Luna's Redemption

Chapter Three

Tessa's POV

The next morning, I woke up before Lucien. For a moment, I sat up and watched him sleep. It had been so long since I saw him like this; his expression relaxed and his face free of hatred.

But I didn't give myself time to appreciate the sight. I wasn't here to admire his face. I was here to kill him.

I reached for the dagger where I had stowed it away with my underclothes and raised it over his neck.

It would be so satisfying to kill him the same way he had killed me.

If I had been anyone else, I know Lucien would have woken up by now. Taking an Alpha of his rank by surprise should be impossible, but this is me. After trying and failing so many times to kill him in my previous life, I had learnt how to do just that.

However, just as I was about to plunge the knife into his flesh, I felt my whole body lock up. My muscles went stiff as the force from the previous night slammed into me.

My hands trembled and I gritted my teeth, struggling to bring the knife down.

It was pointless.

With a groan of frustration, I turned away to hide the knife once more.

I can't kill him like this, I thought. There's no way around his aura.

Damn it, being in this body sucked.

I was still staring at him when his eyes opened, and I stopped myself from flinching back because that would have been suspicious as heck. Instead, I gave him a shy smile.

"Good morning, Alpha," I said.

He reached out to run gentle fingers through my hair, his smile soft.

"Good morning, Selena," he said.

I couldn't stand being looked at like that by him, with fondness rather than the hatred I had gotten used to. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, reaching for a robe. When I sat down again, it was with my back to him, so that I wouldn't see his damn face.

I was combing my fingers through my hair, hissing in slight pain at the tangles I came across, when I felt his hands in my hair. At first, I froze, but then I sighed and leaned into his touch, letting him take over as a new idea took shape. I could get used to his doting ways, after all.

I could play the naive wife for as long as I needed to, until I gained the power to kill him. This time, I wouldn't put my faith in regular weapons and half-baked plans.

I was going to reach out to my former allies.

……

Stepping into the dining room brought back more memories than I cared to recall. I did my best to block them out as I joined Lucien at the table.

"Thank you for having me, Alpha," I said with a smile.

Meanwhile I was thinking how dare you let another woman sit where I used to? I mean, the other woman is me anyway, but still. It's not like you know that.

"It's alright," Lucien said. "You're the Luna now, Selena. You have certain rights, and you don't have to thank me for them."

How about the right to sneak out of this place, you jerk? I thought with some irritation.

The security was unnecessarily tight. Probably because of the way I invaded the palace with my army back then. Still, that was no excuse for how they were ruining my plans. I needed to find my allies, and if I just left normally, I risked being watched or followed by Lucien's men.

Luna or not, Selena was still sent to this pack from another one. The first day was too soon to gain their trust. After all, their Luna of several years— ahem, me— had turned her back on them without a second thought. I needed to sneak out, as soon as possible.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Lucien asked.

I started, looking up at him. It took me a moment to register his question.

"Oh," I said, looking down at the spread of dishes.

I had been so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed them before.

"No, they're alright," I said, then realized that didn't sound enough like Selena. I looked up at him from under my lashes.

"They're perfect, Alpha. I've never had anything better."

He bought the act, foolish Lucien.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said with another one of those kind smiles. "If there's any special cuisine from home that you would like to be included in your meals, I'll make sure the chefs know."

Damn. Who the hell was this guy? If I didn't know better, I would have become jealous of Selena.

"Thank you, Alpha," I said.

"You don't have to call me that," he replied.

I paused with my fork in the platter of chicken.

"Alpha?" I asked.

"I already call you Selena," he said. "It would only be fair for you to call me by my name as well."

I let my fork clatter into the platter, and my hands fluttered to my mouth.

"Oh, no," I said, "I couldn't possibly…"

"Yes, you can," he said. "I insist. You are my wife, not my servant. You have every right to address me by my name."

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded.

"Yes, Alph— I mean," I paused, letting my lips part slightly as I made a show of trying out his name for the first time. "Lu…cien. Lucien."

He smiled at me, and I ducked my head, the very picture of shyness as I smiled back. The moment was ruined by a messenger. He ran in at full speed, looking frightened and out of breath.

Lucien and I were on our feet in seconds.

"What happened?" I asked.

But his eyes were on Lucien.

"Alpha," he said, "I don't think I should say this in front of her—"

I grabbed his sleeve, looking up at him with a perfectly panicked expression.

"What is it?" I asked, sounding terrified. "You have to tell me, I… I'm scared…"

The Selena Winters effect worked wonders. The messenger's eyes softened and he looked down at me with sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he said. "Your parents are dead."