The Vampire's Luna

Chapter 208: It’s Not Your Fault

Their eyes locked. And that was it.

They moved toward each other instinctively. Her hand still gripped the parchment, but her other hand reached for him.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, breath shaking with guilt she didn’t want to admit.

"It’s not your fault."

"No, it is. I should have been more careful." Her shoulders trembled, just a little.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "We are going to be fine."

He said it so easily, so confidently, and yet she felt the worry coiled beneath it. She knew him too well. The guilt in his gaze betrayed him. She had become the target—and by extension, so had he.

"How bad is this going to be? If I am put on trial?"

Damien’s hands wrapped gently around her arms. "You are the queen." His words were laced with caution. "Your trial cannot be in the public court. It will be in the Council. Everything depends on who stands beside you. It depends on the people on your side,"

And that was the problem. She was a queen not yet rooted, a werewolf in a city that still called her ’outsider’.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment longer than necessary.

"This will all go away," he promised.

"Not with Gabriel as the architect of all these," Luna said.

"We’ll be fine," Damien said again. A lifeline he kept offering her even as the rope frayed in both their hands. He wanted to believe it. Needed to. But Luna could feel the desperation coiling inside him, a shadow in his eyes that refused to leave.

She turned away, glancing at her reflection in the full-length mirror. A queen stood there, yes—but also a woman exhausted by survival. A mother-to-be fighting a war she never asked for.

"My father used to complain about the weight of the crown," she murmured, almost to herself. "I never understood. I thought it was just about ruling the people... I know better now."

Damien moved behind her, his arms sliding around her waist. His breath brushed her temple.

"I love you," he whispered. "Don’t ever forget that."

She closed her eyes, breathing him in.

"I need to tell you something," she said. "In case I don’t get the chance to anymore."

Damien tensed, but nodded. "What?" noveldrama

Luna turned in his arms to face him. "Isolde..." she paused. His eyes darkened instantly, but she pressed on. "She is in Blood Castles, in my former building. I had Talon bring her here before Lady Sharona left."

Damien stepped back from her, jaw tight. The warmth vanished between them as if someone had torn open the room’s walls and let winter in.

"What have you done?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"I wanted her to be close," Luna said quickly, stepping toward him. "For whatever time you might need to do what needed to be done...Look around you, Damien. Look at what’s happening. Do you plan on leaving me to navigate the complicated politics of Blood City while raising a child who has all of these expectations on his shoulders—even before he is born?"

Luna took one step closer, lifting her chin. "I will not apologize for being a queen who wants her husband alive."

"I don’t know what is going to come of this summons, but I very much would like to be

Damien looked at her, every bone in his body aching with weariness. He didn’t have the strength to argue anymore. Not with her. Not when her gaze held that glint of unyielding resolve.

So he simply stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, grounding himself in the only thing that still made sense.

"I am so sorry that all I have brought you is trouble."

Luna rested her head on his chest, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

"Don’t say that," he whispered against her. "You have made me a very happy man." A small smile tugged at his lips. "And I was the one with the trouble and baggage."

Damien gave a dry chuckle, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

"Without Morvakar interfering in your life, you would be happily mated to Kyllian."

Luna chuckled too, softer, a sound that briefly cut through the tension. "I’m glad Morvakar meddled." She pulled back slightly to look up at him. "Because this—us—is the only thing that’s ever felt right."

That moment, fragile and full of old pain and new resolve, was shattered as the door creaked open. Maelis stepped in.

"Your Majesties, your father is here."

Damien let out a groan. "Oh shit..."

He already knew this wasn’t going to end well. He could almost feel the weight of his father’s glare scorching through the walls.

"He’s going to kill me."

"That is very, very correct, Damien!"

The deep, thunderous voice echoed through the room before the old king himself stormed in.

"What the hell do both of you think you are doing?" he boomed, voice shaking the very stones beneath their feet.

"Father..." Damien stepped forward instinctively.

Luciver pointed a finger. "You couldn’t come to me for help? I’m your father!"

There was rage in his tone, yes—but underneath it, hurt.

Luna stood straighter. She didn’t back away from the old king’s wrath.

"We are truly sorry. We didn’t have much of a choice."

Beside her, Damien stiffened in disbelief. He turned sharply, eyes narrowing, startled by her words.

Why did she say that?

Was she taking the blame?

"She had nothing to do with this." He turned back to his father, trying to shield her from consequences she never should have borne. "She refused vehemently, but Veyron and I thought the best decision for the heir and the kingdom was to procure the blood she needed."

Damien didn’t regret the choice they had made, only the consequences that had spiraled out of it. If anything happened to Luna, if the Council used this moment to discredit her, to question her fitness to rule, it would all be for nothing.