CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE.

(MELIORA'S POV)


Holding some remaining portions of bread against my chest, I hurried out of the main village towards the solitary little cabin that had become my sanctuary over the past several moons.


In no time at all, my weary feet had carried me the short distance back to my secluded little cabin nestled at the edge of the village commons.


Pushing open the weathered door, I crossed the threshold and allowed it to swing shut behind me with a dull thunk, instantly enclosing me in blissful silence and solitude.

A few errant sunbeams filtered through the unshuttered window, casting the humble space in a warm, golden glow.

I moved to the candle beside my bed and lit it. The flickering flame filled the cabin enough for me to adjust my bedding and retire for the night.

Just as I was about approaching the bed, a voice, no, his voice- the prince's voice rang through the silence of the room.

"So, have you changed your mind about coming with me to my lands?" He said, casually sprawled over my tattered sleeping pallet in a reclining pose of utmost ease.

I very nearly dropped the half-eaten bread rolls still clutched in my hands as a startled yelp of surprise escaped my lips before I could muffle it.

Raking my wide-eyed gaze over the arrogant young nobleman's imposing form, I forced my lungs to restart their normal cadence.

"How...how did you even get in here?" I sputtered out once I'd found my voice again.

One elegant brow quirked upwards in a sardonic arc as Luther propped himself up on an elbow, leveling me with an intense smolder that made my skin prickle.

"Locked doors are little more than a mere inconvenience to one of my...talents," he purred in a sinfully deep timbre that curled around the senses like a velvet caress.

Squaring my shoulders, I met his bold stare with my best Approximation of haughty indifference.

"Yes, well, that explains the how, but not the far more pressing question of why you've seen fit to invade my personal quarters?"


I clipped out, struggling to keep my tone even and unruffled. "I believe I made my stance on...not coming near me clear the last time."

Tutting softly, Luther rose in one obscenely fluid motion from his casual repose and began slowly closing the distance between us. My heart kicked into high gear, stuttering against my ribcage with each predatory step he took.

"Now, now, sweet wolf - is that any way to greet someone who's bestowing you with such an incredible offer?"

He tsked in a tone of gentle remonstrance. "Especially given how fervently you seemed to welcome my...attention before."

My cheeks flooded with a furious blush at his barely-veiled allusions to our previous tryst. Sucking in a sharp breath, I leveled him with my most scathing look.

"If you think for one moment that I enjoyed that, or would allow you do that again like some ho—"

"Whoa there, not so fast with the insults!" Luther interjected with a raise of one hand, his expression hardening infinitesimally around the edges. "Who said anything about this being some fleeting indiscretion?"

Taking another calculated step forward, he sliced through the already minuscule distance separating us.

My pulse thrummed with a heady mix of defiance and something of fear as I forced myself to hold my ground, chin angled upwards to maintain eye contact.

"My father has already arrived within the territory to oversee my official mating ceremony," Luther stated in a low, ardent murmur.

"However, I only want to show him the most beautiful woman my eyes had laid on since I came here, as a wife... Not some over-pampered Alpha's daughter."

He traced a single fingertip along the line of my jaw, the electric current of his touch sending an involuntary shiver rippling across my skin despite my efforts at impassivity.

"Come away with me back to my homeland and be welcomed as my true mate and future queen," he breathed in a silken tone just above a whisper.

"I'll make sure your past remains hidden and unknown to anyone." he promised.

But the image of Selene's smug, hateful sneer flashed across my mind's eye, providing the necessary jolt to snap at him.

Jerking away from Luther's tender caresses, I fixed him with my most scathing look of rebuke.

"Well, your father will definitely prefer a princess a thousand times over a maid no matter her looks." I began in a tone dripping with saccharine mockery.

"Besides I do not fancy some fairy tale of getting married to a prince. So, I'm sorry." I added.

Holding his gaze steadily, I unleashed the full force of my steely determination.

"In addition to this, your fiance warned me to stay away from you forever. So please kindly go to her, because she's the one in need of your affection and company right now."

Luther's brow furrowed minutely, the first flickers of actual confusion clouding his striking features.

For a long, weighted moment, silence hung thick and impenetrable between us. Luther studied me with an utterly inscrutable look I couldn't even begin to decipher.

Then, at long last, he let out a rueful chuckle and shook his head slowly, the curtain of platinum locks swaying with the motion.

"No one tells me what to do, pretty wolf," he stated, his voice taking on a hard edge that sent a shiver of trepidation down my spine.

Luther slowly advanced another step, forcing me to retreat until my back was nearly flush against the rough-hewn wall.

His powerful frame seemed to radiate an almost palpable aura of dominance and entitlement that had my heart stuttering against my ribcage.

"And absolutely no one tells me who to marry or have a fling with," he continued in that same low, velvety purr that somehow managed to sound utterly disarming yet laced with an unmistakable undercurrent of menace.


"For all I'm concerned, the princess can go screw herself. Tomorrow, I'll show you in front of everyone as my true intended mate."

A wavering breath escaped my lips at his brazen proclamation, dread coiling like a leaden weight in the pit of my stomach.

"No, please...don't do that, I beg you," I pleaded, hating how frantic and thin my voice sounded to my own ears.

Luther cocked one eloquent brow, the ghost of a smirk playing about the corners of his sensuous mouth.

"Then just do me a little favor, my sweet...come warm my bed tonight," he purred, slowly allowing his darkening gaze to drag down the length of my body in an overtly intimate caress.

And with those boldly suggestive words, the remaining threads of my restraint snapped like a taut bowstring finally reaching its limit.

A crimson haze of pure, unbridled fury erupted behind my eyes as something feral and visceral took over.

With a guttural snarl of outrage, I shoved Luther backwards with every ounce of strength I could muster. He stumbled back a step, more from surprise than any true force behind my attack.

Not wasting a moment, I turned and fled, flinging open the cabin door and bursting out into the dusky village commons.