It's Luna
1536 Words
Marianna,
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Even the guards who had surrounded me stepped back slightly, lowering their heads the moment he appeared. The arrogance from earlier disappeared so quickly it was almost laughable.
The cold mountain wind brushed against my face as I stared at him.
My husband, cold, tall, and handsome.
" Husband? Isn't it Julianna's husband?" Dawn corrected me.
" Well, in the marriage certificate, it was my name. After all, they were after my pendant for some reason."
" So, we aren't the substitute, but the real wife?"
" I don't know. Never bothered with that title."
The sunlight reflected against his dark coat while silver strands of hair moved gently beneath the wind. His sharp gaze scanned the scene once before settling on the guard clutching his bleeding nose.
The atmosphere shifted instantly the moment his eyes landed on the injured guard. Even the servants nearby stiffened nervously, as though waiting for someone to be punished.
Then his eyes slowly shifted toward me, calm and emotionless. As though he were looking at a stranger instead of his wife.
Beside him stood the woman, beautiful, radiant, and definitely not weak.
Unlike Barbara's loud arrogance, this woman carried herself with quiet confidence. Her fingers remained wrapped around his arm naturally, as though she belonged there. As though nobody would dare question it.
And judging from the servants lowering their heads around her, nobody did.
Interesting.
Her golden eyes studied me carefully. There was no hostility on her face, yet something cold lingered quietly beneath her calm expression. Like someone observing a dangerous animal while pretending not to fear it.
" Alpha..." Barbara quickly stepped forward, her earlier fury instantly replaced with fake distress. " This woman attacked the guards and threatened everyone the moment she arrived. She forgot her place."
I almost laughed.
The woman beside him finally spoke, her voice soft and graceful enough to fool anyone weak-minded.
" Barbara, calm down." She spoke up as though she was the head of the household now. Well, she was, apparently playing the Luna game whilst her beloved Alpha was legally married to me.
" We should not create a scene outside," she continued gently, finally looking at me directly. " Especially when Lady Marianna has travelled this far."
Lady Marianna? So they called Julianna with my name till now. Tsk. Seemed like my i***t sister was the substitute. Not me.
I smiled slowly. " How thoughtful."
My voice echoed softly through the silent courtyard.
My husband finally moved. Descending the staircase with slow, measured steps, he stopped a few feet away from me.
Tall enough to tower over most men. Dangerous enough to silence an entire territory with one glance.
Yet none of it impressed me anymore.
" What exactly are you doing here?" he asked coldly.
The servants nervously exchanged glances around us.
I tilted my head slightly. " Is that how Blackhowl welcomes its Luna now?"
A dangerous silence followed immediately after my words.
Several servants lowered their heads further while Barbara visibly stiffened.
A few of them looked genuinely shaken now. Indeed, they did not expect me to talk like this. Not after they had spent months teaching my sister how to behave quietly inside this Packhouse.
The woman beside him remained composed, though I noticed the slight tightening of her fingers around his arm. The elegant smile on her face nearly disappeared for a second before returning perfectly into place.
My wolf purred softly inside me. " Oh, she did not like that."
I ignored Dawn and kept my eyes on him.
His expression did not change. But something dark flickered briefly within his gaze. Dangerous. Irritated.
" You left the pack," he said, his voice cold.
" And?"
His jaw tightened slightly. A faint c***k echoed beneath the silence as the stone beneath his boots fractured ever so slightly. He hated losing control.
The beautiful woman beside him stepped forward gracefully before the tension could worsen.
" You must be exhausted after such a long journey," she said softly. " You shouldn't have left abruptly without informing any of us."
Though her voice remained calm, her eyes stayed fixed on me carefully now, observing every reaction I made. Cautious. Measuring.
The servants remained deathly silent. Nobody dared look at me directly anymore.
Barbara, however, smirked faintly behind them.
I slowly looked around the enormous Packhouse once more.
" I am sorry. My memory is a bit messy. Who are you again?"
My words made everyone freeze, including the Alpha of this Pack. Xavier Delanor...
The woman's expression finally cracked slightly.
Not anger.
Surprise.
Her fingers loosened around Xavier's arm for the briefest second before tightening once more. Yet despite that tiny reaction, her posture remained graceful, elegant, controlled.
Interesting. She was good at hiding her emotions.
" My apologies," I said softly. " I didn't think that I needed permission to go home. Or perhaps Blackhowl Wolf Pack thinks their Luna needs permission to move around?"
Her expression darkened immediately. A faint chill spread through the courtyard.
But I ignored her and looked at him, Xavier Delanor.
" Alpha, my apologies for running away. Of course, I felt a bit homesick. You don't mind, do you?" I asked softly, meeting his eyes.
His expression shifted immediately.
For the first time since arriving, his gaze locked onto mine completely. The courtyard felt unbearably still beneath that stare, the tension pressing heavily against everyone's shoulders. He definitely did not expect me to speak to him like this while holding eye contact so fearlessly.
However, before he could talk, that woman walked between us.
" Lady Marianna. You should go to your room now. Alpha is exhausted after working -"
" It's Luna!" I said, my voice dropping cold. " Call me Luna."
She stepped back slightly, her eyes widening before she quickly masked the reaction. However, I noticed the way her nails dug subtly into her palm beneath her sleeve.
" And, I am talking to my husband. Who are you to interfere with the conversation between Alpha and his Luna?"
Silence fell instantly.
Even the mountain wind itself seemed to disappear. The entire courtyard forgot how to breathe.
Several servants turned pale immediately while Barbara looked horrified by my words. Nobody had ever dared challenge her authority inside the Packhouse so openly before.
That was when Xavier finally snapped.
The killing intent around him exploded violently. The pressure alone made several servants lower themselves instinctively in fear.
Then his hand suddenly reached my neck.
His fingers wrapped around my throat with brutal force, shoving me backward slightly.
" How dare you talk to her like this?"
The woman beside him immediately grabbed his arm softly. " Alpha -"
But her voice stopped midway once she noticed my smile.
I smirked, my claws already out.
" My apologies, Alpha. I didn't know that you value her way more than your own Luna. Blackhowl Wolf Pack certainly has their priorities."
His grip tightened.
The servants stared at us in horror while the woman beside him slowly lost the calmness in her eyes for the first time.
" Do you wish to die?"
" Do I?" I grinned playfully despite the pain burning against my throat. " I do. It's fun to see how Blackhowl Wolf Pack gets all the notorious records."
He froze.
Completely.
Because the notorious records belonged to his late father, who killed his own Luna to marry his beloved mate. The poor woman gave birth to this man before she died.
His second brother assaulted two women and ended up dying in their enemies' hands.
The entire courtyard turned deathly pale. Nobody even dared breathe after hearing those forbidden words spoken aloud.
Even the woman beside him looked shaken now. Not because of fear for herself, but because she immediately understood what I was doing.
I was dragging the buried filth of the Blackhowl bloodline directly into the open.
He yanked me away violently.
" You better not show your face."
I coughed harshly before straightening up slowly. The burning sensation around my throat only made me grin wider.
" I have no intention of doing it either!"
I dusted my sleeve casually before looking at his hand with visible disgust.
" And please, next time when you try to touch me, wash your hands first. I find the hands of cheaters disgusting."
He froze midway.
The woman beside him visibly stiffened once more. This time, the elegant calmness around her finally cracked completely for a brief second.
Yet I did not wait.
I walked straight into the Packhouse.
The servants immediately moved aside for me in silence, none of them daring to stop me anymore.
This time, I would settle the score.
However, I knew that it wasn't over. I had provoked every single one of them in this household, and eventually, they would all come together to deal with me.
" Damn. Who knew that it would be fun just thinking about it?" I grinned wickedly. " I was so bored."
My father made me twisted, a psychopath shaped beneath his unruly rules. But he was a weak player. Playing with him had never been fun.
- Writer
