CHAPTER 169: TATE MCRAE - ARE YOU OKAY?

"You okay?" Damien asked her, a hand brushing down her back as he leaned in close.

"I am now," she replied softly, locking eyes with him for a lingering moment. She had held her ground today, despite two powerful males barely restraining themselves.

Damien offered Luna his arm and helped her to her feet. She steadied herself, her hand holding her head. Sometimes, she still felt a little faint but at least, she wasn’t collapsing.

She turned and made her way toward Kyllian, whose tall frame was cast in the gold-drenched shadows of the late afternoon sun.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hi." Kyllian’s reply came with a half-smile that barely touched the grief buried in his eyes. "How are you doing now? The blood-sucking baby still using you as three square meals?"

Luna laughed despite herself, placing a hand on her belly. "Pretty much. Kid’s already got expensive taste."

Kyllian chuckled with her, the tension between them easing for just a heartbeat. It was strange, really. How easy they fell back into familiar banter. "I wanted to apologise," she said then, her smile softening. "For making a scene at your coronation. That wasn’t my intention."

"I’m just glad you’re okay," he said, more serious now, his gaze trailing the faint paleness still clinging to her skin. "You are okay, right?"

Luna nodded. "It’s just a couple months of pregnancy. I can handle it."

"I hate what this is turning you into." Slowly, he rose to his feet and reached for her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers with the familiarity of a man who once held her heart.

"Kyllian..." she started.

"I know," he interrupted. "You’re marrying him. You love him. I’m not blind, Luna. But that doesn’t mean I have to stop caring."

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I’m fine, I promise. Say hi to my mother, okay? And I will send you your wedding invite."

He nodded slowly, still holding her hand for a second longer than necessary, as though memorizing the texture of her skin. Then, in one last act of tenderness, he leaned in and kissed her cheek—lingering, eyes closed.

And then, he turned and walked away.

Luna pivoted back toward Damien, who was wearing the kind of scowl that could curdle blood.

"Oh goddess," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Will you grow up? I am marrying you, aren’t I?"

Damien crossed his arms, trying his best to look unbothered, which—judging by his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes—he failed at miserably. "I don’t want him anywhere near you," he muttered. "You know that’s why he wants a free pass into Blood City, right? It’s not for investigating anything. It’s to see you. Whenever. He. Wants."

Luna raised her brows, arms akimbo, in full ’fiancée-who’s-done-with-your-jealousy’ mode. "Damien."

"What?" he grumbled.

"You do realize I live with you, right? That I sleep in your bed, carry your child, drink your blood smoothies?"

"That’s not the point."

"Then what is?"

"The point is, that wolf still has his nose in your orbit and he’s just waiting for me to drop dead so he can howl his way back into your heart."

She looped her arms around his neck, and gave him a small kiss on the lips. "You are my present. My future."

Damien sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "You say that, but his lips were on your cheek for what felt like three Mississippis."

Luna scoffed and shook her head, but there was a playful glint in her eye. "You are such a jealous vampire."

Damien, adjusting the cuff of his sun coat as he opened the car door for her, flashed her a crooked smile. "Only for you, love. Only for you."

He helped her into the backseat with the care of someone cradling a crown jewel. As the door clicked shut and the engine roared to life with a low purr, Luna gave him a quick kiss.

"Whats that for?" Damien asked.

"For being a semi good boy." Luna said and Damien chuckled, pulling her closer to him.

From a distance, Kyllian stood. His fists were clenched at his sides, his jaw working as if chewing on regret.

"Your Highness," Talon said carefully, approaching him from behind. "We have to leave."

"She’ll come back," Kyllian murmured, eyes locked on the vehicle that was disappearing into the path. "She has to come back."

His mind, poisoned by longing, clung to every possible scenario: Damien dead before the child was born... Luna alone... her heart broken and needing solace. And her throne—her throne—still waiting for her to claim it. And who better to stand beside her than the one who had loved her first?

*****

Jane approached Kyllian’s chambers with a mission honed by weeks of bitterness, jealousy, and one too many snide comments from court ladies and maids.

She opened the door without knocking, letting it creak dramatically before stepping in.

Kyllian was seated at his massive desk, papers and files scattered before him. He didn’t look up immediately.

"Luna Jane," he said finally. "What can I do for you?"

Jane folded her arms under her chest and let the door shut with a thud. "How long are you going to ignore your duties as a husband?" she asked pointedly.

Kyllian turned in his chair to face her, clearly taken aback. "I... don’t understand."

"Oh, come on," she scoffed, walking further into the room. "I have made peace with the fact that you do not want me as your queen—painful peace, by the way. But I am your wife, Kyllian. Not a wall decoration. Not a dusty royal painting. A wife. And I refuse to be neglected."

"I’m not neglecting you," Kyllian said, arms crossed. "It’s just that I’ve been... swamped. Since all this began—the king’s death, the crown, the kingdom, the princess..."

"The crown will always be heavy, Kyllian." Jane’s voice cracked as she took a step forward. "You’re king now. Swamped is your new normal. You could at least stop treating me like I’m a houseplant you forgot to water."