The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 76: The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

Chapter 76: The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

"Stay. Down," Damien growled.

Kyllian tried to get up again, panting heavily, his fur matted with sweat and dust. But Damien was already on him. He grabbed the wolf by the scruff and hoisted him up with impossible ease.

"You’re good," Damien admitted, eyes glowing crimson, "but I’ve been killing things bigger than you since your ancestors were playing with sticks."

Then he slammed Kyllian into the ground.

Luna winced from her doorway, arms crossed. "Okay, that’s enough!"

Damien stood over the groaning wolf, chest heaving, blood on his knuckles.

Luna marched toward them, shoved Damien hard in the chest and knelt beside Kyllian, brushing back his fur gently.

Kyllian licked her hand weakly, still panting and whining. Damien sighed and leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

*****

Luna stood in her bedroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her fingers absently traced the skin at her neck, the skin that just hours ago had been pierced by the fangs of a vampire prince. Now it was sealed, healed, and barely visible save for a faint scar. A mark. His mark.

Prince Damien Dragos.

Her chest rose and fell with rapid, uneven breaths as her mind raced in all directions. What the hell did this mean for her? For her future? For the throne?

Hi, I’m Luna. Your royal princess, part-wolf, part-vampire, and now, by the way, I’ve been claimed by a centuries-old bloodsucker.

Great. Just great.

She glanced at the closed door, as though expecting judgement to come strolling in. Her people would lose their minds. Announcing she was a hybrid was already going to be a fireworks show—but this? A vampire mark? They’d gossip. She could already hear the nobles whispering at court luncheon. Or worse... Riot

She groaned and grabbed the nearest scarf, hastily wrapping it around her neck. She turned back to the mirror, practicing her neutral face. Calm. Composed. Totally not freaking out on the inside. freew\e bnovel.com

Then the door creaked open.

Her mother stepped inside. Queen Ravena walked in.

"Mother." She adjusted her scarf as nonchalantly as possible.

"I know, Luna...I know he marked you."

Luna’s hand froze halfway to her neck. "You knew?... You knew he was going to do this and you didn’t stop it?!"

Ravena exhaled, walking over to the window and drawing the curtains aside just enough to let in a sliver of golden sunlight. "He didn’t say it in so many words," she replied calmly. "He said your bond with Kyllian needed to be severed. Marking you was... the faster way."

"And you agreed." She stared at her mother. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, trembling from fury that had been simmering for far too long.

"Of course, I agreed!" she shouted, the queen slipping for a moment as the mother took over. "What was I supposed to do? Watch you fade away? Watch the life slip out of your eyes while your skin turned to ash and your body burned from the inside out? You are my daughter, Luna! I will move heaven and earth—and even barter with the devil to keep you alive!"

"Oh, well then," Luna snapped. "Bravo, Mother. Gold star for saving me without asking if I wanted to be saved that way." She turned away, pacing, her bare feet whispering across the rug. "No one talked to me. No one asked what I thought. You all just... decided. As usual."

"It wasn’t the time for a council vote, Luna. You were almost unconscious!"

"Still! It’s always like this." Luna spun around, face flushed with heat not caused by the fever she’d just recovered from. "Decisions made for me. You all dictate my life."

Ravena’s face softened with guilt. "We’ve only ever wanted to protect you."

"Even if it means hurting me?...Does father know, too?"

Ravena hesitated. That pause was a dagger.

"Yes," she finally said. "He... had no choice but to send you into exile."

Luna’s breath hitched. It felt like the floor gave way beneath her. She collapsed onto the nearest couch. "He... he can’t do that. I’m the heir. The only heir."

"It’s the best thing to do," Ravena said, moving closer. "Luna, the people... they wouldn’t understand. If any of this gets out—the mark, your hybrid nature, the vampire prince—there will be riots in the streets. The council will revolt. The throne will be threatened. Everything we have built, everything we’ve suffered through as a family, will be for nothing."

"And I am the price?" Luna looked up, tears brimming. "You’re trading your daughter for political stability?"

Ravena took a deep breath and, in a gentler tone, tried to offer something—anything—to soften the blow. "Every first day of the month," she said, "I’ll come see you. At the little café near the border, between Blood City and here."

"How long do I have before I leave?" Luna asked. She wasn’t sure if she was asking for more time or simply dreading the answer. Either way, her heart pounded against her ribcage.

"Before midnight today." Ravena said gently, though it landed like a hammer.

"Today?" Luna repeated, blinking as if she could rewind the day and check again. "As in... today today? Like, the same ’today’ we woke up in this morning?"

"I’m sorry, Luna. I wish it didn’t have to be this way. Truly, I do. But the situation is delicate" She gave a faint smile. .com

Luna flopped dramatically backward on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Midnight," she muttered.

Ravena reached out and stroked her daughter’s hair, gently pushing it behind her ear. "Also..." she hesitated, then sat beside Luna, a bit too casually for the bomb she was about to drop. "I don’t want you to give Damien any trouble. He went to a lot of effort to save you. I know he’s sacrificing more than he lets on. You will marry him, and you will produce an heir."

Luna sat up so fast the scarf nearly flew off her neck. "Wow. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get worse, you hand me a royal breeding contract." She let out a humorless laugh. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Don’t be dramatic..."

"I am dramatic!" Luna flailed her arms. "I’m also a princess who’s been demoted to wife slash exiled future baby mama. Let me have my drama, Mother."

"It’s not all bad. You are... hopelessly smitten with him."

Luna narrowed her eyes. "That’s low. Using my feelings against me."

"I’m just saying..." Ravena lifted her hands innocently. "This doesn’t have to be a punishment. Maybe it’s destiny."

"Oh, please. If destiny had a face, I’d punch it." Luna stood up and paced the room. "Yes, I like Damien. Possibly love him. Definitely want to throw him against walls sometimes. But that doesn’t mean I want to be handed over like a bottle of rare wine. Just because he marked me doesn’t mean he owns me." f\ree webn ovel(.)com

Ravena tilted her head. "You’re starting to sound like your father."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

Ravena’s smile faded. "Luna, this is bigger than all of us."

"Yes. And for once, I’d like to be the one holding the reins of my own damn life...I get to decide what happens next."

"And what is that, exactly?" Ravena asked gently.

Luna lifted her chin. "I don’t know. But it starts with this: I am not marrying Damien. And I am not bearing heirs. He may have marked me, claimed me without my consent—but this? This is where I draw the line...I love him, Mother," she said. "I do. But if he truly loves me back, he’ll have to let me choose him of my own free will. Not because I owe him. But because I want to."

"Luna..."

"No! Mom! No!" She backed away from her mother, hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, trembling. "I choose. From now on, I choose. I decide who I love, where I live, what I wear, what I eat and whether or not I end up as a baby factory!"

Ravena looked at her daughter—the fire in her eyes, the heartbreak under her voice—and sighed.

She leaned back on the edge of the couch, eyes softening. "You really are your father’s child," Ravena said. "All that iron-headed stubbornness."

*****

King Magnus stood tall, hands clasped behind his back, eyes narrowed in calculated concern as he faced Damien.

"You will take care of her," Magnus said. It wasn’t a request.

Damien bowed his head solemnly. "With my life," he swore. "But there’s something I need to tell you, something that cannot leave this room. Not a whisper. Not to the Queen. Not to Luna."

Magnus’s brow creased. "Go on."

Damien exhaled, slowly. "Marking her... saving her—it wasn’t without cost. I have maybe a year."

The King’s face turned ashen. His eyes widened. All his royal composure suddenly felt like cracked glass.

"Prince Damien..." Magnus finally said, the title a whisper of sorrow.

Damien looked away, jaw tight. "It had to be done. I knew it. I still know it. I would choose her again, even if it meant living only one more day." He smiled faintly, almost bitterly. "Love does that to you."