59- Shadows of the Past
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I walked back home beside Edric. The castle lands were beautiful, with hills and open fields filled with stones and tall, ancient trees.
I stared at my shadow stretching across the ground, following the silver light of the moon. Edric’s shadow followed right beside mine, but much larger.
I let out a heavy sigh and clasped my fingers in front of my body. It was a pleasant night, though colder than usual. The breeze that lifted my hair sent shivers over my skin, chilling me.
Edric glanced at me before focusing again on the uneven path ahead of us.
"You don’t care about your family’s death," he said. "But something makes you… unhappy. I can feel your sadness at times, in random moments."
I blinked, startled.
"What?" I gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Earlier, that’s how it seemed. Your family died, but you acted as if it had been just… a fatality, and not Alessio who killed them."
I clenched my teeth, feeling irritation rise and burn away the cold I had felt.
"But he did kill them, if that’s what you’re doubting."
"I’m not doubting anything, Lunara. I’m just saying how it seemed," he replied, and he sounded sincere.
I lifted my face to meet his eyes, holding his gaze. I could have withheld the truth, or simply not cared what he thought, but I felt the need to be honest with him, to tell him the truth.
"Alessio and Kellan killed my family on the wedding day, as I already told you. But… you’re right, I don’t care. And yes, I blame myself for that. I blame myself for not thinking too much about it, for not caring enough," I admitted softly.
Edric slipped his hands into his pants pockets and stopped walking, turning to face me.
"Why?"
I bit the inside of my cheeks.
"Because my parents were not… exemplary. My whole life I was deprived, raised and molded to be the perfect wife, the exemplary mate an alpha needed. I was never allowed to have friends, to go out, or… I don’t even know how to use a cellphone, because I never had one." I laughed, but the laugh never reached my eyes. "My father was harsh and disrespectful, he beat me, punished me without food whenever I misbehaved. And my mother went along with it all, completely submissive. When they died and I managed to escape, it was the first time in my entire life that I felt free," I confessed. "I know it sounds horrible, but… that’s the truth. That’s how I feel."
He stepped closer, his blue eyes locked on mine. The gray vibrated, surrounding the dark pupils. The freckles scattered around his nose seemed to glow under the silver moonlight.
"In fact, it doesn’t sound horrible to me at all," he countered. "As time passes, little wolf, we learn that people reap what they sow. Your parents were never good enough for you, so don’t blame yourself for not mourning their deaths, for feeling free because of them."
"Even if that makes me a horrible daughter?"
"Even if it makes you a free daughter, and consequently, happy to finally be yourself for the first time in your life."
I smiled in gratitude.
"Yeah… um… thank you for that."
He turned and began walking again. I stood frozen for a few more seconds, absorbing what he had said and his surprisingly kind attitude toward me. Then I forced my body to move and followed him, dragging myself out of my stupor.
"And how was the pack?" he asked after some time.
"It wasn’t a pleasant place to live. They never respected their females. Mating? It simply didn’t exist there. They didn’t think females were worthy enough to have their lives bound to theirs." He shot me a glance. I shrugged. "It wasn’t all bad, there were… good moments. The bonfire parties were fun."
When I was allowed to go, on the rare occasions Alessio invited me. I wanted to add that, but I stayed silent.
My feet crunched over the stones, making a faint sound, while Edric walked in complete silence. I had no idea how he managed to do that.
"That’s why you don’t care if I kill them."
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips.
"Well… that too, and the fact that they’re after me."
"What does Alessio want with you, anyway? He killed your family—does he want to add you to the statistics as well?"
He spoke to me naturally, as if genuinely curious about the truth, yet he kept a careful distance, as though he wanted to respect my boundaries on the matter.
"Alessio’s mother, Aveline, was my father’s mistress. Kellan found out and built his entire plan of revenge against my family for dishonoring him. That’s why, before I escaped, Alessio said he would make me the pack’s whore, that I would serve to satisfy the Eclipse males," I revealed. Edric looked at me. "Now, I don’t know anymore if he still has those plans, or if he just wants to kill me for having escaped and lived a life away from him, for frustrating his schemes."
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of me. A golden gleam lit his gaze. He leaned in, aligning our faces.
"He will never touch you," he declared, his voice deep and grave, half human, half beast.
My wolf purred, delighted by his domination. My hair stood on end when his magnetism hit me, as if pulling me toward him.
"If it depends on me, never again," I agreed.
He lifted his hand and brushed his fingertips against my cheek, caressing my skin.
"I’m speaking for myself, little wolf," he whispered, his breath hot against me. "He will be dead before he even thinks of it. No male will touch you. None."
He seemed to waver, man and beast battling within him, yet both with the same goal at that moment: to keep Alessio and his threat far away from me.
I inhaled deeply, drinking in his scent, mingled with the eucalyptus from the trees surrounding us.
I licked my dry lips. He noticed the movement without blinking. My heart raced and a shiver ran down my spine. Being under his scrutiny, having him so close to me, left me… aroused.
I cleared my throat.
"This is the first time we’ve agreed on something, Edric."
A lupine smile curved his lips.
"My wolf has a certain… obsession with you," he confessed, sliding his palm down to the curve of my neck. "As if you belonged to him. That’s why I can assure you that neither Alessio, nor any of his males, will touch you—unless they end up dead."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Our beasts’ feelings are mutual, because my wolf feels the same way." He frowned. "I think it’s because of the mating bond," I added.
He pulled back, running his hand through his hair, pushing the strands behind his head.
"Yeah, could be," he muttered, starting to walk again, distancing himself from me.
And there it was again—his mood swing. In one moment, he seemed pleasant, even easy to get along with; in the next, an unbearable male.
I studied him, watching the muscles of his back tense beneath the blue shirt as he walked ahead of me. His hair was messy, curls tossing in the wind.
I took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
It would have been so much easier if he weren’t so attractive—or at least a little less arrogant. Edric was a pure, born warrior. The embodiment of strength and power. An absolute alpha.
I wished he had some flaw, even the smallest.
But apart from all the arrogance, the madness, and the presumption, there was nothing left to judge.
Unfortunately.