A Luna's Journey: A Line Between Duty And Desire

Chapter Four

Duriel’s POV

I watched Kionna leave her room, cards still spread out on her fancy white carpet where we'd been playing. I came through late to their game – walked in on Lorenzo, Kionna, and Piper all laughing and having a good time like everything was cool. Like I still belonged there. Like these past few months of cold shoulders and sharp comments ain't even happen. Like we all weren't counting down them four days till everything change up.

My pops rolled through quick and unexpected. Didn't even wait for Kionna to clear the door before stepping in, carrying himself with that energy that made him such a beast as Gamma. Third in command of our pack, and man still had everybody standing at attention. His words hit different: "You will protect her." Wasn't no request – that was an order from both Gamma and Father. Like I needed to be told to watch over her. Like I ain't been doing that since we was pups before Brandon's pack came sniffing around with their political moves and marriage talk.

Them cards scattered on the carpet was looking at me funny while I gathered them up, shuffling just to keep my hands busy. At seventeen, I was supposed to be focused on training, following in my pops' footsteps as a future enforcer. Instead, here I was, about to be shipped out with the Alpha's daughter – the shorty who been living rent-free in my head since we was kids. The one who bout to turn eighteen in four days and marry into a whole nother pack.

When she pushed the door open again, I had to keep my face straight. Everybody else had bounced – Lorenzo and Piper probably getting the rundown about what's next. But I stayed put, shuffling these cards like they was gonna tell me something I needed to hear. For a hot second, our eyes connected, and I let myself remember. Remember when we was just kids running these halls, when being her best friend was the easiest thing. Before all this pack politics and arranged marriage stuff got in the way.

"So," I said, trying to keep my voice steady while the cards kept moving in my hands. "Looks like we're going to be roommates." Words tasted straight bitter coming out. Roommates. Like that's all we ever was. Like I ain't spent these last seventeen years memorizing everything about her, watching her grow into someone I knew but didn't know at the same time. My pops' orders was still ringing in my head, that pressure weighing on me like I was carrying bricks.

My grip got tighter on them cards, knuckles turning white trying to keep it together. Pops' words still echoing: "This isn't about whatever feelings you might have, Duriel. This is about duty. About being worthy of the position you'll inherit one day." The Gamma's son, trained since day one to hold down the pack, now gotta guard the one shorty I can't have. Like I ain't counting down the days till she officially becomes part of Brandon's pack.

I was going hard with them cards now, feeling them bend under my grip. Every card slid against the next one matching how my thoughts was racing. This ain't how it was supposed to go down. Not her, not me, not like this.

"Look," she started, her voice all soft and proper like it always was, like it used to make everything better. "I know you don't want to—"

"What I want doesn't matter," I cut her off, coming out harder than I meant to. "My father made that clear." The way that bitterness hit in my voice caught even me off guard. This wasn't just about the assignment – this was about everything. About watching her slip away, about standing there while she planning a whole future with someone else.

My eyes caught one of her wedding catalogs on the floor, and before I could check myself, I was reaching for it. My hands feel all kinds of wrong, too big for something this fancy. The glossy pages was straight disrespecting me as I opened them up, and there it was – the dress Piper had marked. Clean, beautiful, perfect for Kionna. Perfect for Brandon's bride.

"This the one?" I asked, hating how soft I sounded. Hating how much I still cared.

"Obviously," she shot back, matching my usual tone. "The folded page kind of gives it away."

I stayed looking at that dress, picturing her in it. Walking down the aisle. To someone else. "You'll be a beautiful bride, Kionna." That truth slipped out before I could catch it, raw and real in a way I ain't been in months.

"DeeDee..." The way she said my name – like she used to before everything switched up – had my chest feeling tight.

I snapped that catalog shut, couldn't take another second. "Don't," I warned her, my voice rough. "Don't pretend you care what I think." I put the catalog down gentle though, even though I wanted to launch it across the room. Even though I wanted to tear up every page showing her perfect future with someone else.

"That's not fair," she protested. "You're the one who changed. Ever since Brandon—"

"Since Brandon," I echoed, letting out a laugh that felt like glass cutting my throat. "Right. Everything's about Brandon now, isn't it?" I stood up, had to move, had to put some space between us before I said something I couldn't take back. "The perfect match. The perfect future. The perfect life all planned out."

"Why are you being like this?" she demanded, finally letting that anger show in her voice. "You used to be my best friend, DeeDee. What happened to that guy?"

For a minute, looking down at her, I wanted to spill everything. Tell her that guy was still right here, drowning in feelings he couldn't speak on, watching his best friend fall for someone else. But instead, I locked my jaw, going back to that ice-cold front that had become my shield. "He grew up," I said flat out. "And realized some things ain't meant to be."

I moved past her to the door but stopped for a second. One last shot. One last wall between us. "I'll see you tomorrow night," I said quiet like. "Try not to need too much protection in the human world. Wouldn't want to disappoint the homey by having another n***a too close to his precious wife."

I closed that door behind me, each step down the hall feeling like another L I had to take. The Gamma's son, just doing his job. Nothing more. Had to be nothing more.

Even if fronting like that was killing me inside.

I found Kennisha, my girlfriend of a few weeks, posted up in our usual spot behind the training grounds, the evening shadows stretching across the snow. Baby was looking right, her dark chocolate skin glowing under the security lamps, and even with all this drama on my mind, I couldn't help but notice how fine she was.

"Hey baby," she smiled, but that smile dropped quick when she peeped my expression. "What's wrong?"

I leaned up against the wall next to her, trying to figure out how to break this news. "I just got assigned to a protection detail."

Her hand found mine, fingers lacing together, her skin warm despite the cold out here. "That's good though, right? Your father must be proud – the Gamma's son getting his first real assignment."

"Nah, it ain't that simple." I squeezed her hand, already knowing how she was gonna react. "I'm being sent to the human world. With Kionna."

The way Kennisha switched up was instant. Her whole body got rigid, and them pretty features turned cold. "Kionna? Little Miss Perfect with her ice-blue eyes and ghost-white skin? Let me guess – because of that prophecy, everybody has been whispering about? The one about Alpha females turning eighteen?"

"Ken..." I tried to warn her, but she was already going off.

"Nah, for real though. Everybody acts like she's so special, so beautiful 'cause she's different. Like being albino makes her some kind of exotic princess." Kennisha was straight-spitting venom now. "All these Alpha daughters getting special treatment, special protection, like they the only ones that matter. And of course, they picked you for her. They always choose her first, don't they?"

"Stop it," I said, feeling wild and ironic after my earlier conversation with Kionna. "This ain't about special treatment. The Council is hunting these girls. They all in danger—"

"Oh please. Defend her some more, why don't you?" Kennisha's eyes narrowed in the dim light. "You know what people say – about how close y'all used to be. How you used to follow her around like a lost puppy before Brandon came through. Always staring at them freakish blue eyes like they had all the answers."

That hit different because it was too true, but them comments about Kionna's looks had me heated. "Stop it. Right now."

"What?" Kennisha pulled back, looking shocked.

"You know what. Making comments about her looks like that – it's ugly, Ken. You’re better than that." I stepped away from the wall, running my hand through my curly hair, frustrated. "You can be mad about me leaving, but don't come with that prejudiced stuff about how she looks."

"Oh, so now I'm the bad one?" Her voice went up. "Everybody else can go on and on about how beautiful and special she is because she is albino, but I say one thing—"

"You said more than one thing, and you know it." I cut her off, keeping it real. "Being jealous is one thing. Being prejudiced is something else. Don't mix them up."

Kennisha's dark skin flushed deeper under the security lights, and for a minute, I thought she was gonna pop off more. But then her shoulders dropped. " I'm sorry. It's just... it’s not fair. You my boyfriend, but they’re sending you away with her."

"This ain't about her looks or her status, or any of that other stuff you wanna blame. This about keeping her – and every other Alpha female turning eighteen – safe from whatever the Council plotting." I softened up but held my ground. "And I need you to understand I ain't trying to hear that kind of talk about nobody, especially not someone I've known my whole life."

She was quiet for a minute, then nodded. "I said I'm sorry. I just... I hate this. All of it."

I pulled her close again, feeling her warmth against me. "I know. But we gonna make it work, remember?"

She pulled back to look at me, her eyes shining in the security lights, looking like stars against her dark skin. "Then we better make tonight count."

I let her pull me into a kiss, trying to lose myself in the moment, in her. Trying to forget about tomorrow, about Kionna, about the prophecy, about everything. But even as Kennisha's lips moved against mine, my mind was spinnin, thinking about them ice blue eyes and that hourglass shape that had me messed up since forever. When my hands found Kennisha's waist, I caught myself wishing I was holding onto them thick curves that made Kionna fill out every outfit like it was made for her. The guilt hit different – I was out here adding one more lie to an already growing pile, and this one was the worst kind of foul – kissing one shorty while my mind was stuck on another.

Because while I'd stood up to her prejudice, I hadn't corrected her about one thing – those ice-blue eyes of Kionna's really did hold all the answers for me once. Maybe they still did.