A Luna for the Lycan King novel Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Morning came all too soon, and it was now the dreaded moment of saying goodbye. Darren stood with me and Lyle on the castle walkway overlooking the kingdom. The morning sun shined on us, and I couldn’t help but feel resentful of its arrival.

“Protect my queen, no matter what.” Darren placed his hand on Lyle’s shoulder. He hugged his brother as I watched from a few paces away.

“I’ll protect her.” Lyle’s emotions trembled on the edge, visible and raw, the floodgate barely holding. His blue eyes shimmered, but he kept his chin high, refusing to let the tears spill. He looked like a warrior and a child all at once, caught in the web of his devotion. “You be careful out there, alright–?” His voice slipped, leaving the sentence unfinished, the silence full of too many possibilities. He held his brother tighter, his fingers gripping into the back of his shirt,

Darren held him with a steady presence, an anchor in the storm of Lyle’s heart. “If anything happens to me …” Darren’s words hung heavy, a thick cloud in the space between them. He paused, his breath a small hitch. “If I don’t come back, I need you to take care of Allissa. And my child.” Why did he have to say something like that? My heart was hurting, and I felt so conflicted.

Lyle froze, his body going stiff with the magnitude of what was being asked. “You know I will, Darren,” he said, voice full of

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trembling steel. He pulled back slightly, enough to look Darren in the eye, as if needing to make sure he truly understood the depth of his promise.

Darren nodded, something fierce and proud glowing in his expression. “I know you will,” he replied, a quiet assurance lacing his words. His hand shifted to cup the back of Lyle’s neck, grounding them both in the warmth of their connection.

“I’m proud of you,” Darren said, the declaration striking deep. Lyle flinched as if the words were arrows, hitting places he didn’t expect.

The corner of Lyle’s mouth tugged upwards, a half–formed smile struggling against his darker fears. It was a fleeting moment of light in a sea of doubt. He held onto Darren a fraction longer, his breath evening out, the steadiness of his brother bleeding into him like an unspoken promise.

Darren let the silence hold them, letting it speak for everything that couldn’t be said. Lyle drew a ragged breath as he pulled away, his hesitation written in the way his feet seemed to stick to the ground, his unvoiced plea for more time. One I understood, but there was nothing we could do.

“Take care of yourself.” Lyle turned on his heel and walked away. I could see his eyes watering and he didn’t want his tears to escape.

Darren’s eyes burned into mine as he turned, pulling me into

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him with a suddenness that made me dizzy. My heart raced to keep up with our tangled steps as we moved together along the stone path, my body magnetized to his. The warmth of his palm branded my waist as we approached the griffin that was waiting.

He stopped us short, our momentum crashing, and wrapped me tight into the fierce security of his arms. “Believe in me–believe in us. I’ll try my best to come back before our baby is born,” he said, his breath stirring my hair, my hopes, and my resolve.

I let the closeness seep into me, clutching at the solidity of him, trying to capture every detail for the lonely nights that waited. The world spun out of control, and all I could do was hold on. I was desperate to do something to stop him from leaving, but I knew I couldn’t. Sure, if I begged him to stay, he would, but how could I? It wasn’t like he was being selfish and leaving for fun. He was sacrificing, too.

Darren gathered me into him, as if trying to merge our bodies, our futures, into one indestructible force. My arms slipped around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair, the darkness of it stark against my pale hands. I felt the charge in the air, in the thud of our heartbeats, in the tension that sparked from where his hand pressed against my back.

“Promise me,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper, threading itself into his resolve. I needed him to be as sure as he sounded. I needed to know he would fight like hell to come back to me, tỏ us. “Promise that you’ll come back to me.”

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His breath was warm against my cheek, every exhale a small comfort. “I promise, Allissa,” he replied, his voice weaving its way through my fear, strong and unyielding. I wanted to believe with all of me, to trust in the future we were building.

I nodded, not trusting my voice to hold up under the weight of the moment. He brushed a strand of hair from my eyes, a tender gesture that almost undid me. The urge to wrap myself around him, to bury my face in the crook of his neck and never let go was nearly overwhelming. “I can’t lose you,” I said, the words escaping before I could stop them. They carried my deepest truth, the fear that had been growing.

He shook his head, a silent vow that he wouldn’t let it happen. He pulled me even closer, if that were possible, and I melted into him, our forms as close to one as we could be. The world beyond us shrank, nothing else existing except the need to make this goodbye last forever.

He tilted my chin up, forcing my eyes to stay locked on his. The intensity of it was a tether, a promise of what would come after, if we could just hold on. “You are my beacon and the light that will lead me home.” He kissed me then, a meeting of mouths and souls, fierce and consuming.

The world slipped away, lost in the sensation of his mouth moving against mine, in the way his hands held me like a lifeline. His kiss was an imprint of his desire, his love, and his desperation not to leave. I kissed him back with every ounce of need and longing, wishing we could be frozen in this moment,

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suspended outside of time. His tongue attacked my mouth, plunging in and massaging my tongue. When he pulled away, it was too soon and not enough. I wanted more. I wanted to be greedy and selfish.

“I have to go.” His voice cracked as he struggled to hold it together. I could see the pain and regret in his eyes. We were hurting, but I was determined to see him off with a smile. I didn’t want him to remember my tears.