Chapter 13
Lucien’s eyes flashed gold, his voice dropping to that dangerous Alpha timbre, “Out.”
Saela pouted, pressing herself against him with practiced seduction. “Come on, we’re together now. What’s wrong with sharing a bed?” When he remained unmoved, her lower lip trembled. “If you kick me out, I swear I’ll cry loud enough for the whole pack to hear!”
Lucien closed his eyes briefly, his jaw working. The Alpha of Shadowpine Pack, feared across three territories, brought to heel by the threat of tears. Finally, he exhaled in resignation.
Saela’s victory smile was immediate. She reached beneath the pillow, pulling out a stack of yellowed papers and worn sketchbooks with the excitement of a wolf uncovering buried treasure.
“Look what I’ve kept all these years!” She waved the papers triumphantly. “Love letters I wrote you when I was younger. And drawings!” She flipped through pages of sketches, each one clearly rendered with obsessive devotion. “Listen to this one: ‘Luc smiled at me today during pack dinner. My heart nearly stopped. If he only knew how much
I adore him…“”
After reading several more embarrassingly earnest passages, she curled against him, nuzzling into his neck with obvious satisfaction. “God, I never imagined you felt the same way all this time. Talk about destiny, right?”
Lucien remained silent, his golden eyes studying her with an intensity that would have made most wolves cower. Then, without warning, he spoke. “Let’s make it official. The mating ceremony. Next full moon.”
Saela froze mid–nuzzle. “What?”
“You heard me His voice was calm, deliberate. “Let’s complete the mate bond. Make it official before the pack and
the Moon Goddess.”
Panic flashed across Saela’s face. “That’s… isn’t that rushing things?”
“If you want me, this is what it takes,” Lucien stated, his voice flat with Alpha certainty. “Within thirty days, you’ll need to formally withdraw from the Ashmorne pack registry. Then we announce our relationship to all allied packs. Finally, we complete the mate bond under the full moon. No secrets. No hiding.”
The color drained from Saela’s face, her scent souring with fear. “No! If I withdraw from the registry, I lose my standing as the Ashmorne princess! Going public means every wolf in three territories will say I seduced my brother! The Alpha Council would never approve! Our parents would disown us both!”
Lucien’s eyebrow arched slightly. “So what exactly do you want? For me to be your secret plaything? Your forbidden thrill?”
“That’s not-” Tears welled in Saela’s eyes, genuine this time. “I just thought we could keep this private. Between us. Everything else stays the same. Why does anyone else have to know?”
“Is that why you denied knowing me to your friend at Eclipse?” His voice carried no accusation, just simple fact.
Stand. In for His Forbidden Love
5.2%
Car 23
Sarde stiffened You heard ther?”
She
and his hand desperately, her daws unconsciously extending to prick his skin. “It wasn’t what it sounded like I just didn’t want to start rumors at school. You know how vicious pack politics can be!” She pressed closer, voice dropping to a whisper. “Please don’t be mad, Luc. I’m just… scared.”
“And when Father arranged for you to meet the Crystal Moon heir as a potential mate? You agreed because you were scared then too?”
Sacla nodded frantically, relief flooding her face at this apparent lifeline. “Exactly! I’ll find a way to get out of it
when the time comest
Something shifted in Lucien’s expression–a subtle change most wolves would miss, but devastating in its significance. Disappointment flickered in his golden eyes.
“Saela,” he said, his voice softening with a finality that made her blood run cold. “I’ve kept my feelings for you locked away all these years. Do you want to know why?”
“It wasn’t fear of rejection. It wasn’t even the taboo.”
“It was because I’ve always known, deep down, that you’re selfish to your core.”
“You say you want me, but you’re not willing to give up anything else–not your status, not your comfort, not even the opinions of wolves who mean nothing to us.”
“You daim to love me, but you refuse to stand beside me in daylight. You want me in shadows, where it costs you nothing”
“That’s why I held back for so long, I didn’t want to destroy what we had by forcing you to choose.”
Saela’s tears fell freely now, her shoulders trembling. “If you knew all this, why did you agree to be with me at all?”
Lucien’s gaze was steady. “Because wolves are creatures of hope, even when we know better. I thought perhaps when faced with the choice, you might surprise me.”
“I believed if you truly wanted this–wanted me–you’d fight for it. That we’d face whatever came, together.”
“But clearly, I was wrong.”
He touched her cheek gently, a goodbye in the gesture. “This ends now.”
Saela clutched his arm with desperate strength, her claws drawing blood as she clung to him. “Luc, please! I know.
Figure I’m selfish and weak, but you’ve loved me for years! Can’t you just… accommodate me a little longer? We c something out!”
Lucien methodically detached her fingers from his arm, one by one. His voice held the chill of a winter moon. “I can compromise on many things, Saela. Not this.”
“Since you’re unwilling to stand in the light with me, we’ll return to being siblings. Nothing more.”
1e Forbidden Love
5.4%
Chapter 13
Saeda’s tears froze on her face, Suddenly, she laughed–a broken, hysterical sound.
“You planned this from the start, didn’t you?” Her voice turned razor–sharp. “These past days–shopping, dining, all of it–you were just going through the motions, waiting for an excuse to end things cleanly,”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Because you’re in a hurry to find her. Mira. Admit it.”
“You’ve developed feelings for her, haven’t you? Your little Luna who worshipped the ground you walked on?”
After a weighted silence, Lucien answered, “Yes, I’m going to find her.”
“And no, I won’t sever our mate bond,”
“As for feelings…” He paused, something vulnerable flickering across his face. “I don’t know what I feel. I only know that without her, the den feels… wrong.”
“These days without her scent, without her presence… I find myself unsettled in ways I didn’t expect.”
Saela seemed to crumple, all her strength evaporating. As she staggered backward, her laughter turned to tears.
“She’s not coming back, Luc. Not this time.”
“She will.” His voice carried forced certainty, but his eyes betrayed the first hints of genuine fear. “She loves me. She always has. If I go to her, she’ll return.”
The words hung in the air, a desperate Alpha’s command that even he wasn’t sure the universe would obey.
