Avenging Luna
Chapter 143: My Mate Is The Crown Prince

Chapter 143: My Mate Is The Crown Prince

Leila’s POV:

Kane was infuriatingly sweet, and not just with Ash, but with me too. It was maddening. He absolutely refused to let me help in the kitchen, so I begrudgingly resigned myself to doing the dishes and keeping the suite tidy. I even told the cleaning staff they could take a break—we’d call them if we needed anything. I just couldn’t sit idle all day; I’d go stir-crazy.

Chase, however, had turned into the epitome of paranoia. He insisted Ash and I stay inside unless he was with us. He even took Ash to the arcade and came back loaded with toys, as if that would somehow make everything normal. It was maddeningly thoughtful. Annoyingly considerate. The kind of thing that made my heart flutter when I didn’t want it to.

Yes, there it was. I didn’t want to feel these things. I didn’t want to be swept up by this man—vampire, mate, whatever he was—because I was terrified of what it could mean. I wasn’t ready to admit it aloud, but deep inside, I knew the truth: I was scared. Scared to love again, scared to give my heart away only for it to be shattered into irreparable pieces.

I tried to push him away in the most cowardly ways. I taunted him, throwing verbal barbs about how this danger was all his fault, hoping to wear down his patience and drive him away. But the damn man just didn’t get the hint. He’d brush off my sharp comments with that calm demeanor of his and keep cooking. And it wasn’t just any cooking—it was exquisite. Delicious meals that were somehow tailored to both Ash’s and my preferences. He even remembered that wolves thrived on protein-heavy diets and made sure there was always plenty of meat on the table.

The irony of a vampire cooking meals for a wolf and a human wasn’t lost on me, and I found myself laughing quietly at the absurdity of it. But it wasn’t enough to shake the growing warmth in my chest every time I looked at him. How he played with Ash, patiently teaching him a game or indulging his endless energy. How he’d glance at me over the rim of a glass, his crimson eyes soft but intent.

And Goddess, it terrified me. The feelings, the pull, the butterflies—it wasn’t going away. If anything, it was getting stronger, threatening to break down the walls I’d worked so hard to build around my heart.

I tried to be indifferent. Cold. Distant. Anything to smother the emotions rising within me. But Chase wasn’t deterred. If anything, my icy facade seemed to amuse him, his small smirks suggesting he saw right through me. And his actions? They just made it worse. His gentleness with Ash, his unwavering patience with me...it was starting to melt the frozen parts of me I thought would never thaw.

"Can’t you just freeze my heart already?" I muttered to as I scrubbed a stubborn spot off the counter.

Because if he didn’t, if this continued... I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from falling. And that terrified me more than any danger lurking outside.

And just when I thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Chase went ahead and dropped the biggest bombshell of them all. Not only was he a vampire, not only was he my mate, not only was my son inexplicably bonded to him in some supernatural twist of fate—but apparently, he was also royalty.

Yes, you heard that right. King-and-Queen-level royalty. The full-on castle, throne, and crown kind of deal.

No. Fucking. Way.

As if the situation wasn’t complicated enough, now he wanted me to believe that he wasn’t just any vampire but the vampire crown prince. The heir to some ancient bloodsucking kingdom I’d never even heard of. My mind reeled with the implications, and I could barely keep my voice from shaking as I sputtered out, "You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking."

But of course, he wasn’t. Chase didn’t joke. He just stood there with that maddeningly calm expression of his, as if he hadn’t just upended my entire reality for the umpteenth time since we met.

"Leila," he began, his tone measured as if speaking to a frightened animal, "I know this is a lot to take in, but—"

"A lot?" I cut him off, my voice rising despite myself. "You think this is a lot? Try telling someone their life has been turned upside down, shaken out, and stomped on, Chase. That might cover half of what I’m feeling right now."

His crimson eyes softened with an infuriating mix of patience and understanding, which only made me angrier. "Leila—"

"No!" I snapped, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal. "This is insane. Do you hear yourself? You’re royalty? A freaking crown prince? And you’re just now telling me this?"

"I wanted to ease you into it," he said, and for the first time, his calm wavered, a note of guilt creeping into his voice. "I didn’t think it was the right time."

"Oh, and now is the right time?" I shot back, stopping mid-step to glare at him. "What am I supposed to do with this information, huh? Pack up my son and move into your vampire palace? Bow to your king and queen parents? No fucking way, Chase. No. Fucking. Way."

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t flinch. "I’m not asking you to bow to anyone."

And just when I thought Chase couldn’t drop another bombshell, he did.

Not only was he the crown prince of a vampire kingdom—a fact I was still struggling to wrap my head around—but now his father, the king himself, wanted to meet him. Meet us.

I stood frozen, staring at him like he’d just told me the sun was actually purple. "The king," I repeated, the words tasting foreign and strange on my tongue. "Your father. The king. Wants to meet you."

Chase nodded, his crimson eyes studying me carefully. "Yes."

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. "And let me guess, he’s just dying to meet me too?" I laughed humorlessly, running a hand through my hair. "Oh, and Ash, of course. Let’s not forget your newest bondmate. This just keeps getting better and better, Chase."

He sighed, clearly trying to keep his cool. "Leila, it’s not what you’re thinking—"

"Oh, really?" I cut him off, throwing my hands in the air. "Because what I’m thinking is that your father—the king—is probably sitting in some massive castle right now, planning out how to ’welcome’ me and my son. A wolf and her wolf pup, of all things. Let me guess, he’s thrilled about it, right?"

Chase’s jaw tightened, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. "My father is...a complicated man," he admitted. "But he knows what the mate bond means. He’ll respect it."

"Respect it?" I laughed again, the sound hollow. "Chase, your father is a king. He’s not going to ’respect’ anything that doesn’t benefit him or his kingdom. You think he’s just going to accept that his precious crown prince is bonded to a wolf and her wolf-pup son?"

His silence was answer enough.