Chapter 74 Chapter 74
I woke with a smile I couldn’t stop, no matter how I tried to stop it, I just couldn’t. Last night was the best night ever. Even Lucian couldn’t believe my confidence in taking the lead. The memory would never leave me, especially when I’m in the bath tub. I would remember every single thing I did.
I looked at Lucian who laid beside me and smiled. He sprawled carelessly on the bed. He looked like a totally different person. His facial features were soft and he looked peaceful. It was hard to think he was the same man from before. He was an Alpha in the day time and a normal man at night.
One of his arm lay heavy around my waist, possessive even in sleep, his warmth covered me and our breaths mingled. For a moment, I let myself believe this was how mornings were meant to be, quiet, peaceful and safe. I wished it was like this every morning. My wolf purred and stretched within me.
‘This is real’ she sounded so happy. ‘We should take a run with Lucian soon. I mean I’d take your place’
I inhaled slowly, steadying myself. It was too soon to be talking about running together in our wolf form. Happiness felt fragile and dangerous. I had learned that the hard way.
Lucian shifted, his grip tightened briefly as if sensing I wanted to move away. His lips brushed my temple in a half-sleep gesture, it was instinctive and intimate. Something in my chest fluttered.
Then I stilled when he opened his eyes. I felt the shift, the moment he woke. His breathing evened out, his body growing rigid beneath my palm. He didn’t pull away but the ease was gone.
“Morning” he murmured, his voice was rough.
“Morning” I replied softly.
For a moment, he studied me, his eyes dark and unreadable. I wondered what he saw when he looked at me, his Luna and mate. His jaw tightened.
“I have to leave early” he said. He sounded like he didn’t want to go.
My chest twisted painfully. I had hoped we were going to spend sometime together in bed and probably take a shower together.
“Oh, pack business?” I asked, forcing a smile to hide the pain I was feeling. He nodded.
“Something I can’t delay”
The bond thrummed faintly and unease settled in it. My wolf stirred.
‘Something is wrong. Lucian is hiding something’ I felt it too.
“Is everything alright?”
“Nothing. Everything’s fine. It’s just something I have to check out”
“Okay. That’s fine” I said lightly, more to myself than to him.
“You’re an Alpha so I understand”
Lucian leaned down and kissed my forehead, it was gentle, lingering and apologetic.
“I’ll see you later” I nodded. And then he was gone.
The door closed softly behind me but the sound echoed far too loudly in the empty room. I sat there for a long moment, staring at the place where he’d been.
“This is normal” I told myself again. My wolf scoffed.
I slid out of bed,wrapping one of his shirts around myself, the scent of him clinging to the fabric. It helped a little. The room still felt too quiet that I could hear my own breathing.
I paced the room, I could feel the tension through the bond. Lucian didn’t want to tell what was wrong but I was dying to find out. Or should I follow him and eavesdrop? I had a feeling it was relating to me and that’s why he didn’t want to tell me anything.
There was a soft knock on the door which made me turn in that direction. I watched Lina enter with a tray of food and an excited grin.
“The Alpha asked me to get you food” she announced and I blushed at the gesture. He still thought about me while doing his duty.
“Thank you”
“You’re glowing. I mean your skin is shining” I laughed despite myself.
“You’re imagining things again”
“I am not. The entire pack can feel it too. You know as a new pack member, everyone can tell when something changes” that made me sit up.
I ate the food Lina brought and she chatted about other things. When I was done, we both left the room. As I walked out, I noticed that guards lingered outside my door, servants bowed when they passed me. The changes were subtle, small enough that I wondered if I was imagining them.
When I walked through the courtyard with Lina, conversations softened and then stopped altogether. Laughter cut short. Heads bowed, not deeply and not exaggerated but it was enough to make my stomach tighten.
Respect, I told myself but it wasn’t supposed to feel this lonely.
A group of warriors paused their sparring as I passed One of them Ronan, I thought lowered his head so deeply.
“Luna” he said, his voice was firm. I forced a smile, my pulse racing.
“Ronan, you don’t have to…”
“That’s what I have to address you as now. I hope you had a splendid night” there was a hidden tone to his words but I didn’t think too much about it.
I looked at Lina and she stared dreamily at Ronan. She was crushing on him. Now, I had something to tease her with. Ronan stepped back.
“I have to go back now. It was nice seeing you again” with that he joined the other warriors.
Lina and I walked further down the eastern path, I caught fragments of conversation by warriors or servants. I didn’t know who exactly.
“They don’t seriously think the elders would accept our Luna” there was a pause and then another voice which was sharper.
“They won’t” my steps slowed.
The words struck something deep in my chest. I stopped breathing for a moment, my hand instinctively touched my ribs. Lina froze beside me.
“You shouldn’t listen to that or let it get to you. They’ll get used to you as the Luna”
But it was already too late. My wolf stirred uneasily, no longer content. Her earlier warmth had sharpened into alertness, her senses stretched.
Fear creeped into me silently. What if they were right? What if the elders make a case out of this? What if Lucian had acted too quickly? What if I wasn’t strong enough to stand where he placed me?
What if after everything, he decided this was a mistake? The thought caught deeper than any blade.
I swallowed hard and lifted my chin, even as doubt coiled around my ribs. I had survived worse than whispers. Worse than disapproval but this was different. Before, I had been invisible now I was exposed.
Being Luna meant power, access and protection but it also meant scrutiny and judgement. Targets, I couldn’t yet see. As we walked on, I felt the shift settle. Every glance felt sharper and every silence heavier. And for the first time since Lucian announced me Luna, a cold truth rooted in my chest.
Loving the Alpha didn’t just change my life. It put me in danger.
Lina paused as if she had just remembered something and it cut my thoughts off.
“Who was that warrior you spoke to earlier?” Her cheeks were red.
“Why? You like him?” I teased her with a raised brow.
“N-no….of course not. I just wanted to know if he’s part of the warriors that just returned” I nodded.
“He’s handsome” she admitted.
“I know you’re crushing on him. You couldn’t get your eyes off him earlier”
“I’m not crushing on him” she tried to deny it but I was not having it.
“I can set you up together. You just need to say the word” I said with a smirk.
“I’m not interested in Ronan or whatever it is you called him” I laughed.
Then the sensation came without warning. Not pain, nothing sharp or alarming but a low, humming awareness that spread beneath my skin, as if something had stirred. I faltered mid-step, my breath catching as my fingers curled reflexively.
My mark tingled.
It wasn’t the burning heat I’d felt before. This was different. Like a presence pressing closer, reminding me that it was there… that it had always been there.
I pressed my palm over the spot unconsciously, the fabric of my dress doing nothing to dull the awareness. My heart began to pound, unease pooling deep in my chest. The witch’s voice surfaced in my mind, uninvited.
‘Every bond has a cost’ the witches voice rang in my ear as a gentle reminder.
I lowered my hand slowly, but the awareness lingered, pulsing faintly beneath my skin like a heartbeat that wasn’t entirely mine. Around me, the pack moved as usual voices, footsteps, life continuing on without pause. And yet, I felt profoundly still. As if something had already shifted.
As if the choice had already been made.
A guard walked in the direction where Lina and I had stood. He bowed as soon as he stopped at my front.
“Luna. I have a message for you”