Luna Athalia

6. Wish I Knew

Athalia Marie Sylas

The Luna stood motionless in her office. Her mate turned and left, his furthering distancing pulling on her heart so tightly that she thought it would be ripped from her chest. The moment the bracelets left her wrist, her entire world opened up in a way she hadn't known possible.

Perhaps you have been wearing those things for too long, Athalia. Cecilia murmured down heartedly.

She didn't respond, looking up as her Beta returned. Vincent looked a mix of frustrated and concerned; it seemed it was taking a lot for him to not beat Remy into the floor. Athalia briefly pictured the two fighting it out in front of her - their sweaty bodies grappling at each other. She crossed her legs with a tiny gulp, begging herself to cool down. 

Luckily, it seemed Vincent was far too preoccupied with their predicament to acknowledge the change in her scent, "What the hell was that?"

Lia frowned, turning to sit behind her desk, "What?"

"Don't what me." He narrowed his eyes at her, scanning her flushed cheeks, "Remy f*****g Bell barges in here, calls you his mate and instead of kicking him out, you kick me out? What's going on?"

Athalia squeezed her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Vincent, please, I-"

"No excuses, Athalia." Vincent said sternly. Her back stiffened, he never called her by her full name. He placed his hands on the edge of her desk and leaned forward, "You named me Alpha of this pack. You can't just give me information on a need-to-know basis. You need to tell me everything."

"He's my mate, okay?" The hand on her face formed a fist as she firmly slammed it against the desk. Vince looked shocked as she went on, "Remy Bell is my fated, Goddess-given mate. In all senses of the word, the real Alpha of Roaming Ember."

"Well f**k, Athalia!" Vincent threw his hands up, clearly growing more frustrated as he turned around and began pacing to the back of the room, "Remy f*****g Bell was telling the truth this whole goddamn time?"

He turned back to her, red in the face as he stalked back to her desk, "That asshole has been terrorizing us since we were kids. The same asshole who has been working against you with Dominique for two years! Goddess, with all due respect, what the actual f**k?"

Athalia bit down on her bottom lip, annoyance rising in her throat. It was actually upsetting her to hear Vincent speak poorly of her mate. But she fiddled with the bracelets on her wrist, begging for control as she got back to her feet, "How do you think I feel, Vince? You think I'm ecstatic about all of this? Yes, he's been the biggest douchebag I've ever known and he stirred up mass mutiny in the pack to kill innocents under my care. But he's my mate. And I can tell you that it's more powerful a feeling than any bit of animosity I've felt for him or Dominique or the Union."

Vincent remained silent, exhaling loudly through his nose as he stared at her. Athalia gulped, releasing her fists as she gently rubbed at her temples.

The Alpha leaned on one of the chairs facing the desk, hesitating before asking, "Is it really how the books describe it? That fate bond?"

Lia lowered her gaze, staring at the place on her wrist where Remy had held her. She could practically feel the warmth of his touch just from remembering it, "It's indescribable, Vince... I've never felt more whole, more sure of anything than this."

Vincent quieted, looking away as he murmured, "Wish I knew..."

Dominique Rhea Kingsley

The night air was cold and damp, a fog thickly laid over the ground. Dominique could feel it seeping through her shoes and into her socks. She shivered as she slowly followed after the two lumbering figures in front of her.

"Hurry up!" She hissed through the dark.

"Shut up or do it yourself!" Henley spat back, adjusting his grip on the large covered bundle between him and the other male. She grumbled as she followed after them, her thoughts swimming.

They finally arrived at the edge of Sylas Lake, named after the slain Alpha royalty. It was a large body of water, separated by valleys of trees and small mountain ranges. They had walked around the entire western edge to the southern most part of the lake, where very few tended to venture. 

The two males put the wrapped bundle down, silently trudging along to begin finding rocks to sink the body. Dominique crouched down, moving the tarp with a dirty hand to inspect the blue-lipped head underneath.

Alexia Lane was a member of the Union who sought justice after her Omega mother was slain in the raid. But when she had turned 18 not a week prior, she began distancing herself from the rest, all because she discovered the identity of her fated mate - the Beta of the pack, Vincent Reyes.

"What if he finds out I was apart of all this and rejects me?"

Her voice rang in Dominique's ears, she felt sympathetic as she gently moved a small lock of black hair back from the corpse's face. Alexia's arms were crossed over her chest, palms flat against her chest. Dominique gently stroked the pale skin of her wrist.

And then she found out about their plan to wager an ultimatum with the Elders, a plan that would dethrone not only Athalia, but her mate as well.

"I won't do it! Let me go or I'll go straight to Luna Athalia and tell her!" 

The same pang of annoyance hit Dominique's chest, her grip on Alexia's pale wrist tightening. 

"You're insane, Dominique! Insane! What did Luna Athalia ever do to you?"

A sharp crack as the brittle bone broke under her grip, the wrist going slack in an unnatural angle. Carlos stood over her, shaking his head, "Haven't you done enough to her?"

Dominique glared, getting to her feet and dusting off her jeans. She crossed her arms under her chest, expression tight and strained. Henley and Carlos placed large rocks within the roped tarp, evenly distributing before taking it up again. She watched as they got aboard a flimsy metal fishing boat, the motor whirring dully as they reached the spot on the lake.

"It's got a lot algae and pond scum right there. Even if they skim the lake, they won't find anything there." Remy muttered gravely, circling a point on a map, "Boat should be stashed somewhere along the edge. Just be quick about it."

She knew this wasn't at all part of the plan. She knew Remy was furious. But he pressed on, formulated a new one on the fly.

"We couldn't have let her just go blabbing to Athalia and Vincent." Dominique insisted, fiddling with her thumbs as Henley tied the dead body up in tarp and rope.

"This could have been better for us, Dom." Remy murmured with a bit of exasperation, "If Beta Vincent found his true mate, he wouldn't be able to lay claim to Athalia or the Alpha throne. Now you've given them an out."

She had remained silent, feeling ashamed and disappointed as he sent her off to oversee the disposal of Alexia's body. 

Now as the trio trudged back home, she couldn't help but feel that overwhelming shame as Henley and Carlos shot looks at her. They whispered under their breaths, undoubtedly questioning her. She had let herself fly off the handle. Alexia simply didn't understand her animosity for Athalia, all the things she felt and had to deal with because of the young Luna. 

And how her very existence damned Dominique's.