CLAIMING HIS RELUCTANT LUNA

CHAPTER 4: MY KING, MY MASTER

Heath’s POV

“You didn’t need to save me.”

The words had stuck since she said them. For someone not certain whether or not she wanted to die, that was one hell of a mouth she had.

“What do you say about the girl, Your Majesty?” Pierce asked as he walked ahead, fiddling with some keys before he shoved one into the inlet, twisting it.

To that, I wasn’t sure of an answer.

Most trials led to trespassers being executed. Grant them mercy, and they would have their blades through your heart any chance they got. Having had my fair share of their deeds, I wasn’t about to let that mistake repeat.

Sensing my hesitation, he added, “Back to the dungeons?”

“No,” came my response finally. “Vina, or whatever her bloody name is, isn’t spy material. Even the dumbest of Alphas wouldn’t consider her fit for it.”

The lass couldn’t even come up with a good lie.

Pierce’s lips thinned in what I knew was an agreement. Using words when gestures could convey his message was sacrilege to him. Without another word, he glanced forward and pushed open the doors.

The Royal Suite occupied a good quarter of the Palace’s North wing. For generations, it has housed the ruling Alphas, passed down from King to King on a golden platter.

Having zero knowledge of leadership and Pack dynamics was okay as long as you had your father’s blood flowing in you.

On the other hand, my case was different.

I earned this.

Pierce stood aside, waiting as I walked in.

A dead silence filled the suite, one I was still yet to get used to.

Usually, the rich sound of Alyssa’s laughter would ring in the air; it used to be the remedy I needed after a bad day. Meanwhile, Ryan would pace the floors in search of toys he’d never find.

Unconsciously, I reached for the locket around my neck, my fingers feeling its round edges where their pictures were.

“Memories again?” came Pierce.

He’d been my second long enough to tell.

Eyes narrowing, I shook my head to push the thoughts away. At least that was what I convinced myself to think.

“Forget that. Tell me how the meeting went.”

We followed a polished hallway that led to the king-sized bedroom. Topics ranged from the harvest to rogues. I’d pick anything else over listening to him go on about any of that.

“Don’t bore me with the usual, Pierce. Go straight to what I want to hear.”

He hesitated, sighed, then fell silent.

That wasn’t good.

The silence in the room pricked at me all over again, and this time, there was no hope of containing my bloody frustration. Tired, I slumped on the bed.

“Their standards remain the same, Your Majesty,” he began, composed. “Along with competence and skill, one can only be made the Alpha of Alphas when he has a mate. Unmated Kings are unfit for such an honor - in their words”

I couldn't bear the thought of it.

The mere idea of letting some other woman take Alyssa’s place came like blows to my head—an outrage to my very being. Losing my wife and son in a wolf raid had left a scar I knew taking another woman would never heal.

“Such a feat wasn’t meant to be easy, was it?”

He agreed. “Small sacrifices must be made for bigger achievements, Your Majesty.”

“Except giving a random girl privileges that belonged to Alyssa isn’t as simple as executing trespassers. I don’t care if it’s not real.” Staring up to meet his gaze, I figured his stance wasn’t about to change.

“If you wish to bring them back, Your Majesty, I’m afraid it is the only way,” Pierce shrugged.

Helplessly, I exhaled.

The Amulet of Kings was an artifact with unimaginable power, charged with the blood of past and present Alphas. Rumors said it could even raise the dead.

Such a weapon in the hands of many would be nothing less than havoc. It was something the council members knew when they kept it hidden away, to be used by nobody else but the Alpha of Alphas.

I knew of no way to bring back Ryan and Alyssa but this. Aside from that, I didn’t give a damn about the bloody title or the Amulet.

A small price to pay for a bigger achievement, I believed.

“Are you worried about finding yourself a mate?” Pierce rested his weight on the spotless wall, arms crossed. That pose when he was about to poke his nose into my business.

His gaze found mine, just before he pulled his lips into a tight smirk.

"It’s a little ironic, considering you've got a whole fan club in your bed nightly. But sure, we both get that those gold diggers would just drag the Luna title through the mud."

His straightforwardness and brutal honesty were traits that earned him my trust. He didn’t mince words to play nice, and neither would he tell you a lie to gain your favor.

For no other reason, he was more than just a second. He was someone whose advice I would never disregard.

Except I didn’t think I appreciated them now.

“Keep your advice to yourself.”

Truth was indeed a difficult pill to swallow.

Pierce threw his hands into the air in surrender.

From where I sat, I watched him turn to leave, his words replaying casually in my mind. Women were always in disposition, but he did have a point.

If there was anyone with the poise, enough to act as my mate, it wasn’t any of them.

Something in them would easily ruin the entire facade.

“Oh yes,” he stopped at the doorway, glancing over his shoulder. “What do I do with the prisoner, Your Majesty?”

“Give her off to the whorehouse,” I immediately said and saw the disapproval in his eyes.

Along with that, my wolf stirred. Why the words pricked at it was something I didn’t understand. My eyes closed to shut off a growing pain, sharp and sudden.

Fine!

Looking back at Pierce, I added, “Tell the maids to prepare her for dinner. Let’s see if we have someone presentable beneath all that grime.”

The look on his face relaxed, and finally, he left after a bow.

I stretched for a tumbler of whiskey when a soft knock fell on the oak doors. Pierce’s forgetfulness seemed to be on the rise these days.

“Come in.”

A jasmine fragrance replaced the room’s blandness. The soft scent riled my senses the same way it had a year ago when I first met her. Never got old.

My gaze moved from the cascading golden liquid to the doorway. With alluring grace, Nadia Ferguson crossed the threshold.

“May I come in, Your Majesty?”

I read through the cajole in her voice. She made the word ‘temptation’ itself a rare blend of toxicity and elegance that was impossible to resist.

"You’re already in, Nadia."

I expected her smile before it came. Predictability might be her only weakness.

Nadia, the daughter of an Omega, was an outcast among werewolves.

That very fate led to the discrimination that brought her to my doorstep. She was being bullied by a few of the pack’s delinquents when she ran to me, daring to barge into the throne room in desperate need for my rescue.

Although she was more famous for her maddening beauty, it was that one show of confidence that piqued my interest.

Her hazel eyes alight with excitement, Nadia closed the distance between us after pushing the door shut.

"I hear you’ve been busy."

A frown crossed my face.

"I’ve never known Pierce to be a tattletale."

Inwardly, I cursed.

Nadia was the last person meant to know of my current commitment to finding a make-believe mate. I’d raised her from the slums and given her a life most can only dream of.

And for that reason, she was intentional about me.

"Oh, that’s because he didn’t tell me," she said, lifting herself off the floor and falling by my side. "I noticed. You barely send for me lately."

Her energy was contagious. When excited, she was a ball of happiness; but you’d quickly forget all about it when she doesn’t have her way.

Slowly, I exhaled.

My mind has been too occupied to crave an orgasm, especially since the Lycan council could easily appoint some prick as the Alpha of Alphas simply because he had a mate.

I didn’t see myself finding a true mate aside from Alyssa, nor was I hoping for the Moon goddess to remember me in that way.

I twined her stray ebony curls around my fingers, letting them coil like dark silk in my grasp.

"You’re right. I have been busy."

Her smirk was the start of her temptation.

"Too busy to remember your beautiful Nadia?" When I sighed, her hands clasped onto mine desperately. "Look at me having to find you myself."

I wanted to tell her it was more serious than that, but I owed her none of that explanation. The familiar discomfort in my gut began, signs of my wolf’s disapproval of her. Hell would freeze over before I gave a damn, honestly.

"You came just in time, flower."

Nadia leaned into my touch, her eyes aflame with a need for more. I brushed my thumb over her lip, languidly, earning a quiet hum from her throat. She was the poison as well as the cure.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, squeezing to stand between my thighs. I let my hands draw a trail down her ribs to where her delicate body curved.

Nadia was a wolf-sized elixir, able to send men into an endless euphoria with her mere looks. But while her confidence was attractive, I found her entitlement nearly repulsive—a subtle spit at Alyssa’s grave, perhaps.

My fingers felt the hem of her dress, enticingly, for no reason in particular; anything to torture the poor thing.

Pierce was indeed right when he said my mistresses were an exception. That seemed to be where the problem was. The only woman I knew who wasn’t a mistress happened to be… well, the trespasser.

Vina wasn’t just a confused girl running from some hot-headed master. Her poise was elegant, her diction polished. Those traits gave away her noble origin as well as her lie of being a slave.

How audacious of her to think Heath Valsad was a fool.

Amid her breathlessness and moans, Nadia said my name - an action that ticked a nerve within me.

“No, Nadia,” my voice cut through, a scowl darkening my features. “I’m your King. Slip up again, and you might just lose that tongue.”

Her gaze met mine, a facade of docility and obedience shimmering in her eyes as she gracefully sank to her knees, the picture of false innocence.

Yet, beneath all that, a spark of excitement flickered—she was driven by the danger, seduced by the thought of my extremes.

The very limits that sent others fleeing were the sames ones that drew Nadia back, time and again. Some might label her a masochist, a woman who enjoys the sting of punishment, pushing boundaries, getting f****d till she’s thoroughly used and incapable of walking.

Perhaps that was why she was my favorite, and perhaps she too knew that only I had the skill, the iron-hand, needed to strip her of her sass.

“I’m sorry, my King; my Master.” She dropped her head.

Slowly, painstakingly, my finger trailed over her cheek, lifting her head by her jaw till those siren eyes were on me.

“Don’t worry, flower. You can make up for it all night.” My hand slid down, and I curled my fist around her ponytail. “Now, convince me that you're worth every second of what's coming.”

Desperately, with an eagerness that thrilled me - intoxicated my senses, Nadia got to work, immediately satisfying her desires with the sight of my c**k.

There was no need for formalities, no need to pretend or tease; she sank it’s thick length right into the depths of the throat, and f**k, goddess, the woman was a voracious beast.

Vina came to mind again, even while I f****d Nadia’s throat at a pace that was bound to suffocate her - the noble girl on the run.

Her reasons for running were of no concern to me, but I'd be damned if I didn't explore the possibility that she was the right girl for the facade. She had the makings of a perfect Luna in her.

The perfect fake Luna.

Doubling my pace, twisting my fist harder around my hair, my intent was to bruise and damage her for any other man - and I knew that was exactly how she liked it.

As my release finally came, I rewarded Nadia with the perfect dressing over her face, now a sticky, beautiful canvas.

In that moment, a single thought reigned: Vina and I needed to have yet another chat.