The Ugly Luna

CHAPTER 6

ELLIE

I wake slow, warm, still soft everywhere he touched me. My hand moves across the sheets before I'm even fully awake, reaching for him on instinct.

Cold.

I open my eyes. The other side of the bed is empty, the blankets pushed back like he left in a hurry. I sit up and listen. No water running. No movement in the sitting room.

"Adrian?"

Nothing.

I check the bathroom anyway, then the little sitting area by the fireplace, already knowing what I'll find. Empty.

I stand in the middle of the room for a second, feeling stupid for the small drop in my stomach. He's an Alpha. Alphas have duties. Probably something came up at dawn, and he didn't want to wake me after last night.

I get dressed slowly, taking my time with a simple blue dress laid out over the chair, and step out into the hallway.

Yesterday, Adrian showed me the compound himself, naming things as we passed them. Today, walking it alone, discovering it a second time on my own feet, sounds nice.

The hallway outside our room is quiet in the early light, sun cutting long gold bars across the stone floor. I remember this part—the east wing, the tapestries with the sun crest woven into deep blue thread. I trail my fingers along the wall as I walk, still a little disbelieving that any of it is mine now.

Two wolves round the corner ahead of me, mid-conversation, laughing about something. They see me and the laughter stops.

"Luna."

One of them dips her head. The other quickly follows, neither of them meeting my eyes.

"Good morning," I say, watching them carefully as I notice how stiff they seem.

Neither answers. One gives a small, rigid nod before they hurry past me, their steps noticeably quicker than before.

I glance over my shoulder.

They've already leaned toward each other, their voices lowered to whispers. One of them flicks a glance in my direction before quickly looking away again.

Hmm. Is something on my face?

I pull out my phone and check my reflection. Nothing. Everything looks fine. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

I head toward the packhouse, expecting another ordinary day, but the moment I pull the heavy wooden door open, something feels...off.

A pair of omegas approaching from the opposite direction freeze the instant they see me. They exchange a panicked look before slipping into the nearest doorway, pressing themselves against the wall as if avoiding me is the only thing that matters.

My steps falter.

"Now that's just weird," Queen says, her voice laced with suspicion.

I can't help agreeing.

"Something's off," I murmur back, unease curling low in my stomach as I step inside.

The familiar scent of fresh timber and earth fills the air, but it does nothing to settle the growing knot of anxiety in my chest. The packhouse is unusually quiet, the usual chatter reduced to hushed whispers that seem to die the second I walk past.

I force a friendly smile anyway.

"Hi."

One of the omegas glances at me. Instead of smiling back, the color drains from her face so quickly it leaves her ghostly pale. Her eyes widen with unmistakable fear, and my brows knit together.

What?

I open my mouth to ask if she's okay, but before I can say a single word, both omegas spin on their heels and bolt down the hallway.

Not a brisk walk. They run as though something is chasing them.

Or as though they're running from me.

"What the actual hell?" Queen mutters.

I stare after them, my smile fading completely.

A cold chill crawls up my spine.

"Something is definitely wrong."

I turn away from the empty hallway, forcing myself to keep moving. Maybe Adrian knows what's going on.

His office door is already open when I reach it. I knock lightly against the frame before stepping inside.

Empty.

The leather chair behind his desk sits untouched, papers neatly stacked where he'd left them yesterday. The room still carries his scent, but it's already beginning to fade.

A knot tightens in my stomach. I immediately reach for our mind-link.

“Adrian?”

Silence. I frown and push harder, stretching the link farther than before.

“Adrian, where are you?”

Nothing. A flicker of unease turns into something colder.

I pull my phone from my pocket and dial his number. It rings once before dropping straight to voicemail.

I hang up and try again.

Voicemail.

Again.

Voicemail.

My pulse begins to race. Was yesterday a dream? Had I imagined everything? No... it was real.

Movement in the hallway catches my eye. The same omega from earlier walks past with another pack member. They haven't noticed me standing just inside Adrian's office, their voices carrying through the half-open door.

"Did you see it?" one whispers. "The look in her eyes?"

The other shudders.

"Joey was right."

A heavy silence follows before she lowers her voice even more.

"The Luna is cursed."

The words hit me like a punch to the chest. I go completely still.

Cursed? They think I'm cursed? Why? What happened after I left yesterday?

Queen is about to say something when a scream tears through the packhouse, cutting her off.