Chapter 289: We Found The Effect
Damien tugged open the door. "Thank you for what?" he asked.
"For not cock blocking you last night," Kyllian said dryly as he slid into the passenger seat, stretching his legs out.
Damien’s eyes flared. "Keep talking, wolf, and I’ll make sure the next date is in your bed."
"Try it," Kyllian growled.
*****
Morvakar was just leaving the castle grounds. He was on his way to Thessa. He was convincing himself this would be a "casual" visit when the roar of an engine shattered the calm.
A car revved to a dramatic stop directly in his path, dust curling up around its tires. Morvakar froze mid-step, lips pursing. Of course. He let out a long, put-upon sigh, one hand rubbing at his temple. "Unreasonably dramatic," he muttered.
The window rolled down, revealing Kyllian’s head poking out with wolfish impatience. "Get in!" he barked.
He raised one elegant brow as if the command were beneath him. "Werewolves," he sighed again.
Kyllian bit the inside of his cheek. His patience was already hanging by a thread, and Morvakar’s deliberate sluggishness only knotted it tighter. "Please, get in," he muttered.
Morvakar, naturally, ignored the tension lacing Kyllian’s voice. He adjusted the fall of his coat, and finally deigned to slide into the car. He settled into the seat and leaned back. "What has you princesses in a hurry?"
Damien jammed the gear into drive, the engine snarling as the car tore forward, throwing Morvakar slightly back against the seat. The vampire king’s jaw was taut, one hand gripping the wheel. "Well," he began at last, "remember that little stunt you pulled holding the moon for hours to save my son?"
Morvakar tilted his head, eyes narrowing. He gave a languid shrug, utterly unbothered. "You’re welcome."
"We found the effect."
******
By the time the car screeched to a stop outside the castle, Morvakar had been caught up on every grim detail. He hadn’t said much during the drive, only the occasional sardonic hum, which somehow unnerved both kings more than an outburst would have.
Morvakar entered the room. Luna shot to her feet instantly. Her eyes locked onto his. "Morvakar..."
"Calm yourself, your highness." He set his hands firmly on her shoulders. "The king already briefed me."
"What do we do?" she asked. "You always know what to do." Her eyes pleaded with Morvakar.
Morvakar’s gaze shifted away from her, and landed instead on Mabel. The woman sat rigid on the edge of the bed, her hands unconsciously pressed against her rounded belly. She looked small. Morvakar took a single step closer.
"She has nothing to do with what is going on," he said at last.
Mabel flinched under the scrutiny, shrinking instinctively. Her fingers curled tighter over her belly.
"Morvakar... I already explained this to you." Damien began.
"Yes, yes..." Morvakar murmured, crouching to better inspect the woman on the bed. His long pale fingers hovered an inch from Mabel’s belly, reverence flickering across his sharp features. "I am sorry, truly. I had no choice."
"Morvakar, what the fuck are you doing?" The Alpha King’s voice boomed, rattling the room.
Morvakar rose slowly, uncoiling to his full height, eyes glimmering. "I did hold the moon for almost half a day. It is power I should never have tapped into. And now, the Moon Goddess is about to walk among us."
A hush fell. Every set of eyes in the room turned toward Mabel.
"It makes sense now," Kyllian said finally.
"Morvakar," Luna whispered, maternal desperation stripping her of reasoning. "My son."
Morvakar’s lips stretched into a wide, infuriatingly smug smile. "You are not going to believe it if I tell you."
"How do you not want to strangle this man?" Kyllian growled, snapping his gaze to Damien. His wolf was pacing inside him, ready to leap across the room, tear Morvakar’s throat out, and demand answers from his corpse.
Damien exhaled through his nose. "I have considered it a few times."
Morvakar ignored the men entirely, basking in the way their patience frayed. His gaze was fixed on Luna now. "What do you think?"
"Morvakar?" Even she was running out of patience. If he didn’t start making sense soon, she was half a second from lunging at him.
"Prince Magnus wailing the moment you step away from her," Morvakar said.
Luna’s eyes widened. "Oh my goddess," she whispered.
Morvakar’s smile spread wider, infuriatingly self-satisfied. "No..." Luna shook her head sharply, as if denial could snap the thread binding fate. "Is that even possible?"
"Whenever I mess things up," Morvakar said with a languid shrug, his smirk edged with mischief, "there is always something good that comes out of it."
"Do you understand what they’re talking about?" Kyllian leaned sideways, nudging Damien with his elbow hard enough to make the king glance his way. The Alpha King’s brows were furrowed, his patience fraying.
"Naaah..." Damien drawled with disarming nonchalance. "They do this all the time. I’m normally like an outsider. They’ll tell us when they’re ready." He shrugged.
"I’m so glad we’re not in Blood City," Morvakar said smoothly, turning his head to level Damien. "Because I can say whatever I want to say to you right now." He tapped his temple mockingly. "Use your head."
"Mabel is carrying Magnus’s mate." Luna clarified and Mabel gasped.
"Great. Another complicated vampire–werewolf pairing." Kyllian sighed.
"Her mate is the Moon Goddess if Morvakar’s theory is true," Damien said. His dark gaze swept from Mabel’s rounded belly to his son’s tiny form, then back to Morvakar, as if daring the vampire to double down on his lunacy.
"If?" Morvakar repeated, arching one fine brow in offense. "You wound me, Your Majesty."
"I don’t mean to question your wisdom and talent, Morvakar," Damien snapped, "but you must admit, every word out of your mouth since you stepped into this room has been bullshit! Go back to the beginning. How the fuck do I get my son out of this room and back to Blood City without him crying his lungs out?"