CHAPTER 21: WHITNEY HOUSTON - I HAVE NOTHING

Luna twisted her fingers together, searching for the courage she wasn’t sure she had. Damien stood behind her, arms crossed, every inch of him radiating frustrated defiance. She swallowed hard and forced herself to speak.

"Prince Damien... he’s my fated mate," she confessed.

For a moment, it was as if the universe itself tilted sideways. King Magnus didn’t simply react—he almost collapsed, despite the fact that he was firmly seated.

"How long have you known this?" Magnus finally managed.

"Since the Blood Moon Festival," Luna answered. She winced slightly, waiting for the thunderous eruption she was sure would follow. When it didn’t come immediately, she hurried to add, "But Father, I want to marry Alpha Kyllian. I... I have to do my duty as the princess of our kingdom, and that means marrying right."

Across the room, Damien’s face twisted with open insult. His eyes burned cold. Marrying right? he thought bitterly. Was she seriously implying he was wrong? That he was some kind of defective mate? Fuck that. Whatever sympathy he’d felt for the werewolf pup earlier disintegrated in a cloud of irritation. Luna might be beautiful and brave, but right now she was also being a stubborn royal pain in the ass.

"You heard her," Magnus said, turning to Damien with grim finality, as if that was the end of it.

But King Lucivar wasn’t having it. He surged forward, all sleek menace and fury. "Magnus, you seriously cannot subject a vampire prince to a lifetime without his mate. Do you know what it will do to him?"

Magnus lifted his chin proudly. "According to our laws, we have the right to reject the Moon Goddess’s mating."

Lucivar threw his hands up in frustration. "But she didn’t reject him!" he thundered. "The bond is still very much active, Magnus. Even if she did try, he’s a vampire. You are subjecting him to a lifetime of torture."

Damien arched an eyebrow, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, thanks for the reminder, Dad. Real comforting."

Magnus frowned, his iron control slipping just a little. He turned sharp eyes back to Luna. "Is he right? The bond isn’t severed?"

She could feel the bond between herself and Damien thrumming quietly, a living thing, pulsing. Even now, she could feel Damien’s emotions lashing against hers.

"I..." she faltered, glancing quickly at Kyllian, whose back was still to her. That sight nearly broke her. "I didn’t want anyone to know. I thought if I ignored it... it would go away."

Magnus slumped back in his throne, pinching the bridge of his nose. Lucivar was pacing.

Luna, standing between the two furious kings, two wounded men, and the wreckage of her own carefully constructed plans, realized something horrifying:

No matter what she chose—duty or love—someone was going to bleed.

And it might just be all of them.

"The bond can be severed right now," King Magnus said. "The high priestess is here. It’ll take a few minutes, and then the wedding can continue."

His words rang with royal confidence, but the desperation behind them was barely masked. He wasn’t just trying to fix a scandal. He was trying to hold together a kingdom, a family, and a centuries-old peace treaty... all while possibly dodging a furious wife.

"Magnus," King Lucivar countered, striding forward, "there are laws in place for these kinds of situations. They were never given the chance to explore this mating. This is a divine bond."

Magnus flung his arms out, exasperated. "You know what this means, Lucivar? I have to walk out there and explain to hundreds of people; kings, nobles, and guests that this wedding has been postponed. You think that won’t make headlines in every realm? Do you know how scandalous that sounds?" He turned his attention to Luna, pointing a shaking finger with the desperation of a father who knew he was moments away from being publicly executed by his own wife. "Your mother is going to murder me, then resurrect me just so she can murder me again. And after that? She’s throwing your body into the afterlife after mine. Congratulations, daughter! We’re both doomed."

Luna’s eyes shimmered. "Father, please," she begged, stepping forward, stripped of the regality her wedding dress demanded. "Just let me be with Kyllian. It doesn’t matter if it’s now or tomorrow or ten years from now. I will marry Kyllian. He’s the one I’ve chosen."

Damien’s composure shattered.

"Oh, because I’m a vampire, right?" he bit out. "Go on, say it. You’ve said it to me so many times, my ears ache already. I’m not good enough for you."

"She isn’t being rude," Magnus cut in firmly. "She’s the princess...the only heir to this kingdom. She was raised to choose her people first. To bleed for them. Marrying a vampire, even a prince, isn’t something she can afford to do. How is she supposed to rule her people from the Blood Castle?"

Damien threw another glance in Luna’s direction, slower this time. It wasn’t his usual flirty smirk or that brooding stare he reserved for when she told him to get lost. This one was different. Thoughtful.

She had never explained it like that before. Never told him it wasn’t just about rejecting him, it was about carrying a kingdom on her back. About being born to lead a people who feared creatures like him. About trying to survive her role without letting it swallow her whole.

Instead, she’d pushed him away with cold words and frozen expressions. She threw "you’re a mistake" at him. No hesitation. She’d hurt him more times than he could count.

"I’ll go over to the ballroom and tell the guests the wedding is postponed," King Magnus announced, dragging himself to his feet with a migraine pulsing behind his temples. "By law, the both of you will take your two weeks. Do whatever you need to do to get this mating bond out of your system. But when that time is up, the werewolf princess will be marrying the alpha—as it should be."

Damien’s mouth dropped open. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, that’s not your decision to make."

"The hell it isn’t!" Magnus bellowed, turning a spectacular shade of crimson that made even Lucivar lean back. "You think I’m just going to sit back while some broody bloodsucker takes my daughter off to his castle? In whose hands do you expect me to leave my people? Yours?"