To be called Luna
1013 Words
“I don’t have all day!” Alpha Garen roars.
I flinch, stumbling backward. His eyes bore into mine, sharp as blades. I have to do something. Anything. I take a shaky breath and stretch out my hands, pretending I know what I’m doing.
How do I cure the incurable? The only thing I know is that Bluebane is an ancient curse.
“Don’t waste my grace, feeble one!” Garen growls.
Feeble one? Another name. They never end. “I… I don’t… I don’t know what to—”
Before I finish, his hand clamps around my neck. His grip is iron, crushing, as if my life weighs nothing to him. “Is this a joke to you?”
“No!” I whisper, choking.
“Then do it!”
“I…”
His grip tightens. “What?”
“I…” The words die in my throat.
“I said… DO IT!”
“I don’t know what to do!” I scream. My hands flare with light—bright, blazing, but cold as stone.
“What is this?” His voice softens.
“I don’t know.” The words barely leave my lips.
The guards draw their swords.
“Stay put!” Garen barks.
His grip loosens. His eyes widen in awe, but nothing compares to mine. What is this?
“What are you doing?” he asks, his hand sliding from my neck like a broken chain.
“I don’t know.”
“You are an Elder Healer?” The words slip from his mouth, stripped of command.
“I am… I am not—”
A burst of light explodes from my palms, flooding the tent.
Then, darkness.
…
Pain hammers in my skull. My eyes are too heavy to open. My throat burns like fire. I’m so thirsty. And—wait. I’ll be late. Late to the… Bluemoon!
“Bluemoon!” I jolt upright.
“Hey, hey. Relax.” A voice comes from beside me.
I turn. “Oh. It’s not a dream.” The disappointment spills out.
“Thank the gods you are awake,” he says.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in your tent,” he answers. “Remember me?”
The rebel who kidnapped me. Hard to forget.
“My name is Odon. I led you to Alpha Garen’s—”
“I know who you are.” My tone is flat.
“Oh. I’m sorry about earlier. I was only following orders.” He holds up a cup. “Water?”
I snatch it like a starving animal. I’ve never been this thirsty. I don’t even know why.
“You went blank yesterday. After…”
“Alpha Garen,” I whisper.
“Yeah. I don’t know how you did it, but you did.”
“Did what?”
“You healed him,” Odon says. “You healed him of Bluebane. It’s a miracle only the gods could perform.”
I stare. “That’s insane. I cannot heal Bluebane.”
“But you did. Maybe not fully, but you did. A few more days and he’ll be strong enough to lead us into war—to bring the Voss clan to its knees.”
My stomach twists. “I healed Garen?”
“Yes.” Odon’s eyes gleam with pride. “I saw it with my own eyes. You glowed like gold. You levitated.”
“Levitate and glow like gold?” I tilt my head. He has to be mad.
“Yes. Like the goddess herself,” he says. “I was there.”
I clutch my temples. The headache won’t let me remember. All I recall is light, his voice demanding who I was.
“Take it easy, my lady.”
“Stop calling me that!” I snap. Only Lunas are called that. “And I’ve already been rejected.”
“Rejected you?” Odon frowns.
Idiot. Shut up, Aria. I shake my head quickly. “Sorry. I’m still piecing things together. I’m confused.”
“The older healer said you would be. You’ll have your maids soon.”
“My what?”
“To prepare you for the Ceremony.”
“What ceremony?”
“Ah, you were unconscious.” Odon smiles. “Alpha Garen’s former mate died in the clan war. Since then, he hasn’t been bound to anyone. But yesterday, the moment you fainted, he called you mate. It is the gods’ miracle.”
“The gods’ miracle?” I laugh bitterly. “First I glow and levitate, then I heal Bluebane, and now I’m the fated mate of Alpha Garen?”
“All true, my lady.”
“Are you here to entertain me? Because none of this is funny.”
“I lie not. I swear it by the gods.”
“That what?” I snap.
“That all I say is truth.”
I stare at him. Either he is a madman, or I am still dreaming. “An Alpha cannot be fated to a healer.”
“Oh, but you are not just a healer. You are an Elder Healer.” Odon sighs. “You are special.”
Elder Healer? Impossible. They are extinct. The Voss Clan destroyed them all.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say.
“I will take my leave. Your maids will prepare you for what is to come.”
“What is to come, Odon?” My voice cracks.
“The Ceremony, my lady. Before gods and wolves.”
“No!” My eyes widen. This cannot be happening. This is a nightmare replaying itself. “I can’t! No!”
“Why?”
How do I tell him? How do I say that I was already fated to Gideon Voss, Alpha of the Voss clan? That I carry his heir inside me?
If I say it, I’ll bring the wrath of Alpha Garen upon not just me, but my baby.
“The Ceremony will hold soon, my lady,” Odon says, rising to his feet. “You need to prepare.”
- Writer
