The Dead Luna

Phoenix:

Without letting him know that I was panicked by his words, I pulled away to look at his face. There was no expression there, but I could see a storm brewing in those golden orbs.

The way he was looking at me made me realize that I wanted to give in to the temptation to hug him and tell him never to let me go.

But I couldn’t do that when I was on a mission.

When the music ended, I stepped back, pulling myself from his embrace.

"Your highness," I bent my back slightly, "I need to go and talk to my Alpha. He deserves to know that I’m back without any harm."

"I’ll accompany you," he closed the small distance between us and held my hand, "I’m not letting you go there alone," his tone hardened by the end of it.

Why was he acting like a possessive boyfriend?

"Your majesty..." I tried to free my hand, "He is my alpha. And he isn’t going to eat me up," With a smirk, I looked around.

Kiara was whispering something to the group while looking at us.

Ignoring her, I turned my attention to the guy who now had something on his face that I least expected.

Fear.

"I’m... I’m a big girl and... I can take care of myself," I told him firmly.

Look who’s talking. The one who was disposed of in the wild.

"After that, you are coming back to my room," he said in a clipped tone, and I started shaking my head. Why was he doing that?

Everyone knew he never shared his bed with any woman. After banging them, he expected them to leave his room.

He never made this offer when I was his wife. Then why now, when I had nothing to offer him?

"I will sleep in my warrior quarter," I tried to control the irritation in my voice, "You can’t expect me to sleep in your room every night. Last night, I needed you, and thank you for being there. But now we are done."

I felt bad for saying this, but I didn’t need a distraction in my life.

"So, here ... I take my leave, Your Highness," This time, I properly kneeled on the floor and then straightened.

He just shook his head, "You’re not understanding," Placing his hands on my shoulders, he gave them a little squeeze, "We need to sleep together. My Lycan... It’s asking me again and again to..."

I didn’t let him finish and chuckled, " Your beast... It’s not my responsibility. You are strong enough to control..." I gasped when suddenly his beast appeared in his eyes. His golden eyes turned to fiery orange as if they might throw fire at me.

It didn’t say anything but just stared at me for a moment and then went back. Or maybe King Sebastian controlled him.

"Thank you for your time," With a speeding heartbeat, I hurriedly turned on my heels, leaving him there.

I was scared.

I already had so many enemies in my life. I didn’t want to add a beast to that list.

***

When I went to the office, Alpha Blake and Beta Brian were already at the desk waiting for me. The moment they saw me, they stood up.

"Hey, Phoenix," Blake said, his eyes scanning me, "Where the hell have you been?"

Brian nodded while shaking my hand, "Yeah, girl. You just disappeared. What happened?"

I gave them a quick smile, "I’m good, seriously, Alpha. I ... I just needed space... So... I left," I chuckled with a shrug.

Blake raised an eyebrow, "You mean to say... no one dragged you off?"

"Nope," I folded my arms, "No dragging. No forcing. I left because I wanted to."

None of them seemed convinced. But I didn’t come back to let Raya have an easy punishment.

Brian leaned against the desk, his arms crossed, "Come on, Phoenix. We’ve been in this game long enough. Blake and I aren’t fools. Did someone... I don’t know, take advantage of you? Say something."

"What? No. Geez. I’m not lying, alright? I made a choice, that’s it."

I laughed a little. I was aware that I had to give answers to the same repetitive questions again and again to every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

They looked at each other.

Alpha Blake cleared his throat, "Look, Phoenix, we assure you no one will harm you and ..."

"I get it, Alpha," I walked a few steps towards the window and pulled the curtain slightly to peek out, "You’re worried. But here I am. Alive. In one piece."

I offered him a small smile and watched as he sighed. Before he could say anything, the door suddenly slammed open.

My heart did a little flip when I saw who it was.

Jai.

The second his eyes landed on me, he didn’t pause for a second. He came straight over and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey!" I tried to smile while putting my arms around him.

"I thought..." he said, still hugging me, " we all thought..." he trailed off, and I finished it for him.

"Died?"

He pulled back from the hug, still holding me, scanning me from top to bottom, "You alright? Tell me everything. Who did this to you?"

Goddess! Again!

I wanted to roll my eyes and wished I could call for a news conference where I could explain to everyone that I was alive and wasn’t hurt.

***

"I don’t believe you," he started shaking his head, "There is someone involved in this."

We were seated on the same rock, and he was throwing small stones nearby. I didn’t remark on this.

He turned to look at me, but I just shrugged, "No one is involved. If there was, do you think I would be here talking to you like this?"

He still didn’t look convinced.

I got up and stretched, "Umm. It was a long day. I need to sleep."

"If you returned yesterday, where did you spend the night?" My arms dropped to my side when I heard the question.

"Does it matter?" I asked, tossing a shrug.

He also stood up and came to me, "I thought I was your only friend. I need to know who you spent the night with."

I chose to stay quiet. Did he think that being my friend gave him the liberty to ask a question that I wasn’t comfortable with or didn’t want to answer?

"Tell me," his voice turned softer this time, "Where were you?"

Before I could give him a shut-up call, a deep, familiar voice spoke behind us.

"She was with me."