Chapter 2: The King With Two Mates

Blade

The grand hall thrummed with energy, and every eye was fixed on me as I stood at the head of the ceremony. Tonight marked the culmination of years of tradition and duty, and beneath the heavy weight of the ceremonial robes, I could feel the press of responsibility. The Sun Palace was a fortress of power, and tonight, I would ascend to its throne as the Lycan King. My mother had always said that a king must command respect before he even speaks, and as I looked out over the assembled pack, I knew I had lived up to her expectations.

“Blade,” my wolf, Ashe, rumbled in the back of my mind, his deep voice a steady, familiar presence. “This is our night. Stay sharp.”

“I know,” I replied silently. “Trust me, I’m ready.”

As the elder began reciting the ancient vows, my gaze drifted to Crystal Winters. She was everything a Luna should be: graceful, poised, and strong. Her honey-blonde hair framed a face that had become the centerpiece of the Sun Palace’s social circles, and her eyes, green as a summer forest, were locked onto mine with a look of unshakeable certainty.

Crystal had always believed that she would be my Luna, and I had let her believe it. It was logical, after all. Politics, strength, beauty—it all aligned.

But there was a small, restless part of me that wondered if there was more. If the Moon Goddess had something else in store. If a mate bond—something I couldn’t control, something fierce and primal—would change everything.

The moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows, painting the hall in shades of silver and blue. The elder’s voice echoed, solemn and measured. My heart thudded, a rhythm of expectation, until—

A surge of heat. No, not heat—fire. It rushed through my veins, burning with an intensity that left me breathless. The connection hit me so hard that my knees nearly buckled. My wolf let out a feral growl, a sound that seemed to reverberate in my very bones.

"Ashe?” I demanded, panic slicing through me. “What is this?”

“Mate,” Ashe growled, his voice thick with longing and anger. “But—two. I feel two!”

Confusion flooded me, and I fought to keep my expression composed. Two? That couldn’t be right. The Moon Goddess granted us only one true mate, and yet—

I turned to look at Crystal. Her eyes widened, shock and confusion shattering her perfect composure. Her lips parted as she gasped, one delicate hand clutching at her chest. She felt it, too.

My heart twisted painfully, but before I could make sense of anything, a second wave of that fiery pull dragged my attention away. My gaze landed on her—the maid.

“Lana,” Ashe whispered, his voice almost reverent.

No. Not Lana. LUNA. The name that no one dared to call her, the name that she seemed to wear like a broken crown. She was crumpled on the marble floor, her dark hair spilling around her pale face, and the pain in her eyes mirrored my own.

“This isn’t right,” Ashe growled. “She’s… our mate?”

“No!” I snapped, fear and confusion twisting my gut. “How could she be? She’s—”

“Ours,” Ashe interrupted, a possessive snarl cutting through my denial. “Fate chose her.”

Panic surged through me as the whispers erupted around the room.

Witchcraft.

The word was spoken with venom, passed from mouth to mouth like a curse. The council elders, seated in their place of honor, exchanged dark, knowing glances. I could already see the lines of suspicion and fear forming.

“Blade,” one of the elders, Sorin, called out, his voice stern and heavy. “This must be investigated. The appearance of witchcraft at such a sacred ceremony cannot be ignored.”

Crystal stumbled to her feet, her hands trembling as tears gathered in her eyes. She played the perfect victim, clutching at Stone’s arm. “Blade,” she whispered, her voice cracking with disbelief. “She did something. I felt it—something dark and wrong. You have to believe me.”

I took a step forward, my head spinning. Crystal, who had always been so strong, now looked at me with pleading eyes, and I felt my gut twist in confusion. Yet, when I looked back at Luna, lying there, surrounded by accusations, something in me rebelled against what I was hearing.

“Blade,” Ashe murmured, a low, insistent growl vibrating through me. “She’s our mate. We can’t let them hurt her.”

I clenched my fists. “But how?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. "She’s a witch hybrid, Ashe. My mother was poisoned by one. We swore never to trust them again.”

Ashe’s presence flared with anger. “She’s ours. Doesn’t matter what she is.”

The council’s head elder, a man named Elias, rose to his feet. His expression was as cold and calculating as ever. “Your Majesty,” he said, his voice slicing through the chaos, “for the safety of our pack, I advise you to arrest this… girl. If she is a witch, we must act swiftly.”

The murmurs grew louder, and I knew I had to make a decision. The weight of the Lycan throne settled heavier on my shoulders than ever before. I had spent my life preparing to lead, to protect my pack, to uphold our laws and traditions. But now, everything was unraveling.

“Do it,” Crystal whispered, tears streaming down her face. “For the pack. For us.”

I took a deep breath, the weight of duty pressing hard against the wild bond I could feel straining within me. Luna—no, Lana—still lay on the floor, her eyes glassy with shock and pain. My chest constricted, a fierce, unfamiliar agony blooming where the bond pulsed.

“Blade!” Ashe roared in my mind, rage and desperation mingling. “Don’t you dare hurt her. She’s—”

"She cheated."

I silenced him, though the pain it caused us both was like a blade twisting inside me. My voice, when it came out, was cold. A king’s voice. “Guards,” I commanded, “arrest her.”

The room fell silent, then erupted into chaos. Two guards stepped forward, rough hands gripping Luna’s arms as they pulled her to her feet. Her gaze found mine, and I flinched at the raw betrayal in her eyes. Pain twisted through me, so fierce and unexpected that I nearly doubled over.

“Coward!” Ashe bellowed, thrashing against the walls of my mind. “You’re hurting her—hurting us!”

"It's a fake bond." I gritted my teeth, trying to hold myself together. But as the guards dragged Luna away, the physical agony of our bond being strained beyond measure slammed into me. I clutched at my chest, my vision blurring, and for a moment, I thought I might collapse.

“Your Majesty,” Elias said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice, “we will investigate this matter thoroughly. You have done what is best for your people.”

But even as the council murmured their approval, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made the worst mistake of my life. The bond still pulsed, fierce and demanding, and Ashe’s howl echoed through me, a sound of grief and rage.

Luna’s screams echoed down the hall as they dragged her away, and I knew I would never forget the look in her eyes—eyes that, for some reason, haunted me.

....

I slammed the door to my chamber, the heavy oak shaking on its hinges. The quiet should have been a relief, but instead, it only amplified the pounding in my head. My hand curled into a fist, and I resisted the urge to punch something. Anything to drown out Ashe’s enraged howls reverberating through my skull.

“You’re a fool, Blade!” Ashe roared, his voice blistering with rage. “How can you let them take her? Our mate. Ours!”

I rubbed my temples, trying to soothe the sharp ache splitting through my skull. “She’s dangerous,” I argued, my voice barely more than a whisper. “The council is right. Witches have brought nothing but pain and destruction to our kind.”

*“Luna is not your enemy!”* Ashe’s presence pulsed with fury. *“You’re letting fear control you. Fear if what happened when you were young. What happened to your mo...”*

"Don't dare say her name!" I warned feeling more rage.

I staggered to my desk, bracing myself against the polished wood. My mother’s image floated to the forefront of my mind, her lifeless body, the poison that had stolen her from me. I had been a boy, barely able to grasp the depths of my loss, but that wound had never healed. It had festered, shaping me into the king I had become.

A knock at the door snapped me from my spiraling thoughts. I straightened, masking the turmoil twisting within me. “Enter,” I commanded.

Crystal swept into the room, her gown rustling like whispering silk. Her eyes, red from crying, brimmed with a kind of desperate hope that made my gut twist.

“Blade, my King,” she said softly, stepping closer. Her hand reached out, but I pulled back, and her fingers curled into a fist. “This must be so difficult for you. To discover that… that witch has manipulated us all.”

I clenched my jaw. “We don’t know that for sure yet.”

Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip. “But the evidence, Blade! The way she collapsed, the bond—” She shivered. “It’s not natural. It is dark magic. A hex! ”

I turned away, my gaze locked on the fire flickering in the hearth. It was easier than looking at Crystal, easier than confronting the doubt gnawing at my resolve. “The council will conduct a thorough investigation,” I said, my voice sounding empty even to me.

Crystal’s hand found my shoulder, her touch soft but insistent. “You have to protect your pack. Your people look to you to lead, to keep us safe from threats like her.”

I stiffened, the weight of those words pressing against my chest. Protect my pack. That had always been my purpose. My duty. But why did this feel like betrayal?

"Just wait for the results Crystal!"