Chapter 63: Master Drake

Luna’s POV

Rowan’s words and actions still leave me unmoored by the time I reach the dining hall for breakfast. This time it is filled to the brim. I spot the Sacred Order’s Master Drake who glances at Calla beside me.

Everyone’s eyes turn to glimpse our arrival.

I lower my gaze, feeling one distinct gaze of Kael’s from the head of the table, and instead move towards an empty seat closest to the exit.

The parcel is placed on my lap, and I run my fingers over the cool, crispy paper packaging.

Calla seats beside me, but Gale glances towards one of the other guests and speaks.

“My brother’s calling me. I’ll see you two later?” She asks but does not wait for a response, instead dashing around the dining table.

I pay no attention to her; scooping up a mouthful of porridge, I hear Calla scoff lightly.

“Tonight will be interesting,” my best friend muses. “Many players on the board.”

Tonight: the banquet. I chew thoughtfully while nodding.

She is right.

I wonder idly how many Alphas of this region are in the pack now. It is a rare occurrence. In the Moonveil pack, I have never dealt with such a thing.

After breakfast, I am left unbelievably free for a time. Nothing noteworthy to do but wander about. Calla stays by my side, even when Master Drake seems to have his eyes on her almost every time. She ignores him as though he is a pest.

When I ask her about that she mutters, “I never asked to be his disciple in the first place. He is nothing but troublesome.”

I find her statement makes my lips quirk up into a smile.

Amusing. I mused inwardly that my relationship with Alpha Kael, one that I didn't know how to define, had begun that same way.

Eventually I heard of Xena, through whispers of the maids as Calla and I wandered through the gardens silently.

“She is mad.”

“Tore apart her wounds again. They will get infected.”

“To think she was slated to be a top tribute.”

“How did this happen?”

“I hear she’s cursed now.”

At the last words, I stop still, standing outside beneath the window where the voices rise.

Calla sighs and tugs on my arm, “Let this go, Moon. It is not your fault.”

I purse my lips.

For some reason, despite my tenuous enmity with Xena, I do not wish to put her through such suffering.

I have only had access to my Wolf without the block for a couple of weeks.

Before then, I recall how muddled my mind was. In such a state, I can barely understand how I thought previously it was normal.

I empathize with Xena, going from having instinctual communication with her Wolf to not feeling it within her anymore. It is a terrible existence, akin to losing a limb.

I bite my bottom lip, considering Calla’s words. But I must find a way to help her, I think. I cannot let my anger and frustrations for ena’s consistent targeting of me blacken my heart so. She is a wolfkin, and thus I must show some mercy.

Calla must sense the thought process behind my gaze, and she tugs on my arm frantically.

“You cannot go near her, Luna. It is courting trouble. She is down and possibly powerless now. Even now she aches for you to die. If you try to help her…”She trails off.

I lower my head.

“I know, but I cannot use my powers to destroy others this way,” I softly say. It is an admission of guilt, of fear.

I still lack control in my abilities. It is only the Moon Goddess’luck that I do not lose my cool. Throughout the time in the Forest, I battled with the Wolf, and only now have I begun to gain ground with It.

Calla protests once more, “You do not know how she will react. She is a thankless beast, Luna. You cannot.”

“I have to,” I say.

Now the idea is lodged in my mind I dare not think of relinquishing it.

I walk slowly towards the exit of the garden, and down the hallway, twisting and turning until I find myself heading to the Pack Clinic.

Calla is resigned to following me, and she stays by my side, silently supporting me.

The Pack Clinic is entirely empty, and my nostrils twitch. The scents of herbs and disinfectant are alien to me and I swallow, at a loss on how to proceed.

Voices echo down the hallway, and I tilt my head towards it, listening.

“There has to be a way out,” It is Eurielle. I tense slightly, not forgetting how she had deigned to intimidate me before breakfast.

“Miss, there is no way to guarantee she will regain use of her Wolf. This block is intrinsically strange. No one can remove it. Perhaps…” the pack doctor’s voice lowers a tad. “Perhaps you should consult a Master of the Sacred Order. Or another Healer.”

“It’s that bitch,” Xena’s words spill like sibilant hisses, sending chills down my spine. Goosebumps spring up my skin and I shut my eyes slightly. The hate in her single sentence is astounding. “She did this to me. I don't know how but she’s the one who should be held responsible.

Her words are slightly slurred, like someone on the verge of sleep.

“She’s likely been drugged. I hear she has been quite the handful. One of the Pack Doctor’s apprentices told me she bit the skin off someone’s arm earlier,” Calla speaks in hushed tones beside me, then meets my gaze. “What do you wish to do?”

“Whatever it is,” A cool, awfully familiar voice pops up behind us, and I freeze, whipping my head around. My breath is caught in my throat. “Your actions only serve to display your cursed state.”

I recognize him: the Elder from the Moonveil Pack. The same one that is responsible for my sale into the Ironfang Pack.

I step back, wariness in my expression.