Chapter Four

Moana’s POV

Sela stepped closer. She sneered at me. “So you really thought you would become Luna? Pathetic.”

Elara kicked my side lightly, just enough to make me stumble. Ava laughed loudly. I tried to wipe the water off my face, but my hair stuck to my cheeks, while my dress was wet and cold. 

I felt everyone looking at me like I was nothing.

“Look at her,” Sela said. “A rat who cleans floors.”

“She really thought she could be Alpha Eldrick’s mate,” Elara said, laughing.

I stayed on my knees, holding the brush like it could protect me. But it didn’t help.

Sela pushed me again, making all of them laugh loudly. Finally, Sela glared at me.

“You can never become Eldrick's Luna,” she said. Then she walked away. Elara and Ava followed, still laughing. I sank to my knees in the wet water as my body shook. The hall was quiet again, but I felt cold and humiliated.

I finished scrubbing the floor quickly, hoping no one else would see me and humiliate me like the girls did.

My bones ached, and my heart felt like a heavy stone. I walked to the library. It was a cold room filled with thousands of old books and maps. It was the only place in the Pack House where I felt safe because nobody ever came here.

I sat on the floor and started to unroll the maps, which were covered in dust. As I cleaned them, I saw my father’s handwriting on some of the edges. He had been a map-maker for the old Alpha. 

I touched the ink. ‘I am sorry, Father,’ I thought. ‘I am sorry they hate us so much.’

As the sun began to set, the door to the library opened. 

I thought it was Kaelen with the tea. I looked up with a small smile. 

But it wasn't Kaelen, It was Eldrick. 

He stood in the doorway. He wasn't wearing his leather jacket anymore, he just wore a thin black shirt. He looked tired, like he was fighting a war inside his own head. 

He didn't say anything. He just stood there, breathing heavily. 

The air in the library became thick. The bond sparked between us. Even though he had rejected me, the magic was trying to fix itself. It was trying to bridge the gap between the Alpha and the servant.

"Why are you here, Alpha?" I asked. My heart was thumping so hard it hurt. 

Eldrick didn't answer. He took a step toward me, then another. He looked at the maps on the floor, then he looked at me. 

"I can't sleep," he whispered. His voice was not angry now. it was broken. "I can't breathe. My wolf is screaming for you, and I want to kill him for it."

He was standing right in front of me now. I looked up at him, and for the first time, I wasn't just afraid, I was angry. 

"Then kill him," I said, my voice shaking. "You already killed my heart. Why stop there?"

Eldrick reached out. He didn't grab my chin this time. He touched my hair. His fingers were shaking. 

"Moana," he whispered. 

The way he said my name sent a shiver down my spine. It didn't sound like a curse. It sounded like a prayer. 

But then, he pulled his hand away as if I had burned him. He growled and punched the wooden bookshelf next to me, making the wood crack. 

"I hate this!" he roared at the ceiling. "I hate that the Goddess chose you! I hate that I can smell your scent from across the house! I hate that I want to hold you!"

He looked down at me, his eyes glowing gold. "You are a poisoned water, Moana Ashclaw. And I am dying of thirst."

He turned and ran out of the library, leaving the door swinging. 

I sat in the dark, clutching a dusty map to my chest. I was crying again. He hated me, but he wanted me. He rejected me, but he couldn't stay away. 

The next morning was even harder. 

The Bond Sickness was not going away. It felt like a heavy flu that lived in my bones. Every time I moved, I felt dizzy. 

But Eldrick’s words from the library stayed in my head. ‘I am dying of thirst.’ He was suffering, and even though he was mean to me, a small part of my wolf felt sorry for him.

I went back to the library early, because I couldn't finish the cleaning yesterday. I liked the smell there. It smelled like old paper, dried ink, and dust. It was quiet, and no one came there to yell at me or throw dirty water on my dress.

I was sitting on the floor, organizing the maps of the North Border. These were the maps my father had drawn. His handwriting was neat and beautiful as always. As I looked at the lines, I noticed something strange. 

"This isn't right," I whispered to myself.

On the official pack maps, the North Border was marked as a solid line of mountains. But in my father’s old notes, he had drawn small, dotted lines behind the rocks. 

"Hidden paths," I realized. 

My father had found ways to move through the mountains that nobody else knew about. If someone found these paths, they could sneak into our territory without the guards ever seeing them. 

The door to the library creaked open, making me jump, my heart racing. I thought it was Eldrick coming back to yell at me again, but it was only Kaelen. He was carrying a small tray with a piece of bread and a cup of warm tea.

"You look like you haven't moved in hours," Kaelen said. He sat on a chair near me and put the tray down. "Eat, Moana. You are getting too thin."

My goodness… as if he knew I was very hungry.

"Thank you, Beta," I said as I quickly took a sip of the tea. It felt good on my sore throat. "Kaelen? Why did my father draw these lines on the maps?"

Kaelen leaned over to look. His eyes went wide. "I have never seen those. These maps are very old. Your father was the best scout we ever had before... before the trouble."

"He wasn't a traitor, Kaelen," I said, looking him in the eye. "I know everyone says he was. But he loved this pack."

Kaelen sighed. He looked sad. "I want to believe you, Moana. But the Alpha saw the evidence with his own eyes. It is hard to change a mind made of stone."

We sat in silence for a moment. Then, I heard a loud noise from the hallway. It sounded like something breaking. Then, a roar of anger.

"He is having a bad day," Kaelen whispered. 

"Eldrick?" 

"Yes… his wolf is losing control," Kaelen explained. "Since he rejected you, his temper is like a fire. He broke a table in the meeting room this morning because a warrior spoke too loudly. He is losing his mind because he is trying to fight the bond."

Suddenly, the library door slammed open. 

Eldrick stood there. He looked like he had been in a fight. His shirt was torn a little bit at the shoulder, and his breathing was fast. He looked at me first, then his eyes snapped to Kaelen. 

"Out," Eldrick growled at Kaelen.

"Eldrick, she is just working and I…" Kaelen started to say.

"I said OUT!" Eldrick screamed again, cutting him off. The power in his voice made the books on the shelves shake. 

Kaelen looked at me with a worried face, but he knew he could not stay. He stood up and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.

I stood up, holding my father’s map against my chest like a shield. Eldrick walked toward me. He didn't stop until he was only an inch away. I could feel the heat coming off his body.