RETURN OF THE BANISHED LUNA

2

DAPHNE

My hand was still in the air when the woman laughed. I lowered it, hoping no one had seen me disgrace myself.

The crowd moved toward Harry almost immediately. Men and women alike gathered around him, eager to welcome home the Alpha Prince. Celeste moved easily at his side, smiling as people greeted them.

"Celeste Hargrove," a woman nearby said approvingly. "I always thought she'd end up somewhere remarkable."

"Look at the two of them," her companion agreed. "You couldn't design a better match."

"Battle-trained, educated, well-connected." They both let out a sigh. "She'd make a wonderful Luna."

I stared at the space where Harry's shoulders disappeared into the crowd.

My eyes watered with tears as I realized I had been caught in a stupid fantasy. Four years was a long time. Long enough for people to change and for promises to lose their meaning.

Celeste Hargrove looked like she belonged at Harry's side. I wasn't sure I ever had.

I pressed my palm flat against my sternum, where the necklace used to rest.

Across the room, I found Thelma without meaning to. Her eyes were glassy, and her mother was holding her. Then she shook her head and ran off immediately. Veronica closed her eyes with a sigh before going after her daughter.

Soon, I began to gasp for air as my wounded wolf retreated. I knew I couldn't stay there any longer, so I ran outside for air.

**

The night air hit my face, and I breathed it in until my hands stopped trembling. My wolf had gone off to cry, and I tried not to invade her grief.

The courtyard stretched out beautifully. Harry and I used to walk here when we were younger, whenever our fathers had meetings. I took the path ahead and kept walking until the music and voices disappeared.

Then I stopped and pressed my back against the wall, allowing myself to finally feel the pain in my stomach.

But then I heard muffled voices.

"—stood there the whole night and he didn't even—"

Thelma's voice came out small and cracked.

I wanted to leave before they knew I was around and it turned into another lecture or beating at home.

"Stop crying!" Veronica's voice rose.

"But she'll be Luna and..."

"No such thing will happen under my watch. I will take care of it. Have you ever had to worry about anything?" she asked, and I heard Thelma's sniffles begin to calm. "I've taken care of everyone, even when situations became complicated. I handled them all. Including your father."

My father?

My throat bobbed.

What did she mean by that?

My hands went cold as I remembered how my father had supposedly died from a heart condition that had appeared from nowhere. He had been completely fine, and then one day he wasn't.

"Leave Celeste to me," Veronica continued. "She won't be standing in your way for very long."

My legs carried me away before I decided to move them.

My pulse slammed so loudly in my ears that I could barely think past it.

I needed distance. Somewhere to sit and make sense of what I had just heard. Before I could think, I walked directly into a solid wall.

Two hands caught my arms and I looked up to see those haunting eyes.

"Harry..." I practically gasped.

His eyes scanned my face hurriedly.

"Daphne."

My name in his voice landed like a hand pressed over a wound. Something in me desperately wanted to lean into it.

"You're shaking. What happened?"

"Nothing. I needed air." I pushed myself out of his grip.

"Then why do you look terrified?"

"I'm fine." I stepped back, my brows crumpling.

My wolf was at full alert now, clawing at the surface.

"I should go back inside."

"Daphne—"

"It was good to see you, Harry. I'm glad you're..."

"Stop."

He cut me off before I could finish.

I stopped walking.

"Don't act like you don't know that we're mates," he said quietly. "I felt it too. Why are you running from me? What happened?"

I gritted my teeth and turned to face him, my eyes blazing with the pent-up emotions from the ball and what I'd just heard about my father.

"What was I supposed to do when you walked into the hall with another woman?" I scoffed.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand.

"Then you went ahead and gave everyone a show." My voice dropped. "You let her kiss you."

Tears welled in my eyes again, but I blinked them away.

"I couldn't make a scene at my homecoming, Daph. She kissed me, and I had to allow it. Our fathers are friends, and Gamma Hargrove asked me to escort her. That's all it was."

"Goddess, Harry, I don't want to do this right now. I just..." I barely managed the words as I turned to leave.

"No."

He grabbed my hand.

"You are not walking away from me, Daphne. There is nothing going on between Celeste and me."

My throat tightened.

"Then why didn't you write?"

His brows furrowed.

"What?"

"You heard me."

His hand dropped from mine.

"Daph, I did. Since phones weren't allowed, I wrote to you every single week."

"I never..." I stopped speaking as realization hit me.

All those nights I had stayed up crying because he never wrote to me, he actually had. The only updates I got were from the television whenever they broadcast something he achieved during training.

He grabbed my arms and shook me lightly.

"Say something to me. Why are you being silent?"

I stared at him, shaking my head.

"I... I need to cool off."

"All you've done all night is question me. How about I do the same? Why does Thelma have my necklace? Do you know how much it broke me not to see it on your neck?"

The veins in his neck stood out, but his voice seemed distant.

My mind kept returning to what Veronica had said.

I tried to convince myself she hadn't meant it literally.

What if I'm wrong?

What if I accuse her and nobody believes me?

"Please, tell me I am wrong and there is no one else."

His words barely registered as my father's face kept flashing through my head.

"What?"

His face tightened.

"Is there someone else?" he repeated. "Because nothing else explains this. I wrote to you every week. You never replied, and now I come home to you acting like I'm a stranger after giving my keepsake to your sister."

He took a breath.

"I want to know why."

His tone startled me, and my vision blurred, forcing out the tears I'd been holding back.

Frustration bubbled up.

"You think the world f*ck*ng revolves around you?" I yelled. "No!"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, you don't have to. And if you must know, there is no other man."

His face fell.

"I'm sorry for yelling. I didn't mean to make you cry. I..."

"Stop!" I cut him off, taking a step back. "I need a place where you aren't. You can go off with Celeste or whoever. I don't..."

Before I could finish, he pressed his lips against mine.

For a second, my body went still.

My hand grabbed the collar of his shirt, trying to fight as tears crowded my eyes, but Goddess, who was I kidding?

It was four years of waiting and longing.

I hadn't meant any of those things I'd said.

My mind was simply a mess, but still I wanted my Harry.

His kiss made me lose all sense of reason as our wolves took over.

I stopped fighting and kissed him back with everything I had been suppressing since the moment he walked through that door with someone else.

He made a low sound against my mouth that undid me entirely.

His hands moved.

One slid into my hair.

The other found my waist and pulled me against him.

It was no longer the innocent kiss of a sixteen-year-old.

This was a man, starved and hungry.

His hand tightened against my waist when we heard a sound.

Someone cleared their throat.

I pushed back instantly.

We were both breathing hard, turning toward the figure.