The Dead Luna

Beta Hunter:

"I went to her room, but she wasn’t there," Jai said while rubbing his hand on his neck that still had the marks of Sebastian’s fingers.

We were all sitting in the library that was assigned to Sebastian as the royal office. Jai was the only one standing there with a tired face.

Sebastian was busy playing with the paperweight, and I didn’t know what was going on in his head.

He asked the masked girl to visit him, and now she was not in her room.

Alpha Blake was trying to suppress the yawn. He was woken up after Sebastian barked the orders to bring the alpha to the library.

Sebs raised his eyes and started moving them until they stopped on Luna Raya. I also had my doubts about the lady.

For a second, I thought Sebastian might go for her throat too.

The girly group that was laughing like crazy a while back was now sitting there like Egyptian Mummies with grey faces.

"I talked to her on the phone and she said that she was just... walking around..." Dr. Jai spoke again, and I felt sorry for him, "I thought... please forgive me for this... but I thought she was with you, your majesty," he bowed his head in respect.

He seemed genuinely worried for the girl.

"Your highness," Jai lowered his gaze and placed his arm on his chest to show respect to the king, "I think I need to search on the borders myself. I sent a mind link to the guards, and she isn’t there."

"I already told you," Kiara got up from her place and kneeled on one knee, "I’m the head warrior, and she was off duty tonight."

As a Lycan, I could hear her thudding heart. But for us Lycans, it was normal. Not everyone could bear our presence.

Sebastian’s eyes snapped to mine before he sent me a mind link, "Something isn’t right. They are hiding it."

I could sense the same. Even Luna Tamia was acting odd.

"Alpha Blake," Sebastian tossed the paperweight aside, "Is it normal for your pack member to vanish without your permission? Shouldn’t you know her whereabouts?" he then turned to Luna Raya, "And you," he pointed his finger at her in a way that she might have found a little insulting, "As a Luna, don’t you know enough about the women of your pack?"

It seemed like he had slapped her face, which was bright red due to the insult. Nobody must have ever spoken to her this way.

Kiara was from her pack, and being insulted by the king in the presence of her own people was a disgrace.

"Sh...she... she has a mind of her own," Raya tried to act nonchalant, but her heartbeat had accelerated, "She doesn’t like to be told what to do. We took her in because we didn’t want her to go rogue."

"She’s missing," Sebastian’s voice grew more terrifying, "and no one here seems to give a damn."

Luna Raya and Kiara swallowed hard. The room was dead silent.

"Hunter," he turned his head to look at me, "Ask our Lycan warriors to get ready. We need to start looking for her," his eyes then snapped to Alpha Blake, "Alpha?"

Alpha Blake was at once on his toes, "My pack warriors will be right there, my king," he kneeled and left the room.

***

We kept searching for the masked girl, but there was no sign of her. Sebastian’s patience was thinning with each passing minute.

He was looking for her like a madman.

Tonight, he wasn’t dressed like a king. Just dark clothes, boots caked in mud, and eyes that hadn’t slept for so many hours.

When he started walking to the northern jungles of the pack, I followed him.

"There’s just dense forest. I don’t think there is any need to go there," We both stopped when heard Luna Raya behind us. She didn’t complain about staying awake for too long, but her face said it all.

It was too hot, and instead of sleeping in our air-conditioned rooms, we were looking for Phoenix.

"Why?" Sebastian’s golden eyes found Raya’s, and her body seemed to tense up. Nothing new, "Why didn’t you start looking for her? Or is she an alien in your pack?"

Sebastian was capable of doing it to every female around him. Women almost forgot that they were mated or married.

I’ve heard these women calling him a walking magnet.

Luna Raya was still looking at him while he patiently waited for the answers.

"Answer him!" I ordered her with a growl. She seemed to be awakened from a dream.

"Sh... she is not an alien but our... own... Th...these forests...they are too dense and beasts usually lurk unannounced.... no one from our pack is allowed to enter here. Only special warriors give duties around this area," she explained and turned her head when she sensed Jai walking closer.

He had been with us for quite some time and never let his tiredness show on his face. Though the dark circles were evident there.

Phoenix.

Strange name.

I needed to talk to someone and look for her old pack’s records.

We all took a deep sigh when we felt a light breeze on our faces.

Sebastian, who was at some distance, suddenly stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air. His nostrils flared like a hound who wanted to pick up a trail.

Uh huh. I knew who this scent belonged to.

Phoenix!

Jai and Sebastian reached close to a tree.

"She’s near!" Sebastian shouted and fell on his knees. His eyes were wild as he felt the wet ground.

"W...we need to dig it," The moment Jai said it, I signaled a few of our soldiers to do the digging.

"Jai. What are you doing?" Kiara spoke with fake sweetness, "Do you mean to say that Phoenix decided to sleep under the ground? No one can stay in this side of the jungle without a wolf," she placed her hands inside her pants pockets, "I don’t think Phoenix will..."

She trailed off when she saw what the soldier was holding up.

A shirt. Torn and dirty.

It was Phoenix’s shirt. But where was she?

Just then, we all heard a bone-rattling growl and suddenly Sebastian’s Lycan had taken over, making everyone around us stumble back in fear.

"Sebs!" Luna Tamia, who was standing behind me, whispered. None of us was expecting this wild reaction from his beast.

Another deep, wild howl came from his throat, cutting through the air, and before I could even blink, he had bolted into the dark, thick forest.