Luna’s Retribution

“Tara meet my brother’s wife Ember” Aiden says without looking at Tara. Aiden and his warriors had just returned from fighting with another pack of werewolves. They were victorious, but they had lost some of their men, including Aiden’s brother. Tara had adorned herself earlier as she waited for the return of her husband, but Aiden didn’t seem too interested. He didn’t even touch Tara when he got back, talk more of hugging her. Aiden, who is the alpha of the Silvermoon pack, has been married to Tara for almost five years now, although it hasn’t been smooth sailing all through. Tara forces a smile as Aiden hands over Ember to her. She had met with Ember a few times in the past, but they aren’t very close. Tara hugged her still, feeling sorry for her after hearing that her husband is dead, leaving her to handle their unborn baby on her own. “Everything will be fine” Tara said, reassuring Ember as she hugged her tightly. Tara hoped they would get along well, as her mind went back to how Aiden reacted to her when he returned from war. She was hurt, but she did a good job of hiding the pain behind a huge smile, as she welcomed the other warriors who survived the fight. Tara tried multiple times to catch Aiden’s gaze but she couldn’t. It was either he didn’t see her, or he was ignoring her on purpose. Tired, Tara asked a maid to arrange a room for Ember and provide her with anything that she needs. Tara goes to her room to lay on her bed, as her thoughts began to spiral. How did her relationship with Aiden get this bad? She asked within herself. What did she do to be treated like this? Tara asked herself again. The image of Aiden dismissing her as she tried to hug him when he returned kept replaying in her head. He disgraced her in front of the entire pack, she thought, as she squeezed her hair with both her hands, roughening it in the process. Tara has been feeling like she was married to herself and no one else for the past two years, like whatever she does or says doesn’t mean anything. She felt like Aiden had married her just for the power that came with the mating bond. “He loves me” she says, to reassure herself, shrugging off any other thought. Tara begins to smile as she remembers running away from her pack and her family, to be with Aiden. She could recall lying to Aiden that she was an orphan, who lost both her parents in a war. She keeps reassuring herself that Aiden loves her and still cares for her. Later at night, after a silent dinner, Tara joins Aiden in the balcony, hoping to have an intimate talk and conversation with him, to put her mind at rest, for now a least. “Hey” she says standing at the entrance of the balcony. But she didn’t get a reply from Aiden, who didn’t even care to look at who was talking. “How are you?” Tara asked this time putting her hands on his shoulders. “I’m fine” Aiden replied coldly, still not looking at Tara, who was beginning to regret coming to meet him in the balcony. The look on Aiden’s face showed that he felt disturbed by Tara’s presence but Tara didn’t care, she needed answers about the downward spiral of their marriage. “What do you want?” Aiden blurted out, after he noticed that Tara was staring at him without saying anything, and her gaze was beginning to pierce his skin. “Do you love me?” Tara had no idea when and how those words came out of her mouth, but she was glad they did. “Do I love you?” Aiden asked Tara, in a tone that showed that he was baffled by the question. He began to wonder why Tara asked that question at that time. “Answer me Aiden, do you?” Tara asked again, as she tried to force answers out of Aiden. Getting a chance to talk with Aiden in private happened only once in a blue moon for her, she wouldn’t let this opportunity slip. Aiden saw that Tara was resilient, but that didn’t break his resolve. “I don’t have time for this” he says making his way out of the balcony, almost pushing Tara in the process. Tara was shocked. She followed him closely as he made his way to the room he and Tara have been sharing since they got married. Tara planned to bombard him with more questions immediately they were both settled on the bed. Tara was the first to lay on the bed before Aiden joined her. Tara was cut off by Aiden before she could open her mouth to say anything. “I have been out at war for some days now, and I need my rest. So save your ranting for another time” Aiden said harshly as he turned on the bed to face the other side. Tara was lost for words. Ranting? She asked herself, she wanted to explode, but she decided to hold her peace to prevent any trouble. She was finding it hard to sleep, she even went out of the room to take some sleeping pills but they were not working. She kept staring at Aiden, wondering what had come over the man she married. Just then, there was a knock on the door of their room. Tara wondered who it could be at this time of the night. “Get the door” Aiden muttered in his sleep. Tara stood up almost immediately to open the door. To her surprise, it was Ember. She was crying. “What’s wrong?” Tara asked silently, showing concern. She didn’t want to disturb those who were sleeping. “I need someone to talk to” Ember replied her, sobbing. Aiden jumped from the bed as he recognized Ember’s voice, he hurriedly went to where she was standing with Tara in the hallway. “You can talk to me” Aiden said arriving at where they were. Tara was astonished.