"And yet, you didn’t ask," she said sweetly. "Kind of like how you’re now planning a wedding I never agreed to attend, let alone star in."
"What was the deal exactly?" Luna snapped, eyes narrowing as she turned fully in her seat. "Mark and you own ? Was that it? So vampire version of a contract? Bite equals bride?"
Damien gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Luna," he said with barely restrained calm, "there are too many things at stake here for us to go back and forth on this."
"Oh, like my free will?" she fired back, voice rising. "Because that seems like sothing worth going back and forth on!"
"We are getting married," he said flatly, with the steely tone of soone who’d had enough argunts for a century. "That will be it."
She snorted. "Over my dead body."
Damien’s jaw clenched. "Damn it, Luna. I don’t have ti for this."
"Then by all ans," she gestured toward the road with grand sarcasm, "do whatever ancient vampire princes do when they don’t have ti. I don’t care."
His patience snapped. "We will get married," he growled, each word punctuated. "We will fuck like rabbits every minute of every day, and you will provide with an heir."
Luna blinked. "Wow."
"Don’t ’wow’ ."
"No, I an...wow. That’s your plan?" she crossed her arms. "Impressive. Bold. Incredibly stupid. Do you honestly think saying things like that will make throw off my panties in delight?"
"Like I said," Luna muttered, returning her gaze to the window, "over my dead body."
"If I have to drag you to the altar, Luna, I will," Damien bit out. "The wedding will be prepared for. Whether you want to be part of the process or not is entirely up to you. But it. Will. Happen."
Her lips twisted into a smile, cool and defiant. "You really should’ve marked soone more agreeable."
Damien said nothing. Just revved the engine and let the tires squeal back into motion.
Luna leaned her head against the glass and stared out at the fast-moving trees, determination radiating from her.
Behind the wheel, Damien fud. His jaw was set hard enough to chip a fang.
She would cave. He knew she would.
She had to.
Because if she didn’t... he wasn’t sure what he’d do with the last year of his life.
*****
Talon stood at the entrance of the pack house, arms crossed and jaw tight. He had heard the whispers, the murmurings that swept through the city. The princess—their princess—was gone. Banished. Just like that. And the worst part? No one really knew why. But he knew. Talon knew one thing for certain: his Alpha was returning a broken man.
He braced himself. Kyllian hadn’t been himself for weeks. There was sothing in his Alpha’s eyes that hadn’t been there before—like his wolf was howling inside but couldn’t break free.
When the car pulled up, Talon straightened his back instinctively, but Kyllian didn’t even glance his way. The great Alpha stumbled through the door.
He just collapsed.
Right onto the couch, with all the grace of a dead bear. One leg dangling, one arm flung over his face.
Talon’s heart clenched, but he approached silently. The bond of brotherhood, of pack and duty, guided him. He knelt beside his Alpha, and with gentle precision, he began to unlace the boots that had walked through fire and heartbreak alike.
Talon padded over to the bar, grabbing the bottle of aged whiskey he knew Kyllian liked. He poured a generous amount into a glass.
"Bring the bottle."
Talon hesitated.
"Alpha..." he began softly, hoping for a chance to reason with him.
"Talon...not now. I don’t want to hear it." Kyllian snapped.
Talon nodded, lips pressed tight. He walked back to the bar in silence and returned with the bottle, placing it gently next to the full glass on the coffee table. Then he stepped back and folded his arms, standing.
Kyllian reached for the glass, downed it in one long, bitter swallow, and imdiately refilled it. Then again. And again. And again—until the warmth of the whiskey turned to fire, and the fire to numbness. Until the edges of grief dulled and he could almost pretend he hadn’t watched the love of his life climb into another man’s car without looking back.
"She’s gone."
"I know, Alpha. I heard," Talon replied. His own heart quietly splintering beneath the surface.
Kyllian stared into the glass as though it might answer him, tell him where he went wrong. "I didn’t tell you this earlier because it was a sensitive topic..." He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat. "But she was my mate."
"What?" Talon blinked, eyes wide. "That’s... that’s impossible. The bond—wouldn’t you have felt it imdiately?"
Kyllian laughed then. A dry, humorless sound that was more bark than mirth. "Apparently, nothing’s impossible when you’ve got an evil sorcerer slithering around rewriting the laws of nature." He rubbed his face, the stubble scraping against his palm. "I could never explain what I felt for her. It was always there. I thought it was a crush at first."
"I looked forward to every blood moon festival thinking, ’Yes, this is the year the goddess will make us feel sothing. She’ll say my na, I’ll say hers, and boom—mate bond.’"
"But all that ti, she was already supposed to be mine." He stared at the swirling amber liquid. "The bond was there. Just muted. Sealed. Hidden under layers of magic so thick I couldn’t even trust my own instincts. She was mine, Talon. And I didn’t even know."
Talon dragged a hand through his hair.
"She kissed ," Kyllian said suddenly, the smile fading. "Before she left. It was... everything. And it ant nothing. A goodbye kiss, Talon. She gave him the bond, and the goodbye."
"Get Jane," Kyllian said finally.
Talon froze where he stood. Of all things Kyllian could have said, he hadn’t expected Jane.
He wanted to argue, to tell him it was a bad idea. But he didn’t. Because the look in Kyllian’s eyes wasn’t one of lust or distraction—it was survival. If Jane was what he needed to hurt less, to feel sothing other than devastation, then Jane it would be.
Talon sighed heavily, as if the weight of his Alpha’s heartbreak rested on his own shoulders too. "Yes, Alpha," he said softly, then turned to carry out the order that tasted like regret on his tongue.
*****
King Lucivar stood at the grand marble steps, arms outstretched.
"My darling princess! Welco once again!" he bood, pulling Luna into a hug.
Luna smiled politely, the corners of her lips lifting just enough to be respectful. Her scarf was wrapped neatly around her neck, covering the mating mark Damien had left. A secret beneath satin.
"Thank you, Your Highness," she said. She didn’t want to give away how exhausted she was.
anwhile, Damien was standing behind her, ordering maids around. "Be careful with that trunk."
Lucivar turned to Damien with a wink. "I am so glad you and my son sorted things out. You are not going to regret it, I promise."
Luna gave a small snort. "Yes, I’ve been told I’m quite lucky."
She glanced at Damien who was still sorting out her luggage.
"But," Luna continued, turning back to Lucivar with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, "I do have a favor to ask you, Your Highness."
Lucivar’s smile faded slightly, brows arching as he sensed the shift in her tone. "Anything. Say the word, and it is yours."
"Would you please arrange a place of my own to stay?" she said gently, clasping her hands in front of her. "I can always get a job to pay for my keep."
Lucivar blinked. "A... job? You an employnt? Like... wage-earning?"
Luna gave a soft laugh, almost amused. "I just want a little independence. Sothing that feels like mine. Even if I’m here as part of your son’s grand plan, I need a little corner of this world that’s still mine."
Lucivar tilted his head, lips pursed. "You do realize that you are, in fact, a princess, yes? You don’t apply for jobs."
"Well, I have been banished," Luna said lightly, though the words sat in her throat like a stone. "So no princess entitlents anymore. I have to take care of myself from now on."
"Nonsense, child," Lucivar finally said. "I must say, Magnus’s verdict is quite harsh but be that as it may, you’ll be well taken care of here. You don’t need a job. You’re practically royalty."
Luna gave him a half-smile, soft but resolute. "Actually, I do. Not just for financial stability."
Lucivar rubbed his temples and let out a long sigh. "Goddess above, this generation." He looked at her again. "Child, you do realize you are Queen-to-be? Do you know what that entails?"
"I do," Luna said, crossing her arms. "And it entails things I’m not ready for. Not yet. Right now, I’m not Luna the Queen-to-be. I’m Luna, the freshly banished, deeply confused, slightly hormonal ex-princess. I need to find myself first. Everyone’s been deciding things for my whole life. Who I’m ant to be, where I’m ant to stay, what I should feel... And it’s exhausting. I need space to figure out what I actually want before I beco soone’s queen."
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