CHAPTER 2
1333 Words
"Lyra, you have to leave the courtyard."
The words came from behind me and were sharp and low.
I slowly turned around. Elder Corvin stood a few steps away with a stone-like look on his face. As the pack around us began to split up, whispers began to fly around like scared birds. I didn't get a look from anyone.
I asked again, "Go?" "This is my home."
His words didn't change when he said, "Not right now." His eyes did.
Not right now.
It seems like I could just leave. Like I'm not a problem.
I looked past him and into the healer's hall. Rowan was inside with her and Seraphina. The doors were shut, and they were as sharp as a knife, cutting me off.
I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, "I am his Luna. Anything that happens in there worries me."
Corvin stopped and thought for a moment. That pause told me everything I needed to know.
In a low voice, he said, "Go." "Before things get worse."
It's too late now.
I turned away so he wouldn't see how bright my eyes were. With my head held high, I walked up the stone steps and through the rooms I had been through a thousand times before. Today, each step felt harder, like the walls were pressing down on me.
When I got to my room, my hands were shaking.
I leaned against the door and shut it behind me, taking deep breaths. The bond in my chest was tense and pulling me in a way I didn't want to go. It hummed with pain and confusion that wasn't just mine.
It was just me and Rowan. "What are you up to?" I asked.
There was no answer. It was just quiet.
I crossed the room and stopped in front of the mirror. The woman looking at me looked like someone I didn't know. My hair was tangled, and dark waves fell over my shoulders. My eyes, which are usually calm and steady, were bright and wide with tears that hadn't fallen yet.
I told her in a soft voice, "Your name is Luna, and you belong here."
The bond pulsed once more, but this time it wasn't as strong.
Someone knocked on the door.
Right away, I stood up straight. "Rowan?""
Nothing.
She was one of the younger women in the group, and I saw her standing stiffly in the hall when I opened the door. She didn't smile like she did every day. She held her hands together in front of her.
"My Luna," she said, and bowed her head. "The elders want you to come." To the meeting room for the group.
It broke my heart. "Every one of them?"
She gave a head nod. "And... Alpha Rowan."
Of course.
It looked like it took longer than ever to walk to the council room. Every move made me think of the times I met with Rowan and felt like my thoughts and ideas were valued. When they opened the door today, the guards didn't look me in the eye.
They sat inside in a half-circle. Rowan was in the middle of the group.
Seraphina Vale was standing next to him.
She looked better now. Stronger. She had her color back, stood up straight, and put her hand on Rowan's arm in a way that made it look like it had always been there.
Inside me, something hot and sharp shook.
"Lyra," Rowan called me when he saw me.
Just my name. Luna, not my Luna. Not "my friend."
As I walked forward, I kept my chin up. "You called for me."
"Yes," replied Elder Corvin. "We need to be clear."
"Then be clear," I told them. "All of you."
Seraphina's lips got bigger. "I never wanted things to turn out this way."
I stared at her. "Then why did you come?"
She blinked, which could have been a sign of pain, guilt, or just good acting.
"Because the bond woke up," she stated. "And it almost killed me."
I replied, "That's not possible." "A mate bond doesn't wake up after a long time."
"It can..." one of the older people said after clearing his throat. if it had to be stopped by force."
The room turned around.
"What does that mean?" I asked Rowan.""
His jaw got tense. "It means that the bond didn't fully break when Seraphina left years ago."
I stated, "You told me she turned you down." "You said it was over."
"It was," he said quickly. "She took a different path."
It made Seraphina shake her head. "I was scared and young, and they told me that staying would hurt the pack. I thought that leaving would break the bond between us."
"Who?"I asked.
No one picked up.
Elder Corvin spoke instead. "Some ties are... Not easy to understand. Right now is all that matters.
I said, "The present." "Where my husband stands next to another woman and lets her take him."
Rowan finally looked at me, and his eyes were very raw. "There's been no talk. We are looking into it."
I'm looking into it.
It was like my heart was a puzzle that I had to figure out.
"And what should I do while you look into it?" I asked.""
We were both quiet for a long time.
Seraphina moved toward Rowan. "In a soft voice, I don't want to take your place," she said. "I just want the pain to go away."
Again, her hand was on her chest.
In answer, the bond inside me sparked, becoming angry and on fire.
"What about my pain?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Rowan took a big breath.
Elder Corvin put up his hand and said, "That's enough." Alpha Rowan should not talk to either woman until we know for sure what is going on.
Both of them.
Not Luna and someone else. Only women.
"What does that mean?""I asked.
The older said, "It means you will step back from your duties as Luna for now."
The words hurt a lot.
I told them right away, "No." "You can't—"
I told Corvin over and over, "It's only for a short time." "For the safety of the pack."
I laughed, and the sound was rough and sharp. "You think that getting rid of me will make things better?"
Rowan moved forward and said, "Lyra, please." "Let's not make this harder than it has to be."
I saw him. Really tried to see.
A lot harder.
That's what he thought this was.
"Okay," I said in a low voice. Not tough enough. "If that's what you want."
Seraphina spoke again just as I was leaving. Just enough of her voice shook for it to sound weak.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Really."
I looked at her when I stopped at the door. They were told not to say sorry. "Say you're sorry to the bond you lied about."
She looked at him with a little more interest.
That's interesting.
No one could stop me as I left the room.
By the time I got to the gardens, my legs were tired. I put my hands over my eyes and sat down on the stone bench under the old moon tree.
I told myself to "breathe." "Just take a deep breath."
Once more, the link pulled. Stronger. Not giving up.
Then—
I felt pain in my chest.
I felt a strange, sharp pain in my lower back that made me gasp and bend over. I had trouble seeing. My hands flew to my stomach when another wave hit. It was sudden and made me feel dizzy.
I asked softly, "What...?"
The pain was gone in an instant, leaving a strange, empty warmth behind.
Someone was following me.
"Lyra?""
Rowan's voice.
My heart was beating fast, but not because I was hurt. I was scared.
Because I had changed in some way.
I had no idea why.
Or what it meant.
- Writer
