65- The Night of the Moon’s Secrets
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I watched people running from side to side, arranging things for the damn party that would take place once again. The party I wasn’t invited to, but that Edric insisted on attending.
“What’s the point of this party, anyway?” I asked Lyris as we walked through the village on a morning stroll.
She sighed and gave me a look.
“It’s kind of secret…”
I huffed.
“Just tell me, Lyris. I know you’re not going, so who cares if it’s secret or not, nobody’s going to do anything.”
She looked around and pulled me into a more secluded corner, between two houses.
“Remember when I told you that we can only get pregnant by our destined partner?” she asked, and I nodded in agreement. “Then you know it’s forbidden to go from one territory to another, and transgressors are punished with death. These parties, which happen every month on the first full moon night, are meant to unite couples. Only a few are invited, those who don’t have a partner. Usually, young females and males. Alphas and omegas, giving them the chance to find the perfect match and procreate.”
I opened and closed my mouth, stunned, but no sound came out.
“So it’s like an… orgy?” I asked after a while.
“Kind of,” she whispered, confirming.
“Do the alphas go?” I asked, referring to the leaders. She understood.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For fun.”
Well, that explained a lot.
“Have you ever been to those parties?” I inquired, changing the subject.
Feeling the need to change the topic. My wolf, although angry with Edric, still harbored… obsessive feelings for him. Talking about a party that was coming up and that I knew he would be at didn’t help calm her down.
“I went only once, right when they started doing it. It’s fun and different, good to pass the time. But, like I said, the only purpose is to mate and procreate. I had nothing to offer, so I stopped being invited. And I wouldn’t go anyway, after Celindra, they don’t call betas for obvious reasons. But I help with the organization, just like Nicoleta, when Anton and Andrei are busy.”
“What organization?”
“I give Edric a list of all Eldoria members who were invited; that’s how he keeps control over the wolves who leave the territory on that day.”
That explained why they had barely spoken to me all day the last time the damn party happened.
We resumed walking, returning to the stone path at the center of the village. I lifted my face and watched the omegas, who seemed to be my age, running from side to side, happy.
“Why is it so important to them?” I asked, pointing at them with my chin.
Lyris clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth.
“Besides the fact that they’ll have the chance to find the great love of their lives? The alphas.”
“The alphas?” I blinked, confused.
“Yes, all of them go to the party. They want the long-dreamed-of chance to get into bed with one of them.”
“Even the one who kills females?” I asked, aghast.
“Even him.”
“Hm… that’s kind of bizarre.”
Lyris laughed loudly, drawing a few glances.
“Of course, it’s bizarre. And very strange. But he’s hot, I think they put his beauty and power above self-preservation.”
I kicked a little stone on the ground, thoughtful.
“Do you think one day I’ll be invited to one of them?”
“Do you want me to answer honestly?”
“Yes.”
“Edric would never allow it. Maybe he doesn’t care, but his animal surely does. He would kill, without even thinking twice, any male who touched you.”
I made a noise in my throat, indignant.
“That’s his problem.”
I clutched the pink skirt of my dress, closing my hands over the thin fabric, and kept walking, ignoring the unwanted sting of betrayal. I knew it wasn’t really betrayal; Edric and I had nothing, but my wolf didn’t seem to agree.
As far as I was concerned, he could stay with Thalira and the two of them could go, hand in hand, straight to hell.
Things had been much better between us, the atmosphere was mild, and we could even have a… friendly conversation for a few minutes. But that didn’t change the fact that he was an arrogant bastard, most of the time, or whenever possible.
We continued our walk through the village, distracted. Lyris always found something new to show or teach me. I was already getting used to everything; some people even greeted me now, even if with barely perceptible nods.
We reached the sawmill. The strong scent of eucalyptus filled the air. Some wolves walked by, carrying pieces of logs in their strong arms.
Edric’s office was a chalet further back, on a small hill, with a privileged view of part of the city. As we approached, I felt my chest tightening more and more.
He was there.
I squeezed my dress tighter in my hands and bit the inside of my cheeks, nervous. I didn’t know how he would react; I had never gone to him while he worked.
The honeyed, velvety voice was the first thing I heard. My feet stopped on their own, my body reacting to what was happening.
I inhaled, smelling fresh pine and damp earth. And then, her scent.
I lifted my gaze, gasping as I took in the scene.
Hatred ignited in my bloodstream, spreading like liquid embers.
Thalira was sitting on Edric’s lap, her hands around his neck and her face so close to his that, from afar, the tips of their noses seemed to touch.
She whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t hear or identify. My heart was pounding so hard my eardrums buzzed, leaving me dazed.
I shook my head and took a wavering step back, swallowing with difficulty because of my tight throat.
The anger didn’t flow from me, but from my soul, from the supernatural being I carried under my skin.
She was hurt; she hated him; she felt heartbroken. And not me.
It hurt. And her pain reflected in me.
I blinked, feeling control slip from my body. I couldn’t take my eyes off them, but I felt the weight of Lyris’s gaze on me.
“Lunara… I’m so sorry,” she whispered, extending her hand without touching me, afraid of my reaction.
I’m sorry. That’s what he said when I told the truth. His apologies hadn’t been enough, and now they weren’t even convincing.
He didn’t care. I was just a wolf in heat who had crossed his path and somehow made him lose control of his animal. I was a nuisance, someone he would have to live with for the rest of his life. A problem with no solution.
Liar. Scoundrel. Traitor.
He wasn’t, after all, so different from Alessio. The alpha of the Eclipse pack betrayed me as a person, shattering my heart, while the alpha of the Eldoria pack hurt my wolf, ending my soul.
What the hell was wrong with these males? Or was the problem with me?
The heart wasn’t enough anymore; they needed my soul, too?
Tears blurred my vision. I blinked them away just as I noticed the smile Edric gave her. To Thalira, and not to me, his bonded partner.
I couldn’t stand it anymore, I didn’t want to see anything else.
If I were close enough to them, I’d claw them both until there was nothing left of either of them. I’d make them feel the same pain I was feeling. If it couldn’t be emotional, then it would be physical.
I pitied my wolf, suffering with her pain, making it mine.
I turned my back and started walking far away from there, as fast as possible. Lyris followed close behind.
“Lunara, I don’t even know what to say,” she sighed. “Edric shouldn’t… what you’re feeling is because of the mating bond, it’s normal.”
I stopped walking and turned my head toward her. Her eyes widened as she saw my beast at the surface, the emerald green covering my irises.
“He’s a damned, fucking bastard,” I growled, my voice heavy, rough.
She nodded, agreeing.
“Yes, he is.”
But that still didn’t make it hurt any less. It didn’t make me feel any less stupid.
“I need… I need to be alone,” I whispered, running far away from all of them.
I just wished it didn’t hurt so much.
Furthermore, I just wished I didn’t care so much.