The Heartless Alpha and his War Luna

chapter 9

Kael's POV

The entire palace was celebrating my awakening.

I hated it.

Music echoed through the corridors.

Servants hurried from room to room.

Nobles smiled too much.

Everyone acted as though the kingdom had been saved.

They were wrong.

Something far more dangerous had just begun.

I stood before the mirror while servants fastened the black ceremonial jacket of the Northern Alpha King around my shoulders.

"Your Majesty," one servant said carefully, "the Southern delegation has already arrived."

I didn't answer.

My mind was elsewhere.

Silver-blue eyes.

A battlefield covered in blood.

A woman's voice carried by flames.

"The war has already begun."

The memory refused to leave me.

Months trapped beneath the Moon Curse had given me nothing except darkness...

and her.

The same woman I was about to meet.

A sharp knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Enter."

Kaelen stepped inside.

Calm as always.

"The council is waiting."

I grabbed my gloves.

"Tell them to wait."

His eyebrow lifted slightly.

"They are here to witness your wedding."

"I am aware."

Neither of us spoke for a moment.

Then Kaelen said quietly,

"You believe the dreams were real."

It wasn't a question.

I looked at him.

"No."

A lie.

Even I heard it.

Kaelen noticed too.

"My king..."

His voice became cautious.

"Dreams are dreams."

I turned away.

Perhaps.

But dreams did not explain why I remembered her face perfectly.

Dreams did not explain why I knew the exact shade of her eyes.

And dreams certainly did not explain why I felt a strange pull inside my chest before meeting her.

Something was wrong.

I could feel it.

And I intended to find out what.

The wedding hall was already full when I entered.

Hundreds of nobles filled the chamber.

Northern Alphas.

Southern dignitaries.

Generals.

Council members.

Enemies pretending to be allies.

Every eye followed me as I walked toward the altar.

Fear.

Respect.

Suspicion.

I was accustomed to all of them.

None mattered.

Because my attention was fixed on the entrance.

Waiting.

The great doors opened.

Silence swept through the hall.

Then she appeared.

For one terrible second, the world stopped.

It was her.

Not similar.

Not familiar.

Her.

The woman from my dreams.

The same silver-blue eyes.

The same face.

The same impossible presence.

She wore a gown of white and silver.

Elegant.

Beautiful.

Dangerous.

My wolf stirred instantly.

Mine.

The possessive growl nearly escaped my throat.

I crushed it immediately.

No.

I had spent months watching kingdoms burn in my dreams because of her.

I would not become a slave to instinct.

Yet as she walked toward me, something inside me tightened.

Not fear.

Recognition.

And somehow that felt worse.

Her eyes lifted.

Our gazes met.

The impact hit like a physical blow.

The mate bond snapped into place.

Violent.

Absolute.

Unforgiving.

For a heartbeat, I forgot where I was.

Forgot the nobles.

Forgot the kingdom.

Forgot everything except her.

Then the visions returned.

Fire.

Blood.

War.

Her voice.

"The war has already begun."

Ice flooded my veins.

By the time she reached the altar, my expression had become cold once more.

Heartless.

Unreadable.

The mask I wore better than anyone.

But inside...

the war had already started.

And for the first time in my life...

I wasn't sure whether my greatest enemy stood across the battlefield...

or beside me at the altar.