Lucian's Point of View.
"Hell no!"
The wine glass shattered in my hand before I even realized I was gripping it too hard.
Crimson liquid bled across the marble like blood, glistening beneath my boots. I barely looked at the mess.
My heart pounded with rage as her face kept flickering in my mind.
"That little punk!" I lashed out.
That little rogue had walked into my court, looked me in the eye, and rejected the Moon's bond like it was an inconvenience.
The nerve, the absolute audacity.
I stood alone in the war chamber, jaw locked, pacing the length of the room like a storm bottled in flesh. I wasn't thinking clearly, and that fact only made me angrier. She'd gotten under my skin, again, and it had only been hours since she left.
"Shayor!" I barked, voice like thunder in the stone hall.
My second-in-command appeared almost instantly, his boots echoing with urgency as he bowed low. "Alpha."
"Bring me the rogue guard who escorted Selene during her arrival, the one who served in her camp."
"Yes, Alpha."
He left immediately without asking any question.
I moved to the tall window, staring down at the vast courtyard below where my warriors trained in tight formation, order, and discipline.
Things I valued.
Things Selene clearly knew nothing about.
"A rogue, a mutt…"
How dare she humiliate me in my court, in front of my council, and the goddess-damned nobility.
Her rejection wasn't just disrespect.
It was an attack, and I never let attacks go unanswered.
Immediately, the door opened again.
I looked up as Shayor returned with a short, dark-haired rogue guard trailing behind him, the man looked nervous and I could see his fingers tremble.
"Kneel," I commanded without looking away from the window.
He did, his head bowed.
"What's your name?"
"Torik, Alpha."
"You served at the rogue assembly?"
"Yes, Alpha."
"You knew Selene?"
He hesitated. "I… knew of her, Alpha."
I turned, golden eyes narrowing. "What does that mean?"
"She wasn't… like the others," Torik said carefully. "She kept to herself all the time, did her work and never complained or smiled. No one knew where she came from because she had no family, no known history. She was rescued by some of the rogues and was brought to the assembly."
My eyes narrowed. "Three years ago…" I muttered as I remembered that was when Voran first informed me about the mate bond.
My jaw twitched.
"She sounds mysterious?" I repeated. "Or maybe hiding something?"
The man nodded.
"Could be both, Alpha."
I stepped closer, slow and deliberate.
"No one disrespects me like that unless they think they have leverage. Was there anyone she was close to?"
"Yes Alpha, a young rogue like her," Torik said. "A young she-wolf named Kaya. They shared shifts at the eastern farming post, Kaya was the only one Selene spoke to."
I nodded slowly. "Bring her to me."
Torik flinched. "We… I…can't, Alpha."
My voice dropped. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"She ran away from the pack, Alpha, this morning, left before sunrise with a male rogue, one she claimed was her fated mate. The guards posted at the gate didn't catch it in time and before anyone realizes it, they're both gone."
My lips curled into a snarl.
"Pathetic!"
"How convenient," I muttered. "The only person who could've told me what I need to know just happens to vanish the same day Selene humiliates me?"
"It wasn't planned," Torik said quickly. "I swear it, Alpha."
"I don't believe in coincidences," I snapped. "And I don't believe that girl knows who she is toiling with."
Torik lowered his eyes.
I stepped forward until I towered over him. My voice dropped to a quiet, dangerous hum.
"She stood in my court and spat on the bond the Moon gave us. No rogue, no Alpha, no creature alive has ever done that to me, and I will make sure she regrets it."
He swallowed hard. "What are your orders?"
"Punish her," I said. "Let her feel what it means to defy me, I want her bones and ego crushed."
"Yes, Alpha."
Torik stood and bowed before walking out of the room.
I turned back to the window, fingers twitching at my sides.
At once I walked out as I headed towards my war chambers. I badly wanted to calm my mind but I was way too furious and her harsh tone couldn't leave my head.
I kicked the war chamber door open so hard it rattled the hinges.
The heavy doors groaned shut behind me as I stalked across the floor, boot heels pounding against black stone like the beat of war drums. Maps lay scattered across the table, plans for the eastern border defenses, coded messages from allied packs but none of it mattered now.
I shoved them aside, watching scrolls roll to the floor like worthless parchment.
All I could see and hear was her voice in that throne room.
"I reject you, Alpha."
"Dammit!" I gnashed my teeth hard as my jaw clenched until my teeth ached.
"A filthy rogue with dirt beneath her fingernails and defiance in her mouth."
She should have bowed and submitted but instead, she walked away from me like I was the one unworthy of her.
My wolf snarled in my chest, pacing, bristling with fury.
"She shamed us but she belongs to us." it growled inside me.
"She's a rogue," I snapped aloud. "She belongs beneath us."
"She is ours, chosen by the Moon."
"She's nothing but a mouthy stray with a death wish."
"And yet your blood sings for her." he howls.
"I'd rather bleed dry."
"You don't mean that."
I turned sharply, growling low in my throat. "She rejected me."
"You rejected her first."
"No, I put her in her place."
"You pushed her away because she saw you."
I slammed a hand down on the edge of the table. "I let her walk away!"
"Because you're afraid."
"Of what?" I spat. "Of a starved rogue who talks back and glares like she has teeth sharper than mine?"
"No," my wolf growled. "Afraid that she doesn't need you, that she won't stay."
I stared at the stone wall, my breathing uneven. I could feel the bond humming under my skin, gnawing at me.
"She's not worthy of this bond, she's not worthy of me."
"Then why haven't you let her go?"
"I have." The lie sounded sharp in the air.
"We both know how hard I am trying ever since this mate bond was awakened this morning."
"You're trying to fight destiny, Lucian, and you're losing."
I smirked, "I never lose."
At once, there was a knock on the door. I turned around and without waiting for my words, the door opened and Voran walked in.
I rolled my eyes at the sight of him.
"Here to bless my failures, old man?" I drawled without turning around.
Voran stepped into the room, his violet priest's robes trailing across the floor like mist. His silver hair gleamed in the candlelight, and his face was carved from judgment.
"I warned you," he said simply. "But you were too arrogant to listen."
"Careful," I said, finally turning, "You're walking a fine line."
"I don't fear you, Lucian, we both know that I never have."
I bared my teeth. "That might be the first foolish thing I've heard all day."
He crossed his arms.
"You're not angry she rejected the bond," Voran said. "You're angry that you didn't reject her first. You lost control, and now you're bleeding from the ego."
"Don't mistake pride for pain," I hissed. "I don't want her, you know this."
"The Moon doesn't care what you want."
"I will not be ruled by fate," I growled. "Or some filthy, wild-blooded rogue."
"She's more than that." Voran voice boomed.
"She's a nobody."
"She is your mate!" his voice was louder, and it echoed in the room.
My hands slammed down on the war table, making the iron frame shake.
"She's not worthy of me," I spat. "She has no title, no alliance. She works in fields and lives in mud, she rejected the bond…"
"She rejected you because she saw what's in your heart," Voran cut in. "And found it empty."
I stared at him, chest heaving.
"You dare?"
"I speak the truth, not flattery," he said. "You're meant to rule with someone, not over them, and the Moon Goddess doesn't choose lightly. You may not want her, but your pack needs her."
"I built this pack, I bled for it in wars that I conquered, and I do not need her to complete me."
"No," Voran said, eyes narrowing. "But the pack needs a Luna, a soul to balance yours, and if you continue down this path of fury and pride…"
He stepped forward, each word sharp as a blade.
"...you will lose everything, Lucian."
My eyes narrowed hard.
The bond pulsed again, hotter this time as I gritted my teeth, ignoring it.
"Get out," I muttered.
"Lucian…"
"I said get out, now!" I growled.
He watched me for a long, silent moment, then turned and walked to the door, just before he crossed the threshold, he paused.
"You can hate her, and have her punished, but the Moon has already chosen her. One day, you will answer for what you do with that gift."
The door closed behind him with finality.
I stood in the silence, fists clenched, with a tight jaw.
The war chamber was cold and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel in control, and that terrified me more than I'd ever admit.
"I will find a way to destroy this mate bond, yes, I will!"