Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 198 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 198

Chapter 198 The Bloodline Claims

Lady Flourish’s POV

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My body went rigid when I recognized the man standing in the hallway, because I had seen his face in my mother’s old photographs even though I had never understood who he was.

My wolf recognized his scent before my mind accepted the truth, and the moment she did, she pushed violently against my skin.

“Uncle,” I said quietly.

The man’s smile widened. “So you remember me.”

“I’ve never met you.”

“You were too young.”

Damian stepped in front of me. “Stay where you are.”

The man’s golden eyes moved toward him. “You must be Damian.”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Damian’s claws extended. “Then you should know better than to come here.”

The man’s expression stayed calm. “My name is Lucien Voss.”

My wolf reacted violently to the name, and I gripped Damian’s arm. “Why are you here?”

Lucien looked directly at me. “Because your mother left something that belongs to our family.”

“I don’t have anything that belongs to you.”

He laughed softly. “You have everything,” he said, his gaze dropping toward my hands. “The blood.”

My wolf snarled, and Damian shifted halfway beside me. “Leave.”

Lucien’s eyes flashed. “You still think this is a negotiation.”

He moved before I could even track him, and Damian intercepted him mid stride. Their bodies collided with enough force to crack the wall behind them, and both men shifted fully in an instant.

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Chapter 198 The Bloodline Claims

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Lucien’s wolf was enormous, black furred and broad shouldered, his eyes burning gold as he drove Damian backward. Damian caught his neck and slammed him against the floor, but Lucien twisted free and struck him hard across the chest.

“Damian!”

My wolf pushed forward, and I shifted right there in the hallway. The change tore through my body, but it no longer felt unfamiliar the way it once had. My wolf emerged stronger than she had ever been before the archive.

I charged, and Lucien turned to meet me. Our claws collided. He was fast, but I was faster, and I caught his shoulder and dragged my claws across it. Blood hit the floor.

Lucien stared down at the wound, then smiled. “Good.”

I growled. “You hurt my father.”

“Your father?” He looked toward Garret. “That man is not your father.”

I froze, and Damian used the opening to attack him again. Lucien blocked the strike easily. “She deserves the truth.”

“Then tell her after you leave.”

Lucien only laughed. “You still don’t understand.” He threw Damian across the hallway.

My wolf reacted instantly, and I rushed to him. He caught himself against the wall. “I’m fine.”

Lucien stepped toward us. “You see?” He pointed at Damian. “The moment you bond with an Alpha, your power becomes unstable.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Your mother made the same mistake.”

My claws extended. “Don’t talk about her.”

“She bonded herself to a man who could never understand what she carried.”

I lunged at him. Lucien caught my wrist, his eyes flashing. “You have no idea what you are.”

My wolf roared, and the bond between me and Damian surged without warning. Strength moved through my body all at once, and Lucien’s grip broke under it. I threw him backward, and he crashed straight through the hallway doors.

Damian stared at me. “Flourish.”

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Chapter 198 The Bloodline Claims

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I looked down at my own hands. “I felt you.”

He approached slowly. “So did I.”

Our wolves were connected, not only through emotion but through something physical now, his strength moving directly into mine.

Lucien rose from the floor. “Exactly.”

I looked at him. “What?”

“That’s why they want him.”

Damian’s expression hardened. “Who?”

Lucien smiled thinly. “The people who have been hunting you.”

My heart tightened. “Magnus?”

“Magnus is only one part of it.”

“Then who?”

Lucien looked toward Garret. “Ask him.”

I turned. Garret was awake, his eyes open.

“Flourish.”

I rushed toward him. “Who is behind this?”

Garret looked at Lucien, fear crossing his face. “Don’t listen to him.”

Lucien laughed. “Still lying to her.”

I looked between the two of them. “Someone tell me the truth.”

Garret struggled to sit up. “Your mother discovered that the Voss bloodline had been divided.” He coughed hard. “Two branches.”

He looked at Lucien. “His branch wanted control.”

“Because the other branch had become weak,” Lucien said.

Garret pressed on. “Elara refused to surrender you.”

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Chapter 198 The Bloodline Claims

My chest tightened. “To whom?”

Garret met my eyes. “To the High Council.”

The words made my wolf stiffen inside me. “What council?”

“The council that controls the strongest Alpha bloodlines.”

Damian stepped forward. “Why would they want Flourish?”

Garret looked at him. “Because she can break an Alpha’s command.”

Silence filled the hallway.

Lucien smiled. “Not just break it.” He looked at me. “She can replace it.”

My stomach dropped. “No.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want that.”

“You don’t get to choose what your blood can do.”

My wolf growled low. “I choose what I do with it.”

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Lucien’s smile disappeared. “That is exactly what your mother said.” He pulled a silver blade from his belt without warning.

Damian moved in front of me at once, but Lucien didn’t attack him. He threw the blade toward Garret instead.

I reacted before I could think. “Stop!”

The command exploded through the hallway, and the blade froze in midair. Every wolf in the house dropped to the floor at once, even Damian going still beside me.

My heart pounded as I lowered my hand, and the blade fell harmlessly to the ground.

Lucien stared at me, and for the first time, he looked afraid. “You’ve awakened.”

I swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”

His expression changed completely. “It means the council knows.”

A howl sounded outside, then another, then dozens more layered over each other.

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Chapter 198 The Bloodline Claims

Damian’s eyes flashed gold. “How many wolves are surrounding this house?”

Rhys’s voice came through his phone. “At least fifty.”

My blood ran cold. “Who are they?”

Rhys hesitated. “That’s the problem.”

Damian frowned. “What problem?”

“They aren’t attacking.”

Finished

I looked toward the windows, and the wolves outside were kneeling, every single one of them, their heads lowered toward the house.

My wolf lifted her head at the sight.

Lucien stared at me. “They’re waiting for their Alpha.”

I shook my head. “I’m not their Alpha.”

Lucien’s expression turned grim. “No.” He looked out at the kneeling wolves. “You’re something much worse.”

Then every wolf outside raised its head at the same moment, and all of them bowed to me.

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