her back.Warm. Solid.Real.I’d touched her beforeDuring the dance.but this was different. This was the kind of touch that meant something in front of others. The kind that was witnessed. Measured. Remembered.The camera flashed once.Then again.I didn

Cassian’s povI wanted her to speak. I wanted her to yell, to scold, to roll her eyes and say I was impossible.But she didn’t.And that silence was louder than any storm I’d ever survived.My fingers brushed the key’s cold edge. I should’ve stayed in my room. Should’ve let it go. Should’ve waited for her to come to me.But I couldn’t.The ache in my chest wasn’t the kind that time healed. It was the kind that demanded answers. Or maybejust maybe….a repeat of what I still couldn’t get out of my head: the feel of her lips on mine, soft and fiery all at once. The way she melted into the kiss like it was the only thing anchoring her to this world.She didn’t speak.She handed the key to a maid.She closed her door.And now?Now I was pacing my own room like a goddamn lunatic, my wolf restless beneath my skin, every step fueled by the memory of her lips on mine.She’d kissed me back.Gods, she’d kissed me like she meant it.Her hands in my hair, her breath tangled with mine, the way she