"Even so," the head councilman said quietly but with forced resolve, "we do not want a hybrid in our future. She can be queen, yes. But not queen mother. The heir... cannot come from her."
Lucivar turned slowly and walked back to his throne, his footsteps deliberate, echoing in the vast, silent hall. He sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and steepled his fingers.
"You," he said evenly, "are either very brave or very stupid."
The councilman said nothing.
"You want a fairy tale bloodline so badly?" Lucivar asked. "Then go find a pureblood vampire. Find a way to make sure you meet the Blood goddess to cancel out his bond with the vampire princess and mate him with her. Good luck with that."
"We request that the royal concubine bear the prince an heir before the royal wedding."
"You know what..." he began, "how about you all deliver this little nugget of brilliance to the prince yourselves." f.r(e)e\webn.ovel.co\m
He descended the steps of his throne, eyes glowing faintly. "Because I sure as hell am not going to do it."
"Your Highness!" the man gasped, clearly panicking at the king’s sudden loss of patience.
"You heard me!" Lucivar thundered. The sound was ancestral. It echoed with the power of a thousand dead kings, each of whom would’ve dragged a councilman into the sun for less.
In a chaotic scramble, hastily bowed heads, and muffled curses, the entire council cleared the room.
Lucivar sighed as he flopped unceremoniously back down onto his throne, one hand dragging down his face. "There’s always a bloody problem. Every week. Every damn week." He stared at the ceiling. "Fuck!!!"
Seliora adjusted the silk scarf draped over her shoulders as she stepped out of the pristine white hall of the Royal Clinic. She had been here for one reason—to determine her most fertile date. Just in case.
She turned, her brows lifting in polite confusion, though a hint of irritation flickered behind her perfectly composed smile. "Yes, Doctor Mira?"
The physician hurried toward her, clutching a small, plain envelope.
"I’m sorry," Mira said, slightly breathless. "But someone dropped this off for you a few days ago. Said it was urgent and had to be handed directly to you."
Seliora tilted her head suspiciously and took the envelope with a skeptical hum. "Strange. Did the person leave a name?"
"No." Mira hesitated. "Didn’t speak much."
Seliora’s instincts prickled. She slit open the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Just...blank parchment.
She unfolded it fully, staring at it with a frown. "It’s empty."
Mira shrugged, obviously just relieved to pass it on. "Maybe it’s a prank?"
Seliora stared at the page a moment longer, her pulse ticking slightly faster despite herself.
"Thank you, Doctor Mira," she murmured, slipping the paper back inside and tucking it into her purse.
Her mind drifted from the empty envelope. If it didn’t carry a curse or a bomb, it could wait.
Instead, Seliora’s thoughts lazily floated back to Damien. The idea that she and Damien might soon have a child was exhilarating. Her heart gave a giddy flutter. A baby. A piece of him.
So what if the werewolf princess was his mate? Seliora thought smugly.
Yes. She had nothing to worry about.
***** fr\eewe.bn(o)v\el.c(o)m
Luna didn’t question it when Damien said he wanted to surprise her.
After the christening night, an invisible wall had grown between them.
So when he knocked on her door, all charming smile and cryptic eyes, and said, "Get dressed. We’re going out."—she didn’t fight him. She simply followed.
She didn’t question it when they drove in silence out of the towering gates of Blood City. Luna pressed her hand to the glass window, watching the scenery change. Trees began to look like the ones from her own childhood. Less vampiric gloom, more earthy peace.
When he finally stopped outside a small café nestled in the middle of a dirt road, she was already half-curious.
Damien leaned over from the driver’s side and murmured, "Go inside. I’ll be right here."
She gave him a puzzled glance but obeyed. She pushed open the café’s door.
And then she saw Kyllian, leaning back with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cautious smile tugging at his lips. fr.eew eb novel..com
Luna gasped, her chest tightening with disbelief. Her heart leapt.
"Kyllian!" she squealed, and before she knew it, her feet were already moving, already launching her across the room.
Kyllian was already on his feet, arms wide and waiting.
She slammed into him. He caught her easily, arms wrapping around her waist, lifting her slightly off the floor. Luna buried her face in his shoulder, giggling as his lips pressed kiss after kiss to her temple, her forehead, her hair.
"You smell like home," she whispered, smiling against his neck.
Their embrace lingered, both desperate not to be the one to pull away first.
"I’ve missed you," Luna said, finally pulling back, her hands still gripping the lapels of his jacket.
"If you missed me this much, you should have sent a message to me earlier," Kyllian laughed.
He tried to play it off with humor, but the truth sat heavy in his chest—he had missed her. And now that she was here, soft and real in his arms, part of him wanted to forget everything else. But Luna pulled away slightly, her brows furrowing.
"Sent a message?" she repeated, the words coming out slowly. "I... I didn’t send a message."
"I received a message signed with your name. Told me to meet you here, today."
Her eyes widened, confusion giving way to disbelief. Then, as if drawn by invisible strings, she turned her head and looked out the café window.
Leaning against the car, Damien stood watching them through the glass.
"Son of a bitch," Luna muttered, one eye twitching.
"I’m guessing that means the blood sucker sent it," Kyllian noted dryly.
"Yeah..." she exhaled, still staring at Damien with a look that could curdle milk. "What I don’t know is why."