#Chapter 16: Terms of Ruin

(Violet’s POV) “How dare I use you as a tool?” The words tore out of me, sharp and furious. “You’re the one who hid for three years, Lucian! You—you let me treat you like a body for rent, like a name on a burner phone, while all this time, you were—” I broke off, the edges of my voice fraying. A king. He was the Lycan King. Ruler of the most powerful territories in the supernatural world. And yet, for three years, he’d let me call him Luc. Let me buy him. Use him. Touch him. And he never once told me who he was. “You let me think you were no one,” I said, quieter now, but no less bitter. “And now you want to act like I used you?” Lucian didn’t flinch. He stood near the window, his silhouette carved in moonlight—unbothered, unreadable. That damned wolfish elegance cloaked in royal darkness. “I didn’t lie,” he said calmly. “You never asked who I was.” “I didn’t have to ask. You were supposed to be honest with me.” His head tilted, gold eyes catching the light. “Wa