The Lycan King And The Witch Luna

Chapter 5: Mated with the Stranger

Luna’s POV

“Wait,” the voice commanded again, and this time it felt like a command spoken not just to my ears but to my very bones. The kind of voice that brooked no defiance, and it made my wolf, Moon, bristle uneasily.

I froze, my fingers still hovering over the door handle. The tray I’d set down seemed to weigh heavily in the room, its presence a reminder of the charade I was trying to maintain. Slowly, almost reluctantly, I turned to face the room’s shadowed occupant.

The man lounged in the half-darkness, the golden glow of the fire behind him illuminating a tall, powerful figure. Dark hair fell over his eyes, and I could make out a chiseled jawline set with a hint of shadow. But what truly drew my attention—and made something uneasy stir in my gut—was the aura that clung to him. Dominant, fierce, and overwhelmingly Alpha. It made the air thick and heady, and I felt it wash over me in a suffocating wave.

I struggled to keep my knees from buckling. Moon, my wolf, whined in the back of my mind, but her voice was sluggish, clouded. The wolfsbane from earlier had dulled her senses, numbing her usually strong presence. I swallowed hard, trying to fight off the dizziness that crept up on me.

"Stay strong, I told myself, but even that thought felt weak.

“You’re not leaving yet,” he continued, his voice smooth and oddly coaxing, even as it dripped with authority. “Come here.”

I stiffened, my instincts screaming at me to run, to escape this predator in the dark. But the wolfsbane made me slow, and the command in his voice made it hard to resist. I took a hesitant step forward, my bare feet cold against the marble floor. The scent in the room—spicy and musky—seemed to wrap around me, making my thoughts blur.

“Closer,” he murmured, and I obeyed, my limbs moving as if pulled by an invisible string. By the time I stood before him, he was sitting up, his gaze boring into me. Even in the dim light, his eyes glinted with something dangerous.

*Who is he?* I wondered, panic making my heart pound. My mind raced through possibilities. An Alpha, obviously, given the way his presence dominated the space, but from which pack? And why was he here, in the Lycan King’s palace?

“I… I delivered your drink,” I managed to stammer, desperate to leave, desperate to put as much distance as possible between us. “I should go.”

But he didn’t let me. Instead, he stood, and the way in which he did so was so smooth and so much like a stalking panther that I had to repress a gasp. He was very tall, at least a whole head taller than I am, and I could detect the heat coming off his body. My eyes blinked slightly, and I said the wolfsbane was causing dizziness and was now making the spinning even worse in my head.

“You are shaking,” he said quietly and his voice was very deep and smooth. A hand stretched for me, delicate fingertips touched my right cheek slightly, causing my skin to tingle unpleasantly. I tried to look away but recoiled in shock when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him. The smell was sexy, and there was something primal with him that awakened the s****l side of me that had been dormant for so long.

“Please,” I whispered, attempting to shrink away from him. But his grip became more secure, and I could clearly see the strength in his fingers. Something as simple as fear and something more complicated fought in my chest like a single braid.

“Do you know who I am?” He whispered and for some reason I was not feeling frightened of him anymore. I couldn’t believe it and I certainly couldn’t trust my voice to answer, so I only shook my head. My pulse quickened, my breathing became shallow and fast and I could not think clearly.

He grinned, a dark, smug grin. “Good,” he said, and his voice meant something entirely different. Then he turned his head a little, his lips close to my ear. “You’re not going anywhere until I am done with you.”

I opened my mouth and uttered a sound of indignation, but of course it sounded rather helpless. His desire was stifling; I sometimes felt dazed and powerless as if controlled by his pheromones. My body had reactions that embarrassingly signaled that I was one-hot. Heat rose at the lowest point in my stomach, and Moon’s words seemed to be almost a small whimper.

“No,” I breathed, but it was a pathetic whisper, and even I didn’t believe it.

He pulled me into him, his hands rough and demanding, and I felt my defenses crumbling. The wolfsbane numbed my senses, made my limbs weak, and the Alpha’s touch—his scent—set my blood on fire. I didn’t know if it was magic or something else, but I found myself leaning into him, craving the contact even as my mind screamed at me to fight.

His mouth claimed mine, and I was lost. The kiss was searing, a clash of our tongues made my knees give way. He caught me effortlessly, pressing me against his broad chest. I tried to push him away, but my strength was a flickering flame, easily smothered by his dominance. My heart warred with itself, torn between fear and a need I didn’t understand.

Somewhere in the haze, I felt his hands slide under the borrowed cloak, pushing it off my shoulders. My skin prickled, and I shivered, though not from the cold. Every touch, every caress, ignited something inside me, something raw and consuming. I hated it—I hated how my body betrayed me, how it responded to him.

“Luna, stop!” Moon’s voice surged, more urgent than ever, but it was too late. My body had already yielded, and the Alpha’s pheromones had wrapped around my mind like chains.

When it was over, I lay on the cold marble floor, my body aching from the intensity of what had just happened. The Alpha sat back, a satisfied, predatory gleam in his eyes. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and that’s when I noticed it: the tattoo on his right arm, a dark wolf howling at the moon. My heart stuttered in my chest, but before I could process it, he leaned over me, his lips curving into a smirk.

“Now you're marked as Mine,” he whispered, and my fingers flew to my neck. There, on my skin, was the unmistakable ache of a mate mark. Horror and disbelief washed over me, but before I could react, the room spun, and darkness claimed me.

Then Luna's voice uttered weakly. "Mate"

---

I woke to the pre-dawn chill, my body sore and my mind reeling. Shame and confusion washed over me, but I forced myself to move. I had to get out, had to escape before anyone discovered me. Stifling a sob, I pulled the servant cloak around me, hiding the mark on my neck. My legs felt unsteady, but I pushed forward, every step a struggle.

The hallway was still, the palace still enshrouded in darkness. I felt I was okay, felt I had escaped notice. But as am walking through the corridor, a voice suddenly called my name in a rude tone.

“Stop! There she is!”

Fear gripped me, and I tripped, only feeling the floor beneath me with some difficulty. The two guards retraced their steps towards them, their faces slapped with both fury and disdain. One of them grabbed my arm roughly pulling me back.

“You’re a b***h,” he muttered with grimacing clenched teeth and slitted eyes. “You actually thought you could get away after doing what you did?”

I tried, my eyes tearing up and threatening to explain. Cut it deep, but I swallowed the sob that began to rise from my throat lest I worsen things even more. They didn’t know the truth. No one did. And now, after all of that, I am exactly where I was at the beginning – captured, helpless, and threatened with something I never did.

But fate, it seemed, wasn’t done with me yet. Not even close.