Chapter 64 CHAPTER 64
Mooncrest felt unusually peaceful that evening.
In Lisa’s room, the peace was louder than the corridors outside - filled with squeals, laughter, and the rustle of countless shopping bags thrown across her bed. The sun had already disappeared behind the stone balconies, leaving the palace wrapped in a honey-coloured glow.
Isabel was half-buried under a mountain of dresses, her feet kicking in the air as she tried to pull a glittery heel from a tangled strap. Celine was stretched across the foot of the bed, inspecting a necklace she had bought as if it were a new pet. And Lisa… Lisa sat in the middle of it all, watching the chaos with a soft smile, overwhelmed by the sheer number of things they had carried home.
“Celine,” she murmured, lifting a silk blouse between her fingers, “I don’t even know if I’ll live long enough to wear half of this. Where will I even go dressed like a queen every day?”
Celine clapped her hands dramatically. “Lisa, my sweet long-lost royal, you better start getting used to the fact that you are a princess. A real one. A crowned, blessed, divine princess. This life….” she swept her hands over the piles of clothes, “….is the one you should have had all along. And if you didn’t live it before, then you’d better live it twice now.”
Lisa laughed, shaking her head. “You sound like you want me to spend Ethan’s entire treasury.”
“Absolutely,” Celine declared without shame. “Your brother is loaded. Let him deal with it – and it isn’t just his wealth Lisa, it’s your money too.”
They all burst into laughter just as a pair of palace staff entered quietly, placing a tray of warm pastries, fruit, and chilled drinks on a small table near the window. The room smelled like sugar and new fabric and soft perfumes - like the kind of simple joy Lisa had never known.
They went right back to showing off their purchases. Isabel held up a pair of pink sandals shaped like tiny roses.
“These are the cutest things I’ve ever owned,” she said proudly. “I might even sleep with them.”
Celine flopped on her back, laughing. “You two have no idea how happy it makes me to spoil you.”
Lisa’s smile faltered - but only for a moment. Something tugged at the back of her mind, a sentence that had been waiting for the right moment to slip out.
“Celine,” she said quietly, “can I ask you something? About… what Celestine told you?”
Celine froze mid-laughter, her face turning crimson. “No. Absolutely not. I’m still trying to erase that moment from my memory.”
Lisa’s voice softened. “It’s not about who the person is. It’s just… I want to know what it feels like. Being in love.”
Celine blinked at her. “You’ve never had a crush on anyone?”
“No. Never.”
“Not even a tiny one?”
“Not even a tiny one.”
Isabel gasped dramatically. “Lisa! How tragic!”
Lisa nudged her with a pillow, and the girl fell back onto the heap of clothes, giggling like a child hiding behind curtains.
But Lisa wasn’t laughing. She was peeling back a door in herself - a door she’d kept shut for years.
“There is something,” she whispered. “Someone.”
Celine stopped moving. Even Isabel sat up a little straighter.
Lisa drew in a shaky breath. “I… had a mate. A true mate. Chosen by the Moon Goddess. He rejected me. He already had someone else - someone he wanted as his chosen mate.”
Celine’s lips parted in a small breath of sympathy, but she didn’t interrupt.
“And because I never accepted the rejection… the bond stayed. I couldn’t escape it.” Lisa swallowed hard. “Every time he was with his girlfriend, I felt it. The pain. It was like being stabbed from the inside.”
Isabel let out a soft gasp, pressing a hand over her mouth.
“But after Celestine gave me this,” Lisa reached behind her shirt and pulled out the amulet, “the pain changed. It doesn’t crush me anymore. But now, when he’s with her, I feel… something else. Something I don’t understand.”
She hesitated, cheeks burning.
“It’s warm. Sharp. Like… desire. And sometimes, I wonder if that’s what being in love feels like. If maybe the pain turned into something else.”
Celine didn’t answer right away. She sat up properly, her expression gentle, older than her years, touched with wisdom the way moonlight touches still water.
“Lisa,” she said softly, “that’s not love.”
Lisa’s shoulders stiffened. “It’s not?”
“No.” Celine shook her head, her voice warm and patient. “What you’re feeling is the echo of the bond. The physical part of it. When two bonded wolves are intimate, the sensations can bleed over. But that’s not love. That’s biology. Love is… different.”
She paused, searching for the right words.
“When you love someone, your heart softens around them. You want them close, even if they aren’t touching you. You want to listen to them talk, even if they’re talking nonsense. You look at them and something inside you just… settles. It’s gentle. And sweet. And terrifying. And beautiful.”
Isabel’s eyes shone, as if she were watching sunlight drip through a stained-glass window. “I want that,” she whispered. “I want that kind of love one day.”
Celine smiled at her. “And you will.”
Lisa twisted the amulet between her fingers. “Do you think it’s possible for me to feel something like that? Even if the bond still affects me?”
Celine leaned closer, touching her hand. “Of course it’s possible. The Moon Goddess assigns mates. But your heart?” She tapped Lisa’s chest lightly. “Your heart is yours. You can fall in love with whoever you choose, bond or not.”
Isabel gasped again, but this gasp had mischief in it. “What if,” she said slowly, “Sebastian wasn’t meant for you at all? What if you end up falling in love with someone else… someone strong, handsome, warm, kind…”?
Lisa narrowed her eyes. “Isabel.”
“…someone who saved your life,” Isabel continued, smirking, “someone who looks at you like you’re the moon itself…”
Lisa dropped a dress on her. “Isabel!”
Isabel peeked out from beneath the fabric. “Someone like Liam.”
Celine burst into loud, delighted laughter. “Oh my Goddess, Isabel! I love this girl. Lisa, do you know how happy I would be to have you as my sister-in-law?”
Lisa’s entire face caught fire. “Absolutely not. That is not happening.”
“Not yet,” Isabel sang.
“Isabel!”
Celine flopped backward dramatically. “Let me dream, Lisa. Let me dream of family reunions where you and Liam stand next to each other glowing like the moon twins.”
Lisa covered her face with both hands. “This is a nightmare.”
But there was laughter in her voice. And warmth in her chest. And for the first time, she wasn’t entirely sure whether Isabel’s teasing hurt, or whether it sparked the tiniest, quietest question inside her.
A room full of girls. A room full of soft truths.
For once, Lisa felt like she belonged in a world that held laughter, secrets, and the safety of being understood.