Becoming Luna

8 ~ A Good Samaritan and a Drunken Plan part 1

Is he telling the truth? Does he really have the authority to approve the grant? He obviously has an important role, considering what she heard before from the secretary about him being almost impossible to please and rejecting most applicants. It’s a huge deal, being responsible for giving away that amount of money. But is he that powerful?

He doesn’t even sound like he’s bragging, just saying it as a matter of fact. Siena doubts he’s the kind to lie just to impress a lady. With that face and confident attitude, he doesn’t really need to resort to that.

She frowns, thinking about his questions…

Why is she here? For the pack, of course. For her home and her people. But also for herself, back when she still believed she was going to become Luna. That’s no longer going to happen, though, is it?

Does she think she deserves to win? Yes, of course, but that’s her opinion. She has worked so hard on her project and truly believes in her visions.

Wait, why is he asking her about this now? Is this part of the interview? Is she still in the running, after that disastrous and unprofessional end to her presentation?

Now that she thinks about it… if, by some twisted miracle, she did win even half the grant, what is she going to do? Surrender the project to the man who betrayed her and hand over the prize money to be managed and enjoyed by the woman who stole her future and?

The answer is…probably yes. Her loyalty to the pack demands it, and at the end of the day, the main goal was to improve everyone’s life. The pack needs the business and the income it will generate. It’s not their fault their future alpha is a cheating, lying, oath-breaking asshole.

Perhaps Andrew and his new luna will leave her in charge of the project, however, Siena has no intention of staying so they will have to find someone else. As soon as she has confronted him and gotten a clean break, she will take her personal belongings and leave their territory, and break away from the pack, for how can she stay, after being humiliated by her own mate and future alpha?

Staying would mean living everyday in hell, seeing what could have been, watching the man she loved lead the pack with someone else… pitied and slowly being ostracized until it would be too hard to even breathe the same air as everyone in the territory who worships their new Luna. Siena might be loyal to the pack, but even she has a hard limit.

No, if she wants to heal, she’d have better chances amongst humans, even though her wolf would not be running anymore for a very long time. If she stays in Andrew’s pack, her soul will slowly wither and die, and then her wolf being able to stretch would be the least of her problems. Besides, the project needs manpower, and that is something she will no longer have at her disposal, without the authority as Luna.

Whether she wins the grant or not, it makes little to no difference.

Siena sighs, and decides to tell Mr. Wolfenheim the truth. To be perfectly honest, she needs someone who can understand her feelings right now, and none of her friends has ever been betrayed by their mates, while he seems to know so much about it, enough to recognize the painful signs of a betrayed bond.

Has he been betrayed too? If it is so, then maybe…he’d understand.

“I was going to be the Luna of my pack,” she whispers, staring at the peas on her plate. “In two days, my mate and future Alpha is supposed to mark me and make me his Luna…but given the current situation, I don’t think…I don’t want it anymore.” She takes a deep breath. “You’re right…I wasn’t completely transparent during my presentation. The truth is, the grant is important to me, not just as a person with a disability, but because I’m trying to fix my personal life. Let’s just say, if I bag the grant, it will be my sort of dowry.”

“Your dowry?” He seems to be amused by the word. “Need I remind you of the current year, Miss Merrick?”

She gives him an annoyed look. “I just meant it’s supposed to be something I bring to the table that would’ve evened things up in everyone’s eyes. Andrew is the Alpha’s son and heir. My father was a gamma and my mother was a beta’s daughter. Not a bad pedigree but hardly an impressive resumé for the next Luna. Especially a…vulnerable one.”

“I’ve always thought the ranking thing at birth is pure nonsense, doing more damage than good,” he mutters pensively. “Not all alphas are born from alpha parents. Not all pups born from alpha parents are meant to be great leaders either, so if you think about it, it’s pointless, especially considering that people are capable of incredible changes. The accident of one’s birth should not determine one’s destiny.”

She agrees with him but shrugs anyway. “It’s not just the rankings. All his limbs are intact, while I’m already being nicknamed the One-Legged Luna. A burden, instead of a co-protector. I wanted to do something to change that. To make them see that Andrew is not at a disadvantage because of me. The business would benefit everyone in our pack and bring about much-needed security and protective upgrades, given our territory’s location which borders the Barrenlands.” Her hand tightens around her fork. “It’s true, it isn’t the first time he cheated, but it’s complicated...and he promised. He swore to me it would never happen again so I forgave him. I have so many plans for our pack…so much I could do for them if they would just give me a chance… So, I figured it’s worth giving him one too…”

“I’m sorry that you’re in pain…” he murmurs, his icy cold eyes seem to thaw a little. “But it’s better that you found out now…before it’s too late to remove his mark. The Alpha King doesn’t always perform the breaking of fated bonds, unless absolutely necessary, otherwise it might tempt people to easily disregard the Moon Goddess’s will.”

Siena snorts, a rather inelegant sound, but it seems to be the apt reaction to the statement, given how easily Andrew has ignored their deity’s will—twice now.

“I must have offended her so much in my past life, that she willed me to be mated to a cheater.”

He gives her an admonishing look. “Hurting you was not the Moon Goddess’s will, it was your mate’s choice to cheat on you. He didn’t trip and accidentally slipped his—pardon me—c0ck inside the other woman’s…ehm, lady parts. It’s not a bloody sinkhole.”

Siena can’t help it, she starts giggling. It must be the beer.

“Of course, I doubt the lady has that big of a hole,” he adds. “...for the ‘accident’ excuse to even be worth considering. And what business does she have, keeping her legs wide open, waiting for unsuspecting guys to trip and fall d!ck-first into her trap!?“

It shouldn’t be funny but it kinda is and she laughs even more, because somehow she finds it hilarious, how he said it. So straightforward, no sugarcoating.

When she looks at him again, he is smiling. Feeling embarrassed, she grabs her can of beer and drinks to hide her burning cheeks.

“Thanks. I didn’t really think I’d laugh again, and not so soon. Especially not while talking about being cheated on.”

“At your service, Miss Merrick. But please, tell me you’re not going to forgive him again, for the sake of becoming Luna. You’re beautiful, intelligent, and have the potential to be so much more. Plus, I’ll tell you now, the cheating pains will only get worse in time. He’ll do it again, you know he will.”

She says nothing and continues eating, her natural instinct to defend her mate warring with her righteous anger at Andrew’s betrayal.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again. You deserve better. And he deserves to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for the pain he has caused you, as well as for not taking better care of such a beautiful and rare jewel he was lucky enough to have been gifted by the Moon Goddess.”

Her breath catches up, and she’s unable to breathe for a bit, as if someone has sucked out all of the air from the room. She looks up, her wary eyes meeting his. He sounds sincere and looks genuinely concerned.

He’s right. Of course, he’s right. Siena deserves more than just apologies and empty promises, and Andrew needs to be taught a lesson. She wishes to make him feel the same pain she’d suffered so he’d understand how much he’d hurt her. At least, this way, he’d know better than to do it again, to her or to anyone else.

She stares at the man in front of her. What’s his name again? She can’t really remember if he’d already told her, and her brain feels a little foggy at the moment.

“You… think I’m attractive?”

“Fishing for compliments now, are we?” He teases her before turning serious when he sees she’s waiting in earnest for his answer. “I was not even supposed to be in your presentation, I was ready to leave but I noticed you before, in the lobby, and I couldn’t help but stay to find out who you are. If you were my mate, I wouldn’t even see other women’s faces.”

Well, damn.

She didn’t even know how much she needed to hear that, but his words instantly made a difference, like a healing salve to an aching open wound. It gives her a boost of much needed confidence after the devastating blow Andrew’s infidelity had wreaked upon her self-esteem.

She swallows the lump in her throat, building up her courage before blurting out…

“Will you sleep with me?”