Blood and moonlight

The wolf prince 🐺

Kael hated being watched.

And Prince Lucien Thornvale watched him constantly.

The royal welcome banquet had already begun, yet Kael could still feel those silver eyes following him from across the massive dining hall.

Annoying.

The hall of Noctaryn glowed beneath enormous crystal chandeliers, silver candlelight reflecting against black marble walls decorated with ancient paintings of vampire victories.

Including victories against werewolves.

Subtle.

Very diplomatic.

Kael lifted his wine glass calmly, pretending not to notice the tension filling the room.

The nobles of Noctaryn looked uncomfortable.

The Lunaris warriors looked ready to start a fight at any second.

And seated directly across from Kael—

Lucien looked entirely too relaxed.

“How are you enjoying Noctaryn so far?” Kael asked coldly.

Lucien leaned slightly back in his chair.

“I’ve seen warmer prisons.”

Several nobles inhaled sharply.

Kael remained expressionless.

“You’re free to leave.”

“And miss the charming hospitality?” Lucien asked. “Never.”

His parents exchanged exhausted looks immediately.

Interesting.

Apparently even the future prince of Lunaris enjoyed causing problems.

Good to know.

“You enjoy provoking people,” Kael observed.

“You react too easily.”

“I haven’t reacted at all.”

Lucien smiled slightly.

“That almost sounded believable.”

Kael’s crimson eyes narrowed faintly.

This wolf was irritating.

Dangerously irritating.

And worst of all—

Kael couldn’t stop paying attention to him either.

A servant stepped carefully beside Lucien to refill his drink.

The moment the servant’s wrist accidentally brushed the werewolf prince’s shoulder—

The servant froze.

Kael noticed it instantly.

Fear.

The young vampire servant quickly stepped back like touching Lucien had been a mistake.

Lucien noticed too.

Something colder entered his expression briefly.

Interesting.

So the mighty werewolf prince was familiar with being treated like a threat.

Kael wasn’t sure why that thought unsettled him slightly.

“You stare a lot.”

Kael blinked once.

Lucien was already watching him again.

“I was wondering if wolves always behave this poorly at formal dinners.”

“Only around irritating vampires.”

A noblewoman nearby nearly choked on her drink.

Kael’s sister looked seconds away from laughing.

“You’re both acting like children,” she muttered.

Lucien glanced toward her politely. “I like her.”

“She’s the only likable Valerith.”

Kael looked offended immediately.

His sister looked delighted.

“Finally,” she said dramatically. “Someone with intelligence.”

Traitor.

Dinner continued with forced conversations and careful diplomacy.

But beneath the politeness—

Everyone remained tense.

Centuries of hatred didn’t disappear because rulers signed papers.

Kael understood that better than anyone.

Which was exactly why he found Lucien confusing.

The werewolf prince didn’t behave carefully.

Didn’t seem intimidated.

Didn’t even pretend to hide his curiosity whenever he looked at Kael.

It was reckless.

Or honest.

Kael wasn’t sure which was worse.

Later that evening, the banquet finally ended.

Thank the gods.

Kael escaped the hall immediately, walking through the quieter palace corridors toward the upper balcony levels.

Silence at last.

Or so he thought.

“You disappear a lot.”

Kael stopped walking instantly.

Lucien leaned casually against one of the stone archways nearby like he belonged there already.

Annoying.

“Werewolves follow people often?” Kael asked.

“Only interesting ones.”

Kael ignored the strange feeling that sentence caused.

“You should be asleep.”

“And you should stop looking at me like I personally offended your ancestors.”

“You did.”

Lucien laughed softly again.

That laugh was becoming a problem.

Kael crossed his arms slowly. “You seem very comfortable for someone surrounded by enemies.”

The werewolf prince’s smile faded slightly.

“Comfortable isn’t the word.”

Something quieter entered his voice then.

Something real.

For the first time since arriving—

Lucien looked less like a prince and more like someone exhausted from pretending not to be tense.

Kael noticed immediately.

Unfortunately.

“You still came,” Kael said.

Lucien’s silver eyes lifted toward him again.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

That surprised Kael slightly.

Because he understood that feeling perfectly.

Royalty rarely chose anything for themselves.

“You hate this treaty,” Kael observed.

“I hate being told peace is possible by people who spent centuries teaching us to hate each other.”

Silence.

The honesty in those words settled heavily between them.

Kael should’ve disagreed.

Instead—

“I understand that.”

Lucien looked genuinely surprised now.

And somehow—

That made Kael regret speaking immediately.

Dangerous mistake.

The wind moved softly through the balcony corridor, carrying moonlight across the stone floor between them.

For a moment—

Neither prince spoke.

And strangely—

The silence didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Kael hated that.

“You’re different than I expected,” Lucien admitted suddenly.

Kael’s expression cooled again instantly.

“That sounds insulting.”

“I meant it as curiosity.”

“You shouldn’t be curious about vampires.”

“And you shouldn’t look at me like you already are.”

Kael froze slightly.

Just slightly.

Lucien noticed.

Of course he noticed.

The werewolf prince slowly stepped closer now.

Not threatening.

Not cautious.

Just close enough for Kael to realize something terrifying:

Lucien was taller than him.

“That’s dangerous,” Kael warned quietly.

Lucien’s silver eyes held his calmly.

“What is?”

“This.”

The space between them.

The tension.

The eye contact lasting too long.

Everything.

And somehow—

Lucien smiled again.

Slow.

Soft.

Beautiful enough to become a serious problem.

“Yeah,” the werewolf prince murmured.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

And for the first time in years—

Prince Kael Valerith completely forgot what he was supposed to say next.