Kill The Luna

70

A heavy, suffocating silence followed my knock. The loud thumping of my knuckles seemed to just die against the thick wood, and only the distant, chilling echo of an iron security door deeper inside the suite bounced back to us. I turned my head slowly, locking a confused look with Ella, whose face had gone completely pale again.

Refusing to be ignored, I raised my bandaged fist and knocked a second time, hitting the wood much harder.

Finally, a heavy click sounded, and one massive guard pulled the door open just a few inches. His entire face was set in a tight, angry scowl, and his dark eyes burned with absolute coldness. He didn't look nice at all, standing there like a brick wall blocking the entrance.

He kept his body perfectly still, his eyes wide and completely unblinking as he stared down his nose at us. "Who is it that you seek?" he demanded, his voice dropping into a flat, robotic rumble.

I held his harsh glare, leaning slightly against the doorframe to take the pressure off my aching waist. "The Alpha summoned me to his chambers," I stated clearly, keeping my voice as steady as possible. "He sent two of his personal guards down to the clinic to fetch me not so long ago."

The guard’s scowl deepened, his chest expanding beneath his leather armor. "The Alpha hardly ever summons regular people to his private quarters," he countered coldly, his arm gripping the edge of the door tightly. "I am deeply afraid you will simply have to get out of this hallway. I do not think the Alpha is in the proper mood to talk to anyone today."

An irritated sigh escaped my lips, my hand tightening into a fist. "I can absolutely assure you that he wants to see me," I insisted, my eyebrows drawing together as I took a half-step forward. "He literally called for me by himself. So please, can you just step aside and let us go inside so we can finally get this whole meeting over with?"

The moment I tried to squeeze my way through the small opening, the guard’s expression turned incredibly fierce. Moving with a sharp, aggressive jerk, he thrust his massive arm out, using his heavy palm to block our path completely.

"Further trying to enter these private quarters without express permission will result in the immediate use of physical force," he warned, his jaw clenching so hard the muscles popped.

I snapped my head back, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and pure rage. "Fine! If you don't believe me, go call the two guards that came to call me from the clinic not a while ago!" I shouted, pointing a sharp finger down the long corridor. "Or better yet, why can't you just open your mouth and ask him yourself if I am supposed to be here?"

The warrior didn't even flinch at my yelling. "That is absolutely all I am going to say to you for now," he responded flatly, his voice remaining totally dead and unbothered. "You can try to seek an audience with him some other time. But for right now, I am afraid I absolutely cannot let any people inside this door."

"This is completely crazy and utterly absurd!" I screamed, the frustration finally bubbling over as I gestured wildly between him and the door. "The last time I was standing right here in this exact hallway, I can remember your face very correctly! You were standing right there on guard duty, and you saw me enter too! You know exactly who I am!"

His features tightened more and more, turning into a mask of pure, stony hostility. "That day is completely different from today," he growled out, his hand moving to the brass handle. "You both should immediately find your way out of this section."

Without waiting for another word, he stepped back inside the shadows, slammed the heavy wooden door straight in our faces, and turned the heavy deadbolt with a loud, final click.

I stood there staring at the blank wood, my jaw dropping in total disbelief. I turned around to face my friend, throwing my hands up in the air. "Wow, that is a completely crazy rule they have going on here," I muttered, my voice filled with confusion. "Wait, is absolutely no one allowed to see him right now, or what is his problem?"

Ella moved closer to my side, her eyes darting nervously toward the locked door as she lowered her voice to a tense whisper. "Yeah, that is exactly how his crazy rules work around the main house, Luna Fedora. He might actually truly want to see you right now, but when he gets into these dark moods, he hardly even talks to the guards or any of the regular house workers. Everyone in this building is completely terrified of him. The physical punishment for defying his direct boundaries is really, really big, and nobody wants to risk their head."

Just then, the sound of heavy, hurried footsteps echoed from the adjacent corridor. A middle-aged pack nanny came walking down the narrow hallway, carrying a stack of fresh linens. As she approached our position, she didn't even bother to slow down or move aside. Instead, a malicious sneer crossed her face, and she intentionally slammed her shoulder hard into my weak frame as she passed.

My fragile balance completely failed. I let out a sharp cry of pain as my knees buckled, and I fell straight onto the hard floor, my fresh wounds throbbing painfully against the wood.