bChapter /b188

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Francesco’s arms were still warm around me when I leaned back, tracing the line of his jaw with my fingertips.

His eyes softened under my touch, but the weight of duty was never far behind them. I knew the look well- the way responsibility lived in his bones, the way the King in him tried to cage the man.

“I need something from you,” I whispered, letting my lips brush the edge of his ear.

He stilled, instantly wary. “Eine…” His voice was warning, low and rough. “Don’t.”

He knows what I am going to ask.

I smiled faintly, pressing closer, my body molding to his until I felt his restraint tighten like a bowstring. “I want to meet her… Alone.”

His arms closed around me, unyielding. “No.”

I tilted my head up, letting my breath skim across his throat. “Francesco…”

“Eine.” His voice was firmer, but I heard the edge beneath it–the fear that lived beneath his fury. “You don’t know the danger. She’s tried to kill you once. She’ll try again. My Luna, I cannot—”

I pressed my mouth to his, slow, coaxing.

Not demanding.

Not fighting.

Just giving him the taste of the bond, the reminder that I was not porcin to be locked away, but his equal.

I am his partner. His chosen. His fate.

When I drew back, my voice was soft but steady. “If I don’t ask her, Francesco, I’ll never know why. Not truly. The whispers are spreading, and I cannot let lies fill the silence where the truth should be. Let me face her. With Audrey, with Monica, with your guards. I’ll be safe. You have my word.”

His eyes red gold, the beast inside him wrestling with the man.

My heart clenched–he would cage the whole world to keep me safe if he could.

But, he had to see I wasn’t asking to be reckless.

I was asking to be Luna.

“You’re seducing me into agreeing,” he muttered, a groan caught between his teeth as his hand gripped the back of my neck.

“Yes,” I whispered, smiling against his lips. “And it’s working.”

b15:31 /bWedb, /bbSep /bb24 /b

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A curse rumbled in his chest, but when he pulled back, his shoulders dropped in defeat.

I try to hide my smile and keep a neutral face.

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He heave a heavy sighed “You will have guards. Not a single step without them. And if she so much as breathes wrong, Audrey has my leave to cut her down.”

“Agreed,” I said quickly, kissing him again before he could change his mind.

The ward was colder than I expected.

Not damp and foul like the prisons of human kings, but clean, carved of stone and lined with herbs and tonics that whispered of healing.

It was a ce meant to strip away pretense, to leave only truth and shadow.

Chains bound Isolde’s wristsb, /bsilver biting into her pale skin.

She sat propped on a narrow cot, back straight, chin lifted, as though the shackles were ornaments instead of bonds. Her beauty remained intact–sharp as a de honed too fine–but madness flickered in her eyes, and bitterness dripped from every breath she exhaled.

Audrey was at my right, her hand never straying far from the hilt of her de.

Monica lingered at my left, eyes sharp and assessing, her healer’s hands ready for damage if it came. Marlow stood further back with three of his best knights, their very presence heavy with Francesco’smand: No

harm will touch the Luna.

I stepped forward, the echo of my boots soft against the stone floor.

The ward was quiet, save for the faint drip of water in some far–off pipe and the restless rattle of Isolde’s chains when she shifted her arms.

Her lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“The Luna herself,” she purred, though her voice carried a brittle edge. “Come to gloat? Or to watch me

break?”

“I came to hear you,” I said simply, my tone calm, steady. “I want the truth. Your truth.”

Herughter cracked the silence–brittle, sharp, like ss breaking in my ears. “Truth? Do you even know the truth about the man you cling to? About the family you married into?”

My chest tightened, but I kept my gaze fixed on her. “Tell me.”

Her smile sharpened. “You never knew, did you? You think he loves you because you’re special? No. You’re convenient. Receable.” She leaned forward, eyes gleaming with a cruel light. “You never knew about the Lycaon family, did you?”

15:31 Wed, bSep /b24

I froze. “Francesco’s family?”

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She nodded slowly, savoring my reaction. “Thest Lycan family. Lycaon—the most powerful, most ruthless. They looked down on us, themon wolves, as if we were dirt beneath their boots. Pawns for their games. That blood runs in your mate’s veins, and you think he’s different? You think you’re not just another piece to be moved on the board?b” /b

My heartbeat stumbled, but I forced myself to hold her gaze. “Why him? Why Francesco?”

Her smile turned venomous. “Do you know why I chose him? Why I epted the challenge of seducing one of the brothers? Because I wanted power. Not love. Power. And he was foolish enough to believe me.”

Her words cut through me, sharp and unrelenting. For the briefest moment, sorrow pierced my chest–not for myself, but for Francesco. For the man who had once opened his heart to this woman, only to be used, discarded, treated as nothing but adder toward ambition.

“You never loved him,” I whispered, realization striking like lightning.

Her smile widened into something feral. “Love is for children and fools. I wanted the power of the Lycaon name. And I almost had iit/i.”

My fists clenched at my sides, fury trembling through me–not for her venom against me, not even for her lies. But for the cruel truth buried inside them: that Francesco had once given his heart to a woman who never wanted it. She wanted only his crown.

I drew in a slow, steady breath, lifting my chin. “You’ve shown me enough, Isolde. Enough to know that you were never truly a threat. Not to me. Not to him. Because love is the one thing you never understood. And that is why you lost.”

For the first time, her smile faltered.

And in that small crack, I saw the truth of her defeat,