The Luna He Betrayed, The Queen He Claimed

Chapter 5

Annelise's Pov

“I'm your true mate, Annelise. Not that one.” Caspian spat out like saying Kayden's name was a curse to him. But that wasn't my business for now. My wolf had suddenly stirred and now I was being told that someone like him, not just any werewolf, the Alpha King, was my true mate?

"This… This has to be a joke." I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of horror and disbelief. I scrambled backward, hitting the headboard. "No. No, that’s impossible. I felt the bond with Kayden for ten years! I felt the pull, the mark, it was real! You're lying. You have to be lying!"

Caspian didn’t flinch at my rejection. Instead, he moved with a slow, deliberate grace, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I am not going to hurt you, Annelise, stop shaking. Please.” he murmured, his voice a low, melodic hum that vibrated right through my skin. He reached out again, and despite my brain screaming at me to run, my body betrayed me. I flinched, closing my eyes tight, expecting some kind of hit, but it never came. Instead, his cool, long fingers brushed against the side of my neck. He caressed the sensitive skin there, his touch as light as a feather but as electric as a lightning strike.

I shivered violently. The moment his skin met mine, that scent of sun-warmed amber and books didn't just fill the room, it lived inside my lungs. It felt like coming home after a lifetime in the cold. My inner wolf let out a purr so loud it resonated in my bones. Mate, she whispered, her voice stronger than I had ever heard it.

King. Ours. Mate.

She was squirming around happily. So happy that her thoughts affected me. I found myself leaning into his palm, my eyes fluttering shut as a wave of peace washed over me. It was a physical addiction, a biological magnet pulling me toward him. Then, reality snapped back. I jerked my head away, my eyes wide and wild. I was still so confused about everything because none of what was happening right now made any sense!

"If... if Kayden wasn't my mate," I stuttered, my chest heaving, "then why did I live like that? Why did I feel the bond? Why did I give him ten years of my life, my heart, my inheritance... everything?! Why did the Moon Goddess let me suffer like that if it was all a mistake? I've lived for years doing everything I can to support him, only to end up in this kind of situation. Why should I trust you? Why should I trust any of this?!"

I looked up at Caspian, my vision blurring with fresh, angry tears. "And even if you are... even if you’re telling the truth... It's too late. It doesn't matter! I have Lupine Necrosis. I’m a walking corpse. I have two months, Caspian. Sixty days of rotting from the inside out. You’ve found a mate who is already dead."

To my shock, Caspian didn't look mournful. He let out a soft, dark chuckle. "Well, that's the thing, you were lied to about your sickness, little wolf."

I blinked, my tears pausing. "Lied to? About what? I saw the results! I felt the silver in my blood!"

The doctor stepped forward now, his expression grave but strangely hopeful. "Luna Annelise, please listen to me. While it is true that you have Lupine Necrosis caused by silver poisoning, your diagnosis was framed as a death sentence to serve a purpose."

I frowned, my heart skipping a beat. "What do you mean?"

"Lupine Necrosis is rare, yes," the doctor explained, clasping his hands behind his back. "But it is not incurable. As long as it hasn't completely liquefied the bone marrow, and yours has not, it can be reversed with a high-intensity lunar purge and the blood of a True Mate."

“What?” My breath hitched. "But the doctor in Silver-Thorn said... he said it was the last stage. He said there was no hope for me any longer and no matter what I did, I won't be able to change that. Now you're telling me that I can be cured?" I asked with wide eyes.

“The doctor lied to you.”

“That can't be true. Doctor Aris has been my doctor for as long as I remember. He was the one who even delivered my babies and I…” I trailed off. Hold on. Doctor Aris had helped me deliver my baby, but the twins weren't mine. They were Seraphina’s. How were they able to switch out the children without Doctor Aris’s help? That man fiercely protected me and wouldn't let anyone near my child while I was indisposed. What if he had also helped them?

"He told you that to make you spiral," the doctor said firmly. "He wanted you in a state of absolute despair and depression. In our kind, the will to live is tied directly to our healing factor. By telling you that you were already dead, he effectively shut down you and your wolf’s ability to fight back. What would have killed you in two months wasn't just the toxin, but your own heartbreak. You were essentially being beckoned into the grave by your own mind."

The doctor adjusted his glasses, looking at the floor. "It is very likely that your former doctor was working hand-in-hand with the man who poisoned you. They didn't just want to kill your body; they wanted to kill your spirit so you wouldn't fight back."

I sat there, stunned into a heavy silence. The betrayal went even deeper than I thought. It wasn't just Kayden and Seraphina in that bedroom; it was a web of lies that spanned the entire pack’s medical wing. They had been preparing me for the grave for a long time.

“Ha… hahahaha.” I laughed, my voice came out as scratchy and painted. All these years, I've been lied to by everyone who surrounded me. Not even one of them ever liked me, none of them ever did! Everything was a lie!

With red eyes, I looked at Caspian, who was watching me with an intensity that made my skin tingle. He was the Alpha King. He was my mate. And if the doctor was right... he was my cure.

"I can really... live?" I whispered.

Caspian leaned in, his golden eyes glowing with a promise of absolute destruction for anyone who had touched me. "You will do more than live, Annelise. You will thrive. And when you are strong enough, I will hand you the match to burn the Silver-Thorn Pack to the ground."