Chapter 9
Callum slipped out without a sound, gently shutting the door behind him.
Moonlight spilled in from the half-open window, bathing Lucian in silver.
Where his eyes were usually cold and dark, they now shimmered like they held a few scattered
stars.
“Lyra,” he murmured, pulling me into his arms, his hand gently brushing through my hair, again and again. “Tonight, I finally realized… the world isn’t all monsters and schemes.”
I sniffled. “What kind of monsters?”
Lucian laughed softly, and his scent-a rich blend of vanilla and something darker-wrapped around me, it smelled incredible.
“You don’t need to know. All you need to know is… you’re different from everyone else.”
I pushed him away and looked up. “Then can I be your only Luna?”
He hesitated. “…Not yet,” he finally said.
Big jerk.
The next few days, we were both busy.
I was stuck in lessons with Elliana-plus a swarm of healers who made me take all kinds of strange medicines. They said it would help me awaken my wolf faster.
Maybe I’d taken too much. Lately, I could barely smell Lucian’s bitterness anymore.
“Savanna, smell me.” I frowned, staring at the new vial in her hand. “Do I smell bitter now too?”
Savanna thought I was just being stubborn again. “Lyra, these are good for you. Even you said running’s been easier lately.”
That was true.
These were all medicines to strengthen my body.
The healers said the same thing as the pack doctor my father had once summoned:
Basically, because of a difficult birth and years of being kept indoors, my body was weak, my learning slow, and my wolf was taking longer to appear.
Nobody wanted to be a no-wolf forever.
I sighed and swallowed the bitter pill, popping a piece of candy into my mouth right after. That’s
when a servant rushed in.
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“Luna, the Luna Queen has returned from Celestine Hall. She requests your presence in her chambers.”
Savanna had warned me several times on the way there-what to say, how to act.
Luna Emery was Lucian’s mother, and every year she would spent half a month at Celestine Hall, the grand temple near the castle, in prayer and solitude.
I changed into a pretty gown and fixed my hair before heading to her chambers.
“You must be Lyra Rhodes,” Emery said with a gentle smile, seated elegantly on a velvet sofa.
I bowed politely-but the moment I stepped forward, a foul scent hit my nose.
It was her. That smell was coming from her.
“You dare ignore the Luna Queen’s question?” Aubrey snapped from the side, her voice shrill.
The smell doubled as Aubrey stepped closer. I felt dizzy.
But I remembered what Savanna had told me: don’t mess up this time.
I’d expected Lucian’s mother to be like him. Apparently not.
“Yes, I come from the Bluemoon Pack,” I replied in a small voice.
“You’re quite the lovely one,” Emery said sweetly. “No wonder the Alpha King is taken with you.
Come, sit with me.”
I glanced at her, then at Aubrey-who looked ready to bite someone.
They were both bad people. But one wore a smile and the other bared her teeth.
I obediently sat beside Emery. She took my hand and waved Aubrey away. “You may leave.”
Aubrey shot me a deadly glare but had no choice. She turned and stormed off.
Once the door closed, Emery turned to me. “Tell me, Lyra. Do you love the Alpha King?”
Of course I did.
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I nodded.
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“I heard about the assassination attempt. You were there too, weren’t you? Must’ve been terrifying.”
I shook my head.
“Sigh, I stayed at Celestine Hall for half a month, and when I came out, I saw that the Alpha King
had lost so much weight.”
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She sighed, lifting her hand in a graceful motion. A servant stepped forward with a small bottle.
“You may not know this,” Emery said. “Lucian was taken from me when he was young. He’s misunderstood me ever since.” Her tone laced with sorrow, “It brings me peace to know you’re by
his side.”
“This is medicine I found for his heart condition. He absolutely refuses to take anything from me. Could you help me find a way to make him take it?””
I stared at the bottle in her hand.
“Lucian has… a heart condition?”
She nodded gravely. “Since he was a child. The pain is unbearable when it flares up. If he keeps refusing the treatment…he probably only has a few years left to live. I have no other choice but to ask for your help.”
Only a few years left to live?
My eyes widened in shock.
“He resents me. That’s why he won’t touch anything I give him. But you… maybe you can help. Just… don’t tell him it came from me.”
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Chapter 9
