Chapter 336
Chapter 337
3rd Person’s POV
Rowan was the first to break the silence.
“And what of that decrepit mentor of yours?” he scoffed, bitterness curling beneath his tone. “Corvin Vale has no right to play the righteous judge and cast all the blame on you. He’s done far worse to Lylah, things no one dares speak aloud p>
Cora straightened slightly in his arms, though the movement seemed to cost her. “It’s fine,” she murmured, her voice soft, almost indulgent. “He’s a man who worships his reputation. I can understand his perspective p>
A cough tore through her then-sharper this time, echoing faintly in the room. Rowan’s gaze sharpened instantly, the Alpha in him surfacing as instinct took hold.
Only now did he truly look at her.
Her once-luminous features had somehow grown gaunt; her cheekbones were more pronounced, and her lips were tinged with an unhealthy violet hue.
“Cora…” His voice dropped, roughened by something deeper than anger. “They shouldn’t have treated you this way.” His jaw tightened. “Your illness, did they truly not take it into account? Eldric may not have known… but Vale did. And Lylah p>
He stopped abruptly.
The realization struck like a misstep in battle.
He had almost admitted it-how he had once revealed Cora’s condition, her gastric Moon Rot, to Lylah.
A flicker of unease passed through him, quickly buried.
Instead, he reached up, cupping her face with deliberate gentleness. His thumb brushed over her cold skin as he redirected the moment, his tone hardening again. “They have no right to act superior. They’re no better than the sins they condemn p>
Cora let out a small, breathy laugh, as though his words soothed her. “Let it go. As long as you stand with me, that’s enough p>
She paused then, her fingers curling around his hand.
“So, Rowan…” Her voice softened even further, taking on a fragile and coaxing tone. “When are you going to make it official p>
His brows drew together. “What are you talking about p>
“Our mating ceremony.” She held his gaze, and this time, there was no retreat. “Make me your Luna. There’s nothing left for us to wait for… so what is it that still holds you back p>
For a moment, Rowan said nothing.
“Cora…” he began carefully, his voice measured. “I’m still establishing my dominance here in Lunaris. I
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Finished won’t name you Luna until I’ve secured my power, until Corlis Prime stands at the peak. I want to give you a status worthy of your name. To stand as the strongest Alpha… and offer you a life unmatched p>
But she shook her head, urgency slipping through the cracks of her composure.
“We don’t have that kind of time.” Her grip on his hand tightened, her pulse unsteady beneath his skin. “My time is running out, Rowan p>
The words carried a quiet finality, laced with the inevitability of fate.
“You don’t need to worry about your ascent,” she continued. “The connections I’ve secured for you won’t crumble overnight. Even if I’m gone…” She hesitated just long enough to let the weight settle. “They’ll still see you as mine. As the one bound to me. Logan, Thane, Commander Ivar—they’ll stand behind you. My mate will never stand alone p>
Something flickered in Rowan’s eyes then.
Sharp. Instinctive.
Hunger.
It was there and gone in an instant-buried beneath practiced control-but not before it revealed itself.
And yet, alongside it, there was something else. A quieter, more complicated weight.
“Is that truly how you’ve seen this all along?” he asked, his voice lower now, threaded with something almost like sympathy.
His gaze lingered on her, searching.
He didn’t fully understand the turmoil within himself-to whom his heart truly inclined.
But just like Lylah, Cora had been part of his life too. Entwined in it, in ways that could not be easily severed.
And that, at least, was something Rowan could not deny.
George Orwell