The Banished Luna

Chapter 16

Numbly, Georgia stripped and shuffled to her little bathroom to wash and change. She didn't remember walking back to her room the night before. She tried to remember what she'd heard and seen, but the whole thing was fading from her mind like a dream.

Her body felt was as heavy as lead as she walked to the kitchen. It would be a long day. When she arrived though, Flora hurried to her side.

"Granny said ye're to stay in bed today, lass."

"Really?" Georgia was shocked. She'd never been given a day off in the months since she was sent here. What happened last night?

Flora nodded and handed her a plate of breakfast. "Really really! Now off you go. Eat this and rest up so that ye can be ready to be back tomorrow."

Still unsure of what was going on, Georgia took the plate. "Ok, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Don't be silly. I'll come by to check on ye and bring yer tea and supper." She have Georgia a playful pinch to the cheek and returned to the kichen chores.

In a daze, she walked back to her room. By the time she got there, she could barely walk. Her feet dragged as if they were encased in concrete, and her head felt like it was filled with porridge. She set the plate down on her desk, and without even taking a bite, fell into her cot like a sack of rocks.

When she opened her eyes again, Flora was gently shaking her.

"You have to eat, sweet." Her voice was edged with concnern.

"Wha...?" Georgia tried to lift her head, but could not raise it from the pillow. "I can't..." Her eyes filled with fearful tears.

"Och, lass. Was it the first time ye did the Three-in-One ritual? Is it nae done where ye're from?" Flora sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Georgia's dark hair. "No wonder ye're in a state."

"What happened to me?" Georgia whimpered.

"The ritual tears yer spirit away from yer body and sends it into the beyond. Usually a young one has plenty of preparation before trying it for the first time, but yer poor body is drained from the shock." She leaned down and wrapped Georgia's prone form in a warm hug. "If ye ask me, it was irresponsible to put ye through it, but it not my place to question Granny."

"Has Avi come to see me?" Georgia whispered. "Does he know?"

"I have nae seen him this morning."

"If you see him, please....I want him here."

"Of course." Flora pulled a bowl of thick soup from a tray on the desk. "But first, ye need to eat. I made this special for ye, so ye cannae say no."

A wooden spoon heaped with a lump of steaming goop came into Georgia's field of vision. She could see a chunk of dark meat and a bit of bright orange carrot, but the rest was unrecognizable shades of beige. It smelled amazing, though.

"What is it?"

"Scotch broth! It's what my mam would made when we were sick, and what I make for my bairns. It's chock full of mutton and veg and grains and bone broth."

Georgia allowed herself to held up and fed like an infant by the motherly kitchen manager. Despite hreself, tears rolled down her cheeks as the hot filling soup wamed her, body and soul.

"I wish I knew my mother." She sniffed between spoonfuls. "They told me she was only 14...and my father mated her against her will. But I think she could still have loved me."

"Aye, she would have. A mother's love is unconditional, even if the babe was borne from such awful circumstances." Flora replied softly. "Do ye know, there are old old tales where women are violated, but their children go on to do glorious things. Gods and heroes, they are."

"A hero who can't even lift her arms?" Georgia huffed.

Flora chuckled. "All in good time. For now, though, ye need to rest. I'll be back this evening with some supper." With a final pat, she gathered up the dishes and left Georgia to return to sleep.

Without her friend to distract her, Gerogia's heavy eyes quickly shut and she fell into dreamless sleep. When next they opened, it was dark outside, but the soft light from a candle illumunated a small coner of the room. She turned towards the light, expecting to see Flora with more soup, but instead, sitting at her desk, was Avi. His back was turned from her, and hunched over an open book.

"Avi?" Georgia whispered. "I'm ok now, I think." She chuckled. She was able to sit up in the bed now, at least.

He startled at the sound of her voice, and turned around in the chair. Even in the dim light, she saw his eyes were red and his face drawn.

"I'm sorry if I worried you. Apparently it was some ritual that I wasn't entirely ready for. I barely remeber - "

"I, Avi Ericksson, future Alpha of Snowbright pack, reject you as my mate!" Avi nearly shouted, cutting her off.

No sooner had he spoken those words, but a stabbing pain erputed in Georgia's chest, like her heart was physically being ripped out. She gasped and clutched her quilt.

"Avi...but why?"

"Accept my rejection." He ordered, he seemed to take up more space in the small room as he invoked his authority as the future Alpha.

Georgia cried out with pain as their mate bond was being twisted and corrupted, growing brittle and weak. She needed to accept the rejection for it to fully break, otherwise the pain would keep growing more and more severe. A wracking sob tore through her throat, as the pain raged within her.

"I don't understand!" she wept. "Avi, please..."

He crossed the room and roughly grabbed her by the collar of her tunic, lifting her several inches from the bed.

"Do it now." He demanded, his eyes flashing amber.

"I, G-Georgia Napelli, accept...Please, don't make me..." She sobbed helplessly. When he didn't respond, she finished. "I accept your rejection."

A loud crash distracted them both from the moment, as they both turned to the source of the racket.

Flora stood, horrified, in the doorway of the room, her tray of soup and milk spattered on the floor in front of her, and her hand covering her mouth.