The Vampire's Luna

The crowd held its collective breath in scandalized horror.

The Vampire King, seated imposingly raised one elegant brow but made no move to interfere, clearly interested in seeing where this chaos would lead.

Damien didn’t so much as glance at the king. His laser focus was entirely on Luna as he strode up the aisle.

"I need a word with the princess," Damien said. He took another step forward.

And Kyllian shifted again, standing even more firmly between Luna and the approaching vampire prince. His posture screamed mine, every line of his body coiled and ready for a fight he couldn’t afford to start.

Behind Kyllian, Luna fought the whirlwind of emotions roaring through her. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not today of all days. Was this the moment she had feared? The moment everything unraveled?

"What is this, Prince Damien?" Kyllian asked, vibrating with an alpha’s warning. His hand never loosened its grip on Luna’s, as if he was half-afraid she might be ripped away if he blinked.

Damien had the audacity to look bored. He ran a hand through his perfectly tousled dark hair and gave a half-shrug. "Seriously?" he said, cocking a brow at Kyllian like he was the one being inconvenienced. "You do realize she isn’t some helpless princess locked in a tower, right? She can defend herself from vampires just fine." He leaned to the side to catch Luna’s eye, flashing a crooked smile. "Right, Princess?"

Luna, heart hammering against her ribcage like it was trying to escape, stepped out from behind Kyllian with shaky legs. She looked at Damien, her eyes pleading. "Stop this, please," she whispered, voice trembling.

Damien’s face softened. "I once told you," he said, stepping forward, "that if you didn’t say it, I would."

"Damien, please." She hated how pathetic she sounded but this wasn’t just about her anymore. Kyllian, her parents, her entire kingdom—everything was on the line.

The Vampire King, Lucivar, finally rose among the audience, his presence immediately demanding attention. "Damien! What’s going on?"

Damien turned to face his father, his shoulders sagged slightly, the usual gleam of mischief gone from his eyes. He looked... exhausted. Broken. "Remember that werewolf friend I told you about?" he said. "It’s me."

Then, King Lucivar cursed loudly and spectacularly.

"Oh, shit," King Lucivar muttered again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit!"

The audience rippled with confused murmurs.

Damien turned back to Luna, determination hardening his tired face. "I tried, Luna. God knows I tried to respect your wishes. But I cannot."

Kyllian’s body went rigid beside her. His hold on Luna’s hand tightened, desperate. "What’s going on?" he demanded, his eyes burning into hers.

"Do you want to tell him?" Damien asked gently, almost sympathetically. "Or shall I?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Before Luna could answer, King Lucivar had swept up the stairs and was whispering urgently with King Magnus. Luna barely caught snatches of it: "pause the marriage" ... "huge problem" ... "not in front of everyone."

Magnus, red-faced with fury and confusion, quickly turned to the audience, clapping his hands for attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, take a break."

As the crowd broke into shocked, scandalized muttering, Kyllian yanked Luna gently but firmly closer. His other hand came up to frame her cheek, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Tell me," he growled. "Now."

Tears blurred her vision. Her lungs felt too small, her skin too tight.

"I..." Luna croaked. "I’m sorry, Kyllian."

His hand trembled against her cheek.

"Luna?" Kyllian said again. Even though he didn’t know—his heart already knew.

"He’s..." She saw it then—the first cracks forming in Kyllian’s beautiful, steady heart. They splintered across his gaze, shattering the golden boy she was supposed to marry.

She hated herself for doing this. For the fact that even now, even here, some stupid, traitorous part of her heart had leapt the moment Damien walked through those doors.

"He’s your fated mate, isn’t he?" Kyllian finished for her, his voice a rough whisper, meant only for her ears. The words cracked in the middle, like his heart was breaking piece by piece, even as he forced them out.

Before Luna could answer, Damien, because he couldn’t help himself, quipped dryly, "Brilliant." His voice dripped with sarcastic cheer. Well, it wasn’t like he could pretend he hadn’t heard—super hearing perks and all.

But Kyllian kept his focus locked onto Luna. His fingers tightened around her wrist. He needed to hear it from her lips. Needed the final nail driven into his heart by her.

"Say it!" he snapped, more plea than command.

Luna’s chest tightened so painfully she thought she might actually die right there in front of everyone. But there was no running away from this anymore. She owed him the truth.

She lifted her chin, blinking away the sting in her eyes, and met his gaze squarely. "He is my fated mate," she said, voice barely a whisper but loud enough to detonate whatever was left of Kyllian’s world.

For a moment, time hung suspended, as if the entire castle itself was holding its breath.

Kyllian tore his gaze away from her as King Magnus and King Lucivar marched down the aisle.

"Everyone! To the throne room, now!" Magnus barked.

The command was absolute. No one, not even the stubborn vampire prince or the devastated almost-groom, dared disobey.

The three of them trailed behind the kings like chastised schoolchildren being dragged to the headmaster’s office.

The throne room doors slammed shut behind them with a deep, ominous thud. King Magnus stormed up the steps to his towering throne and sat down heavily, the weight of the situation making even his broad shoulders slump.

King Lucivar, never one to waste time, immediately launched into damage control. "As much as I do not agree with my son’s method of dealing with this matter, I do understand why he’s here."

Magnus looked like he was about two seconds away from popping a blood vessel. His fists gripped the arms of his throne as he thundered, "He messed up my daughter’s wedding! He disrespected my family, my throne!"

Lucivar lifted a hand in a calming gesture. "I apologize," he said smoothly. "But under these circumstances, I think you should listen to the kids."

Damien, surprisingly subdued, turned to Luna. His usually cocky smirk was missing. He gave her a little nod, silently urging her to speak.

Luna swallowed the lump in her throat. She had always been stubborn, too stubborn for her own good. She’d put her duty to the crown above her own heart for so long she didn’t even know how to choose herself anymore. But seeing Kyllian now, standing there like a man who’d had the ground ripped out from under him, made her hesitate.

Meanwhile, Damien shifted uncomfortably, shooting a sideways glance at Kyllian. For all his bravado, even he could feel the thick weight of grief hanging off the werewolf. It made Damien’s stomach twist unpleasantly.

He had wanted to respect Luna’s choice. He hadn’t expected to feel this much like the villain.

And judging by the look on Kyllian’s face, this was heartbreak, raw and real.

"Father... I know that I should have told you and I am sorry," Luna began. She felt like a criminal standing trial before the sternest judge in the land. The heavy air of the throne room seemed to press down on her.

King Magnus narrowed his eyes, his massive hands drumming against the arms of his throne impatiently. "Told me what, princess?" he asked, each word clipped and cold enough to make Luna shiver.