Page 100 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
His second mate was safe. That was all that mattered for now.
Chapter 34
Kitsuki
The clash of steel and the howls of the dying carried on the wind as Kitsuki strode through the obsidian corridors of Nasume’s castle in Norello the next day. Outside, his warriors battled in a war that had already claimed too many lives. The silence in the hallways contrasted with the carnage beyond.
Kitsuki’s hand rested on his sword hilt, ready to cut down any guard foolish enough to block his path. Yet the corridors remained suspiciously empty, as if Nasume had ordered everyone to stand down, as if he wanted Kitsuki to find him.
Nasume has been waiting for this confrontation, his dragon observed.He believes this will end in his favor.
“He is mistaken,” Kitsuki murmured, his voice echoing against the polished obsidian walls.
Kitsuki paused outside the ornate double doors that led to Nasume’s private chambers. Kizoshi’s words echoed in his mind that no matter how much Kitsuki wished to be the one to kill Nasume, Maseo alone would deliver the killing blow to hisfather. The prophecy was clear. Yet Kitsuki could not stand aside without confronting the wolf king himself, without making Nasume understand the magnitude of his transgressions.
With a steadying breath, he pushed open the doors and entered the wolf king’s domain.
Nasume’s bedchamber was a study in opulence and shadow. Black silk draped from a massive four-poster bed, illuminated by crystal lanterns that cast an amber glow throughout the room. The polished obsidian walls reflected light in strange, distorted ways.
And there, reclining on the sheets as if awaiting a lover rather than an enemy, was Nasume.
The wolf king lounged against black silk pillows, one leg bent at the knee, the other stretched across the sheets. He wore fitted leather breeches that hugged his powerful thighs, paired with an open vest of dark crimson that revealed most of his chest and the swirling emerald shifter markings.
But the wolf king had changed since their last encounter. The necromancy he had embraced had ruined his once-handsome features. His skin had taken on an ashen pallor, with faint green veins visible beneath the surface. His amber eyes now glowed the same toxic color.
Despite his depraved appearance, he still maintained the same seductive smile that had always disgusted the dragon king.
“Kitsuki,” Nasume purred, rising from the bed with predatory grace. “How kind of you to seek me out in my private chambers. Have you come to your senses at long last?”
“I have come to end this war,” Kitsuki replied, his hand resting on his sword hilt. “And to make you answer for your crimes.”
Nasume approached, his movements fluid and deliberate.
“Crimes?” Nasume repeated, feigning hurt. “Why is it a crime to desire someone? To pursue what should be mine?”
“It is a crime to raise the dead against their will,” Kitsuki countered. “To sacrifice innocent lives because you cannot accept rejection.”
Nasume waved a dismissive hand. “Politics can be messy. But it can all end right now, Kitsuki.” His voice dropped to a silken whisper. “Say you will be mine, and I will call off my forces this very moment. No more bloodshed. No more death. Only the two of us, as it was always meant to be.”
The audacity of his proposal stunned Kitsuki. Even after everything, Nasume still believed it was all about his obsession. “You started a war and killed thousands of people to force me to be with you?”
“I did it to make you acknowledge me,” Nasume corrected, as if his clarification made his actions more reasonable. “For centuries, you have ignored me, rejected me, humiliated me. I had to make you understand.”
“Understand what? Your complete disregard for boundaries? Your willingness to destroy lives for your own selfish desires?”
Nasume’s expression hardened before melting back into its seductive mask. “My devotion and willingness to do anything for you.”
“That is obsession,” Kitsuki replied, keeping his voice controlled despite the anger building within him.
Nasume shrugged. “One word from you, and this war ends. No more death. No more destruction. Is that not worth considering? Is your pride more important than the lives of your people?”
The question was a blade aimed at Kitsuki’s sense of duty. Nasume knew him well enough to understand that the welfare of his people was paramount. However, accepting Nasume’s terms would mean subjecting himself to an eternity of the wolf king’s twisted desires.
“My refusal is not about pride,” Kitsuki insisted. “It is about dignity and refusing to reward centuries of harassment with capitulation.”
Nasume’s smile faltered before returning, sharper than before. “Is that what you call my courtship? My devotion?”
“Courtship requires consent,” Kitsuki replied. “Devotion requires respect. You have shown neither.”
