Chapter 2
1213 Words
Rain poured from the sky as if the Moon Goddess herself mourned me.
By the time I reached the forest beyond the palace gates, my legs could barely hold me upright. Mud clung to the hem of my ruined white dress while icy wind lashed against my skin. Behind me, the distant lights of the Moon Palace still glowed through the storm like a mocking reminder of everything I had lost.
My mate.
My future.
My dignity.
A broken laugh escaped my throat before dissolving into a sob.
Rejected.
The word echoed inside my head over and over again.
I pressed a trembling hand against my chest where the mate bond once burned warmly between Kael and me. Now there was only pain—raw and unbearable, like someone had carved my heart out with silver claws.
How could he do this?
Kael had once sworn the Moon Goddess herself chose me for him. He promised I would never face the cruelty of the kingdom alone again.
Yet tonight he destroyed me before the entire realm without hesitation.
A branch snapped nearby.
I froze.
The scent reached me first.
Rogue wolves.
Fear tightened my throat.
Three large shadows emerged slowly between the trees, their glowing eyes fixed hungrily on me. Their wolves prowled beneath their skin, unstable and vicious.
One of them smirked.
“Well, well… isn’t this the rejected little Luna?”
I stepped backward instinctively.
“I have nothing for you.”
The tallest rogue inhaled deeply before grinning wider.
“But you do.” His eyes darkened. “Royal blood.”
My pulse stopped.
How could he possibly know that?
Another rogue moved closer. “The Alpha King threw you away too easily. Makes us wonder what secret you’re carrying.”
Panic clawed through me.
No.
No one could know.
I turned to run, but one of them lunged forward, grabbing my arm hard enough to bruise.
“Let go!” I screamed.
The rogue slammed me against a tree.
Pain exploded through my shoulder.
His claws extended slightly. “You should’ve stayed in the palace, little wolf.”
Suddenly a savage growl ripped through the forest.
Every wolf froze.
The sound was terrifying.
Ancient.
Dominant.
The rogues released me instantly, their faces draining of color.
Heavy footsteps approached from the darkness.
Then he emerged.
A massive man cloaked entirely in black.
Rain slid down the sharp angles of his face while silver eyes glowed unnaturally in the shadows. Power rolled off him so violently the air itself seemed to shake.
Not an Alpha.
Something worse.
The stranger’s gaze landed on the rogues.
“You touched her.”
The forest fell deathly silent.
One rogue tried to recover first. “This doesn’t concern you—”
He never finished speaking.
The stranger moved so fast I barely saw him.
A sickening crack echoed through the trees.
The rogue’s body hit the ground lifeless seconds later.
I stumbled backward in horror.
The remaining wolves immediately dropped to their knees.
“Forgive us, my king,” one whispered shakily.
King?
My blood turned cold.
There was only one ruler powerful enough to make rogues bow in fear like that.
The Lycan King.
The monster from the northern territories.
The male mothers used in bedtime stories to terrify children.
His silver eyes slowly shifted toward me.
And for one impossible moment…
I felt his power wrap around me like chains.
The rain suddenly seemed quieter.
The world smaller.
He studied me carefully, his expression unreadable.
“You smell of blood and betrayal,” he said finally.
His voice was deep enough to send chills through my entire body.
I forced myself to speak despite the fear choking me. “Thank you for your help.”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“You’re trembling.”
Of course I was trembling.
I had just been rejected by my mate and rescued by the most feared creature in the kingdom.
The Lycan King stepped closer.
Every instinct screamed at me to run.
But my feet refused to move.
His gaze lingered on my face before dropping briefly to my stomach.
Then his expression changed.
Something dark flashed through his silver eyes.
Impossible recognition.
“You carry a child,” he said quietly.
My breath caught.
I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself.
The Lycan King inhaled sharply once.
“The Alpha King’s heir.”
Fear exploded inside me.
How could he know that so easily?
No one—not even I—had fully realized it until now.
The strange sickness.
The dizziness.
The unusual sensitivity in my wolf.
My hand slowly pressed against my stomach.
A child.
Kael’s child.
Tears burned my eyes instantly.
The Lycan King watched me carefully. “Does Kael know?”
I shook my head weakly.
A dangerous silence followed.
Then he looked toward the distant palace lights with something close to hatred.
“He rejected you while carrying his bloodline.” His voice became colder. “Interesting.”
The kneeling rogues kept their heads lowered in terror.
I swallowed hard. “Please… I just want to leave.”
His gaze returned to me.
For some reason, that felt worse.
“You should not travel alone tonight,” he said.
“I’ll survive.”
“Not for long.”
I hated that he was probably right.
The kingdom was dangerous enough for ordinary wolves. For a rejected mate carrying the royal heir?
I was prey.
The Lycan King stepped closer until I could feel the terrifying heat radiating from his body.
“You have enemies now, little Luna.”
“I’m not a Luna anymore.”
His silver eyes darkened strangely.
“That,” he murmured, “remains to be seen.”
Lightning split across the sky.
For one brief second, I saw something almost human beneath his cold expression.
Pity.
No.
Recognition.
As though he knew something about me that I didn’t.
The Lycan King reached into his coat and removed a black pendant carved with ancient silver markings. Without asking permission, he pressed it gently into my palm.
“If anyone hunts you,” he said softly, “show them this.”
I stared down at the strange symbol.
“What is it?”
“A warning.”
I looked back up, but his gaze had already shifted toward the palace again.
Like he could see through the storm itself.
“Leave this kingdom tonight, Selene Vale,” he said quietly. “Because once the truth about your child surfaces…”
His eyes met mine one final time.
“…they will either crown you or kill you.”
Before I could respond, the Lycan King disappeared into the storm.
Just like that.
The forest became silent again except for the rain and my uneven breathing.
My fingers tightened around the pendant as fear settled deep inside my chest.
A child.
Kael’s heir.
And somehow, the most terrifying king alive believed my existence could destroy kingdoms.
I looked down at my stomach slowly.
Then I made the hardest decision of my life.
I would never let Kael find us.
Even if I still loved him.
Even if it shattered what remained of my heart.
Tonight Selene Vale died.
And before dawn came…
I disappeared from the kingdom forever.
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