All Chapters of One Night Stand With The Lycan King; His Hidden Heirs: Chapter 31

Lucien’s POVThe ballroom still smelled of roses and wine long after the last guest had left. Laughter and music had faded into echoes, replaced by the silence of polished marble and dying candle flames. I stood alone near the grand windows, staring into the night sky, the crown of responsibility pressing heavier on my head than ever.Heather had been all smiles tonight, radiant in her jeweled gown, her hand clinging to my arm as though it had always belonged there. To the court, we must have looked like the perfect picture: the cold king and his beautiful bride-to-be.But when her laughter rang in my ears, it wasn’t her voice I heard. It was hers.Elena.The thought was poison and salvation all at once. Six years had passed, and still, my heart refused to release her. I had told myself she was gone, lost to the winds, unwilling to be found. I had buried myself in duty, in alliances, in the mask of a ruler.And yet tonight, as I stared at the reflection of my hollow eyes in the window