Chapter 151: Not Listening

Words : 1607 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 151: Not Listening Zane~ The moment Natalie vanished, the room seemed to exhale—finally letting go of the tension that had nearly shattered the walls. The silence she left behind was deafening. I stared at the spot where she’d stood just moments ago, her scent still lingering in the air, her words echoing in my ears. My fingers curled around the phantom shape of hers, remembering the heat of her grip, the fire in her voice. Red was pacing in the corner of my mind, restless and angry. He wanted to chase her, to find her, to apologize. But I knew better. She needed space... and I needed to clarify somethings with my hotheaded father. I turned slowly to Abel and Roland. They stood quietly near the arched doorway, both looking equally stunned and unsure of whether to speak. "Thank you," I said finally, my voice still rough with emotion. "For backing me up... and for helping with the investigation." Abel nodded. "You sure you’re alright?" No. Not even close. "I will be," I muttered. "I just... I need to speak to my father. Alone." Roland exchanged a glance with Abel and gave a small bow. "Take care of yourself, Your Highness." "We’ll be around if you need us," Abel added, bowing before they turned and left. The heavy doors shut behind them with a soft thud. I stood there for a beat longer, then sighed and headed toward my father’s wing. The guards stationed outside his chamber doors straightened when they saw me, but didn’t move to stop me. They knew me by now. In the few days I’d been here, they’d learned one thing: the king always let me in. Still, I knocked once. No answer. I waited. Knocked again. Nothing. So I opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dimly lit, heavy with the scent of burning cedarwood and the bitter tang of blood—not his blood, from the earlier battle. I heard the water running in the adjoining bathroom. Of course. He was still washing up. Natalie had used her magic to clean me in an instant. My father, proud and stubborn as ever, had unknowingly chosen the hard way. I moved to the couches and sat down, resting my head back. Everything that happened today made my head feel heavy. My fingers twitched. My jaw ached from clenching it too tightly. I didn’t know how long I waited before the water stopped. Moments later, my father stepped out—shirtless, a towel draped around his shoulders, water dripping down his back. His eyes flicked toward me. He didn’t look surprised to see me there. Not even annoyed. Just tired. Without a word, he walked past me and into his massive walk-in closet. I stood up and followed. "Why are you in here?" he muttered, opening drawers and pulling out a shirt. "If this is about Natalie again, Zane, I swear to the Moon Goddess—" "She’s Princess Katrina’s daughter." My father suddenly went silent. His hands froze mid-motion. The fabric slipped from his fingers. "What?" he said slowly, turning to look at me. "You heard me." My voice trembled, but I didn’t care. "Natalie is the daughter of Princess Katrina." He stared at me like I’d slapped him. "You’re lying," he said. But his voice didn’t hold conviction—it was just an instinct, a desperate hope that I was wrong. "You’re saying this to get me to pity her." "I’m not. And you know it," I whispered. He studied my face. His breath caught. "Moon above..." he muttered under his breath, the curse barely audible. "She’s really..." "Yes," I said. It’s all real. I’m not making this up." He turned fully now, looking at me not as a son—but as a bearer of impossible news. "Why the hell didn’t you say anything earlier?" he barked, voice rough. "Why didn’t you stop me when I was screaming at her? I wouldn’t have—" "You didn’t give me the chance!" I exploded. "You came at her like a storm, and you didn’t stop for a second to listen!" He backed up slightly, face darkening. "This isn’t how I wanted to meet Katrina’s daughter," he said quietly after a moment. "Damn it all. I had plans wrapped around that girl. And now—" He exhaled sharply and rubbed his jaw. "It’s too late to undo what’s been done." Plans? What plans? I didn’t ask and I didn’t respond either. There was nothing to say. He knew he’d crossed a line. And Natalie? She might never look back. "She deserves better," he said after a pause. "I’ll make it right. I’ll make sure she’s given a place in royal family tree, in this kingdom. She’ll be compensated. And justice will be served against that bastard Darius who destroyed her parents." I felt my heart lurch, both with relief and dread. "I want you to contact her mother’s family," he continued. "Katrina must have had people—powerful ones. They deserve to know. Natalie needs to know she’s not alone." "I will," I said quietly. "But that doesn’t mean you get to keep her." My head snapped up. "What?" "She’s still wolfless. And she’s... rude. Wild. She isn’t suitable to be queen, Zane. You heard the way she spoke to me." I groaned, loud and frustrated. "Seriously? After everything you just said?" "I am serious. This doesn’t change the fact that she’s not fit to be your Luna." "She’s my fated mate!" I shouted. "You keep forgetting that part!" "Don’t be ridiculous," he snapped. "No werewolf is entitled to two fated mates." My fists clenched at my sides. Red growled in my head, nearly loud enough to deafen me. "Then explain this bond," I growled. "Explain why I can feel her even when she’s gone. Why I burn when she cries. Why I’d give up everything just to see her smile." The king opened his mouth, then stopped. For a brief second, uncertainty flickered across his eyes. "You don’t understand what she’s become," I said more quietly now. "You saw only the wolfless girl who walked in. But not the woman who stood up to you. The survivor. The one who can look you in the eye and not flinch. That’s the kind of queen we need." "She defied me," he whispered. "In front of everyone." "You provoked her!" I shot back. "You cornered her, insulted her, called her cursed! What did you expect? For her to bow and whimper like some obedient Omega?" "That’s enough." His tone dropped, deadly quiet. "If you continue insisting on being with her—if you defy me again—I will make her disappear from your life." I froze. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. It wasn’t a threat. It was a declaration. And it sucked the air from my lungs like a vacuum. He stepped closer, eyes glinting like onyx beneath flame. "And this time, Zane, it won’t be an empty threat. You will not find her again. Ever." For a moment, everything in me went still. My muscles locked. Red stopped growling. My heart, my mind—they all paused. And then... I laughed. I didn’t mean to. It came out of me like a bark, startled and real. Loud. Sharp. A sound full of disbelief and dark amusement. He blinked. Just a flicker. But I saw it—the flicker of shock, of uncertainty. "You... laughing?" he asked, almost disoriented. I wiped the corner of my eye with the back of my hand, still chuckling under my breath. "You really think you can make someone like Natalie disappear?" "I have my ways." I tilted my head. "And those ways... they include picking a fight with the Wolf Spirit? Maybe a few celestial deities while you’re at it? Or—wait—especially the Moon Goddess herself?" That wiped the last trace of confidence from his face. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" I took a step toward him. "You’ve spent years searching for someone. A girl born under royal blood. The one marked by divine blood... the one blessed by the Moon Goddess herself." He said nothing. Only stared. I smiled—not mockingly, but with the weight of truth curled on my lips. "You’ve been looking in the wrong places," I whispered. "Zane," he said, voice suddenly tight. "What are you saying?" I shook my head, slow and deliberate. "You’ll see soon enough." "Zane." "I said—" I looked at him, really looked at him. My father. The king who always thought he knew everything. "—you’ll see." And with that, I turned on my heel and walked out of the closet. He didn’t follow. I heard nothing behind me but silence. The kind that feels too big for the room it lives in. As I stepped into the hallway, the thick double doors of my father’s chambers still open behind me, a strange calm settled over me. Not because everything was resolved. Not even close. But because I had seen it. That brief moment of hesitation in his eyes. That half-second where the king was no longer a king—but just a man who might’ve made the biggest mistake of his life. He’d called her cursed. And now? Now he’d have to reckon with the truth. With her truth. Natalie wasn’t cursed. She was divine. And no one—not even a king—could erase a soul the Moon Goddess had placed in this world. I hoped—gods, I hoped—that he’d come to his senses before it was too late. Because if he didn’t... Then all the power in his kingdom wouldn’t be enough to protect him from the storm called Natalie. And I’d be standing beside her when it came. Every step of the way.

Chapter 151: Not Listening

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