KINANAの小説

I didn’t say yes and I couldn’t say no. Before I knew it, I was running. The tea room door slammed behind me. My lungs burned. My dress tangled around my legs as I bolted down the corridor, towards the gate. Away from Darius.“Elara!” His voice cracked behind me.“Stop!”I already lost count of how many times my name had been screamed in the last two days.My body ached like something was clawing its way out from under my ribs. Pressure built up in the pit of my belly as pain shot through my body. It was way worse than the pain from bonding. I skidded to a stop in the empty courtyard, letting the moonlight hit my face but all I could see was red.The moon was red.Pain exploded through my spine as I dropped to my knees unable to run further. My hands clawed at dirt.A very bright light burst through my skin and I screamed, except no sound came out. The courtyard lit up like a second moon had fallen. Shouts filled the air and heavy footsteps approached my direction. I could hear a few

I see the moon, and the moon sees me.It is a song we sang at school all the time. And tonight I was overly aware of the moon. There was the strange feeling that it could see me too. The air was quiet as I walked along the lonely path. I had the foreboding feeling that I was forgetting something but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure it out.As I walked into the compound, I saw my both parent standing on the courtyard.“Where is Arden?” My mother immediately asked when she saw me“Arden,” I said louder. “He was behind us. Wasn’t he?”My parents exchanged looks.“We left you both at the hall”“The hall?”Darius’s words replayed in my head.Please let me punish the traitor as I see fit.I took to my heels, running towards the castle with no second thought. The one person who knew me too well is Darius, and he knows best what could be punishment for me.“Elara, get back here!”My mother screamed behind me but I was already running. I figured it out too late. I might have saved

The pain of mating started as a pressure in my chest. It was sharp enough to make me pause mid breath, but light enough to be concealed. I subconsciously pressed my fingers lightly against my dress, as if I could hold my heart still by force.“Steady,” my father said beside me.I nodded, even though nothing about me felt steady.I was re-experiencing the day before. It sounded impossible but I was. The hall was filled with laughter from girls my age. The open ceiling revealed the moon in its full glory, pale but watchful.From my left, Arden nudged me.“It’ll be you,” he whispered.I smiled at him before looking back at the moon priestess. The Moon Priestess raised her hands, and the air shifted. I felt it immediately. My legs trembled beneath my dress. It was like something unseen slipping beneath my skin, searching beyond what the hall can see.My breath stuttered. Something was wrapping itself around me. I could feel it everywhere. I moved my hands as if it could stop the pain. My

I once heard heaven was a day behind Earth. So when my alarm rang singing the special song I chose for the 5th of may, I thought I was rewarded with heaven for my unfair death. I let myself drift off again, until I woke up to an intense burning sensation on my leg. Sunlight slipped through the curtains in thin lines and landed on my blanket. The same blanket I’d had since I was ten. My blue blanket that was frayed at the corner where I used to pick at it during nightmares. This was not heaven, I was back at home. Before I could process the thought, I heard my name,“Elera?”The door opened.My mother walked in with a dress draped over her arms. White silk. The corset laced tight. The one I wore to the selection party. She smiled like nothing was wrong. Like my world hadn’t ended 12 hours ago.“Morning, sleepyhead. You missed breakfast. The seamstress finished the hem last night. Try it on before we do your hair?”Her scream from last night replayed in my head, and I covered my ears.“

“No.”I heard Darius’s voice. I froze.No? No to what?“I, Alpha Darias, son of Alpha Theron, refuse you, Elera as my Luna”My thoughts stumble over each other, trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense.Refuse me?“Darius..”I called, my voice was shaky. But he was already turning away from me. I followed his gaze without meaning to and it landed on Selena.Wait, Selena?My brain did a double flip. The Selena who bullied me for years, the Selena, Darius protected me from.“I choose Selena as my Luna”She stepped forward like she belonged there. Like she knew this would happen.The hall fell quiet for a second before a soft laugh followed,“Ouch, after the time they spent together, in the end he chose Selena over her?”I could hear the sound of fabric shifting, Someone was leaning closer to another“At the end of the day he wasn’t foolish enough to settle for her”One of the girls laughed out loud, unable to hold back. I felt a jab on my heart as my fingers curled slo