You Rejected A Moonborn Luna!

Saved By A Foe

Astrid’s POV

My instincts couldn’t relax yet. Not in front of a Lycan.

He wrapped his whip around his arm. “Royal guards?”

His question made me raise a brow. I glanced at the bodies on the ground. They were in odd positions I couldn't make sense of in the low light. Their arms wrapped around the necks he had strangled.

My eyes returned to him, standing amid the shadows. Had he been the guest of the Alpha King earlier today?

What would his reaction have been if it had been the royal guards after my trial?

I narrowed my eyes at him. He had a different atmosphere about him than the Lycan I met earlier.

“No, warriors from my pack. I escaped.” It was best to give all the answers to garner any lick of pity.

My consciousness would fade anytime. I needed someone who didn’t want to kill Mary and Maya.

“So, you are a rogue?”

My heartbeat stopped. The hope I was nurturing fluttered away. In essence, I was a rogue.

The worst thing to be that lycans and werewolves would agree on. This man knew me from nowhere, so he had no obligation to help or believe my story.

I staggered away from him before I replied, “I did, but only because my Pack sought to kill me. I escaped with my sister and a child.”

If he felt pity for my predicament, I did not know. He rolled the whip in his hand. He turned to the direction he came from.

“You plan to continue to the west?”

I nodded. Standing beneath the open sky made it easier to see. His gaze remained on me for two painful seconds before he looked away.

He mounted a horse, and only then did I realize it had been there all along, standing perfectly still in a way no animal ever should.

“Will you come with me?"

I blinked once. Did he offer to take me to the west or to a Lycan Kingdom? I moved towards him. “Where will you take me?”

“Safety. You are a Moonborn Wolf, aren’t you?”

My steps froze. Those words changed a lot of things. Did he want to assist me because of my identity? He had plans with my blessings, then. I looked up at the moon again for guidance.

Being a Moonborn Wolf was the only card I had at the moment. “I am,” I answered confidently.

Almost immediately, he stretched a hand forward. I took it. With little effort, he pulled me upward behind him and clasped my hands around his waist.

The horse galloped forward, stamping over the bodies in front without remorse. In no time, we arrived at the cave.

I got down first and waited for my legs to give up. They didn’t, not when newfound hope existed.

“I will wait here,” he told me.

I hummed a response before limping towards the cave. Careful footsteps approached me. I breached her mind-link when she came close. "Mary. Here.”

She let out a breath and ran toward me. My arms were open to catch her when she fell on me, tumbling us to the floor.

I hugged her tightly, with the worst probable scenario flashing through my mind.

“You're safe, my lady."

“We are safe." I patted her back. “Help me up. Let's get with Maya. Someone is here for us.”

She pulled away from me, then looked behind me.

I watched her face crumple when she realized who our savior was. But she said nothing, leaving me to get Maya from the cave.

From then on, it was a steady walk. The Lycan gave us his horse to mount and walked steadily behind us through the night.

My mind drifted to the first masked Lycan I had met who sympathized with me.

My view on Lycans couldn’t change in a few days, but compared to werewolves, I knew my whole life, Lycans had been the better of the two.

When I woke up, the first thing I felt was snuggling warmth and the heat of a tent. My vision steadied, and I confirmed I was in a tent, with my little niece Maya snuggled beside me.

I kissed her little head and lay where I was.

Looking outside, soldiers moved outside our tent, dressed in armored uniforms. From all indications, we were in a military camp filled with Lycans.

My hands grew cold. The man who saved us might just be someone I wouldn’t be able to refuse.

If his sole reason for assisting us was simply my blessing, then letting me fight by his soldiers’ side should be the least I could do.

“If that isn’t all?”

My lips tugged when I heard her voice in my subconscious. Eve.

I shrugged. “What more would he want from me? I have no political advantage that he could use. I am even surprised that the Moonborn Wolf is known among Lycans.”

The time came when he summoned me to his quarters. My body was almost at its best despite the unhealthy, fast beating of my heart.

The impressive meal they served us preceded the demanding role he would ask of me.

Under the morning sun, I said a prayer to the moon goddess before walking into the tent, with Maya and Mary in hand. My heart dropped.

He was the only one in the rather large tent, seated on a high seat, with his two legs over one arm and his back resting over the other arm.

The mask remained on his face, hiding his relaxed expression. “Good morning, Moonborn.”

“Good morning. My name is Astrid.” I ushered Mary and Maya to the only other seat there. I remained standing. “To whom do I owe the gratitude for saving me last night?”

His legs returned to the ground. He sat upright and took the time to adjust the mask over his face. “Martiel. Delta of Prime Thorns Kingdom.”

He paused to let it sink. To let my heart sink to my stomach, he continued. “I have a proposal for you.”

He pulled a written sheet from an envelope. “Sign it. I will give you the details.”

I blinked twice and immediately reached for the feathered pen. So many questions screamed in my head at the moment, but I remained sane to get past the contract process first. I had signed my last name when my eyes picked a word from the contract.

“M-Marriage…?” I raised my head.

He remained still.

“Why…?” i slammed the table. “Is this a marriage contract, Sir Martiel?”

The guards, whom I had never noticed before, rushed in at the slam. Mary clung to Maya as their spears pointed at them.

One of them placed a dagger at my neck.

Sir Martiel let out an unbothered sigh. He gestured to the contract lazily.

“Sign it, Moonborn. Then we’ll talk about how your blessing will be useful to me.”