Chapter 8 #2
I’m blown away. Family. These intimidating, powerful women are calling me family. Promising to protect me from their own brother.
These are the people Seth said would eat me alive?
“You should still move into the estate,” Marina continues, her tone brooking no argument. “You’re a Rowan now, whether you like it or not. That mark on your neck makes it official.”
“I’m a healer in the palace,” I say, grasping at the excuse like a lifeline. “I can’t just leave. I have duties, responsibilities—”
They exchange glances, silent communication passing between them.
“We’ll tell Seth to discuss it with the King,” Marina decides. “If there’s an issue with your position at the palace, he’ll sort it out. But you have to live at the estate, Selene. That’s not negotiable.”
“And we’re going to have a very pointed conversation with Seth about proper mate behavior,” Vera adds darkly.
“You don’t have to—”
A knock interrupts me. I quickly open the door to find a palace messenger standing there, holding an official-looking scroll sealed with the royal crest.
“Healer Selene Thorne?” With obvious nervousness, he looks past me at the four women crowding my quarters. “You’ve been summoned by His Majesty.”
My stomach drops. A royal summons. From Lucian himself.
I take the scroll with trembling hands. “Thank you.”
The messenger bows and hurries away, clearly relieved to escape whatever he walked into.
I turn back to find all four women watching me with renewed interest.
“The King wants to see you,” Marina observes. “This should be interesting.”
“We’ll let you get ready,” Catherine says, moving toward the door. “But Selene? We meant what we said. We’ll be having words with our dear brother.”
They file out one by one, leaving me standing in my quarters holding the royal summons, my mind spinning.
These are the domineering women Seth warned me about? The family he claimed I couldn’t survive in?
They just promised to protect me. From him.
Staring at the sealed scroll in my hands, I sink onto my bed, wincing again as the movement reminds me of exactly how thoroughly Seth claimed me last night.
What the hell is happening to my life?
“You should have told me immediately,” Lucian says, his voice deep as he stares at me.
I stand before the King’s massive, oak desk, my fingers curled tight, nails biting into my palms. The study is all dark wood and leather, bookshelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, heavy curtains framing windows that overlook the palace grounds.
Astra is positioned beside Lucian’s chair, one hand resting on the back of it, her expression tense and unreadable.
He remains seated, but somehow his stillness makes him more intimidating, not less.
The afternoon light streaming through the tall windows does nothing to warm the cold knot of dread in my stomach.
“I didn’t think it had anything to do with the royal family,” I say quietly, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
Lucian leans forward in his chair, his hands flat on the polished surface of his desk.
His eyes flash—that dangerous, otherworldly gleam that reminds me he’s not just a king but also one of the most powerful shifters alive.
“You didn’t think?” His voice drops even lower.
“Selene, you are close to my mate. Your affairs have everything to do with the royal family. Both you and Daciana are direct links to Astra. Anything that affects you affects her.”
Of course. I should have realized. Astra is the queen now, and Daciana and I are her best friends.
Everyone in the palace knows that. Daciana serves in the royal guard, and I’m a palace healer, but more than that, we’re the Queen’s companions.
That makes us targets, vulnerabilities, pieces on a political chess board that I never asked to be part of.
Astra’s fingers tighten on the back of Lucian’s chair. Her dark eyes lock on mine. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?” The hurt in her voice makes my chest tighten. “About Zane? About the bond changing? About any of it?”
I open my mouth, but what can I say? That I was confused? That I didn’t want to burden her? That some part of me was ashamed of how quickly I’d latched onto Zane after Seth’s rejection?
“I was trying to figure it out,” I finally manage, my words coming out hushed and strained. “I didn’t think Zane had any ulterior motivations.”
“How do you know he doesn’t?” Lucian’s knuckles go white where they press against the desk now, but he remains seated, his power contained but palpable.
“You’re just a healer, Selene. You have no idea about the politics going on in this palace, the games people play.
Zane Radrick is a Council member with questionable loyalties and a convenient history of dead relatives clearing his path to power.
And you thought it was perfectly normal for someone like that to suddenly claim you as his fated mate? ”
Each word lands like a slap. My face burns with shame and anger—shame because he’s right, anger because being right doesn’t give him permission to make me feel this small.
“I didn’t know—” I start, but the study doors suddenly burst open with such force that they slam against the walls.
Seth strides in, his expression thunderous, green eyes blazing as they sweep the room and land on me. I stiffen at the sight of him, my body reacting before my mind can catch up—heart racing, breath catching, the mate bond flaring hot and insistent in my chest.
I force myself to turn away, focusing on the row of leather-bound books on the shelf behind Lucian’s desk. But I can still feel Seth’s presence like a physical weight and sense the protectiveness rolling off him in waves through our bond.
“Why is my mate here?” Seth demands, his voice biting with barely restrained fury. He positions himself between me and the desk, his body angled protectively. “And why wasn’t I called?”
“Pipe down,” Lucian says coldly, still seated but somehow more commanding for it. Astra’s hand remains steady on the back of his chair, though her expression shifts to concern as she watches the confrontation unfold. “You’re in just as much trouble as she is.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “What trouble? What did she do?”
“It’s what you both didn’t do.” Lucian’s voice is steel wrapped in silk. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening? That Selene was being courted by a Council member? That she claimed the fated mate bond had transferred to Zane?”
“This is a personal matter between me and my fated mate,” Seth bites out, each word clipped. “It is not the royal family’s business.”
The temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. Lucian still doesn’t move from his chair, but his eyes narrow to dangerous slits. “Watch your tone, Commander.”
“My private life has nothing to do with either of you,” Seth continues, gesturing between Lucian and Astra. “You’re the ones crossing a line by interrogating my mate in private without notifying me.”
The protectiveness in his voice surprises me. After everything—after months of rejection, after making it clear he didn’t want this bond—now he’s suddenly defending me. Standing between me and his king with the kind of fierce possessiveness I never thought I’d hear from him.
“And I trusted you,” Seth says, turning his glare on Astra. “I came to you in confidence, and you betrayed that by bringing Lucian into this.”
Astra’s expression turns defensive. She straightens but doesn’t leave Lucian’s side. “This isn’t an interrogation, Seth. And I didn’t tell Lucian anything. Leon did.”
Lucian leans back in his chair, his gaze moving between Astra and Seth with measured precision. “What didn’t you tell me?”
The silence stretches taut as a bowstring. Seth’s teeth grind together, emotions flickering across his face—anger, frustration, resignation.
“Selene and I exchanged mating marks last night,” he says finally, his voice flat but steady.
The words fall into the room like a stone dropping into still water.
Lucian’s expression shifts—surprise flickering across his features before settling into something more thoughtful. He glances at Astra, then back at Seth. “I see.” His voice is deliberate now, the dangerous edge fading. “So, the bond is complete.”
“Yes,” Seth says tersely.
“And you didn’t think to inform me that you’d claimed your fated mate while she was being courted by Zane Radrick?
” Lucian’s tone sharpens again, but with concern rather than anger.
“That changes everything, Seth. If Zane was planning to mark her himself, and he discovers you’ve already claimed her—”
“It wasn’t planned,” Seth explains, cutting him off. “The wine was drugged. Selene and I both drank it before I knew. Things got out of control.” He shakes his head back and forth. “But I’m not sorry it happened. At least now Zane can’t—”
He stops abruptly, his jaw clenching so hard I can see the muscle tick.
“Drugged?” I hear myself say, confused. “What do you mean, ‘drugged’?”
Astra’s expression softens as she looks at me.
“The wine Zane gave you. Seth brought the bottle to me this morning for testing.” She hesitates, her fingers tightening on Lucian’s chair.
“It contained an aphrodisiac, Selene. But not just any aphrodisiac—this one was specifically designed to suppress your wolf while heightening physical desire.”
My mind races, trying to process what she’s saying. The wine! The way my body felt last night—the overwhelming heat, the desperate need that felt both like me and not like me at all…But then I remember Zane’s words, clear as day.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I say slowly, looking between all three of them. “Zane said we would drink it together. Why would he drug wine he was planning to share with me? And why would he want to suppress my wolf?”