Page 50 of Mated To The King’s Gamma (Lycan Luna: Abbie & Gannon #3)

THE NEXT DAY

T he castle grounds are buzzing with movement. Guards shuffle back and forth, prepping patrols and inventory as supply trucks roll in through the gates. Once still and cold, the courtyard is alive with purpose as we prepare for their arrival. Because today isn’t just another day.

Today, Azalea is coming home.

I stand on the front steps of the Landeena Castle, hands tucked into my jacket sleeves as Gannon leans against the stone pillar beside me, watching the entrance road like a hawk.

“She’ll be here,” he says, glancing down at me.

“I know,” I whisper, smiling despite myself. It feels wrong being here without her. This place is where she always should have been. I feel like I have been walking on sacred grounds.

And then the dust rises on the horizon.

A long line of sleek black SUVs roll in, followed by armored transports.

The first vehicle pulls up and parks near the stairs. The rear door opens and Azalea steps out, regal in black jeans and a soft green jacket, her hair is braided down her back.

“About time,” Tandi mutters. “He better be in a good mood once back because if he thinks I am playing housewife and dusting our quarters by myself, he has another thing coming,” Tandi says as Azalea approaches. She thrusts her hands out for Hunter, and my brows furrow as she plucks him from her.

“Wait, he Is covered in pancake syrup,” Tandi goes to tell her, but Azalea just waves her off.

“Go help, Damian,” she tells Tandi. Tandi scoffs, and Azalea arches a brow at her.

“So am I meant to pretend I didn't hear you sobbing about how much you miss him on the way home?” Tandi’s eyes widen in horror, and her face flushes.

“You were on Bluetooth,” Azalea chuckles.

“That asshole, he let everyone listen to our call!” she snaps, stomping off toward the car as Kyson climbs out.

Then so does Damian.

And in his arms?—

A small girl, with brown curls, clinging to his chest.

Tandi freezes. Almost as if she is paralyzed by what she sees.

The moment hangs in the air like a heartbeat waiting to break, and I gasp, my hands going to my mouth as I look at Azalea for confirmation. She smiles sadly and pecks Hunter's little head.

But my attention is forced back to Tandi by her wailing scream.

A sound I’ll never forget—half joy, half heartbreak, as she rushes forward only to collapse like the world just gave way beneath her.

“Paige?” she breathes.

The girl blinks at her.

Tandi’s hands tremble as she reaches out.

“Mommy?” The little girl murmurs.

Damian gently lowers the child into her arms, and Paige curls into her mother’s chest like she’d always belonged there.

She had.

Tandi sobs, holding her like she’d never let go again.

None of us speak.

We don’t need to.

Some moments are too sacred for words. “How?” Tandi chokes, rocking back and forth, clutching the girl. Damian crouches beside them and cups Tandi’s cheek.

“I didn't want to get your hopes up in case I couldn't find her,” Damian tells her, and Tandi nods.

“Thank you,” she whimpers.

“I’ve told you, you're mine. And that means every part of you. They are pieces of you, therefore mine, too,” Damian whispers, and she nods as he clutches her and presses his lips to her forehead.

After the chaos has settled and Azalea has declared this place Valkyrie, I find Azalea standing at the edge of the eastern balcony outside the huge sitting room, arms resting on the railing, eyes fixed on the horizon where the sun is just beginning to dip behind the mountains.

I pad out, wrapping a shawl around my shoulders to check on her. It must be hard being here for her.

She didn’t look at me when I joined her,

“It’s beautiful here,” I say finally.

“Yeah,” she whispers. “And peaceful. Feels wrong, doesn’t it?”

I laugh under my breath. “A little. It must feel strange being here, knowing this is where you always belonged,” I tell her and she smiles.

“No, I have always been where I needed to be.” Her words sadden me a little, knowing how much she suffered from a life that was never destined for her.

She shivers, and I glance at her, opening my shawl.

She chuckles and steps closer, allowing me to drape it over her, too.

My eyes go to the scars that peek out from beneath her shirt sleeve, scars like mine.

“I’ve never belonged to a crown, throne, or a kingdom,” she whispers. “But I’ve always belonged to the pain that taught me how to carry them.”

We stand in silence, the kind that only comes with knowing someone too well to need words. Just watching the setting sun.

Then Azalea turns to me. “I need to ask you something.”

I blink at her, surprised by the seriousness in her tone.

“I want you to be my Beta. I just didn't want to throw you on the spot when it is announced in a month.”

I choke. “What?”

She glances at me, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Az—no. No way. That should be Tandi. She’s Damian’s mate. That makes way more sense and I—I can’t?—”

“You can ,” she says firmly, grabbing my hands. “Don’t you see, Abbie? We’re finally free. No more chains. No more rules. No more being told who we’re allowed to be. We are free to be whoever we want to be.”

“Az, I don't know how to be a Beta. I can’t even read.”

“If I can survive being Mrs. Daley’s slave and somehow end up a queen, you can damn well be my Beta.”

“But you were always a queen,” I tell her, throat tight. “We just didn’t know it yet. You were born to rule.”

Azalea shakes her head slowly. “No, Abs. I wasn’t born to rule. I was born to survive with you .”

She takes a breath, eyes shimmering, voice raw. “Even if I could rewind time—go back and change it all—I wouldn’t. I’d relive every scarred second , because it led us here.”

My chest aches. Her words— our truth —are almost too heavy to carry, but we always did, didn’t we?

Then she smiles through her tears and says, “We’re like cracked concrete, Abs. Our scars? They’re just places for the flowers to bleed through and grow.”

And gods, if that isn’t the most beautiful kind of broken. My throat tightens.

“More than my life,” she whispers.

That old vow—the one we whispered to each other at night, curled up in a cold orphanage bed, hoping morning never came.

“More than my life,” I echo, voice cracking.

“Nothing’s changed,” she says.

“Hasn’t it?” I ask. “You’re an empress now. You’re building a kingdom. And me.”

She stepped closer, touching my cheek. “No, Abbie. It has changed. It’s become bigger than us .

We don’t just live for each other anymore, we live for them .

For Tyson. For our mates. For the family we’ve built.

For the kingdom we’re about to raise from the ashes.

We live to right the wrongs of the past, ours.

” She turns her gaze back to the gardens where the remaining Landeena and Valkyrie guards are busying themselves getting this place set up. “And theirs,” she whispers.

And I know she's right, I rest my head on her shoulder, and she sighs.

Azalea and I linger on the eastern balcony until the doors below bang open so hard they rattle.

Both of us jump, leaning over the railing.

Dustin comes storming out, his face red and tight with emotion, his fists clenched at his sides, and he practically vibrates with restrained rage.

“Shit,” Azalea mutters. “What did Liam do now?”

She goes to check on him when the door opens again, and I grab her arm. “Of course,” I chuckle when Liam follows, shirt half-unbuttoned, hair windswept and wild like he’d just rolled out of bed—or a fight. He moves with purpose.

“Dustin!” he barks. “Stop fucking walking away from me!” Guards stop and glance in their direction before making themselves scarce, bailing at the sight of an angry Liam.

“I told you to drop it!” Dustin snaps, not turning around.

Liam’s boots hit the stone with heavy steps. “Why? Because it’s easier to push me away than admit you're terrified I might actually mean it this time?”

Dustin whirls on him. “Because you don’t ! You’ll get bored! You’ll want a woman, a family— a real one ! You’re not even fully?—!”

“I only want you!” Liam shouts, eyes wild, chest heaving. “I don’t know how much fucking clearer I can be about that!”

The rawness in his voice makes my stomach twist.

Azalea covers her mouth, eyes wide. “Well, maybe if you would stay the fuck away from the whore house I might believe you,” Liam snarls.

“I told you already, I never went there! Ask Gannon for frig sake!”

“What, so Gannon can lie to me, too!”

“You're being ridiculous, I told you that isn't where I went, Dustin.”

“Then where did you go last night! One minute you want to be with me and the next you're running off to be with someone else.” Dustin’s expression crumbles, but he still turns away, storming toward the gate.

“I'm going on patrol!” Liam throws his arms up, muttering too low for us to hear what he says.

Then, he freezes momentarily, making Azalea and I glance at each other.

Liam moves.

Fast.

He jerks Dustin back by the arm, spins him, and clamps his mouth around Dustin’s neck.

A harsh gasp tears from Dustin’s throat.

Then Liam’s teeth sink in.

Hard.

I choke on a gasp, watching in stunned silence as Liam forcefully marks him. Dustin’s knees buckle as Liam pulls back, breathing hard, eyes glowing.

“Now your soul is bound to mine,” Liam says, voice low and rough. “If that doesn’t show you how serious I am, then nothing will.”

Dustin whimpers, tears sliding down his face. He reaches up, touching the mark with shaking fingers as Liam finally releases him.

Liam steps back. “I never went to a whore house. I went to get this!”

Liam drops to one knee, pulls a ring from his pocket, and holds it up.

“Now that’s cleared up,” he growls, and Dustin staggers back. “You’re gonna fucking marry me.”

Dustin stares at him. “You marked me!” Dustin snaps.

“Because you're mine!”

Dustin growls and Liam smiles. “So you better make me yours, too, Dustin.” Dustin stares at him for a second, then tackles him.

They hit the grass in a mess of limbs, mouths crashing together, the kiss desperate and sloppy and full of every repressed emotion brewing between them.

“Okay, that’s our cue,” Azalea whispers, grabbing my hand.

“Definitely,” I agree, eyes wide as Liam’s shirt flies off to the side.

We turn and bolt back inside, laughing breathlessly while closing the balcony doors behind us.

“What’s so funny?” Kyson asks, walking in with Gannon. Azalea chuckles and falls onto a chaise when Kyson moves to look out at the balcony. He jumps back and Gannon wanders over and chuckles unfazed by what he sees.

“We have bedrooms for a reason!” Kyson growls as Trey wanders into the room, stopping when Kyson looks at him.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, just the man I need,” Kyson tells him. Trey looks at Azalea curiously when Kyson speaks. “Go downstairs and tell Liam and Dustin to stop fornicating in the damn garden!”

“What?” Trey asks, stomping to the balcony. I giggle when Trey lurches back.