Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

Chapter 37: The Oracle's Price

POV: Thelma

The morning air should have felt cold against my skin. Luna said it was freezing, the kind of cold that bit through layers of clothing and settled into bones. I watched her wrap her cloak tighter, saw the visible shiver that ran through her body, but I felt nothing.

"There's one person who might break your curse," Luna had said the night before, her eyes tired and worried. "An ancient Oracle who lives in the Forbidden Peaks. But the journey is treacherous, Thelma. Many who seek her never return."

I had simply nodded. Fear of death meant nothing to someone who couldn't feel fear at all.

Now, as our group trudged through the snow covered mountain path, I observed them with the detached interest of a scientist studying specimens. Xavier walked closest to me, his eyes constantly flickering in my direction. Through our mate bond, I sensed his anguish, a deep churning pain that should have made me want to comfort him. Instead, I noted it clinically, filed it away as information.

Theo walked ahead with Luna, his shoulders tense. Elena brought up the rear, her guilt a palpable thing in the air between us. She had begged to come, insisted she needed to help fix what her family had broken. I had no opinion either way.

"We should rest," Xavier said, his voice rough from the cold. "It's been four hours."

"We don't have time," I replied, my tone flat and measured. "Morgana completes her ritual in sixty seven hours. Every minute we waste increases the probability of failure."

"Thelma, please." Xavier reached for my arm, and I stopped, allowing the contact. His hand was warm, but I couldn't feel the comfort I knew it should bring. "You're still human. You need rest."

"My physical condition is adequate." I tilted my head, studying his face. The dark circles under his eyes, the tight lines around his mouth. "You, however, are showing signs of exhaustion. Your reaction time is compromised."

Something broke in his expression. Pain, raw and sharp, flooded through our bond. I observed it, recognized it, but couldn't mirror it back.

"That's not," he started, then stopped, running a hand through his hair. "You're not a machine, Thelma. You're my mate. The woman I love."

"I am aware of our bond," I said. "And I observe your emotional attachment to me. But I cannot reciprocate. This conversation serves no practical purpose."

Theo spun around, his face twisted with anger. "Do you hear yourself? You sound like some kind of robot. This is exactly why I didn't want to come on this suicide mission."

"Then why did you?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Because you're my sister!" The words burst out of him. "Because despite everything, despite the twenty three years I spent hating you, you're my blood. My twin. And I can't just let you stay like this."

I processed this. "Your emotional conflict regarding our relationship is noted. However, it does not change our current situation."

"Stop it." Xavier's voice was sharp. "Stop talking like that. Like you're reading from a textbook. That's not who you are."

"But it is who I am now," I corrected. "My emotional capacity has been removed. Only facts remain. And the fact is, we are wasting time."

I turned and continued up the path. Behind me, I heard Luna murmur something soothing to the others, heard their footsteps resume. The mate bond pulsed with Xavier's grief, but I kept walking.

An hour later, we reached the first major obstacle. A rope bridge stretched across a massive chasm, its wooden planks ancient and rotting. Wind howled through the gap, making the entire structure sway dangerously.

"We'll have to find another way," Luna said immediately. "That bridge won't hold all of us."

I walked to the edge and examined it. "The structure is compromised, but passable for one person at a time. We cross individually, spacing our departures by three minute intervals."

"Thelma, no." Xavier grabbed my shoulder. "Look at it. Half those boards are missing. One wrong step and you'll fall."

"The probability of successful crossing is approximately sixty three percent if proper caution is exercised."

"Sixty three percent?" Theo's voice rose. "You're willing to risk your life on sixty three percent odds?"

I looked at him, confused by the question. "Given our time constraints and the lack of alternative routes, yes. Those are acceptable odds."

Before anyone could stop me, I stepped onto the bridge.

The wood creaked under my feet, and I heard Xavier shout my name. Through our bond, his terror crashed over me like a wave. I noted its intensity, the way it made my wolf Thalia stir restlessly, but I couldn't feel the fear myself.

I walked steadily, testing each plank before putting my full weight on it. Halfway across, I heard a sharp c***k. The board beneath my left foot splintered, and I felt myself start to fall.

My hand shot out, catching a rope. I hung there, suspended over the abyss, and looked down at the darkness below. Death waited there, patient and certain. I should have been terrified. Instead, I calculated the tensile strength of the rope, the angle of my body, the force needed to pull myself up.

"THELMA!" Xavier's roar echoed across the chasm. Through the bond, his anguish was so intense it almost felt like my own. Almost.

I pulled myself up, found solid footing, and continued across. When I reached the other side, I turned back to see Xavier already on the bridge, moving fast despite the danger.

"Wait the three minutes," I called back. "The structure needs time to stabilize."

"To hell with that," he snarled, and kept coming.

The others followed, one by one. When Xavier finally reached my side, he grabbed me, his hands framing my face. "Don't you ever do that again. Do you understand me? I can't, I can't lose you."

"Statistically, someone had to cross first to verify the bridge's stability," I explained. "I was the logical choice."

"You were almost killed because you can't feel fear!" His eyes were wild, desperate. "That's not logical, Thelma. That's suicide."

I studied his face, the tears tracking down his cheeks. Somewhere deep inside, my wolf whimpered. But I couldn't reach her, couldn't feel what she felt.

"I survived," I said simply. "We should continue."