Damien
The moon was a heavy silver coin pinned to the sky, bright enough to stain the treetops in white light. My world, my kingdom looked serene from the high balcony of Blackthorn Keep, but serenity had become a lie I lived with every day.
The pines swayed, the wolves slept, the land breathed under my protection, but inside me? Inside me was a war I didn't know how to win.
I gripped the stone railing until the ridges bit into my palms. Below, the village torches flickered like fireflies, the faint hum of my people's lives carrying up the slope. They trusted me. They believed in their Alpha King, the ruthless Damien Blackthorn who would crush every vampire that dared cross our borders. They had no idea that the enemy's king had already crossed the most forbidden line. They had no idea that his lips had tasted mine, that his hands had traced the shape of my hunger, that my heart now beat in rhythm with a monster's.
My monster.
A low growl built in my throat, startling even me. If the Council knew, if my father's old warriors knew, they would string me up before the pack, call me traitor, tear me apart for treason. And I wouldn't even resist. Because the worst part of all was that I didn't regret it.
"Your Majesty."
Lucien's voice broke the night. My Beta stood at the edge of the balcony, sharp-eyed and quiet as always. He didn't approach until I nodded, his posture the perfect picture of obedience. But there was worry in his scent.
"There have been whispers," he said softly. "Movement near the northern border. Fast. Silent. Vampires."
My body stiffened. "How many?"
"A handful. Scouts, most likely. Shall I send patrols?"
"No." The word cut from my throat before I could stop it. Lucien's head snapped up. His jaw twitched, but he didn't question me. Not yet.
"Alpha, with respect..."
"I said no," I growled. The wolf in me flared, my eyes flashing gold. Lucien dropped his gaze immediately, but the tension between us lingered. "I'll handle this myself."
He hesitated, then bowed. "As you wish, Alpha King."
When he left, I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face. My heart wasn't racing from anger. It was racing because part of me already knew who those scouts belonged to. Part of me wanted them to.
Adrian.
The name itself was a wound. The vampire king had carved his presence into me like a secret brand. To the world he was cold, vicious, untouchable. But to me, to me, he was heat wrapped in frost, a contradiction of soft sighs and sharp teeth. He was the one thing I should have destroyed on sight. Instead, I let him in.
I tore myself away from the balcony and strode through the hallways. Portraits of my ancestors lined the walls, proud Blackthorn kings with silver eyes and iron spines. They had fought, conquered, bled for this land. None of them would have faltered the way I had.
"Damn you, Adrian," I muttered under my breath. "Damn you for making me want this."
I didn't shift until I reached the edge of the forest. The moonlight poured through the canopy like liquid steel as my body split and reformed, fur rippling out of flesh until my paws hit the earth. The wolf burst forward, and I ran. Leaves and soil scattered under my stride. The scents of my kingdom filled my nose: pine, damp moss, a rabbit darting somewhere to my right. But beneath it all was a trail that burned like incense.
Him.
I followed it until the trees thinned into a clearing. He was waiting. Of course he was.
Adrian stood at the center of the glade as if he had been sculpted out of the night. His cloak flowed like liquid shadow, the silver clasp at his throat catching the moonlight. His skin was pale, luminous like he belonged to another realm entirely. And his eyes… his eyes were the color of spilled wine, watching me with that infuriating calm.
"You're late," he said softly. His voice carried no echo, but it reached me all the same. "I thought perhaps you'd grown tired of our little rendezvous."
My wolf snarled before my human mind could stop it. His smirk deepened. He loved provoking me, teasing me with his composure while I stood on the edge of ruin.
I shifted back, the transformation leaving my skin hot and bare against the cool air. "What are your people doing near my borders?" I demanded.
Adrian tilted his head, pretending to think. "My people?"
"Don't," I snapped. "Don't play games with me. Were they yours?"
"Perhaps," he murmured. "Perhaps not. Why do you care, Damien? Are you worried for your wolves?" He took a slow step toward me, the hem of his cloak whispering over the grass. "Or are you worried for me?"
I hated how my pulse jumped. He saw it, of course. He always saw it.
"You're reckless," I growled. "If anyone sees us..."
"Then what?" He was close now, his voice a low, velvet taunt. "Will you kill me? Deny me? Pretend you don't dream of my hands on you when you're alone?"
My breath came fast, my chest rising and falling. "Adrian..."
"Yes?" His lips curved like the promise of a storm.
"Stop."
"Why?" He reached out, fingers brushing my jaw. His touch was cool, a contrast to the heat under my skin. "You could crush me right here. Tear my throat out. End this. But you don't. You never do."
He circled me slowly, like a predator playing with its prey, except we both knew I was the one being hunted. His scent clung to the air, dark, sweet, dangerous.
"You look tired," he said, his voice dipping to a whisper near my ear. "Does your crown weigh that heavily tonight? Or is it me who keeps you awake?"
I swallowed hard. "You enjoy this."
"Of course I do." He was in front of me again, tilting his head back slightly to meet my gaze. "You wear your self-control like armor, Damien. It's so very… delicious, watching it crack."
He dragged one cold finger down my throat, stopping just above my collarbone. My wolf shuddered but didn't pull away.
"You're playing with fire," I said. My voice sounded rough even to me.
"Good," he whispered. "I like the burn."
For a heartbeat, we stood there, the world holding its breath. My people would call this weakness. My ancestors would call it betrayal. But standing before him now, all I could think about was how alive I felt in his presence, and how close we were to losing everything if we gave in.
"I should go," I said, stepping back.
"You won't." His smile was slow, knowing. "Not yet."
He was right. I didn't move.
"I heard something tonight," I said instead, grasping for anything to ground me.
"Rumors of a plot. A union between one of your houses and a rogue wolf pack. If it's true.."
Adrian's expression shifted, just slightly. "You think I would betray you?"
"I think you're capable of anything," I said. "You're the vampire king."
"And you're the wolf king," he murmured. "Yet here we are."
His eyes softened, only for a moment. It was enough to cut me open.
"This thing between us…" I started.
"Is the only real thing in either of our lives," he finished quietly.
The honesty in his tone startled me more than any taunt. For once, the mask slipped. For once, I saw the man behind the monster.
He stepped closer, until the space between us was a breath. "Do you want me to stop teasing you?" he asked.
I couldn't speak.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Silence.
His fingers curled under my chin, tilting my face toward his. "Say it, Damien," he whispered. "And I'll go."
I stared into his crimson eyes. My heart thundered, my wolf silent but waiting. I opened my mouth. No words came out.
Adrian smiled, soft, not mocking this time.
"Exactly," he said, and let his hand drop.
He stepped back, cloak swirling. "Go back to your castle, Alpha King. Rule your people. Pretend you're not mine." His smile turned sharp again. "Until the next moon calls you to me."
And with a flicker of movement, he was gone, swallowed by the night.
I stood alone in the clearing, breathing hard, the weight of my crown pressing down even here.
But beneath it all was a truth I couldn't shake, I wasn't sure how much longer I could resist.