Vengeance:The Luna’s Reawakening

“Oh, s**t! We are out of vegetables!” Alpha Thane’s lunch of venison stew was simmering on the stove when I realized that we had run out of vegetables for the broth. Alpha Thane loves a good venison broth made with root vegetables accompanied by strong tea that was made from wild herbs like sage and mint leaves. I didn't want Alpha Thane to be mad at me for anything. In fact, I wanted to please him with this meal—just as I’ve always wanted to please him with everything I did—so I hurried out of the large kitchen and into the backyard to pluck some vegetables, not minding that I was heavy with a pup growing in me. I left a maid to watch the broth in the kitchen. As soon as I got to the backyard I quickly plucked out the desired vegetables and herbs and dashed back into the kitchen to make the most perfect lunch for my Lycan mate. I smiled when I finished preparing the meal and was yet to hear Alpha Thane's footsteps descending from the staircase. It meant that I didn't keep him waiting and I was on time. I gladly stepped into the dining room with the wooden tray that contained his lunch and began setting the table. As soon as I was done setting the table, I heard his footsteps as he descended the staircase from his study. My heart began to race as he walked to the dining room and took his seat at the head of the table, barely acknowledging my presence in his usual way. I stood beside him to watch him eat in my usual manner. I liked watching him eat the meals that I prepared for him. It made me happy. When he reached out to the empty mug beside his plate, I immediately grabbed the teapot and poured out some tea into his mug. He usually liked to start with a sip of his strong tea. When he placed the teacup down, my tummy knotted in anticipation. This is the moment I have been waiting for. The moment Alpha Thane will finally acknowledge me for taking good care of him and cooking him the best meals. He picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of meat before cutting it into a smaller piece. I watched the journey of the piece of meat on the fork from the plate to his lips intently, with anticipation. When the piece came close to his lips, Alpha Thane’s demeanor suddenly changed. His once emotionless face became a full-blown frown. My excitement suddenly turned into worry as I watched him. What is wrong? What have I done wrong this time? Oh Avery! You just can't do anything right, can you? My heart was now beating at twice its normal rate as I waited for his verdict. My Lycan mate shot me a look. It was not the look of approval that I had been expecting for cooking him his favourite meal. “Who cooked this?” His baritone voice boomed suddenly. I was startled by the sound of his voice. My lycan alpha mate barely ever acknowledged me let alone speak to me. This was somewhat strange and he didn't seem quite pleased. “I-I-I did”, i stammered in reply. His eyes suddenly left me and shot back to the food. He raised the fork with the piece of meat once again but this time, it wasn't to his lips. It was to his nose. I was now shaking as I watched him sniff the food. What could I have done wrong? I prepared the food exactly as it was supposed to be, following the old cultural recipe. As he sniffed the food, he suddenly slammed the fork back into the plate. The dining table trembled at the force and so did I. His wolf suddenly came forward and his eyes glowed a bright red. He is angry. Why is he angry? In a split second, he was standing up, his chair tipping over and falling with a crash as he instantly covered the space between us. His strong hand suddenly had me in a choking grip around my neck as he pinned me against the nearby wall. He growled. I shivered. Fear and pain took over my body at the same time. I couldn't breathe. What was my offense? How did I offend him? I wondered as his red eyes locked with my natural brown ones. He let out a loud angry growl again before speaking in his deep lycan voice. “How dare you try to poison me with wolfsbane!” XXX Avery’s POV He threw me against the bed, carelessly. I felt my pup kick against the walls of my womb at the force. It was painful. My eyes were still wet from all the crying and apologizing I had been doing all day. “Don't move. If you do, you’ll be dining with our ancestors tonight”. From the look on his face, I knew that Alpha Thane’s words were not mere threats. He was really angry at the situation and would not hesitate to end my life if I moved funny. I watched him go into the walk-in closet of the bedroom we share and in a few seconds, he was out again. Not just as an alpha but as the Lycan king of the pack of Red Moon Valley. He was dressed in his kingly robe and had his staff in his hand. This only meant one thing—he had summoned the elders of Redmoon Valley to give their verdict on the matter at hand. “Alpha Thane, please you have to believe me. I didn't do it”, I said amidst tears. “Will you stop lying to me?! There was a witness who saw you put the wolfsbane. You heard the maid testify against you! Why are you still lying?” The tears that blurred my vision began to run down my face for the umpteenth time that day. How can I convince him that I didn't do it? “I swear by the Moon goddess…” “Now you don't want to do that, Avery. You committed a crime. You were caught. Now you need to dance to the tune of your music”, he said with eyes as cold as ice. My tears meant nothing to him. Neither did my attempt at an explanation and even my apologies. There was no way I was going to convince him of my innocence. The hot liquid from my eyes continued to rain down like a waterfall with my sobs accompanying it as the Lycan king stepped out of the bedroom chambers and headed to the Throne room where my fate would be decided. I sat up. I needed to hear the proceedings of the Throne Room. I was curious. Yes, Alpha Thane warned me not to move an inch but I couldn't just stay in bed and do nothing. The Throne Room was two doors away from the bedroom so I had two options. Either I go out of the room and risk being caught eavesdropping on the private matters of the Throne room or I stay in the bedroom and try to channel my wolf hearing which I have never had cause to use before. I was an omega wolf, the weakest of the pack. We were slow bloomers who usually lived out our lives being protected by the Betas and the Alphas of the pack. We were useless at war and most of our usefulness was channeled into handling domestic chores around the households of the influential pack members. That was how I found myself serving Alpha Thane before he marked me and made me the Luna—although I never felt like one. He never made me feel like one. But I stayed optimistic that one day he would come around and love and care for me like I did him. I closed my eyes and focused on summoning my weak omega wolf. There was a flash of her presence but she quickly disappeared. “C’mon wolf”, I beckoned to my wolf. I felt her struggle. She wanted to do as I commanded but she was still an amateur, an untrained wolf. I was definitely asking her for too much since I have never pushed her this hard before. “C’mon, wolf. You can do this”, I whispered to my wolf again, my eyes shut and my mind focused on channeling my energy to bring her forward. At that moment, I saw a blue hue cover my eyes and I began to hear low tones from two rooms away. It was working. My wolf hearing was activated for the first time! But I needed it clearer, sharper. I could only hear voices but not the words being spoken. I concentrated harder. “…but I don't want her dead anyway. For all I know this could be some sort of mistake. Avery has no motive to kill me. She was the most submissive while she was an ordinary servant girl and even after becoming Luna, she lives to please me. I can’t let her die”. My mouth fell open. Alpha Thane was defending me in the Throne room? I never would have seen this one coming. Then I heard another voice speaking. It was the voice of one of the elders. “Alpha Thane, we the elders of the Redmoon valley do not operate on sentiments. We have heard the full account of what happened and we have heard also from the witness. And we hereby give our verdict”. There was a long pause. Avery’s heart stopped beating as her wolf listened raptly. “What shall the verdict be?” Alpha Thane asked, impatiently. “Luna Avery is hereby found guilty of treason punishable by death”.