Chapter 404\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blushed, crimson from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 I\u2019ll repay you,\u201d she said, her voice soft but firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/p>\n
73%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my book and looked at her-really looked at her She was trying her best to stay composed, but I could see the panic hiding behind her lashes. The way her fingers gripped the spoon a little too tightly. The way she couldn\u2019t hold my gaze for more than a few seconds. All of it-delightful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd how exactly do you plan to do that?\u201d I asked, my tone light, as if the question wasn\u2019t already loaded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was broke. That much was obvious. The hospital bil for a Mooncrest VIP ward alone could make a lesser wolf bankrupt. And yet, here she sat, her dignity a intact as ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hesitated, cheeks burning even more. \u201cI can do Moonstitch embroidery,\u201d she said, barely above a whisper. \u201cIf you give me time, I can sell my work to earn the money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need money, Riley,\u201d I replied coolly, leaning back in the chair, resting my chin on my hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked, confused and embarrassed. Of course she hadn\u2019t considered that someone like me-Lucien Duskgrave, Alpha Prince of Stormridge-had no interest in coin. For someone who drives a Rolls-Royce and casually opens bottles worth more than most Omegas make in a year, what use was repayment in copper\u00a0<\/p>\n
and cloth?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The real truth?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t need money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What I needed was\u2026 different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something much more complicated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because I was cursed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A blessing twisted into a lifetime sentence by the Moon Goddess herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most Alphas waited eagerly for the bond-a golden threa that would pull them toward their fated mate. A magnetic connection that ignited the moment their eye met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Goddess marked me differently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said I would have a mate. One, Only one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she also said I\u2019d never know her-unless she fell in loe with me first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No bond. No spark. No scent recognition. Nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not unless she loved me-deeply, truly, irrevocably.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:11 Mon, Jan 5 G.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 404\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a punishment. For what, I never asked. I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
73%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the rest of the world? The Packs? The She-Wolves who carried titles like weapons and used their wombs like war strategies?\u00a0<\/p>\n
They caught wind of my curse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And they came in droves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because what better target than a cursed Alpha Prince?\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I couldn\u2019t recognize my mate, if she might as well be a stranger among thousands-then why not settle for power? For bloodline? For the throne?\u00a0<\/p>\n
They circled me like vultures, each one trying to out-charm the last. Each one secretly hoping I never found my mate. Because as long as I remained cursed, I was vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grew tired of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I told my Beta to start a rumor. One that would sink deeper than any fact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien Duskgrave-Stormridge\u2019s cursed Alpha. Hideously old. Twisted in mind. Perverse. Mate-killer. A monster who buried a dozen Lunas before they bloomed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let them talk. Let them stay away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I preferred solitude over sycophants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, here sat Riley Vale, with her storm-wrecked eyes and pride-shattered spine, offering to stitch her way out of debt like an innocent lamb in a den full of wolves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If only she knew what she was offering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked down at her bowl again, her soup untouched\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2026 then what do you want from me?\u201d she asked, cautious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes lingered on her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What did I want?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t entirely sure. Yet,\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I knew this much-Grandmother had been pressing me to settle down. The pressure had only grown worse over the past year. Every month, a new Luna candidate showed up at the estate with some lavish gift and a pedigree longer than a king\u2019s sword.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was tired of the games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Riley\u2026 she was quiet. She was desperate. But more importantly-she didn\u2019t want anything from me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That made her valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wouldn\u2019t cling. She wouldn\u2019t plot. She wouldn\u2019t beg for a title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the more I watched her, the more I realized how perfectly she could play the role of the dutiful \u201cchosen\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:11 Mon, Jan 5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 404\u00a0<\/p>\n
one\u201d-the one woman I allowed into my orbit, if only to lence the bloodhounds of court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3 73%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are things more valuable than money,\u201d I finally sid, letting the words fall like bait into still waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at me, confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you could finish the Moonstitch scroll,\u201d I continued. \u201cBlooming Grace, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Grandmother\u2019s birthday is in a month. If you can complete it without a single thread out of place, I\u2019ll consider your debt paid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes\u00a0<\/p>\n
lit up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d she asked, voice tinged with cautious hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded once. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She smiled-actually smiled. \u201cI promise I\u2019ll do my best.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back slightly, watching her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you\u2019re discharged, you\u2019ll stay at the Duskgrave estate,\u201d I added, almost offhand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her spoon paused. Her gaze snapped up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cL-live with you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t let the smirk reach my mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I merely folded my hands together and said evenly, \u201cI paid two million for the scroll. I won\u2019t risk you botching it unsupervised.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She bit her lip, and then nodded. \u201cOkay. That\u2019s fair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I inclined my head slightly. \u201cRest well. You\u2019ll need steady hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She ducked her head again, shy, and finally began eating her soup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reopened my book and leaned into the light spilling through the window. Every now and then, I felt her eyes flicker toward me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let her watch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let her feel safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because the more she trusted me, the closer she\u2019d get.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if-just if-by some divine mercy, she turned out to be the one\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she\u2019d never leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because this time, I\u2019d make sure-\u00a0<\/p>\n
That love would find me first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:11 Mon, Jan 5 WG.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pack\u2019s Daughter\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 404 Chapter 404\u00a0 Lucien\u2019s POV\u00a0 She blushed, crimson from her cheeks all the way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}