Dorian slammed the door to his office hard enough that the walls seemed to shake. He did not care who heard it or what anyone thought about the sound.
His chest burned with anger and something else he could not name and did not want to figure out.
A slave. His mate was a slave.
He walked across the room and back again, then did it once more. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides and his jaw felt tight enough to crack.
The bond that connected them pulsed with her emotions and that made everything worse. He could feel her confusion, fear and her sadness and he did not want to feel any of it.
He did not want to feel connected to someone so far below him in every way that mattered.
How could the moon goddess make such a mistake? Dorian had expected someone strong and noble and worthy of standing beside him as luna.
He had expected someone from a good family, someone with power and respect. Instead he got someone who wore rags and had dirt under her fingernails and smelled like sweat and hard labor.
The thought of presenting her to his people made his stomach turn. What would they think?
What would they say about their king choosing a slave as his mate and future queen? They would laugh. They would question his judgment and his worth.
They would wonder if something was wrong with him that the moon goddess would pair him with someone like her.
He was still pacing when Magnus walked in without knocking. His friend did not even ask permission and Dorian wanted to yell at him too but Magnus beat him to it.
"You look like you want to punch something," Magnus said as he closed the door behind him softly. "Or maybe several things. Maybe the whole castle."
Dorian did not answer. He just kept walking back and forth across the room like a trapped animal looking for a way out.
"Let me guess," Magnus went on as he sat down in the big chair across from his desk like he owned the place.
"Your mate situation is not going the way you planned and you are having what we might call a small moment of drama?"
"This is not drama," Dorian said through his teeth. "This is a catastrophe."
"Right, catastrophe," Magnus said and Dorian hated that he sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
"Because finding your mate is always such an easy thing and there are never any surprises involved. Nope, everything always goes smooth and perfect and nobody ever freaks out about anything."
Dorian stopped and stared at his friend. "Are you mocking me right now?"
"Would I do that?" Magnus asked, grinning in that annoying way he had that made Dorian want to hit him sometimes. "But seriously, what happened? You found her and she was not what you expected?"
Dorian started pacing again. "She is a slave, Magnus! A slave in my own castle. She works in the kitchens and she has nothing. She comes from nothing. She is completely wrong for what I need in a luna."
Magnus leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Okay so she is not royalty. Big deal. Plenty of mates come from regular backgrounds and they turn out great. They are strong in their own ways and they learn what they need to learn."
"She is not just from a regular background," Dorian said and his voice came out louder than he meant.
"She is enslaved. She has no status and no education and no power. How can I present her to the council as my mate? How can I expect anyone to respect her as luna when she cannot even read?"
"Can she?" Magnus asked. "Read, I mean. Do you actually know that she cannot read or are you just assuming?"
Dorian opened his mouth and closed it again because he realized he did not know for sure.
But that did not matter because there were so many other things wrong with the situation that one skill did not change anything.
"It does not matter," He let out an agitated sigh. "She is still a slave and that is not going to change."
Magnus got up from the chair and walked over to stand in front of Dorian, trying to make him stop pacing.
"So what are you going to do? Reject her? Refuse the bond? We both know neither of those things will work out well for you."
Dorian had not thought about rejection but now that Magnus mentioned it the idea seemed impossible.
The bond was already too strong and it was pulling at him in ways he did not understand. Even now with all his anger and disgust, he could feel the connection humming under his skin.
"We can agree that a slave is not fit to be luna," Dorian said, looking at Magnus for confirmation. "No one would accept it. Not the council. Not the people and certainly not me."
"True enough," Magnus nodded slowly. "You need someone of proper standing. Someone who can handle the role and who has the background to do it."
"Exactly," Something in Dorian's chest loosened a little bit because finally Magnus understood how serious this was.
He honestly did not give a damn what the elder council thought. He loved his people, but at the end of the day, he was their king.
If they were against his mate, his decision surely still overruled theirs, but in this case, he didn't even want her.
A mere slave? How embarrassing.
"Take Carina," Magnus suggested. "She comes from a good family and she has always wanted you. She will make a proper luna. Problem solved."
Dorian's answer came out fast and sharp, his nose wrinkling. "No."
Magnus blinked. "No?"
"Absolutely not," Dorian said and the firmness in his voice surprised even himself. "I will not do that."
"But you just said—" Magnus started but Dorian cut him off.
"I do not care what I said," He told him. "I will not take Carina as my bride. That is not happening."
Magnus stared at him like he was trying to figure something out. "So you will not take your actual mate who is a slave and you will not take Carina who is suitable in every way. That leaves you with what exactly?"
Dorian did not have an answer for that and the silence between them felt heavy and full of things that could not be said out loud.
He turned away from Magnus and walked to the window instead of giving a response.
"I need you to leave," Dorian said after a long moment. "I need to think and I cannot do that with you standing here."
Magnus did not argue this time. He walked to the door and opened it and then he paused.
"Whatever you decide to do about this, you should probably do it soon. Things like this do not stay hidden for long and when people find out, you will have a lot of questions to answer."
After Magnus left, the door closed softly behind him and Dorian was alone. The silence of the office pressed in on him from all sides.
He walked over to his desk and sat down but he could not focus on the papers in front of him because his mind was running in circles that did not make sense.
He kept seeing her face in his head. The scared look in her eyes and the way she had stood there, not moving while he stared at her.
There was something about her that was not as weak as he thought it would be. There was something that seemed almost strong in a way that had nothing to do with power or status.
There was something that was almost beautiful.
The thought made him shoot up from his chair and shake his head hard like he could shake the idea right out of his brain.
He refused to have weird thoughts like that about a slave. He would not let himself go down that road because it was wrong and it was disgusting. It made him feel like he was betraying everything he was supposed to be.
He was better than that. He was a king and he had standards. He was not going to let some stupid bond put thoughts that made absolutely no sense in his head.