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Chapter 18
Chapter 18
The moment Lucien’s fist connected with Riven’s jaw, the room crackled with primal energy. The sound of bone against bone echoed off the walls, raw and animal.
Lucien’s knuckles bloomed crimson, his chest heaving with each ragged breath. His eyes had transformed completely–the controlled Alpha of Shadowpine gone, replaced by something feral and dangerous. His wolf was dangerously close to the surface, golden eyes blazing with territorial rage.
Riven staggered backward, one hand coming up to touch the blood at the corner of his mouth. Before he could retaliate, Mira lunged between them, shoving Lucien with surprising strength.
“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” she snarled, her own wolf rising to match his aggression. “You don’t get to
barge in here and attack people!”
Lucien stumbled back, momentarily shocked by her defense of another male. His wolf howled internally at the betrayal. “I’ve lost control? What about you?” His voice dropped to a dangerous growl. “Letting another Alpha touch
what’s mine.”
“Yours?” Mira’s laugh was razor–sharp. “Is that what I am to you–property? Wolves mate for life, but apparently you skipped that lesson when you were dry–humping your sister’s shadow doll every night.” Her eyes flashed amber. “This is my den, my territory. You have no claim here. If you want to act like some rabid omega, do it
somewhere else!”
Something in Lucien’s expression fractured. The rage momentarily gave way to something unfamiliar on his usually stoic features–raw desperation.
“Just tell me what you want,” he said, his voice breaking. “Money? Territory? Power? I’ll give you anything. What will it take for you to come home with me?”
Mira stared at him with genuine disbelief. “Are you seriously this dense? I’m never going back with you. This isn’t a negotiation. I don’t love you anymore.” She gestured around them. “I have a new life, a new future.”
“A future?” Lucien’s upper lip curled, revealing the hint of a fang. “With this territorial alpha–hopper who’s bedded half the packs in Europe?”
Something dangerous flashed in Mira’s eyes. She smiled–a predator’s smile that Lucien had never seen on her
before.
“Alpha–hopper?” She turned to a nearby dresser, pulling open the top drawer to extract a polished wooden box
inlaid with silver runes. “Let me show you what real devotion looks like, Lucien.”
The box opened with a soft click, revealing dozens of letters, the paper yellowed with age but preserved with
obvious care.
Lucien’s fingers trembled slightly as he picked up the topmost one, his wolf suddenly quieting with apprehension:
[Little Wolf: First saw you at Elias’s full moon ceremony tonight. You were wearing crimson while playing that
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The Unclaimed Luna’s Final Goodbye: No Longer a Stand–In for His Forbidden Love
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Chapter 18
ancient piano–burning brighter than anyone in the room. I know I shouldn’t stare, but my wolf wouldn’t look away.
Riven Dragomir, 5/20/2015]
He continued through the stack, each letter tightening the vise around his heart:
[Little Wolf: Heard you’ve set your sights on Ashmorne. He’s unworthy of you–too cold, too controlled to appreciate someone who burns as bright as you do. But if he’s who your wolf calls for, I’ll help you win him.
}
Riven Dragomir, 8/15/2016]
[Little Wolf: Saw you crying by the silver lake today because he stood you up again for his “sister.” Nearly broke my vow and challenged him on the spot. Remember, real Alphas protect what they cherish.
Riven Dragomir, 11/3/2018]
The final letter, the ink barely dry:
[Little Wolf: The pack whispers say you’ve broken your bond. Six years was too long to wait, but I would have waited six more. This time, let me be the one to love you as you deserve. No shadow dolls. No divided heart. Just us.
Riven Dragomir, 12/25/2025]
Ten years of devotion, documented in bold strokes, each letter a testament to unwavering loyalty from a wolf with a reputation for taking nothing seriously.
“He’s not some random hook–up,” Mira said quietly, watching comprehension dawn on Lucien’s face. “While you were holding your precious control so tight it was strangling us both, he’s been there. Waiting. Watching me chase after someone who couldn’t even look at me during intimate moments.”
Lucien’s throat constricted painfully, his usual eloquence deserting him. “I-”
“I told you before,” Mira cut him off mercilessly, “when you didn’t want me, others did. When I was stupidly devoted to you, you married me but kept me at arm’s length while fantasizing about Saela. Now that I’ve finally moved on, you’re acting like a possessive knot–head. What exactly do you want from me?”
The unfamiliar sensation in Lucien’s chest intensified–a gnawing emptiness that threatened to consume him from within. His wolf whined plaintively, finally understanding what it stood to lose.
He opened his mouth, forcing out three words he’d never said to her before: “…I’m sorry.”
The words hung between them, pathetically inadequate.
“I don’t need your apology,” Mira returned the box to the drawer with careful precision. “I need you gone from my
life.”
Still, Lucien remained rooted to the spot, stubborn determination hardening his features. “I can change.”
“I won’t leave. You have to come back with me.” His voice took on the edge of an Alpha command, forgetting that she was no longer bound to respond.
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Chapter 18
A sudden crash from the living room interrupted their standoff. Mira brushed past Lucien without a second glance, rushing out to find Riven kneeling beside a shattered medical kit. She was immediately at his side.
“Don’t move,” she said, her voice softening to a tender murmur Lucien hadn’t heard in years. “Let me take care of
you.”
From the shadows of the hallway, Lucien watched as Mira gently cleaned Riven’s split lip with antiseptic–soaked cotton, her movements practiced and attentive.
Her touch was careful, her gaze focused entirely on Riven’s comfort, just as… just as it had once been with him.
He remembered, suddenly and painfully, how she had tended to him after territory battles–rushing to his side the moment he returned home, eyes bright with concern, carefully cleaning each wound regardless of how minor.
Back then, her tenderness had belonged exclusively to him.
Now, she wouldn’t even meet his gaze.
The realization struck him with physical force–a stabbing pain so intense it momentarily stole his breath.
Later that night, Lucien stood alone on the balcony, a cigarette burned down to his fingertips. The European moon hung lower and larger than the one above his territory, watching him with what felt like judgment.
He called Ryder, his voice uncharacteristically raw. “Something’s wrong with me.”
After a hesitant pause, Ryder asked carefully, “What’s happening, Alpha?”
“Seeing her with someone else, it’s like-” Lucien pressed his palm against his chest where an actual physical ache had formed, “-like being gutted with silver.”
“It feels like dying.”
The silence stretched across the connection, heavy with understanding.
Finally, Ryder spoke with gentle certainty. “Alpha, you’ve fallen in love with Luna Mira.”
“You’ve just realized it too late.”
The cigarette ash fell, burning his fingertip with a sharp, hot pain.
Lucien didn’t even register it–the burn in his chest had consumed everything else.
anar a Stand. In for His Forbidden Love
