Rise Of The Fallen Luna

Chapter 14

••• Leicia’s POV •••

My face burned.

Groaning, I quickly buried my face in my hands.

“I—Belle, shut up!” I hissed in my head, mortified.

“Oh no no. I said ‘sit on’---you were the one who screamed ‘No!’ like the world is ending.” She only howled louder, rolling around like a maniac. “You should’ve seen your face! Oh Goddess. Poor, poor, Reinald.”

“I hate you,” I muttered to my wolf.

She giggled. “Oh, we both know you love me.”

I ignored her. Still red-faced, I turned to Reinald, words tumbling over each other. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t for you.”

One of his brows lifted, but his lips twitched slightly—as if he was barely holding in a laugh. “Talking to your wolf?”

I sighed. “Unfortunately.”

His eyes danced with amusement. “Let me guess… she’s the dramatic one.”

Dramatic was an understatement to describe Belle.

Still, I answered, “You have no idea.”

He chuckled, low and rough.

Then I remembered he had asked me a question. I cleared my throat. “Could you… repeat your question?”

He stiffened slightly, his eyes twitching like he was reconsidering everything. But then, in a gruff tone, he muttered, “Tch. Don’t make me say it twice.”

I stared at him.

Reinald exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I said… now that you’re rebuilding your pack, maybe you should marry me.”

Silence filled the hall. Even the Omegas and warriors seemed to hold their breath as if waiting for my answer, or maybe they didn’t want to disturb their Alpha Prince's moment of proposing.

His gaze remained fixed on the table. His ears, however, were unmistakably turning red.

Belle gasped. “They’re red again!

He’s flustered! He likes you! Ooh, Ooh, quick, pounce on him! Pounce on hi—”

“No!’ I snapped at my wolf. “You’ve said enough.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “Keep spoiling my fun, Alpha Boring.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“You… want to marry me?” I asked Reinald, my voice slow.

He still stared at the table as if it fascinated him.

“Thyrius thought… since we are childhood friends, and I’ve got nothing better to do now right now… maybe I should marry you.”

My brows lifted. I knew Thyrius and Katreena wanted me to marry soon, but he actually asked Reinald to do it?

He shrugged, still not meeting my eyes. “Said you’d need someone strong at your side. Someone who won’t bow to you, but also won’t try to control you.”

“How convenient,” I said flatly. “And you just… agreed?”

His jaw tensed. “He thinks it’ll make things easier for you. The Werewolf Council won’t question your right to rebuild if they see me beside you.”

I folded my arms, not liking the thought of it. “So that’s what I am? A political strategy?”

His gaze flickered to mine—sharp, indignant. “No. I said that’s what he thinks.”

“And what do you think?”

A beat passed.

Then Reinald muttered, “I think if someone’s going to stand beside you, it might as well be me.”

My lips parted, then closed.

He pressed on, his voice gruff now. “I’ll be the Alpha. That’s how the Council will see it. You’ll be Luna—in name only. You’ll have your command, your authority. I won’t overwrite you. I won’t leash you. You’ll be treated as my equal.”

I stared at him, unblinking. “So you want to be Alpha, but not over me?”

He nodded once. “You don’t bow to anyone, Leicia. I know that. But I’m still an Apha, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. If we do this, it’s as partners. You’d still lead the Dawn Guardians Pack. I’d just… make sure no one tries to take what’s yours again.”

Belle practically fainted in my head. “That’s the hottest proposal I’ve ever heard. Tell him yes! Jump him!”

“Belle, shut up!” I hissed.

I swallowed the heat crawling up my neck. “So… this whole idea came from Thyrius?”

Reinald’s mouth twitched. “Mostly. He also said that if you agreed, the warriors and Omegas who helped today could be reassigned permanently. You’d have a foundation. A functioning pack.”

He paused, then added, “They’d report to us both if that’s what you want.”

My eyes widened slightly. “The Omegas and warriors?”

He shrugged. “They have all agreed to swear themselves to the Dawn Guardians Pack. All you have to do is say the word.”

I blinked. Could it be… this simple?

He met my gaze this time. Steady. Calm. “I won’t let you do everything alone, Leicia. You’ve carried enough on your own. If we do this, we do it together.”

Belle was uncharacteristically silent for once.

Which was how I knew—this wasn’t just some flustered joke to her anymore.

I cleared my throat. “So you’d be Alpha.”

He nodded once. “And you’d be Luna. You’ll handle what you are best at—your people. I’ll handle the rest. That’s what an Alpha and Luna are supposed to do, right? Lead together. Side by side.”

I nodded slowly, still unsure—but respected his honesty so far. “So you’d stand beside me, but not in front of me?”

“Always beside you,” his tone was firm. “Never behind, never in front—unless someone dares to threaten you.”

I stared at him, a burning question on the tip of my tongue. “You won’t stop me,” I said quietly, “if a war breaks out again and I want to go to the battlefield?”

Reinald went still.

For a moment, his jaw clenched—just slightly. But then he exhaled, gaze steady. “No,” he replied. “I won’t.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He looked away. “We both have Betas. Kyle for you. Claude for me. They are more than capable of holding the fort… the pack. I’d rather fight beside you than lock you in a tower.”

Belle sighed dreamily. “Ugh, that’s hot.”

I folded my arms. “Even if I die?”

His voice dropped. “Then I’ll die beside you.”

I blinked, brows furrowing slightly. “That’s… morbid.”

He shrugged. “You asked.”

Belle sniffled dramatically. “I want to marry him.”

I looked down at my hands, fingers curling slightly in my lap. “You are willing to tie yourself to me like this? To something that’s still broken?”

“It’s not broken,” he said quietly. “It’s being rebuilt.”

“You made it sound easy.”

“It won’t be,” he said honestly. “But I’ve lived through harder. So have you.”

He was right.

Finally, I gazed into his eyes. “I’ll think about it.”

That’s when I noticed it again.

I frowned. “Why do your ears keep turning red?”

Reinald stiffened. “T-they didn’t.”

“They did,” I insisted. “I noticed.”

“It’s just… hot in here,” he muttered, glaring at the fireplace like it had betrayed him.

Was it?

I glanced at the flames. They weren’t particularly strong.

My brows furrowed. “Are you sure you are not getting sick? Because I don’t feel it’s hot.”

His expression darkened with horror. “No. I’m perfectly fine. Totally healthy. No fever. Stop looking at me like that.”

I blinked, baffled by his defensiveness. “You should drink some water.”

“I’m fine.”

I tilted my head. His neck seemed to redden as well. “Are you sure? You look like you are overheating.”

“I said I’m fine!” he growled, now clearly flustered.

Belle burst into wheezing laughter. “He’s down bad. Quick, poke him. Just once! I’m sure he’ll combust!”

“He’s not!” I hissed back at her, then added aloud to tell Reinald, “Alright. I won’t push.”

He nodded sharply, still refusing to look at me.

The silence stretched.

Belle sighed, dreamy and unhinged. “He’s already picturing the wedding. I bet he’s naming our pups now.”

“Belle, shut up.” The amount of time I had to tell her to shut her mouth today was outrageous.

“Fine. Be boring. I’ll just sit here in the corner of your mind and fantasize about Alpha Shirtless by myself.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “If you say one more thing, I swear I’ll lock you there.”

A dramatic gasp echoed in my mind. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Savage…” she muttered.

Reinald cleared his throat. “You don’t have to decide now. Thyrius just wanted to make the offer before someone else tried to get in your way.”

I blinked. “Someone else?”

He hesitated, then muttered, “The Council. Maybe even some allied Alphas looking for power.”

Right.

Political marriage. Strategic alliance. It all made sense.

He wasn’t flustered. He was just… awkward. Probably annoyed that his brother volunteered him for this in the first place. And as my childhood friend, he felt he needed to give his all if I decided to accept him.

I sighed. “Well… thanks for the offer.”

He made a vague sound in his throat that could’ve meant anything, then rubbed the back of his neck, eyes looking everywhere but at me. “I’m going to check on the warriors.”

He stood, tugged his shirt straighter, and left the room without another word.

The moment he was gone, Belle exploded.

“YOU i***t!”

“Now what?” I groaned.

“You didn’t even react to the proposal! You were just like, ‘Hmm, thank you for your services, goodbye now.’”

I frowned. “It wasn’t a romantic proposal. It was logistics.”

“Exactly! That’s why it was romantic! And now he thinks you hate him!”

How was logistics romantic? How did the Moon Goddess paired me with a wolf like Belle was beyond me.

In the end, I just scoffed and stood. “He’s a childhood friend, Belle. That’s it.”

Belle snorted. “Sure. And I’m a goldfish.”