The iron doors of Blackthorn Keep groaned open, and every noble in the kingdom fell silent.
I had spent nineteen years hearing stories about King Kael Ravaryn—the cursed ruler with wolf eyes and dragon blood running through his veins.
The king who burned entire villages after his first mate betrayed him.
The king no woman survived loving.
Yet when he stepped from the shadows of the throne hall, I forgot how to breathe.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed entirely in black armor carved with silver runes.
A scar cut across his throat like someone had once tried to slit it open.
His dark hair brushed his collar, and his molten gold eyes glowed the moment they landed on me.
The entire hall trembled.
A low growl rolled through Kael’s chest.
“No,” he said hoarsely.
My stepmother smiled beside me.
“Your Majesty, as promised, Lady Evelina of House Valmere.
Pure royal blood.
Untouched.
”
Kael’s jaw clenched violently.
The torches flickered blue.
“You lied to me.
”
Fear sliced through my stomach as he descended the steps like a predator.
The silver chains around my wrists snapped apart.
He gripped my chin, and a violent vision exploded behind my eyes—moonlit mountains, dragon fire, and the two of us bound in blood-soaked ceremonial robes.
Mate.
Kael caught me as I collapsed, pulling me against his chest.
Chaos erupted.
Queen Mother Seraphine hissed from above that it was impossible.
But Kael’s arms tightened possessively around me.
Before I could process anything, my stepbrother Lucien stepped forward with a silver dagger.
“Your Majesty, before the bond seals… she’s the daughter of the woman who murdered your first mate.
”
The throne room fell deathly silent.
Kael slowly looked down at me, and I saw the monster everyone feared.
The days that followed were a storm of fire and longing.
Kael did not reject me.
Instead, he claimed me publicly under the Bloodmoon, his growl echoing through the hall as the ancient magic bound our souls.
The bond was merciless—every touch sent echoes of past lives through me.
I saw his first mate, Lyra, laughing in his arms, then dying by my mother’s poisoned blade.
I felt his heartbreak as if it were my own.
At night, in the royal chambers, Kael was both tender and terrifying.
He traced the silver runes on my skin and whispered promises of revenge and redemption.
“You are not her,” he would say, voice rough with need.
“But the moon has given me you anyway.
”
I fell in love with the broken king.
Despite the fear, despite the blood on both our families’ hands, the mate bond consumed us.
We flew together when his dragon blood awakened—me riding the massive black dragon across crimson skies.
For the first time, Blackthorn felt hope.
But secrets festered.
My stepmother and Lucien had not sent me as tribute out of loyalty.
They had planned to use the bond to weaken Kael.
My mother had been a traitor who killed Lyra to seize power for House Valmere.
Now they wanted me to finish the job—slip a dagger into the king’s heart during the full Bloodmoon ritual.
I refused.
On the night of the ceremony, the castle ran red with betrayal.
Lucien struck first, plunging the silver dagger toward Kael’s scarred throat while he knelt before the moon altar.
I threw myself between them.
The blade sank into my side instead.
Pain exploded, white-hot and burning.
Kael roared—a sound that shook the mountains.
Black dragon wings erupted from his back as he tore through the traitors.
Lucien’s scream was cut short as dragon fire consumed him.
My stepmother tried to flee and met the same fate.
Blood poured from my wound as Kael cradled me in his arms, the mating bond pulsing wildly between us.
His golden eyes were wide with terror—the same terror he had worn when Lyra died.
“Evelina… no.
Not again.
” His voice cracked, the mighty Alpha King reduced to broken whispers.
He pressed his hand to my side, pouring every ounce of his ancient power into me, but the silver blade had been forged with the same curse that killed his first mate.
I reached up, touching the scar on his throat.
“I’m not her,” I whispered, blood staining my lips.
“I chose you.
I would always choose you.
”
Tears—real tears—fell from the eyes of the king who had burned kingdoms.
He kissed me desperately, as if his love alone could defy the Bloodmoon.
The bond flared brighter than ever, flooding us with memories of every lifetime we had lost each other.
But the moon was cruel.
The curse demanded balance.
A life for the life stolen long ago.
As my vision faded, I felt the power shift.
Kael’s body began to glow with the same lethal light that was killing me.
The bond was dragging him with me into death.
“No!” I screamed, fighting with everything I had left.
I pushed the last of my life force into him, severing the fatal thread.
“Live, Kael.
Rule.
Remember that one Valmere loved you truly.
”
His roar of agony tore through the night as my body went limp in his arms.
The Bloodmoon watched coldly from above while the Alpha King, ruler of wolves and dragons, wept over the second mate he could not save.
Kael Ravaryn survived.
He became a legend of vengeance and sorrow, ruling Blackthorn with iron and fire.
But every full moon, he flew alone across the skies, howling a name that would never answer.
Evelina.
And somewhere beyond the veil, under an eternal Bloodmoon, I waited—knowing our souls would find each other again, even if it took another thousand years of pain.
The price of love was always blood.
And this time, it was mine.
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
