Chapter 121
LUNA AQUAMARINE’S POV
My chest tightened.
No, they can’t possibly be after their Primus.
Would they?
I followed their gaze again and my blood ran cold.
It wasn’t Clifford they were circling in their minds anymore.
It was really Alexander.
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My legs moved before my head caught up. I found myself stepping toward him, as if my body still remembered the day Lorenzo almost charged at me, the day I stood alone against eyes that wanted me gone.
Now those same eyes wanted him. Any minute from now, Lorenzo might appear too.
“Alexander…” My voice cracked, but my body angled in front of his, half–shield, half–plea. “Please, not here.”
His gaze snapped to me, wild and burning, gold still crawling his skin. For a moment I thought he wouldn’t hear me at all. Then his lips pulled back, not in a snarl this time but something sharper, purposeful.
“Grab my arm,” he growled low, every syllable shaking with the dragon fighting to break free.
“What-”
“Now.” His command cut through me, heavy, leaving no space for doubt.
My hands shook as I reached for him. The heat under his skin seared my palm, but I held on.
The second I did, his claws tore free of Clifford’s chest. Clifford collapsed to the ground, coughing blood, while Alexander tightened his grip on me instead.
And then everything blurred,
He ran–faster than I’d ever seen. A growl ripped through him as he pushed higher, higher, until flipped and the garden vanished beneath us.
His boots landed with brutal force on the ledge of our chamber window. Three leaps.
Just three.
my
stomach
My knees buckled as he dragged me inside the room. His chest kept rising too fast, steam spilling from his mouth like smoke. His skin wasn’t cooling it was glowing hotter, brighter, as though the dragon under him
clawed closer.
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Chapter 121
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“Alexander,” I whispered, brushing trembling fingers across his chest. The heat almost blistered me. “Please, stop. They saw–you can’t let them see what you are—”
“What I am?” His head snapped down toward me, eyes burning gold. “Do you think they matter right now?” His voice was gravel, ripped through with something not human.
I swallowed hard. “Yes-”
His hand slammed against the wall beside my head, claws scoring stone. I flinched, breath catching. His body caged mine without touching, his gaze pinning me like prey.
“Then tell me why he touched you,” he snarled, every word vibrating against my bones. “Tell me why his hands were on you, why his lips were on yours, why he thought he could speak about you that way. What have you been doing with him behind closed doors, Aquamarine?”
My lips parted, but no words came. Does he think I’m sleeping with Clifford? Kissing him?
“Answer me!” His other hand gripped my chin, forcing me to meet those molten eyes.
I gasped against the heat of him, the closeness, my voice shaking out. “He–he didn’t… He didn’t touch me. He was trying to remove-”
“Don’t lie to me.” His tone wasn’t a plea. It was command, sharpened with the dragon bleeding through him. “I heard both of you have been seeing each other, before I even came to your pack. And now that he’s here, you’ve been roaming around playing house in my castle!”
My eyes went wide. “That’s not true-”
“You think I don’t see it?” He cut me off. “The way he looks at you. The way you look back. Is that why you marked him?” he spat, his iris already vertical.
I swallowed hard, sweat trickling down my skin. “It’s not like what—”
“You just couldn’t wait till you sank your teeth into his flesh right? Clinton wasn’t enough for you so you’ve decided to hop on the next heir?” he seethed, eyeing me like he was disgusted and angry at the same time.
“What are you even saying? Why are you even making up these things?” Tears blurred my vision. “I’ve told you-”
His claws flexed, dangerously close to my skin, though he held back by a fraction. “Don’t protect him. If you do, I’ll finish what I started.”
I pressed my back harder against the wall, panic surging. “You can’t-”
“I can,” he snapped, his claws sliding free with a soft, sickening scrape. “And if he stays here for one more second, I’ll make sure you watch while I tear him apart with my bare hands.” His voice was a low blade; one claw dragged across my cheek leaving a faint scar.
I let out a sound that wasn’t a sob, more like something ripped from my chest. “You’re wrong,” I forced out. “Clifford he’s not–he’s not what you think.” My fingers trembled, digging into his shirt for something to
hold on to.
…
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Chapter 121
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His grip on my chin tightened; pain flared sharply along my jaw. “Then convince me.” His voice was all teeth now, vibrating with the dragon under his skin. “Convince me you aren’t betraying me.”
“Convince you?” I spat, fury cutting through the fear. “You already believe everything Fiona tells you. Everything the Elders put in your ears.”
I shoved my fingers into his hand and wrenched. He didn’t let go. His other hand hovered, dangerous. “Tell him to leave, he’s your Kyrexeis,” he said, voice low and hard like a promise. “Tell him to take his filthy loyalty and run.”
“I won’t,” I said. The words came sharp and final. “He stayed while you burned everything I had. He stayed when you called me names. He’s the only one who stayed. He’s a loyal Kyrexeis and a good friend!” My throat tightened.
“A good friend? Where was he when you were tortured in your old pack? When his brother almost had his way with you?” Alexander’s voice cracked higher, snapping like fire. A vein throbbed hard at his temple. “He’s just pretending so that he can get his pack back and because he wants to replace me in your life!”
I scoffed, “Replace? When you already let yourself out?”
“What did you say?” He growled.
“You don’t know the type of person he is. He’s fighting for what he truly wants, that’s why he’s doing his job well by standing by my side!” I said, breath shuddering fast. “He is not your rival in whatever twisted game this is. He has a clear mind and is not easily swayed by what other people say.” I pushed off the wall, standing straighter despite the shake in my knees.
Silence filled the room. His nostrils flared, a low growl threading beneath each breath.
The dragon under him prowled, pressing against his skin. I felt it through heat and tightness, the air thinning.
“So, you’ve chosen him,” Alexander said finally, slow, each syllable edged with venom. “You choose a pup over me and now, he shall face the consequences.”
A sharp knock echoed from the door below. Heavy boots. A shout. Someone’s voice calling Clifford’s name.
Levi?
He’s back?
Alexander’s head snapped toward the sound. For the first time since he’d dragged me inside, his eyes flicked away from me.
Then he released my chin, stalking to the window with a face carved in stone, a mask I no longer recognised.
“Look over there, Aquamarine,” he said without turning, voice like a blade dragged across iron. “Reject him or his death is in your hands.”
Blood rushed to my head.
Outside, the garden curled with smoke. The pack’s murmurs rose like a tide. I pressed my palms to my
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Chapter 121
mouth and listened, feeling the room shrink, the world narrowing to a single, terrible thread:
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We both heard it–Clifford’s voice raw, then a garbled cry, then the sick, wet sound of someone hitting the ground.
Clifford, on the ground, and then Levi walking toward whatever he’d done next.
“Why are you doing this?” I choked, words scraping from my throat. “First you took Katherine, then Juliet and Aaron. Clifford doesn’t deserve your wrath just because you have trust issues. And now, you want to take him
too?”
“Yes!” His voice cracked like thunder, rattling the air between us. His hands shook, “Because you belong to me! I own you. Every inch of your body. Every part of your mind and soul. Including your broken pieces, Aquamarine. I won’t share-”
“Nobody asked you to share, Alex.” I sniffed, my voice barely above a whisper, though it trembled with defiance.
I’m tired.
“But letting me go would be better, for both of us.” I didn’t bother to look at him.
The temperature dropped, sharp and biting. “What?” he stammered, disbelief cracking through his rage.
“What do you think?” My voice broke, tears already streaming down my face but I pushed through. “I obviously can’t give you a child, Alexander. And I’m tired of all this drama, attacks and insults from you. I— I just want peace.”
“Aqu-”
“Is that too much to ask?” I muffled a sob. “Somehow, I prefer dying to enduring all this from you.”
Silence.
His breath hitched, a faint tremor breaking his composure.
“So that’s why I’ve come to this conclusion.” My lips parted, voice shaking. “I, Aquamarine of the Theriakon—”
AD
