Chasing the rejected Luna

2.

"Whatever just happened now?" Annie gasped, practically throwing her back against the wooden wall as the heavy steps of the royal horses began to fade into the distance.

She turned wide, disbelieving eyes toward the window.

"Did you see that? The Crown Prince... he looked straight toward this window!"

Isabella forced a shrug, rolling her shoulders to shake off the sudden chill crawling up her spine.

"You're seeing things, Annie. The sun’s hitting the wood slats. He was probably just checking for border snipers, not peeking into an apothecary bedroom."

She tried to make her voice sound as flat and indifferent as usual, but beneath her ribs, her heart was hammering a frantic, uneven rhythm.

There was an unsettling thought twisting through her head.

He felt familiar.

"There's something weird about him," Isabella muttered aloud, stepping away from the glass and rubbing at her arms.

"I felt it all the way over here."

Annie let out a breathy, nervous laugh, crossing her arms as her color slowly returned.

"Don't tell me you want to f**k him next, Isabella, I know that look. Cause trust me, he's way out of our league and besides, he has a betrothed."

Isabella turned, a slow, wicked smirk curving her lips as she raised a single eyebrow. "And when has that ever stopped me?"

Both girls burst into a fit of giggles, the sudden laughter breaking the suffocating tension that the royal procession had dumped over the room.

Isabella threw herself back onto the narrow bed, tucking her hands behind her head while Annie slid down to sit on the floorboards, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“When is the full moon thingy coming up again? Father says it comes up in about four whole weeks but you know he's never good with dates,” Isabella said.

“There's not really a rigid time for full moon but we can of course predict it when it's like two weeks to the time. We can feel it, you know, our wolf tells us.”

“How? It starts howling or something?” Isabella laughed.

“Girl, of course not. It just kinda tells you,” she replied, sighing. It always hurt Annie that Isabella could not attend the event as she didn't have a wolf and was not mated to one.

All duds like Isabella had to stay indoors so Annie always brought her the tea.

Before their giggles could entirely fade, the sharp creak of the front door opening echoed through the quiet cottage. The sound of heavy boot heels crossing the threshold was immediately met by Santiago’s voice, warm and surprisingly casual.

"Hello, Alpha."

"Santiago. I'm great, how are you?"

At this point Annie’s eyes were as wide as two saucers.

The response was smooth, deep, and dripping with an unyielding, natural authority.

They scrambled quietly toward the thick woven curtains that demarcated Isabella’s bedroom from the front guest area, pressing their ears close to the fabric to listen.

"I am holding up well for an old healer, your Highness," Santiago replied.

"I'm glad you're well. I was passing through the inspection detail and could not leave without stopping by," he answered.

Isabella could not believe her eyes. Her father had affiliations with the f*****g crown prince? What more? She is adopted?

"Is this really where you still live, Santiago? I offered you a grand suite in the inner palace years ago after what you did for my family. Why stay out here on the dusty borders?"

Santiago let out a raspy, fond chuckle.

"The palace has too many polished floors and not enough soil, my Lord. It is far easier to harvest fresh blood-root and silver-leaf right here by the woods for the treatment of my patients. Besides, border wolves get bruised far more often than court nobles."

"Fair enough," Rodrigo murmured, a faint rustle of leather indicating he had leaned against the heavy timber table.

"And how is the garden holding up?"

"Thriving, thanks to the damp soil," Santiago said, before lowering his voice slightly. "And... How is your younger sister faring these days? Has the lingering weakness from the shadow-fever passed?"

"She is doing much better," Rodrigo answered, a genuine, softer edge cutting through his formidable command.

Behind the curtain, Annie’s knees were visibly shaking. She leaned toward Isabella, her breath hitching as she whispered frantically, "Isabella... that’s the Crown Prince! He’s right out there!"

Annie’s chest heaved under the sheer force of Rodrigo’s Alpha presence, an invisible pressure radiating through the cabin that naturally compelled every werewolf to fall to their knees in reverence. But Isabella, lacking an inner wolf, felt none of the spiritual weight. She stood effortlessly, her eyes sharp as she peeked through a slight gap in the curtain.

From her angle, she could see the striking outline of his figure. Prince Rodrigo was massive, broad-shouldered, tall, and muscular enough to fill out the entire sitting area, his aura commanding the very air in the small wooden cabin.

"Tell me, Santiago," Rodrigo’s voice echoed again, carrying a curious lilt. "How is your daughter doing? I remember you mentioned her back when you were at the capital."

Santiago laughed warmly. "Ah, Isabella? She is as stubborn as ever, my Lord. She should be around somewhere, likely hiding in her room."

Isabella’s heart leaped into her throat. Hearing footsteps approaching the curtain, she grabbed Annie by the arm, and the two girls wildly sprinted back across the wooden floorboards, throwing themselves onto the bed and hastily smoothing down their skirts, pretending to be totally oblivious to the royal presence in the outer room.

The thick curtain was swept aside. Santiago poked his graying head inside, a fond smile on his face as he looked at his daughter.

"The Crown Prince Rodrigo sought you, Isabella," he said smoothly. "

“Come out and greet our guest."

“A guest? Alright papa.” She said literally almost squeaking.

She breathed in and out then looked back at Annie, who was still in utter disbelief. Nothing prepared her for when she opened the curtains.