Chapter 107

Emily’s POV

Breakfast with Declan was a routine now. I hated it. I hated that Cindy didn’t even ask if I was going anymore.

I hated how my body reacted the second I walked into his room. But most of all, I hated the mark on my throat

that throbbed every time he looked at me

A small part of me was already expecting him.

Declan was standing by the window when I walked in. His dark shirt was half–unbuttoned, and he held a glass of

wine. His eyes moved up to mine, and that slow, familiar smile appeared.

“There’s my little wolf.”

I ignored it and walked to the table.

“You drugged me,” I said. My voice was flat.

Declan didn’t even look guilty. “Mm. I did.”

I stared at him, stunned. “You’re just admitting it?”

He let out a short laugh and walked toward me. “How else was I supposed to get around that mate bond of

yours?”

“You manipulated me,” I snapped.

“I adapted.” He sat down across from me, looking relaxed. “There’s a difference.”

I bit my lip to keep from screaming. Declan watched me for a moment, his expression turning darker, more

‘ocused.

“My father was a fool,” he said calmly.

The change in topic caught me off guard.

“He spent centuries hunting down one Luna after another like they were temporary medicine,” Declan said, eaning back. “He was always desperate. Always starving. Always consuming too much too quickly because he

couldn’t control himself.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“He never thought long–term.” His eyes locked onto mine. “He never realized a Luna didn’t have to die all at

ɔnce.”

My stomach twisted. “What are you talking about?”

Declan’s smile was terrifyingly calm. “You and I could rule forever.”

“No.” He tilted his head. “I’m patient. Remember?”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I spent years collecting stories and legends. Witches, bloodlines–anything connected to Lunas.” He picked up a grape, rolling it between his fingers. “Eventually, the pieces started to fit.”

I stared at him, horror building in my gut.

“That wound my father had? The one that wouldn’t heal?” Declan said casually. “That wasn’t luck.”

‘No…”

He smiled. “I arranged it.”

I felt like the floor was falling away.

“There was a pack stupid enough to think they could kill the Rogue King,” he said. “Their Alpha and entire pack

lied for that mistake.”

The destroyed pack and Alpha that secrificed. The one Nathan told me about. Goddess.

Declan watched the realization hit my face with dark amusement. “They thought their witch had received a nessage from the Priest that was having signs from Moon Goddess. She hadn’t.”

“Zendaya,” I whispered.

Declan’s smile widened. “There’s my smart girl.”

I remembered the witch from when I was kidnapped. It wasn’t just Tessa. It wasn’t just some outside betrayal. Zendaya had been part of it the whole time. She’d been feeding him information.

I pushed my chair back from the table. “You manipulated everyone.”

“Of course I did.”

The certainty in his voice was scarier than if he’d been shouting. Suddenly, the mark on my neck pulsed as he

came closer to me.

I couldn’t hear Nyx, but I knew she would be recoiling inside me. Yet even as my mind screamed in protest, nother part of me was already betraying me.

Need.

Declan noticed it instantly. His eyes darkened as he stood up, his gaze never leaving mine.

“There it is,” he said.

I backed away immediately. “Don’t.”

1:18 pm P PTM.

But my voice was weak. My body was already rooting for him to get closer.

-Declan stopped directly in front of me and brushed his knuckles slowly along my jaw.

“You still fight it,” he murmured.

“I’ll always fight you.”

A slow smile touched his mouth. “And yet your body keeps choosing me anyway.”

The words burned because I knew he was right. Declan suddenly grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the edge of the massive table. Plates rattled and fruit rolled across the dark wood, but he didn’t care.

“Declan-”

He kissed me hard, cutting off my protest. Before I could stop myself, my fingers were tangling in his shirt.

I hated this. I hated him. I hated how the pleasure just drowned out everything else. Declan groaned against my lips like he’d been starving for this.

He shoved the rest of the food off the table with a careless sweep of his arm to make more room for me. Plates shattered against the stone floor, the noise loud in the room, but his attention stayed entirely on me.

“Look what you do to me,” he muttered darkly against my throat.

His hands slid along my thighs, and the mark on my neck pølsed.

Declan kissed the side of my neck, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin that drove me toward a breaking point. I was breathing too fast, and my thoughts were moving too slow. Everything felt dizzy and wrong, but it felt good

:00.

He pulled back just enough to look at me. My vision was blurred, and the sheer satisfaction on his face terrified

ne.
“There she is.”

It wasn’t obedience or fear he wanted. It was dependence.

He brushed his thumb across my swollen lips, then suddenly stepped back. He left me sitting there, aching for the contact to come back. I stared at him, my head spinning.

‘Declan…”

He let out a low laugh. “No, little wolf. Not yet.”

Frustration flashed through me, and his smile only widened.

“My father destroyed everything because he couldn’t think past his own hunger,” he said, calmly adjusting his cuffs as if he hadn’t just wrecked my composure. “I won’t make that mistake.”

I hated how beautiful he looked. I hated how badly I wanted him to walk back over to me. He saw every bit of it on

:18 pm P PTM.

my face and loved it.

“You need test,” he said smoothly. “You have another trial tonight.”

The reminder was like a bucket of ice water. Reality rushed back in the castle, the trials, Nathan. I forced myself

to find my voice.

“I’ll never be yours,” I whispered.

Declan walked back to me and tilted my chin up gently.

“You already crave me, Emily.”

The worst part was that my body agreed before I could even open my mouth to lie.