The Alpha King Temporary Luna

Chapter One "One year, Aria. Become my Luna, and when the contract ends, you walk away from me with your freedom." I stared at the man sitting on the black throne. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. Alpha King Lucian Blackthorn had just offered me a contract. Not a love story. Not a mate bond. Not even a promise. A contract. One year as his Luna. One year beside the most feared Alpha in the werewolf kingdom. And in exchange, I would finally be free. My fingers tightened around the edge of the wooden chair beneath me. "Why me?" Lucian didn't answer immediately. His silver eyes remained fixed on mine, so cold and unreadable that I had to fight the urge to look away. The throne room was enormous, but somehow his silence made it feel smaller. Around us stood members of his royal council, warriors dressed in black, and several high–ranking wolves who had been watching me since I entered. Every single one of them looked at me like I was a mistake. But perhaps I was. I was only an omega. A low–ranking one at that. My clothes were plain, my hair was still damp from the rain outside, and I had walked into the Blackthorn palace wearing the same worn boots I had owned for three years. I didn't belong here, everyone in the room knew it. Including the Alpha King. "You are willing to do it," Lucian finally said. It wasn't a question. I swallowed. "Yes." His eyes narrowed. "You haven't even heard all the terms." "I don't need to." A few people in the room exchanged surprised glances. Lucian leaned back against his throne. "You're desperate." The words hit harder than they should have but I had no reason to deny them. Desperation was the only reason I had crossed half the kingdom alone. My younger brother was sick. My pack had refused to help while the healer had given us three days to find the medicine he needed before his condition became irreversible. And the medicine cost more than my family could earn in a year. I had tried everything. Begged. Worked. Borrowed. Even stolen once. Nothing was enough. Then the royal messenger arrived. An invitation from the Alpha King. At first, I'd thought it was a trap but now I knew it was something much worse. A bargain. "I need the money," I admitted. Lucian's expression didn't change. "Five hundred thousand gold coins." My heart stopped. Five hundred thousand. Enough to pay for my brother's treatment. Enough to buy a house. Enough to disappear from my pack forever. "You'll receive half when you sign," Lucian continued. "The rest will be transferred to your account when the contract is completed." "And if I leave before the year ends?" "You receive nothing." I nodded. "And if I refuse?" Lucian's gaze sharpened. ",You return to your pack." My stomach twisted. That wasn't a choice. That was a death sentence. I lowered my eyes to the contract lying on the table before me. Thick parchment. Black ink. The royal seal pressed into red wax. My name was already written across the bottom. ARIA VALE. For some reason, seeing it there made my chest tighten. "There's something else," Lucian said. I looked up. "You will live in the royal palace." I hesitated. "As your Luna?" "Yes." "For one year?" "Yes." "And after that?" "You leave." His answer came too quickly almost as though he'd rehearsed it. I stared at him. "You really don't want me here." Something flickered in his eyes. Gone before I could understand it. "I don't want a wife." The honesty surprised me. "Then why do you need a Luna?" Silence. This time, it lasted longer. One of the council members shifted uncomfortably. Lucian's jaw tightened until finally, he said, "Because the kingdom needs one." That wasn't the whole truth. I knew it. But I didn't push. I had learned a long time ago that asking powerful people questions they didn't want to answer was dangerous. I reached for the pen with my fingers trembling. Before I could touch it, Lucian spoke again. "There is one final condition." I froze. "What?" His silver eyes locked onto mine. "If you become my Luna, you will not attempt to discover why I chose you." My brows pulled together. "What does that mean?" "It means you don't ask questions about my past. My curse. My enemies. Or my bloodline." My heart gave a strange little beat. "Your curse?" The room went completely silent. Lucian's expression hardened. I realized too late that I had said the wrong thing. One of the warriors stepped forward. "Watch your mouth, omega." Lucian raised one hand and the warrior immediately stopped. The Alpha King never looked away from me. "You heard me." I stared at the contract again. There were things I didn't understand. Too many things. But my brother's face appeared in my mind. Pale. Weak. Barely able to stand. I picked up the pen. "I accept." The moment the tip touched the parchment, a sharp pain tore through my palm and I gasped in pain before the pen fell from my fingers. Blood welled from a tiny cut across my skin. One drop landed on the contract. Then another. The royal seal began to glow. The temperature in the room dropped as everyone froze. A strange wind swept through the throne room despite every window being closed. "What the hell...?" Someone whispered. The contract lifted from the table while black smoke curled around the parchment before suddenly turning silver. My heart hammered against my ribs and then— A howl echoed through the palace. From inside me. I stumbled backward, clutching my chest because I could feel something burned beneath my skin. A symbol appeared on my wrist. A crescent moon surrounded by three jagged lines. I had never seen it before. But Lucian had. Because for the first time since I'd entered the throne room, the Alpha King's cold expression shattered. He stood so quickly that his throne scraped violently against the stone floor. His face had gone pale. "No." It was barely a whisper. I looked at him. "What?" He stared at the mark on my wrist as though he'd just seen a ghost. Then his eyes snapped toward the council. "Seal the palace." Every warrior in the room immediately moved. My pulse raced. "Lucian, what's happening?" He didn't answer instead he walked toward me slowly like he was approaching something dangerous. When he stopped in front of me, his gaze dropped to my wrist. His fingers hovered over the mark without touching it. His voice was suddenly different. Not cold. Not commanding. Afraid. "Where did you get that?" "I—I don't know." His eyes lifted to mine. For one terrifying second, I saw something in them I'd never expected to see. Fear. Then he whispered four words that made my blood run cold. "That bloodline is extinct." I stared at him. "What bloodline?" Lucian looked at the contract. The royal seal had changed. The symbol on my wrist was now glowing brighter. And somewhere deep beneath the palace, something ancient began to howl. Lucian grabbed my wrist. "Get her out of here." The council stared at him. "Your Majesty?" His grip tightened. "Now. Before they find her." "Who?" I whispered. Lucian finally looked at me. And this time, the fear in his eyes was unmistakable. "The people who have been hunting your bloodline for three hundred years." The lights in the throne room went out. And something slammed against the palace doors.