The Truth About His Luna (Part II)

The Truth About His Luna (Part II)
Ignoring her pleas, Kano turned the knob of one of the castle’s guest bedrooms, and stormed inside with her still draped over his shoulder. Putting her down, he folded his arms to his chest. “Essence,” he growled. “Your temper.”

She fixed her clothes and glowered at him. “Angry stare at me all you want. Scold me all you want. I don’t care! I’m mad as hell!” She breathed raggedly. “And you know what else?! Don’t come for me about my temper. Yours is no different. I would never spazz on somebody who didn’t deserve it, but her—nah, she, and her little friends can get this work every day as far as I’m concerned. So, if you’re about to fuss at me, you can just—” Taking her arms, she threw them into an X shape over her pushed-out pelvis.

Kano’s eyes widened, and he stammered in shock. “Wha—What?! H-how dare you?!”

She sneered at him. “Oh look at that, the man who took five years to speak a decent paragraph is suddenly back to his old ways!”

Red in the face, he seethed. “Not all of us resort to rambling in run-on sentences. I’m surprised you don’t turn purple the way you go on and on.”

“I do not ramble in run-on sentences who the hell do you think you are I will—”

“There it is!” Kano shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “Your breath can hardly catch up with your words! ‘I do not ramble in run-on sentences’ exclamation point. ‘Who the hell do you think you are’ question mark.” He rolled his eyes. “And maybe another exclamation point, since you’re always so damn dramatic!”

“Oh, I’m dramatic?! Really? You burst into my apartment like an episode of Cheaters, and I’m dramatic?!”

“What?! What did you just say to me?!”

“Read through the ramblings, recluse!” Heavily breathing, they glared at one another, their eyes glowing in things unspoken.

Kano slammed his hand into the wall. “Fucking hell! Why can’t I hate you?! I’m so angry with you—and hurt, and sad, Belle! I’m fucking sad!” He saw her face soften, and he looked away in irritation and pain. “I’m not mad about what just happened. You’ve always passionately stood up for others. I’m happy that hasn’t changed. It’s part of the reason I love you so much.” Essence hesitantly touched his arm, and he exhaled sharply. “I’m all messed up inside about you being here. I know what I said, but I just can’t get myself to mean it.” His voice lowered, reminding her of the Kano she knew years ago. “How foolish is the man who would sell his soul just to see stars in the eyes of his mate when she looks at him? How foolish is the alpha who can’t stop loving his luna, even though he knows she doesn’t feel the same?”

Essence’s bottom lip trembled. “He’s as foolish as his luna who wishes more than anything he would take a second look. If he did, then he would see”—her voice cracked—“more stars in her eyes than the ones that filled the night sky five years ago.” A small tear fell from her eye as she hesitantly leaned against him. Inhaling, she nuzzled him, placing her scent onto his jacket.

Kano shut his eyes tightly before leaning down and rubbing his head on the top of hers. He heard her cry, and he lifted her head and clasped her face between his hands. He ran his thumb against her cheek, and she kept her eyes locked on his, determined to make him see what she couldn’t say. His lips parted and his own eyes glistened over as he stared in awe and confusion at the amount of love that stared back at him. Nodding, Essence pulled him to her, colliding their lips. Kano stilled at first, before pulling her closer to him. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, he deepened their kiss.

A piercing ringing hit her ear as the stress of the day tore into her body. Pulling away, Essence’s head rocked to the side, and Kano caught her in mid-stumble. He tried to help her stand, but she shook her head. “Call Ericka,” she murmured.

Kano belted loudly from the room, and Ericka hastily entered. Upon seeing Essence, she instructed him,

“Help her to the bed, Alpha. She’s having difficulty moving her right leg. It’s one of her symptoms.”

He did as instructed and placed Essence on the bed. His panic set in. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked.

Ericka turned her attention to Essence. “How long has your flare-up been this time?”

“Almost a month,” she said, avoiding the fear in Kano’s eyes. “Gregory has my bag.”

Ericka linked to him, and he quickly arrived. She looked at Kano. “Wait outside, okay?”

“I’m not leaving her.”

“Please,” Essence egged weakly. Closing his eyes, he nodded and left the room. She sobbed lightly and turned over to let Ericka inject her steroids.

Ericka rubbed her back. “Luna, talk to him later. Right now, you really need to rest, okay?” As Gregory and she left the room, Ericka approached Kano. “I know you’re concerned, but all of this has been a lot for her to handle in one sitting in the middle of a flare-up. She needs rest, and right now, Kanon needs you more.”

Kano looked over to see Kanon’s little lip quiver as she rubbed her eyes. Rushing to her, he picked her up. “Hey, no, no,” he coaxed.

“Mommy’s sick again, isn’t she? T-they only run like that when she’s not feeling well,” she said, crying against him, and he felt his heart break all over again. Turning to Anastasia, he said nothing, and she nodded, before walking into the bedroom.



Several Hours Later

Essence opened her eyes and stilled at the sight of Anastasia lying next to her. “Ani?” she murmured sleepily.

“Kano’s with Kanon. She was really upset, so he’s been trying to keep her distracted.” Her lip trembled as she hugged her. “What’s going on? Nobody will tell us. Please, E… w-we used to be best friends.”

Essence wiped her eyes. “We still are.”

“Then talk to me. Since the day you left, I knew something was off. Then you just stopped answering, you cut links, and disappeared. I know in my heart, you would never purposely hurt anyone, so please, just-whatever it is… please.”

“I have MS,” Essence said, her voice low. Anastasia stared at her, and she looked away in discomfort. She shook her head. “I don’t need pity, okay? You ignored me, too. I tried to tell you everything, and you never responded, and then when I got the letters back—”

Anastasia sat up. “What letters?” she asked.

“The ones I sent to everyone right after I had Kanon. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me and I’d lost our links when I denounced, and Gregory and I left our phones behind. You guys are like Fort Knox over here. The only way we could think to reach you was by letter.”

She gave her a serious look. “E, do you still have them?”

“Yeah.” Pointing to her bag, she watched Anastasia tear through it.

“That fucking snake!” Anastasia screamed as she stared at the royal return to sender labels. “E, nobody got these. Emon asked to take over all the postage when Kano left to find you. We were all kind of wrapped up with everything, so we never gave it a second thought.” She seethed. “Now I fucking know why.”

Essence’s eyes widened. “What?”

Ripping the letter open addressed to her, Anastasia read it and covered her mouth. “Oh my God.” Tears streamed down her face. “Essence…”

She looked away. “Emon was going to use me as bait to get Kano to kill him. His plan was to use that to show red wolves were the monsters that they were always known to be, and that you all betrayed Blood Moon by choosing Kano’s side. I left to keep you all and Kanon safe. I didn’t know I was so sick until I got there, but it’s not like I could just go to a human hospital, and with us not being affiliated with anyone, there wasn’t much help we could get.

“Gregory became a certified midwife and helped me give birth, but my body was already being affected by everything. Without medicine and proper treatment, I kept having terrible flare-ups to the point I was so exhausted, I couldn’t work or take care of Kanon at times. That was when I wrote those. I knew even if he hated me, Kano would come to get her in a heartbeat, but then I got this response.” She took a letter from her jacket and handed it to Anastasia.

Reading it, Anastasia’s mouth dropped. “Kano didn’t write this,” she said, giving it back.

“I know that now,” Essence replied, looking down at the bed. “I was so angry when I got it though. I packed up Kanon, and the three of us were on our way to kick his ass, but I got sicker, and kept having flare-up after flare-up. I felt guilty, depressed, stressed, and every symptom of my flare up just exacerbated the next time I had one. Gregory was helping as best he could, but he had to work a lot to keep us comfortable, so that put more strain on my body from trying to constantly push through. He met Ericka at one of his jobs three years out, and they got to talking and he mentioned me, and she asked to meet me right away.”

Anastasia sat back down on the bed. “She’s unique. They both are,” she whispered.

Essence smiled. “They haven’t replaced you, Ani, no one could.” Anastasia patted her leg, unable to hide her relief. “She and Brenda run an underground line for rogues. Anything you can think of—food, shelter, medical treatment—they make sure the good ones have it. Ericka also has MS, so she had a feeling about what was going on with me. A few appointments later, she worked her magic with the pipeline, and I had doctors and proper medication, but I still get flare-ups, especially when I’m extremely stressed.”

Anastasia bit her bottom lip, and she rushed to hug Essence again. “I’m sorry about your pain, and that I wasn’t there,” she said.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you either, Ani, but I swear I would have never left if I didn’t think it was the right thing to do at the time. Had I not been too sick to come back, I would have returned sooner, but I needed to get my health better, and give Kanon as much normal as I could. Even though it’s been two years of my treatment, symptoms are permanent, so when I have a flare-up the same ones return—like my right leg losing temporary function sometimes.” She smiled softly. “I’m a lot better though, Ani, and I fully plan to be around for a long time, promise.”

Anastasia nodded. “Thank you for trusting me to share.” She paused for a moment. “You have to tell Kano though, E, he deserves to know everything,”

“I will. I just—I’m afraid, especially now.” She looked at the bed. “He already looks at me so differently now. I know he doesn’t believe it, but I love him so much my heart never recovered from having to leave him. I needed to, though because when it came down to it, protecting him and Kanon was more important than how much it killed me to walk away.” She sighed. “Ani, I’m really scared. You remember how my story about my dad caused his wolf to go bananas? If he finds out that Emon not only endangered me, but Kanon, he’s going to—”

Essence stilled as Kano’s scent hit her nose. Her eyes shot to the doorway, and she realized it had been open the entire time. Eyes gold in fury, Kano walked into the room. Standing wearily, she murmured, “Adam...” He pulled her to him and placed his forehead on hers, and she could feel the heat permeate from his skin. Taking the letter from her hand, he read it, and she saw his wolf on his face.

Do not contact me or anyone in the royal family anymore. Your lies of treachery in Blood Moon are without warrant and lack grounds for further investigation, provided your initial reason for leaving. You are no longer welcome in Blood Moon. As for your illness and the potential of an heir, you can resign both to whoever you opt to spend your future years with, as neither are no longer my concern. I truly wish nothing but your pain and suffering.

Kano let out a belting roar and quickly shifted. Tearing through the halls of the castle, he looked at the red ring that circled the moon as he made his way to Emon.