All Chapters of MARRIED TO THE LYCAN KING: CHOSEN BY THE MOON: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

MAGNUS’S POVI kept my hand on the back of Keira’s chair and fixed my full attention on her parents. The air in the dining hall stayed thick after I spoke, heavy with the scent of beeswax candles and the sharper undercurrent of fear. Shadows stretched long across the polished floor from the tall windows, and the quiet scrape of a servant’s boot outside the doors only made the tension inside feel sharper. Her mother wiped at her wet cheeks with trembling fingers while her father shifted from one foot to the other and shot a quick glance toward his mate. Neither of them looked at their daughter. “You two are not being truthful and it hurts me to see you lie to your daughter repeatedly about what happened when she was five years old,” I said again, my tone flat and controlled. “Do you want to say the truth or should I do it for you?” Her father forced a frown and cleared his throat. The sound was rough, as if the words scraped on the way out. “I do not understand your meaning. We have

MAGNUS’ POVBlood dripped from my mouth onto the marble floor as I stayed on one knee. Keira clung to me with both arms locked around my neck while her body shook with sobs that stole her breath. The white light around her faded little by little until the chandelier above us stopped trembling and the room settled into quiet. Only her crying filled the space.Torin rushed forward. “Your Majesty!”I raised one hand without looking at him. “I’m fine, Torin. Stay back. Get a healer here immediately.” He froze in place. He saw the blood and understood the curse was acting up again, yet I paid him no mind.Keira still stared toward the closed doors as if her family might walk back through them any second. She looked like that same little girl waiting for another round of blame. I noticed the way her shoulders tensed and the way her eyes refused to leave the empty hallway. Without a word I turned her face gently away from the doors and settled one hand behind her head, keeping her pressed

MAGNUS’ POVHer eyes locked on my cock the second it sprang free, the look on her face made something dark and satisfied twist in my chest. Her wide eyes, parted lips, that little catch in her breath as she took in the length and thickness of me. Ragnar growled low in my head, the sound of pure hunger.“Look at her. She wants it, Magnus. She is staring like she already feels it stretching her open.”I laughed, the sound rough as it left my throat. “Are you scared of him? You were excited to meet him earlier, remember.” Keira’s gaze snapped up to mine as color flooded her cheeks but she shook her head fast. “No. No, I am not scared of him. I have seen cocks before. Longer ones even.”The lie sat so clear in her thoughts that I almost laughed again. Ragnar did laugh, sharp and mean. “She’s such a pretty liar. The only one she has seen is that weak little thing Zeke called a cock. Daisy is already tearing into her for it.” I heard Daisy’s voice through Keira’s mind as clear as if the

MAGNUS’ POVI opened my eyes to the soft light filtering through the curtains and the first thing that slammed into me was the memory of her face in those last moments before everything went black. The sex had been intense and consuming in a way that left my body still humming with the echo of her. The argument had followed hard on its heels when I told her I did not want kids and then forced out the truth that I was dying. The pain had ripped through my chest without mercy even though she had been right there against me. I remembered the raw fear that flooded her eyes and the tears that spilled down her cheeks as she called my name over and over and begged me not to leave her. That fear sat like a stone in my gut now because I had never once expected my life or the end of it to mean anything real to another person. For years I had carried the quiet thought that it might be cleaner and simpler if I simply faded out of this world without anyone left to notice. Seeing her break apart

MAGNUS’ POV “Don’t worry,” she whispered, her voice calm and soothing. “I will protect you.” Her words settled over me like a shield I had never asked for and never expected to receive. I will protect you. The simple sentence hung in the quiet of the bedroom while the afternoon light stretched across the floorboards between us. I watched the steady way she held my gaze and felt something unclench in my chest that had stayed locked for longer than I cared to count.I reached out and took her hand without speaking. Her fingers were warm and they curled around mine at once as if the contact was the most natural thing in the world. I guided her toward the edge of the bed and sat down first so she could settle beside me. Our shoulders brushed and the faint scent of her skin mixed with the clean air of the room.“You do not have to carry that promise alone,” I said as I kept my eyes on our joined hands. “I am still standing and I intend to keep standing.”She shifted closer until her knee