THE LUNA QUEEN IS ME

9: ZEUS HAWTHORNE

NYX

The world became literal noise. Glass exploding. Metal crashing. People screaming loud enough to shake the ballroom.

For several disoriented seconds, I couldn’t understand what had happened. My ears rang painfully while dust and shattered crystal filled the air around us.

But through all of it, one thing remained terrifyingly clear.

The heavy warmth covering my body.

Zeus.

His partial wolf form towered over me protectively, broad shoulders hunched tightly as pieces of crystal and twisted metal crashed around us. One arm stayed wrapped firmly around my waist while the other braced against the ruined floor beside my head, shielding me completely beneath him.

I could hear his breathing close to my ear. It was steady and controlled, even with chaos erupting around us. And that was when the realization hit me slowly through the shock.

He had covered me without hesitation.

A sharp groan sounded above me as another piece of metal shifted dangerously overhead.

Immediately, several men rushed forward.

“Alpha!”

Zeus’s men moved with frightening precision. They lifted the broken chandelier piece by piece while security forced panicked guests backward. All around us, whispers had already started spreading through the ballroom.

I could hear fragments of them through the ringing in my ears.

“Alpha Kael saved Lady Zora first—”

“Did you see Hawthorn throw himself at her?”

“His wolf form came out immediately—”

“Oh my God…”

Zeus finally shifted slightly once the heavier debris was cleared away.

“You hurt?” he asked quietly, the deep rumble of his voice grounding me instantly.

“I… I don’t think so.”

Still, his eyes moved over me carefully then, not casually but thoroughly, checking my arms, my face, and my legs.

Then, almost imperceptibly, his gaze dropped briefly toward my stomach, just for a second. But I noticed. And somehow, that tiny gesture nearly undid me completely.

Because he remembered. Because even now, in the middle of chaos and destruction, he was checking whether my baby was safe. No one else had.

Zeus held my gaze for one quiet moment before helping me sit up carefully, one hand steady against my back the entire time.

“Easy,” he murmured as I winced slightly.

Around us, the ballroom still buzzed with panic and confusion. Guests crowded together, whispering, while photographers and paparazzi were shoved aggressively toward the exits by security.

But Zeus’s attention never left me.

“You hit the ground hard,” he said. “Does anything hurt?”

“My stomach,” I admitted softly before I could stop myself.

His expression sharpened instantly. Fear flickered briefly across his face before he controlled it again.

“Where?”

“Just a little,” I said quickly. “I’m okay.”

“You should still be examined.”

The concern in his voice felt so genuine that it made my chest ache. Then all of a sudden, another voice cut sharply through the noise.

“Nyx.”

Kael

He reached me just as Zeus stood up and stepped back enough for me to stand. For one strange moment, both of them extended a hand toward me at the same time.

And despite everything, despite the ache still burning inside me from watching him choose Zora first, I still reached for Kael.

Because he was my husband. Because some weak, wounded part of me still wanted him to choose me back finally.

His hand closed around mine immediately, pulling me upright. But even standing beside him now felt strangely distant. Like there was an invisible wall between us, neither of us acknowledged it.

“You alright?” Zeus asked quietly once I steadied myself.

Before I could answer, Kael cut in sharply.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my own wife, Hawthorne.” He bit back possessively, even though Zeus’s expression barely changed.

“I’m sure you are,” Zeus replied calmly.

Kael’s hand tightened slightly around mine.

“We’re leaving.”

He didn’t wait for my response before guiding me firmly through the ballroom crowd. People stared openly as we passed, and whispers followed us everywhere. I kept my eyes lowered until something pulled my attention backward instinctively, and I glanced over my shoulder once.

Zeus still stood near the shattered remains of the chandelier, watching us quietly.

I looked away, embarrassed.

By the time we returned to the estate, the scandal had already exploded online. Commentary from thousands of strangers dissecting the accident frame by frame.

I sat silently in the living room while everyone else talked around me, my phone trembling slightly in my hands as I scrolled through endless reactions.

Did everyone see Kael abandon his wife?

Alpha Hawthorn protected her faster than her own husband.

Zora is clearly the woman Kael actually loves.

Honestly, Nyx should’ve never married her sister’s fiancé in the first place.

Home wasn’t any better. Across the room, my mother sighed heavily.

“Honestly, Nyx, why didn’t you move?” She said, and I looked up slowly, shocked at her words. “The chandelier was falling,” she continued. “You just froze there.”

“She was probably in shock,” Zora said quietly.

My father shook his head. “Kael reacted instinctively. Anyone could see that.”

“Exactly,” my mother agreed immediately. “After everything Zora went through during the kidnapping, of course, his protective instincts would trigger first.”

Nobody looked at me like I was the person left behind beneath a collapsing chandelier.

Nobody looked at me like I had almost died.

Zora sat curled beside Kael, who was talking frantically on the phone to Goddess knows who, looking pale and guilty, her eyes glossy with emotion.

“I never wanted this to happen,” she whispered. “Everyone online is twisting everything.”

My parents rushed to her to pacify her, telling her not to feel guilty, while I sat there, coming to the painful realization that no one, not even Kael, had asked me if I was truly alright.

Not once since we left the ballroom.

Eventually, everyone dispersed to their respective wings, the tension lingering heavily through the house long after the conversations ended. I went to take a shower first, trying to ease the tension in my muscles.

By the time I came out of the bathroom, Kael was already there, pacing near the window with his phone pressed against his ear.

“No,” he snapped coldly. “Absolutely not.” A pause. His jaw tightened visibly. “I’m not publicly thanking Zeus Hawthorn for saving my wife. Handle the media another way.”

Another pause.

Then he ended the call harshly and threw the phone onto the bed.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Kael dragged a frustrated hand through his hair before muttering bitterly.

“My entire management team suddenly thinks I should visit Zeus personally and thank him publicly.”

I stayed silent.

“They think it’ll repair public opinion.” He laughed once without humor. “As if humiliating me further will somehow help.”

The room felt tense and suffocating.

“This situation never should have escalated like this,” Kael added sharply, turning toward me. I frowned slightly. “Why the f**k did you just freeze there? If you had moved immediately, none of this would be happening.”

I stared at him quietly for a long moment.

“My safety…” My voice came out softer than I intended. “Shouldn’t that have mattered to you first? I’m your wife, Kael.”

Silence stretched heavily between us. For one horrible second, I thought maybe he would finally understand what I was really asking. Instead, Kael exhaled tiredly and rubbed a hand across his face.

“Nyx,” he said calmly, “this is not the time to become emotional.”

Something in my chest broke quietly.

“There are bigger issues at stake right now than your feelings,” he continued. “The pack’s reputation is taking damage. The media is turning this into political theater. I need to manage the fallout carefully before it destabilizes anything further.”

Then, without another word, Kael walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Leaving me standing there alone.