"So it's true? You were sold off to that beast." Kale's voice drawled, thick with arrogance…but underneath it, I caught something else. A crack. Was that…jealousy?
From what I remembered, Kale had been gone for an Alliance Summit, too busy polishing his Alpha image to bother with Jasmine's humiliation. He wasn't here when she was traded away to Lucian like some broken trinket. I guess the news must have reached him on his trip…. clearly, it didn't sit well.
"How could you degrade yourself like this?" he sneered, his eyes dragging over me like I was filth. "You used to be beautiful. Strong. And now look at you. Scarred. Weak. Pathetic. A shadow of Amara."
My stomach churned, but I kept my face still. Calm.
He pushed off the wall and closed the space between us, arrogance in every step.
"I'll be kind enough to let you cling to me again. Leave with me tonight, be my mistress. You'll never be my Luna…..Amara has that place….but at least you won't rot here."
He emphasized on Amara like it was holy. Suddenly, I felt pity for Jasmine. This…trash was her mate? The man she'd begged for?
Kale tilted his head, voice lowering. "I'll even overlook your…flaws."
The way he said it….like he was doing me a favor…I wanted to laugh.
It's so unfortunate that Jasmine would've probably broken down at these words. She'd loved him so much, begged him, humiliated herself for him.
But this wasn't love. It was pride. He couldn't stand that the mate he rejected had become the great Devil Alpha's bride. If word spread, it would be his humiliation, not mine.
Just as I was about to respond…
I felt it.
The shift in the air. Heavy. Charged. My wolf stirred, sensing a presence I already knew too well.
Lucian.
He was here. Close. Listening. Watching.
Of course. Sylvia's trap wasn't just about Kale showing up. It was about me stumbling into shame, feeding Lucian's wrath.
I let my lips curl into a slow smile. Stepping closer to Kale, I tilted my head. "Mistress?" I echoed softly, mockery lacing the word. "That's your grand offer?"
His smirk faltered.
"You really think you're offering me mercy, Kale?"
His eyes narrowed. "Don't humiliate yourself trying to act above me now…I know you want this. Don't lie. Even when I rejected you, you…. ."
"Humiliate myself?" A laugh slipped from my lips, sharp and cutting. "Tell me, kale, Where do you get this confidence? Why would I, the Luna of the most feared pack, lower myself to be the mistress of a Crescent Moon pup?" I leaned closer, lowering my voice just enough to sting.
"…Alpha Lucian is stronger than you, richer than you, more handsome than you…and His body…" I let the pause linger, savoring it, "oh goddess help me…. One night in his bed is worth more than a lifetime spent with you."
Kale's face twisted, shock crumbling into fury.
"Have you gone mad, Jasmine?! You think lying in his bed makes you better than me?" His lip curled, but there was something bitter in his voice, something he didn't mean to show. "Don't fool yourself, Jasmine. Lucian doesn't care about you. To him, you're nothing more than a… plaything. A scarred Luna to parade around."He let out a wicked laugh "Lucian is vicious. Violent. Bloodthirsty. Do you know how many corpses he's piled at his feet? Staying with him will kill you!"
His words might have once broken Jasmine.
But me?
I yawned, deliberately slow, covering my mouth like his lecture bored me to tears. "So what? Dying under an alpha such as Lucian… I'd be happy even as a ghost."
His lips parted, fury choking whatever comeback he had.
I leaned in, whispering like it was a secret.
"Let me tell you, Kale..You were never worth my tears. Not then, not now. Remember that the next time you look at Amara and tell yourself you won."
His face flush red, veins straining at his temple. "Fine," he spat, every word a shard of glass.… "Since you refuse to come to your senses, next time you regret it, don't say I didn't try to save you! Jasmine…I've done my best!"
He spun on his heel, cursing under his breath, fury rolling off him like smoke.
I didn't chase him. Didn't flinch.
Instead, I exhaled, a small smile tugging at
If Sylvia thought this little stunt would rattle me, she'd be sorely disappointed. I'd play along, of course. That was the only way to survive here…no, not survive. To win.
The air was lighter now. The shadows still….Silent.
I reached out with my senses, searching…but i didn't find it..
Lucian's presence was gone.
Had he left?
My wolf shivered at the thought.
I smoothed my skirts and turned toward the staircase….only to be met by Edmund's raised brows and the staff's wide eyes.
Heat shot straight to my cheeks.
Goddess above.
They'd heard everything.
Every word I had just thrown at Kale came rushing back like a slap. His body, his bed…what the hell was I thinking??
I quickened my pace, brushing past them and the whispers that trailed after me. My chest was tight, my palms damp, but I forced myself to keep my head high.
I walked upstairs to our chamber, the heavy oak creaking as i opened it. Darkness lay inside, shadows thick, curtains drawn.
Before I could even set my bag down, a shadow moved.
"Lucian…" I whispered, heart hammering, but the words barely left my throat before he was there.
The door slammed behind me with a thud that rattled my ribs, and suddenly, I was pressed against the wall. His hands were on either side of me, his body close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him. Crimson eyes burned into mine, unreadable, terrifying, and impossibly… magnetic.
"Where do you think you're going….Luna?" His voice was low, sharp, dangerous…each syllable like a blade against my skin.
I froze, throat tight. My mind screamed to stay calm, but my pulse betrayed me, drumming wildly in my ears. "I… I came back," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. "To rest."
He let out a dark, humorless laugh, the sound sending a shiver straight through me. He leaned closer, close enough that I felt the heat of his breath against my cheek.
"Rest?" His eyes glowed, his lips curving into something that wasn't quite a smile. "I thought you said…" He tilted his head, voice dropping to a silken growl. "A night in my bed is better than a lifetime with that boy."
Heat exploded across my face. Goddess above, please take me now…this was far too embarrassing..
My lips parted, but all that came out was a strangled sound halfway between a squeak and a cough. My wolf howled inside me…half mortified, half thrilled…and I wished the floor would open and swallow me whole.
"I…" I stammered, "that was….I didn't mean…I just…"
Before I could dig myself any deeper, his hand slid to the back of my neck, firm, unyielding, and he pulled me forward with a force that stole the air from my lungs. His mouth crashed onto mine, rough and demanding.
I gasped against him, caught between shock and something hot rising in my stomach. His lips were hard, claiming, nothing like the gentle fantasies I had once imagined. And yet…my body betrayed me, heat coiling low, my hands trembling against his chest.
I hadn't expected him to kiss me.. But the way he pressed in closer, the way his grip tightened as though he'd never let me go….
How could he kiss me so passionately?… shouldn't the scars on jasmine's face repulse him?
Then… just as suddenly as it began, he tore himself away.
I stared, lips burning, chest heaving. His crimson gaze locked on me, darker now…His thumb brushed across his mouth, as if testing whether it had really happened.
For a heartbeat, silence. Only the sound of my ragged breathing and the frantic pound of my heart.
"I don't know what games you're playing…Luna but s…"
Before he could finish ….his eyes flickered. Once. Twice. His hand slipped from the wall beside my head.
"Alpha?" My voice cracked in the quiet.
He swayed.
The Devil Alpha….unshakable, unyielding…swayed?
His lashes fluttered, and the crimson bled from his gaze like dying embers.
What was happening??
Before I could reach for him, his weight collapsed forward, the heat of him crashing into me.
"Lucian!" I gasped, barely catching his shoulders as his body sagged against mine. My knees buckled under his weight, fear clawing up my throat.
The Devil Alpha. My supposed nightmare. Unconscious in my arms.
I froze, trembling, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
What… what in the Goddess's name was happening to him?