Crowned And Cursed.

This is the end......

As the night went on not only did I get to see her so happy, I got to know her even better. She bubbly and talkative. Making me fall for her harder each passing second.

“ Hunter tonight...tonight is the perfect night for me to tell her the truth, tell her that she's our mate and she's all ours.”

“ You have finally come to your senses,” Hunter remarked in a sarcastic tone.

But as much as I wanted to let her know , I had to step away to take a call.

I was just finishing up the conversation when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around, and what I saw made my blood freeze.

“ No!” my wolf roared, the pain of betrayal slicing through us both. couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe as I watched . Lucian had her. His hands were on her, his lips on hers, claiming her as his mate, he nibbled on her neck, his fangs extending as he prepared to mark her.

“ She’s ours,” my wolf whimpered, the hurt in his voice echoing in my chest. “Why didn’t you tell her? Why did you wait? Why! ”

“I...I...I don't know ,” I muttered under my breath, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. But now it was too late. I couldn't go against him , he was an Alpha and I was nothing but a mere beta with no wolf. Where would I even start explaining. Sh*t I messed up.

I forced myself to speak, to do something—anything to stop this nightmare from unfolding. “Lucian, no!” I shouted, my voice cracking with desperation. “She’s not well. Marking her now could make her even weaker.”

Lucian growled, his eyes flashing with anger as he pulled her closer. “She’s my mate. I’ll mark her whenever I want.”

I wanted to tear him away from her, to rip him to shreds for daring to touch what was mine. But I was powerless , in fact useless. I could only watch as she looked at me, her eyes pleading for help, for escape. But I couldn’t give it to her. I was helpless.

The night only got worse from there. Lucian kept her close, treating her like a prized possession. The way he touched her, the way he fed her, licked her—it made my blood boil. I could barely contain my rage, my wolf howling in agony inside me.

When Matt made his usual snide remarks, I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m not....I’m not feeling well,” I muttered, standing up abruptly. “I’m going to leave.”

I didn’t wait for a response. I just turned and walked away, the pain in my chest spreading like a wildfire. I could hear Bella’s voice, faint and pleading, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to get away, needed to escape before I completely lost it.

When I reached my room, I slammed the door shut and let out a roar of frustration. My wolf was out of control, howling and snarling, demanding that we go back and fight for her, that we take her from Lucian and make her ours. But I couldn’t.

I could barely breathe as I stormed into my room, my chest heaving with a mixture of anger and despair. The moment the door slammed shut behind me, I lost it. Everything inside me erupted like a volcano that had been simmering for far too long.

“ Moon goddess what kind of sick joke is this huh? How is she Lucians mate when she is mine and above all people Lucian! Why?!”

Lucian had always made my life a leaving hell, he always took everything from me , humiliated me and now my MATE, The only thing I thought would change my life forever.

I grabbed the nearest thing—a lamp—and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall, the crash echoing in the silence. But it wasn’t enough. The fury inside me was clawing its way out, my wolf snarling in my mind, urging me to destroy everything in sight.

“ How could you let him touch her?” my wolf roared, his voice filled with rage and pain. “She’s ours! She belongs to us, Nathan!”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Instead, I ripped the sheets off the bed, sending them flying across the room. I knocked over the nightstand, kicked the chair, and then reached for the bottle of whiskey I kept stashed in the drawer. I didn’t bother with a glass; I just unscrewed the cap and took a long, burning swig.

But the alcohol didn’t help. It only fueled the fire, making me feel even more out of control. I smashed the bottle against the wall, watching as the amber liquid dripped down in streaks, mixing with the broken glass on the floor.

My wolf was pacing, growling, his pain mirroring my own. I could feel his anger, his desperation, and it only made mine worse. How could I have let this happen? How could I have stood there and done nothing while Lucian took what was mine?

I slammed my fist into the wall, the pain shooting up my arm but doing nothing to dull the agony in my chest. I hit it again, and again, until the skin on my knuckles split and blood smeared across the plaster.

“ I told you, I f*cking told you, we should have told her,” my wolf hissed. “ She should have known. She should have been ours!”

The door creaked open, and Bobby walked in, his eyes widening at the mess I’d made. “Nathan…” he started, but I wasn’t in the mood for his pity.

“Get out!” I snarled, my voice low and dangerous. I didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to hear whatever it was he had to say. I just wanted to be alone with my anger, my pain.

But Bobby didn’t leave, he was the only person I had told about my bond with Bella the very first day I found her.

Instead, he stepped further into the room, carefully avoiding the broken glass on the floor. “Nathan, you need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” I laughed bitterly, the sound harsh and empty. “Calm down? My mate was just claimed by Lucian, and you’re telling me to calm down?”

Bobby frowned, his expression serious as he crossed his arms. “You didn’t have to let it get to this point, you know.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I growled, my wolf’s anger flaring up again.

“It means,” Bobby said, taking a deep breath, “that you should have told her. From the beginning. You should have told her she was your mate.”

I froze, his words hitting me like a punch to the gut. My wolf went silent, his anger momentarily forgotten as Bobby’s statement sank in.

“I… I couldn’t,” I muttered, my voice suddenly hoarse. “She wasn’t ready. She didn’t feel the same way.”

“How do you know?” Bobby challenged, his eyes narrowing. “How do you know she wouldn’t have come around? She might not have acknowledged the bond , that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have listened to you. But you didn’t give her a chance, Nathan. You just assumed.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. He was right. I had assumed. I had been so afraid of pushing her away, of scaring her off, that I hadn’t even considered the possibility that she might have been willing to accept me as her mate. And now, because of my hesitation, I had lost her to Lucian.

“ We should have claimed her, the very same day we found her,” my wolf whispered, his voice filled with regret. “She would have been ours.”

I sank down onto the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. The pain was unbearable, a constant, throbbing ache that refused to go away. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let this happen?

Bobby sat down next to me, his voice softening. “Look, man… I know this hurts. I know it feels like everything’s falling apart. But you can’t give up. You can’t just let him take her.”

I looked up at him, my vision blurry with anger, pain, and something else—something that felt a lot like fear. “What am I supposed to do, Bobby? She’s already his now. What the hell can I do?”

Bobby shook his head. “She might be his 'mate' as he says but that doesn’t mean she’s his in every way. You still have a chance, Nathan. But you have to fight for her. You can’t just stand by and let him take her from you. Not without a fight.”

I clenched my fists, the raw emotion in my chest almost too much to bear. He was right. As much as it hurt, as hopeless as it seemed, I couldn’t just give up. Bella was my mate, and I couldn’t let Lucian have her without a fight. Not when I had already lost so much.

“We’ll get her back, ”my wolf vowed, his voice resolute. “She belongs with us .”

But deep down, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Lucian was powerful, and he had every right to claim her. The only question was whether Bella would want to come back to me, whether she would choose me over him.

“ We’ll make her choose us,” my wolf growled. “We’ll make her ours again.”

But as the anger began to fade, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was already too late.

And just like that, everything in my world had turned upside down. I had made the biggest mistake of my life by not claiming her when I had the chance. And now, it might cost me the one thing I wanted more than anything—my mate.