A Luna For The Lycan King

's

g down on me with every step. My thoughts were a tangled mess, torn between the need to protect my pack and the strange pull that I felt toward him. He was my mate-my fated mate, but

gnawing at me. Dorian had betrayed me in the worst possible way, and now I was being taken into the heart of the Lycan K

strangely calming, but they did little to ease the storm raging inside me. The bond between King Cassian and me was undeniable, but I resented it. How could I be mated to a

cut through my thoughts, ma

ver the stone buildings that surrounded it. It wasn't what I expected. I had imagined a grand palace, something magnificent and imposi

steady but lacking any trace of emotion. "It's not what most

, and I had no control over any of it. A part of me wanted to turn around and run, but I knew I cou

stark and cold as the outside, with large, high ceilings and walls made of dark stone. There were

ssian instructed, hi

es of corridors, each more desolate than the last, until we arrived at a large door. The door was intricately carved

s meeting mine for the first tim

my throat. The weight of his gaze was too much to bear, and

one in the dimly lit hallway. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing, wh

nd forth, trying to clear my mind, trying to find some way to make sense of everything. But the

had trusted him. I had loved him. And now, I had nothing. N

e bond. It was a part of me, something I couldn't escape. No matter how much I re

unreadable, his face as cold and distant as ever, but there was something

stepping aside to allow me entry into

th only a bed, a small desk, and a few chairs. No personal touches.

said, his voice low as he closed the door behin

o respond. There was no p

he continued, his eyes narrowing slightly. "

loyal to him or to this kingdom. But I couldn't afford to

ing Cassian added. "You

could close my eyes without seeing Dorian's face,

Ivy... You are my mate. Whether you accept it or not, this

eavy blanket. His words lingered in the air, taunting me. The truth of the

-

assian

made, had consequences. And now, Ivy stood before me-my mate, the one I was meant to protect, to guide,

h, her resilience-it was all there, beneath the surface. She was not a fragi

h of us. She didn't yet understand the gravity of it, and I

Not when everything in me screamed

need time to process. Time to accept the rea

would not stand for that kind of betrayal. Not from anyone. And

mate to claim. The path ahead would not be