12

Aria's POV.

I stared at the flowers for a long time after Zie went quiet.

Something felt wrong at her sudden silence. I expected to keep on nagging me non-stop about how this was a bad idea but she was mute.

I guess that's a good thing then, I could finally think.

The meeting went well, which was a clear sign that Jaxon hasn't figured out that I wasn't Keira…yet. But that's not an excuse for me to relax, I needed to plan ahead.

I needed to start off with the one person that knew this Pack like the back of their palm..Jaxon.

I needed to know the in and out of this Pack as well as its weaknesses, strengths, secrets and whatever things I could find on it.

Because if I'm not able to kill Jaxon, this information might come in handy to make sure my head was still on my neck.

I took a quick shower and put on a soft pink dress, the kind that made me look like I was made of petals and silk. Zie had mentioned once that Keira liked petals. I didn't know if this shade was one of her favorites, but it felt gentle and disarming. I added two dabs of perfume, one on my neck, another behind my ears. Floral type.

I needed to look as feminine and completely sweet as possible, and thankfully this dress fits right into it.

After taking one last look in the mirror, I made my way out of my room.. I didn't tell Zie what I was doing. I knew she'd throw a fit, but I needed this. I needed Jaxon to drop his guard, and for that I needed to convince him beyond reasonable doubt that I was his beloved wife and Luna.

Jaxon would be in his study by this time of the day, Zie mentioned it before, and thankfully in my attempt to know my surroundings I passed by the study, so I didn't need to ask anyone for directions.

Arriving at the study, I realized what I was about to do was much harder that I thought in my head

My heart was suddenly beating fast, and I had to take in a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves, before knocking on the door.

"Come in," His voice called out from the other end.

I pushed the door open slowly. He was behind his desk, writing in a large black book. He looked up, and for a moment, the surprise on his face made me nervous.

"Keira? Am I seeing things?"

I let myself inside.

"Hi," I said in a really soft voice, and a smile on my lips.

“Hi,” he responded, closing the book gently, and leaning back into his chair. His eyes linger a second longer on my body. “Do you need anything?” He asked.

"Not really,” I responded, still smiling. “I just... I hadn't seen you in a while. Wanted to check in. See how you were doing."

"You came here to check on me?" He asked surprised, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

I nodded slowly, and stood just in front of his desk.

"And?" He asked, a little amused now. "What else?"

I let out a small breath.

"I was wondering... if you weren't too busy, maybe we could take a walk. Just the two of us."

He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

"Oh really?" He seemed impressed.

"Yes."

For a second, he didn't say anything.

“If you're occupied I can–”

“I'd love to,” he chuckled softly, and stood up. “It'd be nice to go for a walk with you,” he rounded the desk and gently took my hand. “It's just the perfect weather,” he rubbed his thumb over my hands, intensifying the sparks I was trying my best to ignore.

I smiled, and stylishly withdrew my hand, making it look like I was shy.

Jaxon smiled, and held my hand again, more firmly this time.

“I won't bite,” he mouthed, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

I forced a smile, hoping it looked natural.

We got into the garden, and the fresh air was a welcome relief from how stuffy I felt inside.

"I'm sorry." He said after a moment.

I looked at him.

"You're sorry? For what exactly?"

"For how Marvin spoke to you at the council meeting. I wanted to rip his head off."

I nodded.

"It's alright. Thank you, though."

"I should've done more."

"You did what you could." I said, my voice calm. "Besides, I held my own."

"You did, and I'm very proud of you." He said. "Nice to see that you can speak up for yourself."

I didn't know how to reply to that without ringing alarm bells in his head. So, I didn't say anything.

We turned down a gravel path, walking past rose bushes and tall plants.

"The sweet apples will be ready soon." He said. "And the new pears. The orchard's been full lately."

"Is that normal this time of year?"

"Not really." He admitted. "But we've had more rainfall, and I would say it's the land's way of responding."

I nodded.

"That's good. The children will enjoy that, I'm sure."

"They always do. They run wild during harvest week. Sticky fingers and muddy shoes. Will you be holding your annual Day of The Child, or will you sit it out?"

I smiled.

Zie, that little brat. She hadn't told me about this.

"I will be holding it, don't worry about that." I nodded.

"But don't you think that considering your health... you can still do it next year."

I let out a light airy laugh.

"Oh, Jaxon. Don't you think that the best way to celebrate that narrow death trap of an illness is by celebrating it with the little ones?"

He stopped, looking at me.

"You never cease to surprise me." He shook his head, smiling.

"Really? I never remembered surprising you." I said, reflecting on what Zie had told me about him.

Just then, he looked away, and I couldn't see how he felt. He turned to me some moments after.

"Regardless, I think it's great. But feel free to call it off whenever you need to. It's alright."

"Alright,” I muttered, and we continued our walk in silence. Each person lost in their own thoughts.

"So, how are you?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Since I woke up, we haven't really spoken much."

He looked ahead.

"No, we haven't, until today, that is. I'm doing okay, save for some issues the pack is going through. I'm healthy, my wife is too, and our pack is more on the good side. So many good things." He said.

As he spoke, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to Zie to make her speak bad of him.

"Don't let him deceive you." Zie's voice said.

We walked a few more steps when heavy footsteps pounded toward us from the main path.

"Alpha Jaxon!" A familiar voice called.

We both turned around to see Alex standing there.

"Luna Keira,” he gave me a curt nod which I returned.

"What is it?" Jaxon asked.

Alex glanced at me.

“I'll see you later,” I made to leave but Jaxon held me back.

“Speak. Keira's the Luna, there's no need hiding anything from her,* Jaxon told Alex.

Alex cleared his throat. "Two bodies were found at the riverbank. Just beyond the lower border."

"What happened to them?" Jaxon asked immediately.

"They were murdered. It was obvious, but it was so clean that there was no blood trail, no mess. Whoever did it knew what they were doing."

"And?" Jaxon pressed. "That doesn't explain the emergency."

Alex looked at him, then at me. His face tensed.

"They were MoonClaw Pack members according to their IDs."

My body stiffened at the mention of my former Pack.

"Are you sure of this?"

Alex nodded.

"We confirmed it. Their markings, the documents they carried... it's them. Two males, and they looked like warriors."

I felt my legs lock in place. The air seemed thinner now, and the ground was farther away.

I never even thought I would hear those words again. The name of the pack that I came from, I never...

My mouth was dry, and my hands and feet were numb.

Moon Claw.

My home, my past, my real identity. What had become of me there, even?

“Get Isla, and the head warrior to my study,” Jaxon informed, and Alex quickly got to work.

I barely noticed him leave, I was frozen in place until Jaxon turned to me.

"Keira." Jaxon said, stepping in front of me. "You're looking a bit tired. Are you alright?"

I blinked at him, but nothing came out. I couldn't speak at the moment. He reached for my shoulders.

"Talk to me."

I shook my head slightly.

"I... I don't feel well,” I managed to say. "Maybe I should sit down."

The next thing I felt was myself being lifted up.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to your room. I'll send the physician over.”

I parted my lips to respond but no words came out.