The Luna He Discarded

Chapter3:The Return

Liora's POV

"What do you mean I should move out?" I asked, staring at Kaius standing in the doorway of my room like he hadn't just said the most devastating thing I'd heard all week.

"It's better this way" he said, not quite looking at me directly. "We need to avoid any misunderstandings. Selene needs to feel comfortable in her own home."

"So I make Selene uncomfortable?" I asked, the words coming out sharper than I meant them to.

"That's not what I meant" he said quickly, though his eyes still wouldn't meet mine properly.

"Then what did you mean, Kaius?"

He was quiet for a moment, his jaw tightening the way it did whenever he was choosing his words carefully. "You have to leave. I have a mate now. I'm not going to let anything ruin that for me, not even" he stopped himself before finishing the sentence, but I already knew how it was going to end.

Something inside my chest cracked open at that, sharp and sudden, and I had to press my lips together to keep myself from saying something I'd regret. I thought about all the nights he had sat across from me at dinner, all the times he had told me things he said he never told anyone else, all the mornings he had pulled me close and called me his.None of that seemed to matter anymore.

"Okay" I said quietly, because there wasn't anything else left to say.He looked at me for one more second, like he was waiting for me to argue, to fight back, to make this harder than it already was. When I didn't, he simply turned and walked out of the room without another word.

I stood there for a long moment after the door clicked shut, staring at the empty space where he had been standing, before I finally moved toward the closet and pulled out the small bag I had arrived with all those months ago.

I packed slowly, folding each piece of clothing with more care than necessary, because moving slowly meant I didn't have to think too hard about what was actually happening. I picked up a soft grey sweater Kaius had given me during one of the colder months and held it for a long moment before deciding to leave it folded neatly on the bed instead of taking it with me.

As I packed, I kept thinking about the night he first brought me into this house.I remembered how terrified I had been, how exhausted, how my hands had shaken so badly I couldn't even hold the cup of tea someone offered me. I remembered Kaius sitting beside me on this very bed, not saying much, just being there, his presence somehow steady enough that my shaking eventually stopped. He told me I was safe now. He told me nobody would ever treat me like that again.

I wondered if he remembered saying that.

I zipped up my bag once everything fit inside it, took one last look around the room that had felt like mine for months, and walked out without looking back.

The walk down to the front entrance felt heavier than the walk up to my room had felt the very first day. My footsteps echoed against the floor, and as I approached the living room, I heard voices, Kaius, Selene, and Elder Mauve, all gathered together near the fireplace, talking in low tones about something I couldn't quite make out.I kept my eyes forward and walked past them, my bag gripped tightly in my hand.

"Leaving so soon" Elder Mauve said, not bothering to hide the satisfaction in her voice. "Good. This is for the best, Liora. You'll understand that one day."

I didn't respond. I didn't even slow down. I just kept walking, straight through the front door and out into the cold evening air, leaving her words behind me along with everything else in that house.

A cab was already waiting outside, arranged earlier that day by Philip, who had quietly helped me without asking too many questions about where I was actually going. I gave the driver the only address I had left to give, and we pulled away from the mansion in silence.

The breeder's quarters looked exactly the way I remembered them. Grey, cold, and draining . I paid the driver and stood outside for a long moment, my bag heavy in my hand, before forcing myself to walk through the front entrance.

The smell hit me immediately, the same smell I remembered from years ago, something stale and unwashed mixed with the faint scent of cheap soap. I could hear crying somewhere down one of the halls.

The breeders quarters didn't change one bit.

"Liora?"

I turned and saw Wren, my closest friend from my years in this place, standing near one of the doorways with her arms wrapped around herself. She looked thinner than I remembered, her face pale in a way that made my stomach tighten with worry.

"Wren" I said, and she crossed the distance between us quickly, pulling me into a tight hug.

"I was so happy for you when you left this place" she said quietly, pulling back to look at me, her eyes searching my face for an explanation. "I thought you had finally gotten out. And now you're back."

"It's complicated" I said, which felt like the smallest possible way to describe everything that had happened.

She didn't push for more, just helped me carry my bag to the small room that would apparently be mine again, the same kind of room I remembered, narrow bed, thin blanket, a single small window that barely let in any light.

I had just set my bag down on the bed when a soft knock came at the door.

A young servant girl stood there, her expression careful and a little nervous.

"The head lady wants to see you."

Wren and I exchanged a glance, any summons from the head lady meant something was about to go very wrong.