Chapter 13 Tears Of The Luna
LIRA POV
"You heard me. Reject me. Cast me out. Find yourself a more convenient Luna who won't challenge your authority," I said, though my voice lacked conviction.
"You don't know what you're asking for." His voice was rough, almost broken.
"I'm asking for freedom," I said.
"You're asking for death." His other hand came up, cupping my face with surprising gentleness. "A rejected mate rarely survives the severing. The bond goes too deep."
"Maybe that would be better than this," I said.
The words struck him as his mask slipped, just for a heartbeat, and I saw something raw and vulnerable in his storm-gray eyes.
"You would rather die than be mated to me?" His voice carried a quiet pain that made my chest ache.
Despite everything—the betrayal, the humiliation—my heart responded to his hurt.
"I would rather die than be your prisoner," I said, softer now, though no less firm.
"Is that what you think this is?" he demanded. "A prison?"
"Isn't it?" Tears slipped down my cheeks. "You won't let me leave. You won't let me make my own decisions. You demonstrate your power by degrading me in front of others. What would you call it?"
Kael's face shifted through emotions too quickly to follow—anger, hurt, uncertainty—before his jaw hardened again.
"I would call it protection," he said flatly. "I would call it keeping you alive in a world that wants you dead or enslaved."
"By enslaving me yourself?" I asked, my hands shaking slightly.
"By keeping you safe," Kael said, almost shouting.
"Same thing," I said.
"No, it's not." His hand tightened slightly against my cheek. "And if you can't see the difference, then you're more naive than I thought."
"Then explain it to me." My voice cracked with raw emotion. "Make me understand why being your mate feels like another kind of cage."
For a moment, I thought he might. Thought he might drop his walls and tell me what truly drove him.
But instead, he stepped back abruptly, releasing me.
"You want to go to Silvermoon territory? Fine." His voice was cold and resolved. "But you go as my mate, under my protection, with my conditions."
My tears still glistened on my cheeks as I asked, "What conditions?"
"You don't go alone," he said firmly. "You take a full guard detail. You follow my security protocols. And the moment things go sideways, you retreat."
I blinked, stunned by the unexpected concession. "You'll let me go?"
"I'll escort you personally." His gray eyes pinned me. "And I'll make sure you survive your first encounter with political reality."
It wasn't the partnership I'd dreamed of, but it was more than I'd expected. "Why?" I asked.
"Because maybe it's time you learned what the world is really like outside of Darkfang protection." Kael's smile held no warmth, his gaze hard. "Maybe facing Elias Thornfield will teach you to appreciate what you have here."
"And if it doesn't?" I asked, my voice tight, though I forced myself not to look away.
"Then at least you'll die with your illusions intact." His words cut through me, deliberate and merciless.
The sting of them burned, but I lifted my chin defiantly, silver light flickering faintly at the edge of my aura. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow at dawn." He paused, his voice dropping lower, catching me as I turned to go. "And Lira?"
I froze, shoulders stiff, and glanced back. "What?"
"Don't mistake this for weakness." His eyes bored into mine, unreadable. "I'm allowing this because it serves my purposes. Nothing more."
My lips curved in a humorless smile. "Of course," I said, my voice brittle. "Your purposes always come first."
But as I walked away, I caught something in his scent something that didn't match his cold words.
The throne room had been Magnus's seat of power for three decades. Dark stone walls rose to a vaulted ceiling, torches casting shadows across carved wolves that seemed to watch from every corner. The alpha's chair itself was carved from black oak and inlaid with silver, a reminder of the pack's dominance over their traditional weakness.
Kael sat in that chair now, but it didn't look like it fit him yet. He was too tense, too ready to spring into action. Alpha by conquest rather than birthright, and it showed in every line of his body.
I stood before him, flanked by pack elders and warriors who had sworn new loyalty. The formal distance between us felt like miles instead of feet.
"The preparations are complete," Eldric reported. "Twenty warriors, supplies for a week, silver weapons in case we encounter the supernatural threats hunting the Luna."
"Good." Kael's voice echoed in the vast space. "What about intelligence on current conditions in Silvermoon territory?"
"Conflicting reports," Mira spoke up. "Some scouts claim it's completely overrun with rogues. Others say there are signs of organized pack activity."
"Organized under Elias Thornfield's leadership," I said quietly.
All eyes turned to me. I'd been silent through most of the planning session, but now I stepped forward, shoulders squared, silver light already pulsing faintly at my fingertips.
"I've been thinking about what Garrick told us," I said, my voice sharp enough to cut through the chamber's murmur. "About the conspiracy, the coordinated attacks, the survivors who escaped."
Kael leaned back slightly in his throne, expression unreadable. "What about them?" His tone was carefully neutral, the kind of calm that carried warning underneath.
"If Elias has been ruling Silvermoon territory for five years, he's had time to build something." My voice tightened as my glow brightened. "Recruit followers, establish control, create his own power base. We're not just walking into abandoned wasteland. We're walking into enemy territory."
"All the more reason to reconsider this mission," Elder John muttered, arms folded, from his shadowed position against the wall.