Luciano

"We have been patrolling the borders as commanded. So far, we haven't crossed by a witch but we are hoping to encounter a few of them tonight. A coven will be arriving at the nearby town, we will seize and question them, if needed, your Highness." Mr. Abraham went through the details as I stopped in the corner of the hallway.

It had been a while since I had spoken to Red and I needed to get my frustration out somewhere. She had pissed me. Her change in personality and behaviour was making me furious. She was uttering garbage when I contacted her earlier.

"Take of any witches surrounding around the town. I want all of them captured and burned to death." I said, shoving my hands inside my pockets and looking outside where the full moon hung on the sky. "I don't care anymore. The witches—we are calling it war now. Any witch that appears in my land should be questioned and then killed,"

"But—"

"Don't doubt me," I hushed him before he started protesting as these commands were usually concluded by the council. "And, do as I say."

Mr. Abraham nodded his head, "Yes, my King. I shall send out your commands by morning,"

"Good. You can leave," I shot him a smile before walking away into my room.

A groan escaped my mouth and I sighed when I found Charlotte standing inside the room, waiting for me. She was bought to the castle at once when Red was taken away. I hoped she'd know about something but Charlotte didn't. She was with her father for the past few months, away from the country and us.

And, I believed her after my men confirmed it.

She was with her father, away from this all.

"What are you doing here, Charlotte?" I asked, frustration in my voice. "This isn't a good time. You should go sleep," I rubbed the nape of my neck while looking at the time. The sun was rising and I couldn't get any sleep.

All because of Red.

Charlotte's eyes were soft as she glanced at me, studying my features, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You need to go,"

"Did something happen?"

I groaned as she stepped closer, "No, but you need to go. I'm not in a good mood right now and I don't want to remove my anger on you."

Her hands shot to my direction, "Don't worry too much, Luciano. It will take time but you'll be fine, everything will be okay." She whispered, comforting me with her voice.

I sensed something strange. My heart sank into my stomach and my brows furrowed as an unusual pain rose inside my body. My breath caught in my throat and I coughed while my whole body ached. Before I knew, I clutched onto my stomach and fell on the ground as the painful feeling grew with every second. A migraine spread through my head, tearing me apart into shreds.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked, dropping beside me.

"Get my mother," I told her and she stood back up before running out of the room.

The raw pain surged through my body, nibbling on my flesh like insects as I focused hard to contain my screams. With every second passing by, the ache grew and my wolf sensed it as well. I howled, hitting on the ground as my system tangled. It slipped away for a mere second and then returned back, worse than ever, like I was being stabbed repeatedly.

My mother came rushing inside the room with Charlotte by her side, both concerned.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked my mother.

She looked at my state and her features hardened. Her hand came down to my shoulder and she took away a little bit of the pain, "It's the withdrawal effect,"

"What?!" I screamed as she stroked my hair.

"Your mate bond—it's being destroyed," She replied. "It's going to take a few minutes but you'll be in pain. The witches are breaking the mate bond between you and Red."

I released another growl and laid flat on the ground, "Oh, Red." I whispered, closing my eyes. I never imagined she'd go in these lengths to separate herself from me.

There were a few things I had done wrong in my past. I had a hand in a few mass murders of witches and their covens as they were a danger to our kind. I had to be loyal. I had to kill them but that was all. We never intertwined with the witches again as they had grown more dangerous and deadly.

I regretted what I had done in my past and I vowed never to kill other witches—until now.

I wasn't going to let any of them live after what they had done with Red and me.

They were going to suffer for the rest of their lives and I wouldn't give a fuck about them.

I moved an inch and breathed when the pain became bearable. It slowly began disappearing and falling apart but another suffering grew in my heart, stinging me mentally.

"It's over," My mother said, holding onto me. "She broke the bond, Luciano."

"I know," I replied, getting up.

"Did you speak?"

"Yeah," I sighed, resting against the bed. "We did. It was short but she sounded fine. She learned about the massacre that was conducted by me a few years back. The witches filled up her mind with bullshit and they took her away from me. She's gone, mother."

"Oh," My mother took a deep breath, her eyes filling up with sorrow. "I'm so sorry,"

"It's okay. I know how to take care of this,"

Red was mine and no one in this world could take her away from me. She could separate herself as much as she wanted too but she was mine and in some way or the other, I was going to get her back.

Silence spread across the room and I closed my eyes, trying to think about something other than Red. My heart throbbed inside my chest and my wolf grazed my insides so I could release him. The mate bond was the only thing that kept me strong, gave me power and now, it was gone. I was weakened.

It was what the witches wanted.

"You should sleep. I will look into a few spells so you can regain your strength," My mother whispered to me.

I nodded my head and she got up and walked away from my bedroom.

As she left, Charlotte slammed the door shut and came to my side. I flashed her a sharp scowl as she began pouring water for me.

"Don't,"

"But, you're sick, Luciano."

"I'm not. I'm fine. I don't need to be pampered, not by you." I frowned at her and leaned back in my bed while Charlotte kept the glass on the table.

"You're weak. She broke the mate bond, you don't know what she is going to do next." I wasn't sure whether Charlotte was being smart or she was playing mind games with me. She had been acting different since the moment she arrived here.

"So? I don't care," I did care but showing it to someone—especially someone who wasn't from my pack could weaken my entire regency. The news couldn't break out to anyone in the castle or the town, it had to stay inside the room.

Charlotte's hand lengthened to mine, "You have to mate with someone else..." she trailed off.

I pushed my self off the bed and came closer to her, "I'm not going to mate with anyone, especially not you so get the fuck out of my room before I call for the guards."

She blinked and moved away, "It's not going to be long before your feelings for Red will disappear and she mates with someone else. Once all that is done, you will come for me. A King needs to have his strength," Before leaving, Charlotte shot me a grin, reminding me that she was still the strongest female wolf around.

Our time of ruling, when Charlotte was the temporary Luna of the pack, nothing went wrong until she fucked someone else out of heat. Cheating was something I could never forgive and if Red did that, then we were done, forever.

Until then, I was going to keep my hopes high knowing she'd appear any time soon now.  

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