Kill The Luna

67

The sudden, loud thumping against the wooden frame made both of us jump. I froze in the middle of my sentence, the explicit words dying on my tongue as my gaze snapped instantly to the entrance. Turning my head slowly toward the edge of the mattress, I locked eyes with my friend, my eyebrows drawing together in deep suspicion. "Were you expecting anyone to come looking for you this afternoon, Ella?"

Ella’s mouth popped open in a tiny O of surprise, and she quickly shook her head from side to side, her curls bouncing around her face. "No, absolutely nobody," she whispered back, her voice dropping into a tense, nervous tone as she glanced toward the hallway.

The heavy knocking on the door became incredibly persistent, the wood rattling on its hinges as if whoever was standing on the other side was losing their patience by the second. The aggressive noise started making my ears throb with a fresh wave of pain.

Lifting my chin, I drew in a deep breath and yelled toward the wood, "Come in!"

When the handle didn't turn fast enough and the thumping continued, my irritation flared hot in my chest. "I said, come in!" I shouted a second time, my voice booming across the small clinic room with all the authority I could muster.

The brass handle finally clicked, and the heavy door swung wide open. Two massive pack guards stepped into the light of the bedroom, their expressions incredibly serious, stiff, and completely devoid of any warmth. They wore full tactical leather gear, and their shoulders were squared tightly as they marched forward, their heavy combat boots clicking loudly against the wooden floorboards until they stopped right at the foot of my bed.

The guard on the left, a tall warrior with a thick scar running across his jaw, stepped forward a fraction and fixed a cold stare directly onto my face. "Luna Fedora, the Alpha has officially summoned you," he announced, his voice deep, flat, and completely professional. "He has explicitly requested that you come straight to his private chambers right this second, as he wants to urgently speak with you regarding a matter of pack security."

I let out a slow, deliberate sigh, leaning my head back against the propped-up pillows as I picked up my plastic fork again, completely unfazed by their intimidating size. "Okay, I have fully heard your message," I responded flatly, waving my bandaged hand in a dismissive motion toward the exit. "You two can leave the room go back to your posts now."

The two warriors didn't move an inch. Instead, they looked at each other for a brief second, their eyes communicating a silent wave of nervousness before the same scarred guard cleared his throat loudly to break the tension. He shifted his heavy weight from one foot to the other, his expression hardening as he looked back down at me. "No, Luna Fedora," he countered, his tone turning a bit sharper and more demanding. "I don't think you understand the situation. He did not demand that you come over whenever you simply want to. The Alpha has strictly demanded that you get out of bed and come with us right now, urgently."

A hot wave of pure fury exploded through my veins at his disrespectful tone. I slammed my plastic fork down onto the bedside table, my eyes flashing with a dangerous spark as I leaned forward, completely ignoring the sharp stabs of pain in my waist. "Yes, I heard you perfectly fine the first time, and I am absolutely not deaf!" I shouted, my voice rising to a fierce, angry pitch that made Ella flinch beside me. "I already told you that I would come to his office, but it will be after I finish eating my breakfast and whenever I actually feel like moving my body! So, you two can get the hell out of my room!"

The second guard, a broader man with dark, stubborn eyes, stepped forward, his massive chest expanding as he reached down toward his belt. "If you don't simply comply with the order, Luna Fedora, I am deeply afraid that we might actually have to apply physical force to remove you from this bed," he threatened coldly, his jaw tightening as he stared me down. "We absolutely cannot defy the direct orders of the Alpha, no matter what."

A dark, mocking smile stretched across my lips, and I let out a low, dangerous scoff that echoed in the quiet space. "I am the only one in this entire territory who gets to defy the Alpha's orders, not you two mindless slaves," I snarled, my eyes narrowing into slits as I pointed a sharp finger toward the open hallway. "So run along back to your master and tell him that. The consequences are entirely on me, not on your heads."

Instead of backing away, the stubborn guard on the right lost his patience entirely. He took a massive, aggressive stride toward the side of my mattress, bending his large torso forward as his massive hands reached out to grab my shoulders and carry me up out of the bed by total force.

Before his rough fingers could even graze the fabric of my gown, my instincts took over completely. Moving with a flash of supernatural speed, I whipped my right arm through the air and slapped him across his cheek with everything I had.

*SMACK!*

The loud, violent sound of my palm hitting his skin rang through the entire clinic room like a gunshot. The sheer force of the blow snapped his large head completely to the side, his cheek instantly turning a bright, angry crimson red. I stayed frozen in place, my hand still raised in the air, completely sure that the extreme vibration of the strike was making his inner ear ring like a siren.

"Don't you dare touch your Luna with those filthy hands!" I hissed, my voice dropping into a terrifyingly low, venomous growl that made both men freeze solid.

The slapped guard slowly turned his head back to look at me, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and rising anger, but he didn't dare move another inch.

I leaned back against my pillows, a cold, manipulative smirk slowly replacing my angry expression as I looked between the two stunned warriors. "Or you know what? How about we try this little game instead?" I suggested smoothly, my tone dripping with pure malice. "You two can go back up those stairs right now and tell him that I will come later when I am ready. Because if you try to drag me out of here, the moment we walk into his office, I am going to look Michael straight in the eyes and tell him that you two handled me inappropriately. I will tell him you touched my body in a bad, disgusting way that made all my fresh wounds start bleeding out on the floor."

I paused, watching the blood completely drain from both of their faces as my words hit home. "So, go ahead and choose your path right now," I whispered, my smile turning incredibly wicked. "Do you want to slightly defy his timeline, or do you want him to literally take out your heads and execute you on the spot because you dared to mishandle his Luna?"

The two guards stood completely frozen, their chests heaving as they looked at each other in total, paralyzing fear. They knew exactly how possessive and brutal a Lycan King could be when it came to his mate, regardless of whatever arguments they were having. Realizing they were completely trapped in a losing battle, they simultaneously turned on their heels, kept their mouths shut, and hurried out of the bedroom, slamming the heavy door shut behind them.

The moment the latch clicked, Ella let out a massive, shuddering breath that she had been holding in for the last three minutes. "Wow..." she breathed out, her eyes as wide as saucers as she stared at me in pure, unadulterated awe. "That was incredibly close, Fedora. You really have some massive, terrifying guts to talk to his personal guards like that. Aren't you worried that Michael is going to be absolutely furious with you when they tell him what happened?"

I turned my head toward the small window, a bitter, hollow feeling settling deep into the pit of my stomach as the adrenaline began to fade away, leaving me feeling completely exhausted all over again. "Whatever I choose to do right now doesn't really matter anyway, Ella," I muttered quietly, a sad, tired expression taking over my face. "He already completely hates my guts for everything that happened with Elda. A late meeting won't change a single thing."

Ella watched me for a tender moment, the worry returning to her eyes, but she quickly shook her head to clear the sad thoughts, pushing the food tray closer to my hands. "Fine, don't worry about him right now," she stated softly, giving me a warm, encouraging smile as she stood up. "Let's just focus on getting you cleaned up, dressed in some fresh clothes, and fed first."