Filed to story: The Lycan King's Treasured Luna (Narine & Sargis) Book PDF Free
I pushed the door open quietly. I expected to see her bundled under the covers, still munching.
But the bed was empty. My heart skipped. I drew in a breath, and my senses locked in. I could smell blood. I followed the scent trail like a predator.
Then I saw her. Perched on the edge of the flat railing, swaying ever so slightly in the wind. Her IV lay discarded on the marble, with blood staining the floor.
My heart jumped into my throat. Was she trying to end her life?
I moved silently, crossing the balcony like I was approaching a wounded animal, terrified she might leap before I could reach her.
“Narine,” I called softly. “Please don’t do that…”
I extended my hand toward her, not wanting to startle her.
Everything happened too fast.
She turned too quickly and her foot slipped. I watched in slow motion as her body tilted, and her arms flailed in the empty air like she was trying to grab something.
And before I even realized it, I lunged.
I threw myself forward, caught the edge of the balcony railing with one hand, and by some miracle, my other hand caught her.
I had her arm.
We were both dangling now, her body was swinging wildly below mine. I gritted my teeth and held on.
“Hold on, Narine,” I breathed, more to myself than her, “Just hold on.”
I tightened my grip, dug deep into my strength, and hoisted us both inch by agonizing inch back over the balcony.
We tumbled onto the cool, tiled balcony floor. She rested heavily against my chest, her hair fell softly across her face, and I felt the warmth of her body seeping into me. My heart raced as I battled the overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around her in a protective embrace.
The overwhelming fear hit me like a wave.
“Narine!” I snapped. “I know I’ll never fully understand the scale of what you’ve been through. Hell, I couldn’t even begin to imagine it. But taking your life is not a fucking option, do you hear me?”
She flinched. Her entire body recoiled, her eyes went wide, and her shoulders tensed like she expected me to hit her.
And just like that, all the anger inside me crumbled to dust.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” I mumbled. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”
Her breaths came short and ragged, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I scooped her trembling body into my arms, carried her inside, and locked the balcony door tightly behind us. Then I laid her gently on the bed, brushing strands of her hair away from her face, and lowered myself beside her, keeping my distance but never breaking my gaze.
“I’m sorry… for the way I reacted and for raising my voice at you. I know it came off wrong. I hope you understand that it came from a place of fear because I thought I would lose you, Narine.”
I took a shaky breath.
“I know you don’t know me, not really. And I don’t know you either, not fully. But what I do know… is that I care for you deeply. More than I’ve ever cared for anything in my entire life.”
I dropped my head, unable to look at her any longer. “If something is weighing you down… something too heavy for you to carry alone, please, rest it on my shoulders. I swear to you, I’ll carry it. I’ll burn this entire world to the fucking ground if that’s what you need. I’ll do anything without a second thought if it means you don’t have to face it alone. You have no idea the kind of power you hold over me, Im sireli,” I confessed hoarsely.
“Just… please,” I begged, “don’t ever try to do that again.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
“I need you here,” I whispered.
“Please…”
I looked into her eyes, silently willing her to see me, a man begging to hold the pieces of her shattered world just long enough for her to catch her breath.
She nodded, slowly, then looked away from me, retreating into her shell.
I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. If I had been a second too late… if I hadn’t doubled back for something as stupid as sneaking a picture of her… she would’ve been gone. Just like that.
And I’d only just begun getting used to her presence. I ran a trembling hand through my hair.
“… Let me help you clean your hand,” I offered gently, noting the dark smear of blood still trickling from where the IV had been ripped out.
She looked down at it like she was just realizing it now. The crimson had spread across her palm, staining her wrist and fingertips.
I stood and headed for the bathroom, where I’d stored a small first aid kit for her, just in case. I pulled it out from the drawer and returned to the room, where she now sat on the bed, silent and still.
I lowered myself beside her feet.
“May I?” I asked, waiting for her permission.
She gave me a long, unreadable look, searching my face as though trying to decide whether or not she should allow me.
Then she nodded in approval.
I moved slowly, scooting closer inch by inch, not wanting to spook her, giving her time to adjust to the proximity. I stopped at her waist, close enough to help, and far enough to let her retreat if she changed her mind.
I held out my hands for hers. And then, gently, she raised her hand and placed it in mine.
The moment her skin touched mine, a jolt ran through me.
Her hand was so small and delicate in mine. I fought the urge to kiss her fingers, to press my lips against her wrist and whisper a thousand apologies, but I didn’t. She wasn’t ready for that. I carefully removed the bloodied IV tape. She winced slightly but didn’t pull away. I dabbed the area with cotton wool soaked in spirit.
NARINE’S POV
I watched as he wiped the blood from my hand with such care. His touch was warm, unlike the countless hands that had dragged, struck, restrained, or defiled me in the past. His were different. Not just in size, but in intention. They didn’t want to take. And that… unsettled me more than I could explain.
My fingers trembled slightly in his hold, but I didn’t pull away.
A shaky breath escaped me as I thought back to those awful few seconds suspended in the air. I had thought I wanted death. Believed it was the only mercy the universe might ever offer me. But the moment I lost my footing… the instant my body tipped over that ledge… I panicked.
I feared it.
Every inch of me screamed to live.
And when he caught me when those strong arms pulled me from the jaws of what could have been my final, pathetic end, I felt something I hadn’t felt in so long I barely recognized it.
Relief.
Pure, desperate, gut-wrenching relief.
I remembered how he’d yelled.
His voice had struck through me like a thunderclap. For a moment, my body reacted the only way it knew how, flinching, recoiling, and preparing for pain. But none came.
It was the first time I’d ever been yelled at because someone wanted me to live. It wasn’t scolding. It was fear. For me.
And when he scooped me into his arms… He cradled me as though I were a fragile treasure, cherished and valuable, rather than the broken and tarnished person I believed I was… I didn’t want to leave the warmth of his chest. I hated that I didn’t. I hated that it felt safe.
What truly caught me off guard, though, was the moment he knelt beside me. His voice thick with raw emotion as he poured out an apology that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. But more than that, it was his fervent plea for me to choose life that struck a chord within me, unraveling the walls I had built around my heart.
“I swear, I would burn the world to the ground for you… I would do anything you want without a second thought… You have no idea how much power you wield over me, Im Sireli.”
Those words hadn’t stopped echoing in my head since he spoke them.
