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I felt dizzy. Maybe it was the aftermath of standing too long, or perhaps the weight of standing against my brother for the first time in my life.
Right there in the Lycan Kingdom, with their gates ajar behind me, I felt the ripples of shock spreading around.
The awe in their eyes said it all. They had never seen this coming. A rogue Alpha standing for them. A she–wolf cutting down her own kind to defend Lycannar’s realm.
I took a step forward when it came into view, the Black Tower.
Rebuilt. Erected once more. Steam rose from its walls, catching the light of the rising sun.
Goosebumps swept across my skin. Whoever had rebuilt it had changed nothing, neither added nor taken away. It was exactly as it once was. Just new. Just reborn.
With a sigh, I lowered my gaze and turned toward the open path ahead. I knew Varyn. Calculating, prideful, and smart enough to use every weapon available to him, except this time, he hadn’t seen me coming.
He didn’t know I had a spirit guard as divine as Le Fey. If he had, he would have accounted for that in his plans.
I may have won this wave of battle, but I knew another would come.
“Zephyrine?”
The voice startled me. I turned slowly and found Princess Mearez approaching, her expression a blend of shock and awe. My resolve faltered beneath her gentle presence.
“You all right?” she asked softly, stepping closer.
“I feel dizzy,” I admitted. “But I’m fine.”
Her gaze lingered, as if searching for cracks in my words. Then she looked past me, and froze.
“My gods,” she breathed.
I followed her line of sight. Le Fey stood there, wings half–spread, taking up most of the courtyard.
“It’s a dragon.”
“My spirit guard,” I murmured, meeting her wide eyes. “Is everyone okay?”
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“We wouldn’t have survived without your help,” she said, her voice low, “but… at what cost?”
At what cost, indeed. For love. For Lycannar. That was the price.
“I’ll go in and clean up,” I said quietly. She looked uncertain, glancing again at Le Fey, and I added, “He obeys me. He won’t harm any Lycan. The gates stay open. No one will cross over uninvited.”
She nodded, still in awe as I passed her and entered the hall.
Everywhere I walked, eyes followed me, silent, reverent, shocked. Not a whisper dared rise. This content belongs to fındnovel.net
When I reached Lycannar’s bedchamber, I opened the door gently. He lay there, eyes closed, breathing even. Peaceful. Too peaceful.
And somehow, that sight, his stillness, his quiet lightened something dark within me. I had spoken to him harshly the last time I was here, and now I regretted it.
The truth was simple. No matter what secrets he kept, I would still be hopelessly, helplessly in love with him.
I lowered my gaze from his face and crossed into the bath chamber. Setting my bloodied sword aside, I walked toward the steaming pool.
For a brief moment, I froze. I had killed Railan, the son of Lord Osmir from the Council. The same man who led the slaughter of the Ashmere camp five years ago.
Serves him right.
I pulled off my clothes, removed my boots, and loosened the band in my hair, letting it spill freely down my back.
With a deep breath, I stepped into the water. The moment it touched my skin, the runes carved across me shimmered faintly, and a shiver crawled down my spine.
I bowed my head, trying to swallow the nausea rising in me. I should have been done quickly, but I stayed there, alone, submerged in thought.
Varyn would not accept defeat easily. His pride had been wounded, his command broken by the very sister he once trusted most. He would want revenge. The question was how.
And the memory of his hand striking me, my brother, my blood, burned anew. He had slapped me so hard it nearly drew blood.
Nyroth had never been cruel to his sister, and yes he had never struck her.
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Even Lycannar, as cold as he could be with his own sisters, had never laid a hand on them.
Why, then, was my brother different? I thought we were each other’s hearts.
There are lines one can cross that erase the way back. Varyn had crossed his. And now, we would fight this war, one against another, until the end.
I thought back and asked myself one question.
Had I known, would I have let him rot in Blackwater?
Would I have never saved him, never wept for him, never defended him when the Elders called him a madman?
Silence answered me.
And the truth surfaced.
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No matter what he’s done, he’s still my brother. I love him, and I will save him. Even if it means saving him from himself.
But not Today.
Today, I closed my eyes and let the warmth of the water swallow the blood and memories
away.
For now, I crave peace.
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It wasn’t the usual jolt that woke me this time, it was the opposite. A calm, consuming peace. A strange sense of acceptance.
Blinking my eyes open, I found myself staring at the ceiling of my bedchamber. For a long moment, I just lay there, silent.
Then I felt it. Something vast and dynamic in the air. Power unlike anything I’d sensed before. It was out there, alive and pulsing.
Slowly, I got up, bare feet meeting the cold floor as I moved toward the window. And there it was. The very same one I’d seen at her last moment.
The dragon.
My eyes locked on the creature for what felt like eternity. Outside the castle walls, chaos had left its mark, blood stained the soil, and the grass was crushed where horses had charged.
War had come.
But she had fought it off.
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Down below, my people stood in awe, murmuring among themselves, pointing at the massive beast above.
I pulled back from the window, turning toward the bath chamber. I could feel her there, her energy. The bond that tied us together was alive again, humming faintly from behind that door.
Quietly, I stepped forward and opened it.
She didn’t move. She sat in the steaming pool, eyes closed, silent.
She looked… divine. Untouchably beautiful.
My gaze dropped briefly to the side, her sword, lying abandoned with streaks of blood still on. its blade. The evidence of what she had done. What she had become again.
Silence filled the room until she finally opened her eyes. Without a single glance at me,
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Zephyrine rose from the pool, reached for the towel on the rack, and walked out, leaving me standing there alone, the air thick with what I couldn’t yet name.
I sat for a while, motionless, listening to the quiet water rippling behind me. Then I exhaled, stood, and began to clean myself up. The exhaustion was still there, faint but persistent, wrapping around my bones like a shadow.
When I entered the bedchamber, she was standing by the window, wearing my shirt, her damp hair trailing down her back.
I dried my hair, dressed up and approached her slowly until I stood just behind her.
“You came back,” I said softly.
She hesitated before turning, her eyes meeting mine. Then, without a word, she moved past me. I caught her wrist gently.
“Zephyrine…”
She slipped free from my grasp and stormed out, her steps sharp, almost angry.
My chest tightened painfully.
Tiredly, I walked toward the bed and sank down, pressing my face into my palms. I was still trying to figure out what I’d done wrong when I heard footsteps again. Then, the door creaked
open.
I looked up.
She was standing there, arms folded over her chest.
“Are you breaking up with me?” she asked flatly, and I frowned in confusion. “Don’t you love me anymore?”
“Zephyrine…”
“If you don’t want me anymore, then say it.”
I stared at her, exhausted, utterly lost as to how she’d reached that conclusion.
“You know how I feel about you.”
“I do not!” she snapped. “You used to chase after me. You always held on, even when I pushed you away, but now you don’t. You just stood there when I left. That means you don’t love me anymore!”
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She spoke fast, too fast, and when she was done, she just stood there, eyes burning, waiting for
an answer.
I sighed, extending my hand toward her.
“Come here. Let’s talk.”
She glared at me once before taking my hand. I pulled her gently down onto the bed and met her gaze.
“I don’t know where you got that idea,” I said softly, “but I love you. I still do. I’m just as obsessed as the day I first saw you.”
“Liar,” she murmured, eyes sharp and wet.
I waited, quietly.
“If you truly loved me, Lycannar,” she whispered, “you wouldn’t hide your real identity.”
Ah. There it was. The truth she’d found elsewhere.
“I heard it from someone else,” she continued, voice trembling. “And I hate that you lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie,” I said quietly. “I just didn’t tell you.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You told me the late Lycan King was your real father, but that’s a lie, isn’t it? The Demon King is your true father.”
My brows drew together. She had it wrong.
“No… where did you get that from?” I asked, my voice low, cautious. “My father is the late Lycan King. He’s my true father.”
“Then why did Morwen say you’re a Demon Prince? She told me you’re royalty in the Demon Realm.”
“Morwen?”
“The priestess, Dessyn Mither. The one who opposed us months ago. She tested you with the holy statues of the Moon Goddess.”
At that, the memory came rushing back. The shrine, her arrogance, the threat I’d made.
1 dragged a hand through my hair, weary, before meeting Zephyrine’s eyes again.
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“She’s right about one thing,” I admitted quietly. “I am a Demon Prince. But not a full–blooded
one.
“What are you saying? If you’re a Demon Prince, then that means the Demon King is your real father”
“No,” I murmured. “The Demon Queen is my mother.”
She went still, utterly still. I could feel the shock through her fingers as I held her hands tighter.
“The Lycan King was my father,” I said softly. “The Demon Queen was my mother. They came together… and gave birth to me. That makes me a hybrid, not a full–blooded demon.”
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Time stopped. No, the world stopped.
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I had heard it, but I still couldn’t believe it. He sat right before me, beautiful as sin, calm and gentle, his voice soft like silk, and yet the words he spoke shattered everything I knew.
Lycannar… is a hybrid?
The first of his kind?
My gods. No wonder he’s so powerful.
No wonder he could enter my mind before we were even bonded.
No wonder he’s so… impossibly beautiful.
“Your… your sisters know?” I found myself stammering, still stunned.
He held my gaze before nodding slowly.
“Of course they do. The royalties know. My aunt Eiryn used to look at me differently. My cousins keep their distance because they don’t know what to expect from me. And my uncle Dareth never stops reminding me that I belong nowhere. Not in this kingdom, not in the Demon Realm.”
My heart clenched at the sorrow in his tone, the weight of pain he’d carried all his life.
“It’s why I was cursed, you know,” he murmured, voice low. “My parents defied the laws of nature. The Moon Goddess made me bear the burden of their sin. That’s why she cursed me.”
“Lycannar…” I whispered.
“It’s… hard, growing up in peace,” he said, his eyes distant. “My father loved my mother deeply. He never wanted to be apart from her. But when I was born, I took her away from him, and for that, he hated me.”
I couldn’t speak. I could only sit there and listen.
“There’s a sea behind this kingdom,” he continued softly. “The great hall leads straight to it. Beneath that sea lies a portal to the Demon Realm. My mother, the Demon Queen, opened it first. She was never happy in her marriage to my stepfather. One day, overwhelmed by grief,
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she went to drown herself in the sea. But instead, her pain opened a gateway to a new world. she never knew existed, this kingdom.”
He paused, and I realized I was holding his hand without knowing when it happened.
“My father was wandering the shore that day,” Lycannar said, eyes dim with old memory of tale he was told. “He saw her floating there, lifeless, and one glance was all it took. It was love. Mad, consuming, selfish love. He wanted her too much, and she wanted him just as much.”
I stayed silent, listening to the tragedy.
“The queen of this kingdom, my sisters‘ mother, she and my father were never truly together. Their bond was purely the mate’s pull, nothing more. They had an open marriage. She already had a lover, and from him, she bore my two sisters. When my mother came here, the Lycan Queen left to live with her lover, leaving her daughters behind.”
My brows furrowed.
“Then… how did your brother Hades come?”
“My mother had him before she came here. He’s the son of the Demon King.”
“So how did you all… coexist?”
“There’s a witch in the Demon Realm. Powerful and cunning,” he said. “She constructed my tower and sealed it with ancient spells. She created a portal so we could travel freely between realms. Before I was born, both my fathers, my stepfather and my true father, met to find peace, as did both my mothers. The Lycan Queen and the Demon Queen. They understood the danger of their love but agreed that their children must never inherit their hatred.”
“My gods,” I whispered. “That’s… powerful.”
“When my mother died and I came of age, I stepped into the Demon Realm for the first time,” he said quietly. “Still young. As her son, I was crowned prince, it was automatic. My father, the Demon King, loved me, in his own way. He was strict, temperamental, but more caring than my true ather ever was. I stayed there for a time with my brother Hades. The people knew me, though they never stopped staring, never stopped judging.”
“Your sisters ever went there?” I asked softly.
“Once,” he said. “For my mother’s funeral. They went to pay their respects. The Lycan Queen did too. Even Aunt Eiryn came. But Uncle Dareth refused.”
I sighed, overwhelmed by the twisted, tangled family tree. It was chaotic, but there was still love woven between the fractures.
I looked at Lycanmar’s golden eyes.
“What curse did the Moon Goddess place on you?”
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He didn’t answer right away. He only stared at me, as though deciding whether I could bear it. Then, finally, he rose and extended his hand.
“Come,” he said softly. “Let me show you.”
Curiosity conquered fear. I placed my hand in his and let him lead me out of the room.
We turned down a darker hall, silent, empty, cold. One door after another we passed. The first, the second, the third. At the fourth, I felt the air grow heavier, and by the fifth, I could barely breathe.
He stopped there, pushing the final door open.
Inside was a chamber. A place of torment. The air was icy, thick with something unholy. Chains hung from the walls, thick, brutal, rusted from blood. The walls themselves bore deep claw marks, gouged as if some raging beast had gone mad within.
A chill crawled down my spine. I stepped closer, tracing a broken mark on the wall with my fingers until I froze.
The sound hit me first. Bones twisting, breaking, reforming. The air shuddered with divine
energy.
Heart pounding, I turned slowly and there he stood, all in his glory. Before me stood Lycannar, no longer the man I knew.
Horns crowned his head. Fangs, those I had felt before gleamed sharper now. He stood tall on two legs, massive, furred, his body glowing faintly with demonic fire.
He was exactly as he said. Neither Lycan nor demon.
Lycannar Blood is the first hybrid.
The cursed one.
And now, the truth stood before me.
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I love him. I love him more and more as the seconds pass. I love him for his honesty, for his endurance through every hardship, for surviving all that pain and still becoming what his father never expected, a good man.
I take a step toward him, but he pulls back gently as though he doesn’t want to hurt me but then our eyes lock and that’s it took.
The restraints break. The last trace of anger, the last shadow of doubt, all of it withers to the wind. I close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Right there, I love him. Right there, I want him. I kiss his lips just as he shifts back into his normal form.
Lycannar’s hands find my waist, his touch tender and reverent, until he takes a small step back to search my eyes, to drown in the warmth of my gaze.
“You do not hate me?” he asks, his voice low, uncertain.
I stare at him, almost incredulous.
“Why would I?”
“For being different,” he murmurs, his brows drawing together. “I was… afraid you’d hate me when you found out who I truly am. People out there look at me as if I’m dangerous, something unnatural…”
I cut him off with a kiss, soft and slow, silencing his fear. He deepens it, lifting me off the floor and holding me as if afraid this might all vanish. When he finally pulls back, he searches my face again, needing to know this is real.
I smile.
“I love you,” I whisper, my palm resting on his cheek. “I love you so much, Lycan. More and more as the seconds pass. And to be honest, I’m proud to be your mate, the first ever hybrid’s mate. My name will go down in history for this. Don’t you see? You should be proud too. You’re the first of your kind. If I were you, I’d be proud of that.”
“You’re not saying that just to flatter me?”
“I’m telling you the truth, and if it flatters you, good,” I tease softly, smiling as I rise on my toes. Read full story at Find_Novel(.)net
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I jumped up so he could catch me, wrapping my legs around him as his arms held me close. Staring into his eyes, I made a single demand.
“Take me to bed.”
He didn’t need any more instruction. Never had I seen him move so swiftly, so willingly.
Lycan kissed me as he carried me through the room, his lips tender at first, then deepening, hungry, until I was clutching him like he was my very breath.
He pushed the door open with a gentle kick, laying me down on the bed as his shirt slipped from my fingers, falling somewhere between us.
I trailed my lips along his neck, tasting his skin, feeling his heartbeat racing against mine.
When his hands found me, they were reverent, tracing every inch of me as though
memorizing what was already his. My breath caught, my thoughts scattered when he came down to part my thighs.
“Lycan…” I whispered, my fingers curling against his shoulders when his tongue found me. He lingered there, worshiping me with every touch until I melted beneath him, until my heart surrendered completely.
He lifted his head then, eyes glowing faintly, jaw tightening like he was fighting something within.
“My beast wants you so much,” he breathed. “My demon side.”
A shaky laugh escaped me.
“You’re not going to lose control, are you?”
He looked at me like I was mad, then drew me closer, my body fitting perfectly against his.
“No. Not unless you also shift,” he murmured, voice hoarse and thick with restraint. His words alone made me tremble.
I reached for him, my palms sliding over his chest, feeling every taut muscle, every heartbeat that answered mine. His eyes softened.
I didn’t say a word more. It was a breathless nod before I pressed my lips to his again and come to straddle him, my fingers wrapping around his length before I ease in carefully.
A soft groan ripple from his chest at that. The world tilted and disappeared and I felt the shiver down my spine.
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When his pace came, The bed moved beneath us, the air thick with heat and whispered names, with the rhythm only love could create,
Every heartbeat matched his. Every sigh was his.
He held me as though I might vanish, and I clung to him like he was my entire world.
“Please…” I whispered at last, overwhelmed by what I felt, by him.
When his restraint finally broke, all that existed was us, the sound of our hearts, our breathing, the way his name left my lips like a prayer.
And when it was over, he pulled me into his chest, my cheek against the steady rise and fall of his breath. I tried to stay awake, but peace claimed me at last.
There were no more secrets, no anger, no doubt. Only us, bound, heart to heart, in love and in love again.
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I tucked a strand away from her beautiful face, watching her sleep for long, quiet minutes.
I love her, so much. More and more as each second passes. I never truly understood the meaning of relief until this moment, knowing she accepted me completely. The best part is that she’s proud of who I am.
A smile spread across my face, my heart thudding with nothing but love. Gently, I draped the bed coverlet over her, adjusting it perfectly just as I heard soft footsteps approaching.
The door opened quietly, and my eldest sister stepped inside. I quickly shushed her so she wouldn’t wake Zephyrine. I could tell Zephyrine hadn’t slept well in days.
“You need to see something,” my sister mouthed, and I nodded.
Leaning down, I pressed a soft kiss to my woman’s forehead. She stirred lightly before slipping back into deep sleep, and I smiled.
I lingered a few seconds more before quietly stepping out and closing the door behind me and my sister.
Once in the hall, I exhaled slowly, feeling her eyes on me as we walked side by side.
“You’re awake,” she said, glancing at me.
“Yeah,” I replied softly. “I’m awake.”
“Heard what happened?” she asked gently.
“I saw the evidence,” I murmured. “My woman’s a badass but I don’t want blood on her hands for
my
sake.”
We took another turn, and I stopped at the foot of the stairs. My sister smiled faintly just as I heard footsteps descending. Serena appeared with Chantel following behind her.
When she saw me, she froze, then rushed forward and hugged me tightly, nearly choking me.
“Easy,” I said tenderly, but she only pulled back to punch me hard in the chest.
This time, I didn’t stumble. I didn’t feel the usual pain or weakness that had haunted me lately. I stood still, solid, unwavering. For once, I felt like myself again.
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“You put us all through hell,” Serena scolded, her voice sharp. “I nearly died thinking you’d never wake up.”
But I barely heard her words. My attention was on the tower, the Black Tower rebuilt just as the builders had promised. Slowly, I made my way up the stairs, taking my time, feeling a quiet joy rise in me.
When I reached the hall, I stopped and looked around, my heart swelling. I ran my fingers along the wall, tracing the smooth surface as I made my way toward my bedchamber.
No furniture yet, nothing inside, but it was exactly the same as before, only newer and cleaner.
“I told the builders how the inside should be,” Mearez said from the doorway. “No one else knows what your chamber looks like.”
I smiled, overwhelmed. Stepping deeper inside, I paused, then crossed the threshold.
They’d done perfectly. The library section was exactly where I wanted it, and ahead was the door to the armory I’d mentioned. Turning toward the corridor, I walked to the open view overlooking my kingdom’s gates.
There I stood, looking down at my people. Somehow, all the grief left in me began to fade, swept away by the cool wind swirling around.
As if the heavens, or my foremothers, were pleased, the clouds darkened. My people paused, looking up, unsure if the sudden rain was real. But the scent told me it was. The wind whispered the same. I looked down at my hands and felt it. The surge of power returning to my veins.
It was as though my strength was being restored. To test it, I turned and walked back into my chamber. My sisters still stood hesitantly at the threshold, as if waiting for a sign.
“Come in,” I said softly. “The spell is broken. It’s just a new tower now.”
“Are you sure?” Serena asked cautiously.
I nodded, reassuring her.
After a moment of hesitation, both of them stepped inside. For the first time ever, they stood with me in this chamber, no spell keeping them out, no curse, no laws or warnings.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Serena whispered, her voice trembling. “Lycan…”
“I feel different,” I said softly, letting out a deep breath. “And I know it’s because of Zephyrine, her acceptance, the battle she fought for us. Somehow, the weakness that weighed me down is
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fading.”
My sisters exchanged a look. Mearez bit her lower lip, then nodded slowly.
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“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Without her, we’d all be gone. She stood against her own brother for us. I tried to cure your curse for years, Lycan. It was my lifelong mission. But after countless failures, I couldn’t. Now I think the cure was never in magic. It’s love. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Zephyrine has given you all that and more. The people of this kingdom care for you too. They rebuilt your tower without question, even your people were concern about you. Maybe that’s what heals you, what makes you whole again.”
Talk about hitting the nail on the head. My most gentle sister always has a way of being right.
I looked at her for a long moment, then reached out, pulling both my sisters into my arms.
“I love you both,” I whispered, holding them close.