The Alpha King's Forgotten Luna

Chapter 4

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

Cassian stood frozen near the doorway, his small chest rising unevenly as papers scattered around his feet. His wide golden eyes moved curiously from me to Kael.

The resemblance was undeniable.

Same eyes.

Same dark hair.

Even the stubborn set of his tiny jaw mirrored the Alpha King standing beside me.

Fear slammed into my chest so violently I could barely breathe.

Not now.

Please, not now.

Kael stared at the boy like the world had just shifted beneath his feet.

I saw the exact moment instinct struck him.

His wolf recognized its blood.

The air inside the room became dangerously heavy.

“Mother?” Cassian asked softly, confused by the tension.

I moved immediately.

Crossing the room, I knelt beside him and gathered the fallen papers with hands that refused to stop shaking.

“You were supposed to stay upstairs,” I said quietly.

Cassian frowned slightly. “You missed lunch again.”

Guilt pierced through my panic.

Even now, he was worried about me.

One of the nurses hurried forward nervously. “I’m sorry, Doctor. He slipped away before we could stop him.”

“It’s fine,” I replied quickly.

But nothing about this was fine.

I could feel Kael’s gaze burning into us both.

Studying.

Calculating.

Hunting.

Cassian finally looked toward Kael properly, completely unaware of the danger standing before him.

Children often feared Alphas instinctively.

Cassian didn’t.

Instead, curiosity lit his face.

“You’re very tall,” he announced.

One nurse nearly choked in horror.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Moon Goddess, help me.

To my surprise, Kael’s mouth twitched slightly.

“People tell me that often.”

Cassian tilted his head thoughtfully. “Your eyes look familiar.”

Every muscle in my body locked.

Kael’s gaze snapped toward me instantly.

Sharp.

Dangerous.

Searching.

I stood quickly before Cassian could say another word.

“My son talks too much,” I said coldly.

The word son echoed heavily through the room.

Kael’s expression darkened almost imperceptibly.

Something primal flickered inside his eyes.

Possessiveness.

My stomach twisted painfully.

No.

He had no right.

Not after what he did.

Cassian walked closer to me, pressing innocently against my side. His little hand wrapped around my fingers automatically.

Kael noticed the gesture immediately.

And something about it seemed to affect him more than it should have.

His wolf was too alert now.

Too focused.

“You have a child,” he said quietly.

I forced myself to meet his gaze without emotion.

“Yes.”

His eyes lingered on Cassian again.

“How old?”

My heartbeat became deafening.

“Five.”

The exact amount of time since I disappeared.

I watched realization begin forming slowly behind Kael’s eyes.

Dangerous realization.

The room suddenly felt too hot.

One wrong word and everything would collapse.

Cassian looked between us again before tugging gently on my sleeve.

“Mother, is he the king?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

The little boy studied Kael openly with surprising boldness.

“You don’t look very scary.”

Several nurses immediately looked ready to faint.

But Kael did something even more shocking.

He laughed softly.

The sound stunned me completely.

I hadn’t heard that laugh in years.

Not since before the rejection.

For one painful second, memories crashed into me again—

Kael smiling against my lips beneath moonlight.

Kael carrying me through palace gardens.

Kael promising:

You’ll never face this kingdom alone again.

My chest tightened violently.

Lies.

Every promise had been a lie.

Kael crouched slowly until he was eye level with Cassian.

My protective instincts surged instantly.

Every part of me screamed to pull my son away.

But Cassian simply stared curiously at the Alpha King.

“What’s your name?” Kael asked him.

“Cassian Vale.”

The moment he spoke our surname, something shifted in Kael’s face.

A flicker of memory.

Pain.

Confusion.

Like some buried part of him was trying desperately to awaken.

Cassian pointed suddenly toward the bandage beneath Kael’s coat.

“You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing serious.”

“You’re bleeding through the stitches.”

Kael blinked.

Then looked down.

The boy was right.

Fresh blood had already begun staining the black fabric again.

Cassian frowned exactly the way Kael used to when irritated.

“You should let Mother fix it properly,” he declared. “She’s the best healer in the world.”

The pride in his tiny voice nearly broke me.

Kael looked back at me slowly.

And gods… the expression in his eyes terrified me.

Not because he recognized me completely.

But because some instinct deep inside him already felt connected to us.

The mate bond pulsed painfully between us again.

Kael stood to full height.

“I would appreciate treatment,” he said quietly.

It wasn’t really a request.

I wanted to refuse.

Every instinct screamed to send him away before he discovered the truth.

But refusing the Alpha King publicly would only create suspicion.

So I nodded once stiffly.

“Follow me.”

I handed Cassian’s papers to the nearest nurse carefully.

“Take him upstairs.”

Cassian immediately frowned. “But—”

“Now.”

He looked surprised by my sharp tone.

Guilt stabbed through me again.

Slowly, he nodded.

As the nurse led him away, Cassian glanced back toward Kael one final time.

And strangely…

Kael watched him leave like it physically hurt to look away.

The moment the door shut behind them, silence consumed the room again.

I refused to look at him.

“Sit.”

Kael obeyed without argument while I gathered medical supplies with controlled movements.

My hands trembled anyway.

I could feel his eyes on me constantly.

Studying every detail.

Every breath.

Finally he spoke.

“Have we met before?”

The question nearly shattered my composure.

I focused carefully on disinfecting my instruments.

“No.”

“You seem familiar.”

My chest tightened.

“You’re mistaken.”

Kael’s jaw flexed.

“I rarely forget faces.”

I almost laughed at the cruelty of that statement.

Instead, I stepped closer and opened his coat carefully to inspect the wound beneath.

The second my fingers brushed his skin—

The mate bond exploded violently between us.

A sharp inhale escaped both of us simultaneously.

Kael grabbed my wrist instantly.

The room went still.

His touch burned.

Golden eyes locked onto mine with dangerous intensity.

“What are you?” he whispered.

Fear crept slowly down my spine.

Because the way he looked at me now…

Was not how a king looked at a stranger.

It was how a wolf looked at something he almost lost forever.

Then Kael leaned closer slightly.

And inhaled deeply against my skin.

The change in his expression was immediate.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Hunger.

His grip tightened around my wrist.

“Selene…” he breathed.

My blood turned to ice.