21

21
Madden’s POV

The hall had always been mine. Every stone, every trembling servant, every noble who bowed their head when I entered, they belonged to me.

But in that moment, watching Nadine dance in Cassian’s arms, I felt the unfamiliar weight of loss. Not true loss, she hadn’t left me, couldn’t, not with the bond shackled so deep, but a threat. Cassian’s smile was too smooth, his hand too steady on her waist, and Nadine’s eyes… they flickered with something I hated. Suspicion. Fear. Curiosity.

And not all of it was directed at me.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. The beast inside me prowled, snarling, demanding I tear Cassian apart before the entire court. But I held still, jaw locked, because if I unleashed myself here, I would make her hate me even more.

The song ended. Cassian released her with that mocking bow, like she was some jewel he’d stolen just to show he could. And when her gaze lifted, wide and unsettled, it wasn’t Cassian’s face she searched for.

It was mine.

I knew it. I saw it. The bond hummed between us, straining to pull her across the floor back into my arms.

And yet, she hesitated.

That hesitation split something open inside me.

A noble’s voice rose from the crowd, loud enough to draw attention. “How disgraceful,” the man scoffed, drunk on wine and his own arrogance. His eyes were fixed on Nadine. “A weak runaway parading as Luna? Seraphine’s ghost must be laughing.”

The hall tittered. Gasps, muffled laughter, some cruel nods.

Nadine froze, her face draining of color.

I didn’t think. I moved.

In a blur, I was across the hall, my hand closing around the noble’s throat before his next insult left his mouth. The crowd shrieked and scattered, skirts rustling, goblets clattering to the floor.

“You dare,” I growled, voice vibrating with power, “to spit her name with filth in your mouth?”

The man gagged, clawing at my grip. I squeezed harder, lifting him to his toes. His eyes bulged, terror painting his features. The room smelled of his fear, sharp and satisfying.

“M-My King, !” he choked.

“You will not speak of her,” I snarled, shaking him, “and you will not ever insult Nadine. She is mine.”

My claws threatened to break skin. One more heartbeat, and I would have crushed his throat.

Hands tugged at me, guards, advisors, even Cassian, muttering for me to stop. Their words were meaningless. The only sound I heard was Nadine’s ragged breathing somewhere behind me, and the bond screaming that she was watching.

It was her voice that broke through.

“Madden.”

Just that. Soft, trembling, but clear enough to cut through the haze of bloodlust.

I dropped the noble. He collapsed to the floor, coughing and scrambling away like the coward he was.

Silence fell over the hall. Every eye was on me. On her.

She stood pale and shaking, but her chin was high. Defiant. The way she always looked at me when she wanted me to believe I couldn’t break her.

And in that moment, with the entire court holding its breath, I made a choice.

I crossed to her, ignoring the gasps, ignoring the whispers that followed me like shadows. Her eyes widened as I reached her, and for a heartbeat, she tried to step back.

No. Not this time.

My hand caught her waist, dragging her flush against me. She stiffened, but I didn’t give her room to breathe, let alone resist.

And then I kissed her.

Gasps exploded around us. Shock. Horror. Excitement.

Her lips were soft, frozen in surprise, but the bond flared so violently it nearly brought me to my knees. Fire roared through me, scorching every vein, every nerve. I deepened the kiss before she could shove me away, tasting the defiance and grief and fury that clung to her like armor.

And underneath it all, I tasted something else.

Recognition.

Her wolf answered mine.

When I finally tore back, her eyes were wide, her chest heaving, her lips parted in disbelief. The hall was silent but for the frantic thud of her heart.

I let my voice carry, cold and unyielding, so every soul in the room would remember it.

“She is mine. My Luna. My mate. Question her again,” I warned, my gaze sweeping the nobles like a blade, “and you will answer to me.”

No one dared to move.

I released her only enough for her to breathe, but not enough to escape. Her hands trembled at her sides, caught between pushing me away and holding on.

The crowd lowered their eyes, one by one, bowing.

But Nadine’s eyes never left mine.

And for the first time in years, I saw not just hatred in them, but confusion.

A crack.

A beginning.

Nadine’s pov

The insult sliced through me like a blade.

I had grown used to the stares, the whispers, the venomous comparisons to Seraphine that clung to every corner of this cursed palace. But hearing it aloud, thrown like a stone in front of the entire court, was different. His words cracked something fragile in me.

A weak runaway. A disgrace.

My cheeks burned, my throat thickened, but I refused to let them see me break. I wanted to scream, to claw at their smug faces, to vanish all at once. Instead, I stood frozen in place, nails digging into my palms so hard I tasted iron in my mouth.

And then Madden moved.

One second, the noble was standing, smirking with his wine-stained lips, and the next, he was choking in Madden’s grip, feet dangling. The sound was horrible, bones creaking, the wet gag of a man suffocating.

The hall gasped.

I couldn’t breathe.

Not because I pitied the man, he deserved worse, but because of Madden. The way his fury filled the room, spilling from him like a storm too violent to be contained. His power clawed at the walls, smothering everyone. His eyes glowed, feral, fixed on his prey.

And for a heartbeat, I didn’t see the cruel King I had rejected.

I saw the beast I had created.

He would have killed him. He wanted to kill him. And for what? Because the man dared to insult me.

I should have felt horror. Gratitude. Relief. But all I felt was the wild pounding of my heart and the terrifying tug of the bond thrumming between us.

And then,

“Madden.”

The word slipped from my lips before I realized I’d spoken. Weak. Pleading. But it worked.

He dropped the man. The noble crumpled like a broken doll, coughing and scrambling away. My pulse wouldn’t slow. My hands shook, my stomach knotted.

But when I looked up, Madden was staring at me.

Not at the noble. Not at the court.

At me.

The world seemed to tilt when he crossed the floor. His presence suffocated everything else. And then his hand was at my waist, pulling me against him before I could even think of resisting. Gasps rippled through the crowd like waves, but I barely heard them.

My breath hitched, and then his mouth was on mine.

The shock shattered through me like lightning. His lips were rough, demanding, claiming. I wanted to shove him away, claw at his face, scream into the hall that I hated him. But my wolf, my traitorous wolf, howled inside me, rising in a way she hadn’t in years.

Mine.

The bond surged. Fire coursed through my veins, hot and heavy, pulling me toward him instead of away. My knees weakened, my chest ached, my hands twitched like they didn’t know whether to push or cling.

I hated it. I hated him.

But I couldn’t stop the part of me that recognized him, fully and completely, in that kiss. My wolf pressed against me, desperate to answer, to surrender.

When he pulled back, my lips tingled, raw and burning. His eyes were dark and feral, daring me to deny what we both felt.

My heart thundered. My wolf howled.

And I stood trembling in the center of the hall, torn between revulsion and the terrifying, undeniable truth,

Madden Vale was still my mate.

And part of me would never escape him.