The Runaway Luna

#2

Eryx.

I woke up with a throbbing headache, memories of the previous night rushing back to me.

My evening meal. The trembling maid. Cade rushing to me. The secret passage. The hidden cottage.

HER.

I turned to my side and found the bed empty and cold, like she was never here. Her smell still lingered and I could feel my wolf awakening.

It felt like a part of me was missing — a void only she could fill. I took the pillow she had laid on and inhaled. I could get lost in her intoxicating scent.

"My Lord!!" Cade, my beta and second-in-command called out, staying outside the room.

"What??" I groaned, knowing exactly what he had to say.

"The royals are awaiting. You have a meeting in less than an hour....and there have been words going around" His voice was low and cautious.

I wore my trousers and came out.

"Words?" I questioned. Rumours are always bound to go around with different versions of the truth.

"Words that you spent the night in Lady Talia's chambers" He raised his head up to look at me.

"Interesting." It seems like that's exactly what they had plotted, but failed.

"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" He asked and I sat down on the small couch that could barely contain my frame.

"This does not deserve a reaction from me. You know I do not concern myself with trivial matters like this" I clasped my fingers, looking down.

"Yes sir. Regarding the drugging, do you know who might have been behind it...or perhaps a motive?"

"They clearly do not want to kill me. If they did, it wouldn't be a drug, it'd have been poison..... And for the person behind it, I have my suspects" I looked back into the room, knowing this was my only lead to find her.

"I'll start an investigation—"

"—I found my mate" I looked up at him, watching his face morph into surprise.

"The Luna?"

"Yes, the Luna. She came in to help me while I was still under the influence of the drug..." I paused, remembering how her trembling hands reached mine even after I told her to leave.

That was foolish of her. I could have hurt her. I could have hurt us both.

"Did you...?" He trailed off, unable to say the words out loud.

"Yes, I marked her" I affirmed, watching his face fall.

"What if she was sent to you? What if she is part of them? What if it was just the drug making you think she's your mate??" He panicked.

One microsecond I was sitting on the couch, the next, the couch was gone, the distance was gone, and I was occupying his space. The unexpected shift of my sudden presence hit him like a physical blow.

I watched his pupils dilate in absolute horror as he realized I was already standing inches from his chest, my claws already resting lightly against his throat before his brain could even register that I had moved.

He stumbled back a step, his scent instantly souring with the sharp, bitter stench of sheer panic. He looked at me, wide-eyed and trembling, realizing that if I had wanted him dead, his head would already be on the floor.

"My wolf craved her. It wanted her. Tell me Cade, could that be just an illusion from my side or....."

"I was wrong!! I have no right to speak of the Luna in such manner" He went down on one knee, his head bowed in submission.

"And if she was actually sent by them, she wouldn't have scurried off immediately" I clenched my fist, the pain of abandonment a foreign feeling to me.

"She would have stayed behind since she now has leverage against me, since I am completely powerless in front of her" I walked out of the cottage, Cade a few steps behind me.

"Lock this cottage and send me the list of people living around this place. She couldn't have gone far" I collected my jacket from him.

"Do you know her name or did she say anything that could help us in searching for her?" I halted at his question.

I knew nothing about her, not even her name.

"Her hair... It's red and long....she smells like white lotus...and vanilla" I paused. "And she's about 5'3 or thereabout. Petite with very porcelain white skin. That should be enough information" I looked around, hoping I could find anything that could bring me closer to her.

"Noted. This way sir, we have to get you back before anyone notices you were gone" He directed me through a path filled with vines and shrubs.

"The maid?" I asked.

"I already sent some men after her. She's hiding somewhere in the capital. If we can find her, we'll know who ordered her to drug your meal"

"Good. Bring her to me immediately you find her. I will personally interrogate her. I want to know what they promised her that made her put her life on the line for a mission as risky as that" I remembered how she trembled as she served my dinner.

I didn't think much of it because everyone is scared of me. My reputation alone is enough to make them tremble. I was already used to people looking at me with fear in their eyes to notice anything amiss with her.

Fortunately for her, I won't chop off her head. If not for her, I wouldn't have met my mate. It may have taken me years to find her, but she already saved me the time and stress.

But no one drugs the Alpha and gets away with it, and I will use her to let her master know that I am not to be trampled upon.

As for the Luna, I'll make sure I find her. She can run but she would never be able to hide from me. That is a promise I'll be sure to keep.