Chapter 54 Loud bells
ZORA
Loud bell chimes drew me out of my forced sleep.
My head hurts really bad.
Dàmn you Grace
My room was still a destructive mess. I had made no efforts to clean up or arrange anything, and had fallen asleep in the clothes I had on yesterday.
In my dream, all I ever saw was the woods, the silvery threads, and the Luna I killed.
The bells wouldn't stop ringing, so I walked to my broken bedroom window and stuck my head out.
It was still dawn, and although this was the time of the morning, that's usually the calmest, the opposite was what was happening at the moment. Looking down from my window, I saw several guards man the ground, muttering something to each other, their faces disturbed.
There were noises coming from the hallway, too. I rushed to the door and rested my ear on it to hear what the discussion was about.
"Luna Jayna is missing? Where else would she go? She was looking forward to attending the festival?"
"I should have been concerned when I couldn't find her. I had thought she and her Alpha had gone on that wild sexual escapade she always talked about."
"Oh poor her!"
I shrank away from the door, my heart thrummed loudly in my ears.
News were getting out. Was that what the bells were for?
Her?
Oh sh!t! If there was much of an alarm raised to announce her absent, who must her mate be?
I rubbed my arms, hugging myself against the cold I just developed, which was not a factor of the weather or the environment but the dawning consequences of what I had done.
There was no way I was leaving this room.
No one must find me. No one should...
A knock came in the door. Mine!
Someone chose that moment to look for me.
Fuck! I glanced around furtively, considering several options at once.
Should I lock myself in the bathroom door and turn on the tap so they would think I was preoccupied and leave me alone?
What if they chose to wait?
Oh goddess!!, they can't come into this room.
It was still a mess. How would I explain that I had thrashed it without meaning to? Without touching it?
"Is she in there?"
"Where else would she be? Except she is where Luna Jayna is, I don't see why she would be anywhere else at this time of the morning."
"Did you see her at the festival?"
"No, did you?"
"No, but I don't think she would have dared to show her ugly face in such a high social event."
"So where could she be?"
"The only way to find out is to go in there."
By the time whoever was out there was saying this, I had carefully and silently placed a chair underneath the doorknob.
I wasn't certain if I had locked the door in my flight of fear last night, and with the way their discussion seemed like, there was a high chance that they'd try the door if I didn't answer.
I backed away when they knocked again, and soon after that, they did as I had predicted. They tried the door handle.
"It's locked."
"Try again."
I froze in a spot and held my breath, afraid that it would give them the slightest inclination that I was still in here.
They are active wolves. They could hear even the faintest of sounds.
"Same thing. Let's go, they are gathering downstairs. We don't wanna miss it because of her."
"Hmm... Alright. We'll deal with her later." They left
Only after their retreating footsteps could no longer be heard did I suck in air and fall to the ground noiselessly.
I wasn't safe. They could still hear me.
But I was curious. What was going on downstairs? I needed to know, but I couldn't go out there without being prepared for confrontation.
At this state, it'd be easy for me to crumble under their mere gaze.
I was already a suspect by default. Being the most scorned on made me so.
However, there was no benefit of being holed up in my room. I needed to go out. I needed to see Marissa to hear what she's done with the body, and I needed to face Ryker less he barged in here.
The least thing I wanted was attention.
I cleaned up what I could and got dressed in the darkest, uninteresting outfit I could find in my bags.
A floor-length gown with a velevet petticoat. Nothing fancy, yet as I stood in front of the broken mirror, I seemed to stand out.
Most especially my eyes, which still had some hint of purple in them. Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes and willed it to go away. They had appeared when I was scared shitless. It could only mean purple meant fear. All I needed to do was not be afraid.
It's okay.
It's alright. No one knows a thing.
You're safe.
I opened my eyes. The color had reduced in their intensity.
It was working, so I continued assuring myself.
No one knows a thing, Zora.
Just go out there and be your usual self.
You are Zora, the weak wolf.
No one would suspect you."
My heart rate dropped, and the purple hue disappeared slowly back to the amber shade that I’ve always known. I was ready now.
I stepped out of the empty bedroom, down the hallway, to the stairs, and gently joined the gathered Lunas at the back.
As the Luna of the pack in charge of the event addressed the ladies, little cliques held a mini discussion of their own.
I simply observed, the goal was to remain unseen. Unnoticed. Until every one returned to their businesses.
"You!" Someone called sharply. I didn't pay attention. Even if I was the one the person was calling, I didn't wanna pay attention.
"I'm talking to you, witch!" Someone yanked my shoulder and forced me to face her.
"Where were you earlier?"
I recognized the voice.
Oh, she was the one who knocked on my door earlier.
Where was the other one?
"In my room." I answered, "Why?"
"Didn't you hear us knock?" The second one finally showed up.
"You came to my room?' I feigned surprise. "Did you want something."
"No one comes to look for me." I added in a sweet tone.
They blinked, looked at each other, and moved away from me, muttering incoherent words under their breaths.
A few heads at the back turned towards us. "Why would we want anything to do with you?" One of them said loudly, then grabbed her friend and distanced themselves as far away as they could from me.
And for once, I was glad that no one wanted anything to do with me.
"We must find her! She is a vital part of us. Alpha Landon is devastated. If anyone knows something that could be of help, even if it's just a suspicion, any detail at all will be welcomed and dealt with accordingly." The speaking Luna said imploringly.
I expected someone to put forward the fact that I didn't stay long or was missing at the festival yesterday in order to pin her disappearance on me, but they all either seem to have forgotten or dismissed me in their mind.
Soon after the Luna left, someone raised their voice at me.
"Hey, witch!"
I turned around.
"Why don't you tell us why you were running crazy yesterday?" She cocked her head to the side, her chin-length hair dangling to the right.
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb. I saw you yesterday. As a matter of fact, you bumped into me. And you weren't even sorry about it."
A memory of that happening flashed in my head.
"Did you see something you don't wama tell us?"
They were enclosing me in a circle again. My palms turned moist, the very first sign of fear.
"What did you see? Is it about Luna Jayna?" Another asked.
I sawllowed, the circle was getting smaller, and my heart rate was steadily rising.
"If you know something about Luna Jayna, you had better open you damned mouth and talk!" Another Luna screamed at me, tears in her puffy eyes and voice croaky from probably crying.
"She knows something," someone mumbled.
"What's up with her eyes?"
My eyes! My eyes! Sh!t
Suddenly, the warning bells went off again, stealing attention from me.
Not long after, someone ran into the Luna suite. The outfit showed that she was a servant.
"The Luna has been found, everyone come to the open field!"
What?!
"The Luna has been found, everyone come to the open field!!" The servant yelled again and ran out the way she had come.
What Luna? I wondered.
It sure can't be Jayna, right?
Marissa took care of the body!
What do I do if it's Jayna?
I picked at my nails, letting the sharp pain pierce through my foggy brain.
No, but really, what do I do if it was Jayna?
Is Marissa safe? What if she was caught disposing the body?
I can't let her take fall for my crime.
My nails bled now, dripping to the floor and immediately drying up.
I didn't pay attention to it.
I schooled my expression and forced a cool face, only one way to find out.