Chapter Three: Her fierce loyalty

I turn to the only servant left. Our elderly cook. 

“Are you not leaving as well?” I ask her in a resigned tone, waiting for her to abandon me as well. 

She smiles, extenuating the crow's feet around her mouth and eyes. “No. To me, you are still the Luna of this Pack.” 

Looking at the cook, it is not hard to see what a looker she was when she was young. 

She has been cooking for the Packhouse since she was eighteen, having taken over from her parents.

None of her kids or grandchildren wants to be a cook, and every one of them has gone on to be something great, while a few of them serve as the Pack Warriors. 

Her words brought tears to my eyes. It felt nice to see at least one person in the whole Pack who hasn’t betrayed me. 

“Thanks,” I say with a smile of gratitude, tainted slightly by my sadness. 

“It is okay, child. I am sure everything would be alright, and you will find the one who would put you first.” 

I smiled at her cryptic words, not taking it to mind. My heart belongs to only one man, and I am not sure, after the way I have been hurt, if I would ever risk it again. 

We got down to business, preparing the meal to be served at dinner tonight. 

With Selene’s presence, the dinner at the PackHouse is certain to be packed. Every Pack member curious about their new Luna will be dropping by for a meal, which means we have to prepare a large quantity of food, making sure it never runs out. 

One of the duties of a Luna is to be a great host. And a great host means that you never lack food to serve your guests, especially to wolves who could eat like a thousand armies. 

I heard footsteps heading in our direction, but I paid them no mind until I smelled her perfume.

I was peeling the potatoes that was supposed to be Serina’s duty when she walked in, her strong flora perfume preceding her.

I froze with what I am doing, but doesn’t turn around to acknowledge her. 

I could feel her presence behind me like a looming shadow seeking to devour my soul.

What does she want? I couldn’t help questioning in my mind. 

Selene has yet to address me directly. After the spectacle she and Victor put up this morning in front of the Pack House she had walked in with him like she owned the house.

But she doesn’t.

While she was where ever she was enjoying her life, I helped Victor rebuild our Pack. Putting my sweat and blood into making the Pack great again, and she waltzes in like the English seeking to lay claim to everything I have built.

Do I fight back? 

Do I have the strength to challenge someone like her? 

Being wolfless means that I lack the super strength, speed and hearing my species are blessed with. 

Put it simply, I am human in the most degrading sense of it. 

Only, I take it a step further, displaying ability none of our kind could. An ability I hid from everyone, at the urging of my parents to avoid drawing attention to myself.

And it is because of this ability I could hear the exciting thoughts running through Selene’s mind.

Not as clearly, but I could feel her excitement about whatever it is that she is thinking. 

In a second that excitement disappears, replaced by something dark. 

A darkness that chills my soul. 

"Aren’t you two going to greet your Luna?" 

The sweetly muttered question held a hint of bite to it that illuminated the blonde’s annoyance at the lack of acknowledgment from us, but when I turned to pay my respect to her, the only thing that stared back at me was a calm impassive expression. 

I wondered again, if the woman before me is capable of showing emotions.

"I am sorry, Luna. It will not happen again," the cook apologised, but my pride wouldn’t let me speak the words that I needed to. 

I held my head down, not looking at her, but I didn’t apologise or greet her either. 

I stiffened when I hear her footsteps edging in my direction, unhurried, as if she teases me with her approach. 

I began to perceive an odd smell from her. 

A stench of malice. 

Why? 

I raise my head instinctively when she stood before me, and that turned out to be the worst mistake I could have made. 

I didn’t see her hand move, but I surely felt the strike when they landed on my right cheeks, swung my head to the opposite side from impact. 

The echos of soft gasps resounding inside the kitchen let me know we have audience.

Servants who have come to bear witness to my humiliation, leading them, and leaning casually backwards, is Serina. 

She wore a giddy smirk on her face, her eyes showing her enjoyment of the spectacle unfolding before her.

"Luna!" Our cook gasps loudly, her tone pleading for mercy on my behalf, her kind brown eyes narrowed with worries. 

The cook and I have always had a good relationship. She stepped in as the mother I lost. 

My confidant in the days and nights that things got tough. 

She is a woman full of wisdom, and strength, and I must say that both qualities have carried me through the hardest moments of my life.

She treats me like the daughter she never had, having had two sons before she lost her mate to the rogue attack.

We bonded together through our lost, but soon our relationship carried on past the sorrow that brought us together.

She is the closest thing to a family to me, except for Victor. 

I hold my cheek, my eyes snapping to meet Selene’s cold ones. She didn’t look affected by her violence. Like it is an everyday occurrence for her to strike another person so easily and so effortlessly. 

I would love to strike back, to show some backbone, unfortunately, I didn’t have it in me, and could only lower my head in shame. 

"I hate to be ignored," she comments causally, before turning to face the cook, her eyes narrowing as she observes the woman. 

"You care for her?" She asks, a trace of amusement in her voice.

The her in her words meaning me. 

The cook stares confusingly at her, not knowing what answer would earn her the wrath of the Cold Luna. 

I saw when those brown eyes steeled with resolve and the cook nods her head. 

Selene’s eyes widens in response to her answer. I would think it is surprise, but no. It is amusement. It is as if she is enjoying whatever sick game she is playing with us.

"I am going to ask you a question, old woman, and I need you to answer me honestly." 

The hard steel behind her words let the cook know that she will not tolerate anything less than the truth. 

What is she up to?

Whatever it is, it will not end well. 

"What is it?" The cook ask softly, her voice hesitant and nervous, as if she dreads what the blonde is going to ask her.

She is right to be afraid, because I must admit that the impressive woman before me seems capable of anything, and I don’t have the power to stop her. 

"Who do you pledge your loyalty? Me, or her?" She turns to look at me fleetingly, before returning her gaze to the Cook. The blonde looked serene, but her grey eyes had a malicious excitement gleaming from it. 

It is a trap, and her smug expression says so. Would the cook realize this? I look at the woman hoping she  realizes the trap before her. 

The older woman began to tremble, filling me with pity for her. The expression on her face was one of fear and confusion. 

She steals a look at me, and I tell her with my eyes to make the smart choice. But when those warm brown eyes leaves mine, those stubborn look I have seen occasionally reflected in them, I knew she was going to choose wrong. 

"I am sorry, but their is only one Luna in my heart, and it is not you." 

Despite the look of fear on her face, the Cook uttered these words confidently, shocking everyone in the room except the cold grey eyes watching the cook with interest.