The Claiming And The Vow

Vesperia's POV

Those blazing amber eyes didn't blink once as Lycan Valerius held me pinned, his deep voice cutting straight through the silence. "Tell me your name."

My voice shook so badly I could barely push the syllables past my lips. "V-Vesperia."

Footsteps approached quickly from behind, and one of his warriors held out a heavy dark cloak. Lycan Valerius snatched the fabric and draped it firmly around my bare, shivering shoulders.

Before I could even draw a full breath, he hauled me up and hoisted me effortlessly over his broad shoulder. The sudden lift knocked the wind right out of my lungs, drawing a sharp yelp from my throat.

Reaching down with his free hand, Lycan Valerius clamped his fingers around Roderick's ankle, hauling the limp body through the dirt as he strode out of the trees and straight into the market square. Villagers bolted in every direction, terror written across their faces as they slammed wooden stall doors shut and threw the bolts on their shops. I couldn't even fault them for running. The sheer force of Lycan Valerius's presence terrified everyone in his path.

Myself included.

"P-please, let me down," I whispered, shivering against his back. Going back there meant facing them again, and after everything they had done to me, I couldn't bear the thought of looking at their faces.

He didn't bother answering me.

Word of his arrival had clearly already outrun us. Crowds were scrambling down the main road toward the palace, making me wonder why Lycan Valerius and his guards were marching directly toward the exact same place.

Ignoring the chaos erupting around us, Lycan Valerius lengthened his stride. His arm clamped tighter around my legs with every heavy step, while Roderick let out weak, ragged groans as his battered body scraped over the ground behind us.

The moment we crossed the threshold into the palace's grand hall, dead silence dropped over the room. Dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto us, pure dread draining the color from every face in the crowd.

Standing right in front of his throne, Alpha Bramwell froze, his eyes flying wide as Lycan Valerius marched down the center aisle. Every ounce of the Alpha's usual arrogance vanished on the spot, completely overtaken by raw panic.

"You were a fool to think I would simply forget the debt you owe my kingdom, Bramwell," Lycan Valerius rumbled.

He opened his hand and dropped Roderick's leg, letting the unconscious beta hit the stone floor with a heavy thud. Right after, he lifted me off his shoulder and settled me securely into the cradle of his arms against his chest.

Alpha Bramwell's gaze jerked down to Roderick's broken form, then snapped back up to Valerius, his mouth hanging open without a sound coming out.

In all my life, I had never seen Alpha Bramwell tremble like that. He looked utterly pathetic standing there. Had I looked just as pitiful earlier when I was on the floor begging them for mercy?

"L-Lycan V-Valerius," Alpha Bramwell stammered, nervously wetting his dry lips.

Right then, Tamsin hurried into the hall behind Alpha Bramwell, clapping both hands over her mouth as her eyes went wide at the scene before her.

Her gaze quickly shifted to Lycan Valerius, traveling shamelessly over his bare, muscular chest. Knowing full well the filthy thoughts running through her head made me sick to my stomach.

A second later, her eyes landed on me tucked securely in his arms, and her entire face contorted with bitter disgust.

"Pity he's still breathing. No one touches or heals him until I walk out of here. He should have thought twice before forcing himself on my mate." Lycan Valerius drove his boot into Roderick's side, shoving the limp body straight toward Alpha Bramwell's feet.

Alpha Bramwell's gaze snapped toward me, bundled inside the dark cloak in Valerius's arms, and the last bit of blood drained from his face.

"Y-your mate?" Alpha Bramwell stuttered, struggling to get the words out. "How is that possible? She's..."

"S-she carries a curse, L-Lycan Valerius," Tamsin cut in sharply, stepping forward to pull the King's attention onto herself.

"A-about the debt owed to you, I am more than ready to offer myself as the payment instead... I-I am much stronger, far worthier, and fully capable of serving as your mate and your Luna," she continued, putting on a sweet, innocent act as she took slow, deliberate steps toward Lycan Valerius.

"Unlike her. She is weak, completely wolfless, and beneath someone of your high status." She shot me a look dripping with pure spite.

"I am not wolfless," I muttered under my breath. Fury pricked at me as I listened to her offer herself up like a prize while calling me defective. My wolf had already awakened, so why did everyone still refuse to believe me?

"C-choose me instead, and I will stand faithfully at your side, back your rule, and help you reach even greater heights," she pledged earnestly.

Here it comes, I thought, bracing myself for the inevitable. Lycan Valerius would obviously toss me aside for her; I was treated like a mistake, while she was the prize every man in the territory wanted.

Just as I steeled myself to endure the crushing pain of a second rejection in one day, Lycan Valerius's voice cut through the air.

"You actually believe you could handle me, or take my mate's place at my side?" Lycan Valerius growled low in his throat.

Tamsin's practiced smile slipped right off her face. "B-but... I..."

A dark laugh rumbled straight out of Lycan Valerius's chest, making the entire hall shiver. The heavy, menacing sound of it terrified even me.

"Vesperia belongs to me. She is my mate," he announced, his booming voice bouncing off the high stone walls of the grand hall.

"She is my Luna, and nobody will ever take her place," he added, his eyes igniting with that exact same lethal amber glow I had seen right before he tore into Roderick.

No, the look in his eyes right now was even more lethal.

My heart jumped against my ribs at his declaration, stunned because not a single person had ever stood up for me or shielded me before. Letting out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I was holding, I stared up at him with wide eyes as he kept speaking.

"Starting today, she will be met with absolute respect, reverence, and fear, as befits her station as my partner and companion."

He dragged his burning gaze across my family, every word carrying a clear threat. "Keep this in mind: I will tolerate zero disrespect, defiance, or harm aimed at my mate."

Shaking like a leaf, Myrna forced herself a step forward to speak up. "L-Lycan Valerius, she has a reputation for sleeping around with different men, and just last night, we caught her in the act of seducing Roderick."

Disgust twisted my features as Myrna's filthy lies spilled into the room. I should have known she wouldn't back down without trying to ruin me, but I wasn't about to stay quiet anymore either.

"That is a blatant lie! I have never been with anyone, and I never tried to seduce Roderick. He was my mate, yet he was the one sleeping with her!" I snapped back, jabbing my finger straight at Tamsin as my voice rang through the hall and my body shook with anger.

"E-everyone here knows what she really did," Tamsin chimed in, wrapping her viciousness in a soft, innocent tone. "And worse than that, she got rid of the babies growing in her w-womb, leaving her completely unable to carry a child now. She is barren."

Hot fury tore through my veins like liquid fire. How dare she stand there and spew such vile lies about my body when she was the one who had been sneaking around with men for years?

I pushed against Lycan Valerius's chest to wriggle down and take a step toward her, though he kept a firm hold on me as I locked my furious glare onto Tamsin.

"I will prove you wrong, Tamsin. Every single one of you," I swore aloud, the fresh, agonizing memories of how they had tortured me fueling my rage.

"I will show you my true worth and my strength. I will give Lycan Valerius a strong, healthy child—one who will grow and thrive to carry on our Kingdom's legacy."

Dead silence dropped over the hall again. All the color drained from Tamsin's face, and I could practically hear her pulse racing from across the floor.

Standing there against his chest, I could feel the heavy weight of Lycan Valerius's stare boring down into me. Still, I didn't dare tilt my head up to meet his eyes, keeping my glare locked tight on Tamsin's ghostly pale face.

Lycan Valerius's deep voice shattered the quiet room. "Bramwell, I will collect what is owed to me by force, whether it costs blood or not."

Pivoting on his heel, Lycan Valerius hooked his massive arm securely around my waist. "Come, Vesperia. We have pressing matters to take care of."

He scooped me effortlessly back up into his arms and strode toward the exit, giving me one last glimpse of Roderick's broken, bloody body still sprawled across the stones.

Lycan Valerius kept up his relentless pace down the corridor, leaving me completely in the dark about where he was taking me as the palace guards scrambled backward, easily shoved aside by a handful of his warriors.

"Are you prepared to make good on that promise you just made back there, Vesperia?" he murmured, his voice dropping to a low, rough rasp near my ear.

A nervous shiver ran through me, my brow furrowing in confusion. "W-what promise?"

Lycan Valerius locked his heavy gaze straight onto mine, his eyes blazing with fierce amber heat. "An heir, Vesperia. I need an heir."