001| THE LUNA WHO SAW TOO MUCH

~Vixen~

“Luna Vixen,” Beta Mitch bowed breathless. “We can’t find him anywhere.”

The rate of my heartbeat accelerated. My fists tightened around the edge of my white dress.

“What do you mean you can’t find him? The mating ceremony starts in ten minutes.”

I had no right to be mad at them, not when it wasn’t their fault.

But it was the fear that drove the rage, the fear that he would suddenly decide to end the mating ceremony again, after I had waited for five whole years.

“Did you check his office?” My legs were already moving on their own accord.

“He wasn’t there too. Do you want me to send an order to find him?”

My legs stopped moving. The mere thought of the rumors that would follow the news, sent a shudder through me.

An alpha, who ran away from his own mating ceremony. How could I bear that shame?

Turning to him, I met his eyes in the darkness. “Keep it discreet.”

He bowed and left with speed of lightning.

I exhaled, trying to control the hard pounding of my heart.

My wolf, Emmie, trembled with fear, one I tried to hide from the surface.

“Do you think he left? Is he finally going to reject us?”

I swallowed hard, hating how heavy the answer to her question felt on my tongue.

“He won’t do that. Kael would never desert his son or the pack.”

I dare not put my name there. I had no confidence to claim he won’t desert me. After all, these five years with him had been nothing but cold, he hadn’t even marked me.

Tears prickled at the corner of my eyes, I blinked them back. This was no time to be weak.

A sudden gush of wind, brought a scent I didn’t think I will smell again.

Emmie jerked in excitement. “Mate, he’s around here.”

Relief washed through me like cold water on a hot summer afternoon.

“He’s here.” I breathed.

Though the scent was faint, it still gave me the last bit of hope to cling unto.

I picked up my long white dress, holding tightly to it, as I ran through the dark clearing, eager to follow the scent before it disappeared on me again.

The pack members were watching, probably wondering why their Luna was running, when she should be getting ready for her night.

But there would be no night, without Kael.

The faster I ran, the more obvious the scent became. The scent that drew me to him from the first day, one I forever long for.

It led me to a garden, at the far end of the pack.

No one visited here anymore, not after the last attack on the pack.

What was he doing here?

I didn’t wait to ponder on that, I was more eager to see him, to make sure he was alright.

But as soon as I stepped into the moonlight garden, everything felt wrong.

I caught another scent in the air, strange yet familiar.

My steps slowed, my stomach tightening.

That was impossible, I could be wrong. There was no way it was her scent.

Olaine was dead, for five years now.

However, as I rounded the corner, the world came crashing down on me.

There, beside the fountain was Kael, entangled in hot passion with another woman.

Her head was tilted, her lips slightly open from pleasure, while his head was buried in the crook of her neck.

The scent of sex and betrayal hit me so hard that I gasped, taking a straggling step back.

They didn’t hear me, or notice my presence.

Then I saw it, his fangs sliding out of her neck, while his tongue licked away the blood that flowed, all as they maintained the rhythm of their passion.

The hands flew to my lips as the sob tore out.

He didn’t just betray me; he marked her also. He didn’t mark me for five years, and yet he marked another on the night of our mating ceremony.

I fought to regulate my breathing, but I couldn’t even breath properly.

Emmie tears broke the last piece of restraint I had left. “How could he do this to us? We have only loved him all our lives.”

“Kael…” My voice broke, my body shaking with emotions I dare not name.

For a moment, everything stilled. His eyes slowly lifted to me, and then he pulled away from her with the speed of a thief caught in action.

I was already bleeding deep inside.

“Vie… I…”

“How could you…?” But the question died on my lips as soon as my eyes caught sight of the woman with him.

“Olaine.” I staggered from shock.

How is this possible?

Olaine smirked, carefully flipping her long disheveled hair.

“Hello stepsister, it’s been a while.”

I am clearly losing my mind. This is a bad dream; it has to be.

“How… how are you alive? we saw your clothes, your body… you were torn apart in the woods.”

For a moment, I forgot all about the betrayal before me, or maybe I was having difficulties processing it all.

I would have rushed to her, hugged her in gratitude that she was really alive. I wanted to know how she was alive.

I wanted to ask her if Dad knew she was alive. I would have asked her those questions if the situation was different, right now, all I felt was the pain of watching my husband and sister betray me.

Olaine stepped away from Kael, fixing her dress with a carefree look on her face.

Maybe it was the arrogance on her face, the mocking smirk on her lips as she stepped forward, but I instantly got back to the present.

I looked from Kael to Olaine. I didn’t expect any better from Olaine, she had done even worst in the past.

But Kael?

“Why?” My lips quivered in a futile attempt to let out more words.

Kael’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond. Not at first.

“How could you do this? You marked another woman, Kael, on the night of our mating ceremony?”

My pulse was rising with each question. I stepped forward, grabbing his shirt with shaky hands.

“I trusted you.”

“Vixen…” He trailed off. “That’s enough.”

Enough? I grip on him tightened. “You piece of shit, how could you?”

My hand seemed to have a mind of its own. It was only after the sound of slap echoed through the darkness that I realized I just slapped Kael.

Olaine lunged at me then, pushing me off Kael. I fell back, barely holding onto the trenches for support.

“Why are you acting all innocent and betrayed now? Weren’t you the problem all along?” She fumed.

I laughed, slow, poisonous, my heart pounding against my ribcage. “The problem?”

Olaine folded her arms under her chest, her eyes beaming with light I knew too well.

“You were the reason I had to pretend to be dead for years. You sent men to kill me and married the man I love. How dare you try to act like we wronged you.”

My heart stopped. “What?”