The Vampire's Luna

A few murmured affirmations followed.

Luna’s chest swelled with pride. Her mate. Her protector. Her personal storm cloud with a crown. And he’d just defended her like she was worth every drop of his royal wrath.

She hadn’t even realized she was still staring at him until he turned, eyes softening as they met hers. "You want to go home?"

She blinked, startled from her Damien-induced trance. Her mind screamed, No, do that again. Yell some more. Bite someone. Drag me out of here like a scandal waiting to happen! But instead, she took a graceful breath, tilted her head, and smiled sweetly.

"Yes, please...Your Highness."

The smirk that curved on Damien’s face could’ve melted the paint off the walls. That was the first time she’d ever called him that. The honorific dropped from her lips and gods help her, it felt right.

He offered his arm. She took it.

*****

Damien stormed into the castle.

He didn’t just look angry. He looked haunted. Tonight, someone had crossed a line.

He knew... he had always known there would be issues. Known there would be whispers in the shadows and daggers behind polite smiles. Known there would be pushback the moment news went round a werewolf was his mate. It was why, he’d looked King Magnus in the eye and made him promise to protect Luna. And if there was ever a child... their child... to guard them with his life in Damien’s absence.

But he didn’t think it would all unravel so soon. Not when their relationship hadn’t even been defined. Not when he was still trying to figure out how to win her heart completely. How to convince her to let him in, to let the bond between them root so deep it would never shake. And then some wrinkled, bigoted vampire in shiny cufflinks had the audacity to insult her... in public.

"Damien... I am fine. You don’t have to be mad anymore." She tried to soothe him, reaching out with logic, with gentleness.

But it didn’t work.

"This could have been avoided!" he roared, spinning around. "We could have avoided this! If you would just... if you would just stop being so damned stubborn and be my princess... my queen!"

"You’re blaming me?" Luna gasped, stepping back a fraction. Her eyes widened, stormy with disbelief. "Why don’t we just go ahead and blame me for everything else then?"

Oh hell.

"You don’t get it, do you?"

His chest was heaving from the weight of everything he’d been bottling up. He was unraveling, piece by piece, in front of the one person he wanted to hold him together.

"Oh no! I don’t!" Luna snapped. "Explain it to me like I am a fucking imbecile."

"He disrespected you!" Damien shouted, pacing toward her now with dangerous energy. "He disrespected me—it is akin to disrespecting the crown!" His hand clenched into a fist by his side. "And I can’t do anything about it because you are being a fucking bitch about being with me!"

The room fell into an icy silence for exactly two seconds.

Then Luna’s golden eyes lit, her wolf slamming into the forefront with a snarl. Her lips curled into a dark smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and she took one deliberate, deadly step forward.

"What did you just call me?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I called you a fucking bitch!" he barked again, stubbornly.

Luna didn’t wait. She launched herself at him. She wasn’t thinking. Her fists moved on instinct, her body singing with adrenaline. Her first punch was aimed squarely at his face but Damien sidestepped with vampiric ease, catching her wrist midair and swatting it away.

But oh, it was on now.

Her wolf howled inside her head, a gleeful war cry. Her pride burned hotter than her fury. She was skilled. Trained.

She launched her other fist, only for him to block again, smirking now.

"Predictable," he muttered under his breath.

"Oh, bite me."

"Gladly."

With a growl, Luna twisted her body mid-air, her leg sweeping up—but again, Damien was faster. He caught her ankle before it could connect, spun her around, and sent her stumbling back.

She recovered mid-step, using her momentum to launch forward again. This time, she didn’t aim for finesse. She aimed for impact. Her knee shot up slamming into his midsection with a force that made him stumble back this time.

Damien’s eyes widened. For a moment, he looked winded. He caught himself against the wall, blinking down at her.

Luna stood tall, breathing heavily, eyes blazing with triumph. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand, lips curling into a victorious smirk.

Damien snapped.

One second, he was moving—too fast for Luna to react. He surged forward, hand wrapping around her neck to dominate her. His grip was firm, possessive, infuriatingly confident. He pushed her back, faster than a blur, and the world whizzed past her.

Her back slammed into the wall with a jarring thud. The impact stole her breath for a moment, but the defiance in her golden eyes never dimmed. She stared up at him, chest heaving, as his taller frame boxed her in. His breath ghosted over her face, a cruel mix of anger and heat. Luna’s pulse spiked.

Luna’s body twisted sharply, and she ducked low, using the narrow leverage between them. In a move that would’ve made her father weep with pride, she reversed their positions. Damien out maneuvered her, turning her back to him and her cheek pressed against the cold stone wall.

Before she could move again, Damien had one arm around her waist and the other securing both her wrists above her head, he had her pinned. She could feel every inch of him now.

"Be still!" Damien growled. The vibration of it shivered down her spine. His breath kissed the delicate spot just below her ear, and she jerked in his arms involuntarily, heart thundering.

"Some of us don’t fight with words," she heaved, teeth gritted, refusing to show weakness.