Dangerous Lycan: Claim Betrayed Luna’s Second Chance Mate

With Kieran’s approval, I was encouraged again to take the step of accepting the job.

I can do this.

I knew that there was a lot to do in such little time but the difference now was that I would be able to offer the help that I could. Having hope was all I needed.

The morning came fast, I had barely slept a wink. Sunlight streamed through the windows, painting my dressing table a golden brown. I felt the excitement bubbling in my stomach. It was my first day of work.

I hummed a song as I braided my hair watching myself through the mirror. Although I felt nervous, I still felt positive about everything. I thought about being surrounded by children. We would share stories and laugh at some poorly made jokes. They wouldn’t mind. It was something good in the midst of the bad things the kingdom faced. Maybe a bit of doing something normal could do some good, I thought.

Suddenly, I turned to the door as it creaked open. It was Kieran. He looked weary and a bit out of place, dark circles had grown beneath his eyes. I could nearly say that I knew exactly the way that he felt. The heaviness of the kingdom pressed down on his shoulders. He liked to carry it alone. Even if we all wanted to share it with him, he still wanted to bear it all.

“You’re up early,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to be late for my first day,” I replied with a smile. “Besides, there’s so much to prepare.”

He nodded. I met his eyes on me for a while and then, he looked away.

“I’ve assigned some guards to accompany you to the school,” he said.

“Guards?” I scoffed. “Kieran, that’s not necessary. The school is in the heart of the city. It’s perfectly safe.”

“Nothing is perfectly safe right now, Clara. We still don’t know who’s behind the food shortage, and the council…”

He paused, his voice trailing off, “Just be careful,” he finished, his voice was softer now. He reached out for my cheek. Brushing his hands against my cheek. The warmth of his touch thrilled me and I pulled away.

“I will, but I still feel it’s unnecessary. I’ll be fine. No one would want to launch an attack where there are kids around.”

“Just take the guards. There is no harm in doing that. At least with them, I’ll be sure of your protection,” he said.

I nodded without saying a word and he turned and left.

As soon as the door shut behind him, I felt different like a wave of uncertainty came over me. At that instant, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for such responsibility. To go amongst children with such powers that I possessed. What if I lost control? Just then, the memory of the full moon, the raw power surging through me, sent a jolt of fear through me. What if I accidentally hurt someone, a child, someone innocent?

But then, a stronger feeling pushed back the fear the desire to help. The people needed a queen who understood their struggles, someone who wouldn’t just sit back and let the kingdom crumble. This wasn’t just about me; it was about all of them.

A small smile appeared at the corners of my lips as I looked into the mirror. Maybe Kieran was right to be worried, but I wouldn’t let my fear hold me back. I would learn to control my powers; I would find a way.

Just as I grabbed my bag and headed toward the hallway, I heard voices coming from a part of the hallway. Shouts and frantic cries pierced the quiet morning air. I peeked out, my heart hammering against my chest.

Guards, maids, and even the palace medical team were rushing towards a particular direction, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and urgency. Panic clawed at my throat. What was happening?

Piqued with curiosity and frightened a bit as I had no idea what I would see. I moved closer. I ignored the frantic shouts for me to stay back and followed the panicked wails. Just outside the palace gates, the people milled around, their faces pale with shock, pointing towards a cluster of guards.

My heart pounded even more as I pushed through the crowd. Three men lay on the ground, their clothes covered with blood and torn apart. Around them, others tended to the injured, their faces were contorted in pain.

“What’s going on here?” I managed to say but no one seemed to be in the mood for a chit-chat. I hated the wave of nausea that came over me. These were the men who had ventured out to search for food, men with families who were now waiting for them to return. And they were dead.

“Who did this?” someone screamed from amongst the crowd.

Whoever was doing this, sure did know the right time to launch an attack. I felt pained even more that I had caused this again. Terror gripped my throat as I stood there having nothing else to say or contribute. Kieran had warned me about these people. They were here, and they were escalating their attacks.

Just then, I felt a hand gripping my arm. It pulled me back out of the midst of the crowd. It was Kieran. He didn’t look any different from any of us. But his composure kept him intact.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered.

“You didn’t tell me things had become this bad,” I said.

“I didn’t know that it had become this bad either.”

“Oh God, those men just went in search of food for their families. Now they are no more. This is really getting out of hand,” my voice quivered.

“I’m glad you now know how dangerous these people are. They are not here for jokes and they won’t mind launching an attack on you if they wanted to.”

“I know but this is utterly insane,” I said. And turned to the crowd as the wails increased.

“Let’s go,” he muttered. He didn’t ask, he simply pulled me away from the crowd.

“Kieran, what really happened?” I managed to ask, my voice still trembling.

“We’ll talk about it later. Right now, you need to be safe and you don’t need to see that.”

He led me through a side passage, his grip on my arm tightening as we passed the growing throng of panicked people. We finally emerged at the back of the palace grounds, where a sleek black car awaited.

“Get in,” Kieran said, pushing me towards the passenger door. “The driver will take you to the school.”

“And you? What are you going to do?”

He forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t worry about me, Clara. Everything will be fine. You just… stay safe.”

His words felt hollow. I hesitated, wanting to argue, wanting to stay by his side. But before I could say anything more, a group of servants huddled nearby caught my eye.

“It’s all her fault!” one of them hissed. They said pointing towards me.

“The chosen one is a curse. She brought this upon us. I still don’t know why the king chose her to be his mate. She shouldn’t be here or we will all be dead before the end of the season.” Another added.

My stomach lurched. It was true. Since my arrival, the kingdom had been plunged into chaos. The food shortage, the attacks, and now this.

“Ignore them,” Kieran said. He stepped towards the servants, his aura radiating a cold fury. But before he could say anything, I shook my head.

“No,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “It’s alright. They’re right. Maybe… maybe I am cursed.”

He squeezed my hand, “No, Clara. You’re not cursed. You’re just… different. And whoever is behind all of this is using your arrival to spread fear and anger. Don’t let them win. I’ll make sure that I get them and they’ll never see the break of light again.”

I swallowed without saying another word

With a final glance at Kieran, I climbed into the car. And then I turned the other way as tears grew by the side of the car. I didn’t want him to see it. Until the vehicle pulled away, leaving behind the chaos and fear that now hung heavy in the air.

As we sped through the city streets, a thousand thoughts swirled in my head. The dead men, the accusations of the servants, the ever-present threats from the werewolf council, and even from the people.

One thing was clear: this kingdom was on the brink of collapse, and I was at the center of it all. My gut tightened and felt too dry for me to swallow. I avoided the gaze of the driver. At that point, I just wanted to be alone.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

The ride felt longer than it should have, every bump in the road brought me back to the harsh reality of the situation. The driver finally pulled up in front of my modest apartment building, the familiar one that I had seen on the screen of the laptop back at the palace as I was going through the school website. We had arrived.