The Luna’s Redemption

Two

LILA

Opa has reclaimed her seat beside my Dad, the king. She whispered something to his ears and as if in an instant, his facial expression shifted.

I got nervous. She hasn’t taken my side since then.

“Is that true, Lila?”

The king’s voice thundered in the room, causing some pairs of eyes to look at my direction. Dad looked at them and immediately, they looked away. All of us are terrified of him. Even I. Being his daughter did not exempt me from his petrifying demeanor.

I opened my lips to speak, but words were lost. I cleared my throat once, hoping that the words were only stuck at my throat.

“I have no idea on what this is about, my king.”

Dad’s gaze deepened. He stood up and stepped forward a few paces. Every step of his heavy boots sounded like drumroll to my demise.

He stood about two meters away from me. From that distance, the light from the torches bounced on his greying temples. His face dimmed, exuding authority and respect. I braved myself to look at his hazel eyes. I cannot see anything else but rage in them.

A façade, I know. Despite that heart of stone is a heart of gold.

“Where’s your cloak? It is unbecoming for a daughter of an alpha to go around and let others see her only wearing a thin nightgown.”

Behind him, I saw Opa snicker.

“I left it at my room, my king.”

“You’re lying.”

And then I gulped, my heartbeat quickened. My stepmother surely told him something. I licked my lips. If he already knows the truth, then there’s no point for me to lie.

I bit the insides of my cheeks. Here it comes…

“How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot keep doing this?! The woods are dangerous, Lila, especially at night. I don’t want you to reach the Vargulf. What if someone sees you?!”

There, I gulped, remembering the mysterious man I saw in the forest. Remembering the look on his eyes, still feeling the strange electricity between our touches. And those eyes… I could let myself drown in them. I would let myself drown and never resurface again.

Beaten, I lowered my head. Around me, the Glassmoon pack celebrates the night of the hunt. In contrast with the confusion and deep melancholy I feel for not belonging here. What kind of a werewolf can’t transform herself into a ferocious wolf?

“I apologize, my king. I will not do it again.” – I lied.

The king nodded and rubbed his mustache. I guess he bought my apology that he got up and went back to his throne, right beside his new wife.

I spared Opa a glance and the smirk was impossible to miss.

I curtseyed and excused myself from their presence. Even after years of mother’s death, it still takes a lot of courage and toleration to see dad with a different wife. But he’s a king. It’s his duty to the pack to get a new mate to help him rule. Duty.

Now, where do I go? My quarters will not be a room for my comfort as of the moment. As far as I know, the music from the merrymaking reaches everywhere in the Glassmoon.

I’d rather be anywhere else but here.

I wasn’t aware that my feet had already reached the exit of the grand palace. Shortly, I was back on the same forest. On the same area where I got stuck.

It felt weird. Like being pulled by a strong force.

I looked around, then up. There’s something different about the moon tonight. It has a reddish hue. I haven’t noticed it earlier.

“What did I say? You should be careful here at night.”

I jumped at the voice again. It’s too familiar. It’s the same voice that haunted me earlier and I wasn’t mistaken at all.

He’s back.

“Who… What are you? Why are you here?”

I was stepping back. There goes that weird feeling in my chest again. Familiarity. Yet, is it enough to meet someone twice in one night and immediately feel so connected with him?

“I’m curious about the same questions too. Who… are… you?”

With every syllable of his question, he took a step forward, invading my space. He’s much taller than me, and that meant I had to look up to meet his gaze. His gaze deepened.

“I’m… My name’s Lila Glassmoon.”

His brows flickered for a millisecond.

“Glassmoon. Hmm…”

There’s a hint of disappointment on his voice.

“Do I… Do I know you?”

He shook his head. His eyes still glued on mine.

I breathed in… and like a forbidden potion, I did again. He smelled… perpetual. Addicting.

“You don’t.” – he said, his gaze deepened into mine

My heart drummed in my chest. I cannot understand what exactly is happening but I know this isn’t normal. It’s like I cannot take my eyes away from him. My knees weakened and his gaze fell down on my lips.

His Adam’s apple moved when he gulped. He exhaled and I also felt the same shortness of breath. There, he looked back up my eyes. I noticed his pupils dilated.

He inhaled.

“I know you can feel it too.”

I frowned but my lips parted, not really grasping what he meant. But my sense of smell was already heightened. He smelled like pumpkin and vanilla… and sea breeze and oakwood and everything at once.

“Let go… please.”

But my mind’s telling me something else: Closer, hold me closer…

As if he could read my mind, he held me with his both arms holding my shoulders. He squeezed, still deeply looking in my eyes.

“Could it be…”

The rest of the sentence hung in the air as he leaned in closer to kiss me. I… I wanted to push him away but the kiss felt something I haven’t felt before. It tasted like liberation. Like the lost part of my being finally found.

The kiss lasted for more than a minute. And it was the slowest, most passionate and filled with emotions kiss I ever had. When it was over, we were both catching our breath.

But it wasn’t over.

He reached for my chin and lifted it up. He looked at my eyes deeply again and kissed me on the lips… and the kiss traveled on different places. And then, right before I knew, he and I were naked on the forest ground, kissing like it’s our last night in the world.

My mind’s screaming… telling me how wrong this is, but it felt right in all places.