Chapter 154: When Love Starts to Feel Like Duty
He stared down at the desk for a long moment before continuing.
"She’s always acted like being with me was just another duty she had to carry out."
His fingers tapped slowly against the wood.
"Winter after winter, it started getting worse."
His jaw tightened slightly. "It even began affecting the way I handled pack matters."
He leaned back in his chair and looked away.
"Now she acts like sharing my bed is some exhausting chore."
Silence settled heavily inside the chamber.
Brandon stayed still.
All these winters, neither he nor Elara had noticed anything wrong. The High Luna always carried herself perfectly, calm and composed, while the King smiled easily whenever they were around.
From the outside, they looked like the perfect bonded pair.
"She stays longer at her duties now," the King muttered.
His mouth flattened into a thin line.
"She’ll spend hours wandering through the market aisles for no reason at all, just to avoid coming back to our chamber."
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"She poured more silver and attention into this upcoming mating ceremony than she ever put into our bond."
His eyes lifted toward Brandon.
"She doesn’t give me her time."
The chamber grew quieter.
Then the King exhaled slowly and looked down at his hands again.
"Lunara noticed the empty space... and stepped into it."
A strange softness entered his voice.
"She stays beside me while I eat." His thumb rubbed absentmindedly against his ring. "She checks if I’ve rested. She asks how my day went every single moonfall."
He swallowed once.
"She takes care of me like I actually matter to her."
"I knew she was trying to get closer to me," he said quietly.
His fingers tapped once against the desk before going still.
"But she stayed."
A long pause followed.
"She sat with me while I worked. Asked if I’d eaten or finished my duties. Waited for me at moonfall."
His expression tightened slightly.
"I didn’t realize how much I needed that until it became part of my day."
That moonfall, I pushed open my bedchamber door and froze.
She was there—unclad, the soft glow of the chamber tracing her shape. My breath hitched before I could stop it. For a moment, reason slipped, tangled in everything she had done for me, everything I have been holding in. I stepped closer without thinking, the silence between us thick enough to touch.
"Brandon... under this royal robe..." he exhaled a short, humorless breath, fingers tightening at his side. "Is just a helpless king... needing attention like every other wolf."
His jaw flexed as he looked away for a second, then back again, like he was arguing with himself in real time. "I’m not trying to justify anything... I just needed to breathe. To forget the weight for a while.
"Before all of this crushes me completely."
Now she is gone.
The chamber felt wider, colder, empty in a way that pressed against his ribs. "Back to my lonely life again," he said flatly.
His eyes narrowed without warning, something sharp cutting through the stillness—like the realization arrived too late, and stayed anyway.
His voice dropped as he leaned back slightly, fingers dragging once through his hair.
"Elara cares... a lot," he muttered, eyes fixed somewhere past the wall. "But you know your sibling is already mated."
A quiet sigh slipped out of him. His shoulders sank a little.
"Ashley never even bothered to look into what some of the top politicians are going through," he went on, jaw tightening. "It’s their fault anyway."
He tapped two fingers against the armrest, slow and restless, like he was sorting thoughts he didn’t want to say out loud.
"I’ve looked into it... carefully," he added, voice lower now. "Their lives... it all comes down to the same thing."
His gaze flicked up, sharp for a second, then softened again as he exhaled.
"Our mates claimed us for fame and silver.
That’s the truth. They don’t give us the attention we crave... just the lifestyle. The luxury. The image."
A short, bitter laugh slipped out as he shook his head once.
"But the ones who mated for love..." his tone shifted, quieter now, almost distant. "They’re different. They stay. They don’t jump from one she-wolf to another like it means nothing."
His hand curled loosely, then relaxed again.
"He would’ve understood... if Kaida had still been alive."
His eyes lowered for a moment before lifting again, heavier now.
"He mated her because she was a strong wolf... and she mated him because he was rich. Famous."
A pause stretched between his words, thick and uneasy.
"That bond..." he murmured, lips pressing together slightly. "It would’ve been a disaster. Just like ours."
"Remember, I’m not trying to justify it. What I did was wrong... I just needed to clear my head a little. I’ve been up since 3:00 a.m. Even sleep feels like it’s avoiding me."
Brandon listened without moving, the weight in the chamber settling deeper with every word.
His wolf stirred low inside him, catching what his father couldn’t quite say out loud.
Watching him carry all that alone left a heavy feeling in his chest.
He still couldn’t understand why the High Luna chose to starve him of sêx. The king wasn’t that old.
As for Elara, she wasn’t mated yet. Still, his father always said the same thing whenever her addiction came up.
Elara is mated to her communication device.
Most times, she stayed glued to the screen, barely blinking as her fingers moved nonstop across it.
If she disappeared for hours, nobody needed to ask where she was.
Online.
Cut off like that—no touch, no closeness, no relief—it wasn’t just frustration. It left them hollow, like something inside had been scraped clean.
His gaze lowered for a moment, jaw tightening.
"Did you bring it up with her?" Brandon asked quietly.
A long silence stretched before the answer came.
"Countless times," the king whispered, shoulders dropping.
Brandon’s fingers flexed at his side. "And what did she say?"
The king let out a shaky breath, staring at the floor.
"Excuses. One after another. Never wrong. Never responsible. Always defensive... like I’m the problem for even asking."
His voice cracked slightly, then steadied again.
"I’ve canceled vacations for her. More than once. Just because she changed her mind about something small."
Brandon’s eyes sharpened slightly, but he stayed still, listening.
"I even cleared her pack duties," the king went on, a bitter laugh slipping out. "Just to hear something different than ’I’m tired.’"
Silence hung for a beat.
"She stayed busy anyway. Always busy. And still... that same excuse at the end of the day."
His hands clenched.
"We brought in the best planners for the mating ceremony. She took over everything—every detail—like she needed control of it all."
His head lifted slightly, eyes tired and edged with frustration.
"Now tell me... is it even her duty to sign the invitation cards?"
"No."
Brandon’s jaw tightened slightly as he spoke, eyes still fixed ahead.
"But she’s been signing and stamping the cards. She stopped two moons ago," he said, fingers curling around the edge of the desk.
"Now she’s... colder. Like I told her to stop."
His hand slid through his hair, slow, restless.
"I think both of you need a matebond counselor," Brandon said, voice low but steady, eyes holding his father’s.
The King didn’t answer immediately. His fingers tapped once against the arm of his chair, slow and controlled, as he studied his pup in silence.
He exhaled through his nose, a short laugh without humor. "No. I think she’s just done with this matebond. She just can’t walk away because there’s no severance."
"I’ll talk to her myself. Find out what’s really going on. I’ll get back to you."
"Alright," the king muttered, shoulders lifting in a small shrug as he turned back toward his work. Papers shifted under his hand as he sat again.
The moment Brandon rose again, his device buzzed sharply.
He paused.
Thumbs hovered.
Emma.
A breath caught in his throat before he answered, forcing a smile that didn’t quite hold.
But it slipped away fast.
His eyes lowered slightly as he listened, the tone on the other end pulling something heavy into his chest. His grip tightened on the device without him noticing.
And somewhere between the silence and the words the king wasn’t saying, the truth settled in—quiet and sharp.
Lunara was already deeper in him than he expected.
And it hurt more than he was ready to admit.
"Moonrise."
"You’re awake," Brandon murmured, his voice softer now, the edge in it easing as he listened.
"Starlit, what is it?"
"I’ll talk to you later."
"I hope everything is alright."
"Of course."
"Have you seen Luna?" she asked,he was already moving through the corridor, steps steady but quick.
"I’m on my way to her chambers. Moonheart... have you eaten?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I just woke up... and I already miss you," she said, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "Um... about Evan’s call last moonfall—"
"No, don’t finish that." A faint light returned to his face, the tension easing from his jaw as he let out a slow breath.
"Do you love me?" he asked, quieter now, holding onto the silence between them a little too tightly.
"I wish words could tell you how much I love you," she whispered.
His shoulders loosened, a long breath leaving him like something heavy had finally been set down.
"I love you so much. Moonheart, I’m hanging up."
"Alright... are you sure everything is fine?"
"Yes. Everything is fine. I’ll talk to you later," he said again.
The call ended just as he reached Luna’s chamber door, his hand still hovering there for a brief moment before he stepped forward.
