The Lunar Queen Chapter 79

David POV

I lay in my bed, looking over at Ivana sleeping, and I know I should feel something for her as my fated mate… but my jaw tightens instead, irritation crawling under my skin like I’m wearing something that doesn’t fit. All I can think about is Lyric.

The fire in her. The fight. The power. The beauty.

The way she looks at me like she’d rather die than submit.

My dick gets hard just thinking about her, and I can’t wait to be buried deep inside her warmth.

“Alpha, the Luna is in the clinic,” Jonathan links me.

I jump up in the bed. My body is already moving before the words fully settle, instinct snapping tight in my chest.

I tap Ivana. “Get out,” I say coldly.

She scrambles out of the bed and the room.

Pathetic.

I throw on clothes and make my way to the clinic.

I’ve been staying close to the pack because I know that witch is plotting on me. She killed three of my warriors.

Three.

Not random. Not careless.

Targeted.

I have a meeting with Axel in a few days to discuss our next move on Cole.

I walk down the hall, and the pack members are looking at me… then looking away.

Too fast. Too coordinated.

What the fuck is going on around here?

Everybody is moving like they’re hiding something.

The silence isn’t normal. It’s controlled.

Jonathan is waiting for me outside the clinic when I get there.

“What happened?” I ask.

“She fainted on her walk with Rhea,” he says.

Fainted.

My eyes narrow slightly.

“What did Rhea say happened?” I ask.

“What I told you. She said they were walking around, the Luna felt lightheaded, and she just fell out,” he says.

He’s been acting secretive.

Harder to track.

Harder to predict.

I told him to keep an eye on her—to make sure the witch isn’t sniffing around.

But it seems he’s doing more than just keeping an eye on her.

And I don’t like unknown variables.

If I find out she is giving him what should be mine—

I will kill him.

“Why did she call you?” I ask, walking into the clinic.

“I guess she just trusts me,” he says.

I stop.

Slowly.

Then I turn around to look at him.

“Are you fucking her?” I ask, grabbing him by the throat.

No hesitation. No warning. Just pressure.

He grabs my hand wrapped around his throat.

He shakes his head as best he can. “No, Alpha,” he says, straining.

“You know I will kill you, right?” I ask.

His eyes begin to water. “Yes, Alpha. I am not sleeping with your mate,” he struggles to say as my grip tightens.

I watch his face. Not his words. His reactions. His fear. His timing.

Something is going on.

“Something is going on,” I say low, leaning closer. “And when I find out… I will kill you and anybody involved.”

My voice drops instead of rises—that’s what makes him freeze.

“Nobody will keep me from her. She is MINE.”

I roar the last word in his face before letting him drop to the floor.

I step over him.

Not even worth another glance.

“Lydia, what is going on with my mate?” I ask when I barge into her office.

She jumps at the intrusion.

Good.

Fear is how you keep them in check.

“She is in the exam room resting, Alpha. Her body is becoming too weak,” she says.

“Weak?” I repeat, stepping closer.

“She hasn’t been active enough. She hasn’t eaten enough food to sustain her and three pups,” she says.

“So what are you saying exactly?” I ask.

I don’t like vague answers. Vague answers hide things.

“I—I’m just saying she needs rest. Nothing too strenuous. Nothing that will take too much energy. The pups are coming, and she is going to need all her energy for the birth,” she says.

Too careful. Too measured.

“So no sex until after she gives birth is what you’re saying?” I ask.

“Yes, Alpha,” she says, baring her neck.

Of course.

Of course she will tell me the one thing I have been craving since that first day I saw her naked in the woods.

Then when I tasted her—

Fuck.

I need more of that.

Ivana isn’t enough.

She was never enough.

“Fine. How long does she need to stay here?” I ask.

“Just for the night,” she adds.

“Good. How long until she gives birth?” I ask, my dick twitching in my pants.

“Maybe a few days. A week tops,” she adds. “But she doesn’t have her wolf, so she won’t heal for weeks after the birth.”

I freeze.

That part lands differently.

I growl and grab her by the throat, slamming her against the wall.

“Are you lying to me?” I ask.

She shakes her head quickly. “No, Alpha. When most she-wolves give birth, their wolf helps them through it. She is going to be doing it alone because she doesn’t have access to her wolf or her healing abilities. So she will heal like a human after the birth,” she says.

I throw her across the room.

“FUCK!” I scream.

The sound cracks through the room, but it doesn’t fix the pressure building in my chest.

“Fine. I’ll be back,” I say, storming out of the clinic.

I pull my phone out and call Axel.

“I need to let off some steam. Let’s attack the next pack. Meet me there tomorrow,” I say, hanging up.

Since I can’t have her…

I will destroy everything around Cole.

Piece by piece. Pack by pack.

Until I can destroy their bond for good.

And take his family from him.

Then she can watch me kill him—

watch his life leave his eyes—

before I mark her as mine forever.

I will be King.

Even without the council.

And Lyric will be by my side.

Whether she wants to or not.

Jonathan runs out behind me after a minute.

A full minute. I count it without trying.

That took too long.

“What took you so long?” I ask.

He stops. “I was checking on Lydia. You threw her into a wall,” he says, eyes low, neck bared.

“Fuck her,” I snarl.

If she’s alive, she can still be useful. If not, she wasn’t worth keeping.

“We are moving to the next pack, and I want you to send a few warriors to the runes. See if they can find a way in,” I say, my gaze not leaving his face—watching for hesitation, for anything that doesn’t match his words.

“Go to the witch and see if she has something to help us get into the runes. I need that magic. Then come find me—we need to discuss getting rid of Agora,” I say.

“yes Alpha,” he says.

Too quick. Too smooth.

“Oh, and Jonathan…”

He stills.

“I don’t want to have to come looking for you, Beta. It’s getting harder to track you,” I say slowly.

I let that sit there—heavy, intentional.

“I’m starting to think I can’t trust you… and you know what happens when I don’t trust you,” I add.

My voice doesn’t rise. It drops. That’s what makes it land.

“You can trust me, David. We are on the same team,” he says, eyes steady.

He holds eye contact longer than he used to. That’s new. I don’t miss things like that.

“For your sake, I hope so,” I say, walking away from him.

I don’t look back. If I do, I might act too soon.

He’s up to something.

And trust is an easy thing to lose.

Harder to earn back. Impossible once I decide it’s gone.

If he is plotting against me, he better hope I’m dead before I get to him—because I will tear his body apart limb from limb.

He knows too much.

He’s seen everything.

Where I go. What I plan. What I want.

If he’s working against me, that is a betrayal he will regret—even in his death.

Nobody will stop me from getting what I want.

Not even my so-called brother.

Lyric will be mine.

The supernatural world will be mine.

And when I take it—when I finally have everything where it belongs—

Everything will be mine.