33- The Heart of Eldoria
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I shifted, restless.
I paced back and forth inside the house, feeling a heat consume me. Rising and intense, like the taste of countless emotions.
I couldn’t understand what it meant, but I had an intuition about it: Edric.
I hugged myself and stared at the forest through the living room window, watching the swaying leaves in the wind. I took a deep breath, trying to feel less, begging for it all to end.
It was… suffocating.
I had no idea what he was doing, but he seemed troubled, upset about something. At the same time, he felt feverish.
God, being a mated wolf was such a drag. I hated feeling what he felt, sharing my emotions with him, and having to endure his as well. There was no privacy at all.
There was nothing left for me to do in his house. I had already invaded his room. He didn’t hide any crazy secrets. It was a normal room, large and cozy. But there was a closet, filled with shirts, jeans, and linen blouses.
The most compromising thing I found was a small white box, carved with flowers, kept on the top shelf, and inside it, a bit of ashes.
It made no sense to me. I spent a couple of seconds trying to find some plausible explanation for it, before giving up and concluding that he was somewhat insane.
The rest of the house was empty.
Edric lived alone—I would even say isolated—if not for his loyal friends.
I chewed on my thumb as I paced around the living room. I glanced at the door and shut my eyes tightly, weighing how much trouble I’d get into for sneaking out alone at night.
But… in a way, Edric wasn’t in the village. He wouldn’t know about my little adventure, so maybe it wouldn’t be such a problem after all.
Smiling like a fool, I rushed toward the door without a second thought. I slipped outside, careful not to lock it behind me and end up stuck out there.
The full moon was beautiful, shining high above, illuminating the path with its silver light.
As I neared the heart of the village, I heard music. I frowned, suspicious, and kept walking, following the sound.
A few people strolled around, as if wanting to enjoy the cool, lovely night.
I loved the full moon—it was my favorite phase. I liked how it made the nights more beautiful, spilling power and intensity over everything.
I kicked a pebble along the ground and crossed my arms over my chest when a cold gust of wind hit me.
The houses glowed with electric light, as did the lanterns lining the narrow village streets. Eldoria was a well-designed place, beautiful and pleasant to live in.
When I reached what must have been the heart of the town, the music grew louder. I drew closer, ignoring the people who slipped away from me.
There were bars. Like the human bars Elowen and I had visited in recent months.
They were rustic, with wooden tables and chairs, candle-lit lanterns decorating the centers, and heavy beer mugs. A group played guitar and sang lively songs I didn’t know, while people danced in circles, laughing and drinking.
It was so different from anything I had ever seen.
They seemed so carefree. While some drank beer from heavy mugs, others took whiskey or toasted with small shots of a golden liquid I couldn’t recognize.
My mouth fell open in awe.
The rhythm of the dance was lively. They kicked one foot to the side, clapped, then kicked the other foot, raised a hand to press their palm against their partner’s, then spun in circles and started all over again. I didn’t know the dance, nor the music.
Without realizing, I moved closer, as if my body had a will of its own and was pulling me toward them.
They danced so well, as if the music were second nature. Only then did I realize it must have been something traditional to the pack.
The tone of the melody was intense and fun. I blinked, paying attention to the lyrics:
In the valley of Eldoria, the crescent moon sings high;
Silver wolves, guardians;
In unison, the pack raises its voice in our fierce cry;
We are guardians of home, our claws and fangs vow to protect and love.
We are united by blood, yet free as the wind;
In the veins of Romania flows the blood of Eldoria;
We are warriors destined, as our ancestors before us.
A smile spread across my face. It was beautiful and poetic. It spoke of a warrior people, loyal to their home and pack.
I was so absorbed by the music, by the energy flowing from their voices, that I didn’t notice how close I had gotten.
I bumped into someone, snapping out of my trance.
"Oh, I’m sorry," I murmured, feeling my face burn with shame.
The female I had bumped into—an omega, judging by her scent—looked at me with brown eyes. She was older. Short and plump, her dark hair tied up in a blue scarf. I expected her to be harsh, but she surprised me with a kind smile.
"It was nothing, my dear." She wiped the sweat from her dark-brown forehead with the back of her hand. "Would you like something to drink?"
I bit the inside of my cheek, desperately wanting to say yes, but not daring to.
"I don’t know if I can…"
She snorted, waving dismissively.
"Don’t be silly. This bar is mine, and you’re very welcome here. If anyone dares to treat you with disrespect, they’ll have to deal with me." She linked her arm through mine and led me to one of the few empty tables.
"What’s your name?" I asked, curious.
She was one of the few people who spoke to me with any decency, so I wanted to know at least her name.
"My name is Anca," she said, pushing me onto the wooden bench. "And you must be the famous Lunara."
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling uncomfortable.
"Is it that obvious?" I asked, sighing heavily.
She smiled, tilting her head to the side.
"Here, everyone knows each other. It’s not every day a face this beautiful shows up."
"And what about the other packs?" I asked, looking around.
There were five alphas in the territory; it was obvious there should be a large number of wolves around.
"Wolves aren’t allowed to wander from one territory to another," she revealed, surprising me. "And I know who you are because I hear my pups talk about you all day long."
If my mate had even a little decency to speak to me and tell me more about his pack and territory, I would already know this sort of thing.
Heat rose to my face. I cleared my throat.