The Luna's Silence: Price of the Allied Throne

The smell of roasting venison and pine resin filled the air of the Iron-Claw pack lands. It was a smell that promised a night. The Full Moon Festival was about to start. For any Luna this would be a night to remember. For me it was the day of a five-year deal. Or maybe the first day of a new life. I stood on the balcony of the pack house. I was fixing the silver brooch at my neck. Below me hundreds of wolves were gathered in the clearing. They were. Having a good time. The sound of their laughter bounced off the mountainside. I had worked hard to make the Iron-Claw pack what it's today. When I first came here the pack was struggling. They were hungry. Their homes were falling apart. Now they were the pack in the Northern Reach. "The plans for the midnight feast are all set Luna " a voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Silas, the pack's lead beta. He looked at me with respect. It was respect that I had earned, not just given to me. "Thank you Silas. And where is the Alpha?" I asked. "He's finishing the hunt. He will be back in time for the opening dance " Silas said. I nodded. My fingers touched the edge of the marriage contract that I had tucked into my velvet bodice. It was a document but it meant a lot. It was a deal between me and Alpha Caspian. I would work for him for five years and in return he would keep me safe and give me what I needed.. The deal was about to end. Over the five years things had changed. Caspian was not the person I met five years ago. He used to be distant and cold. Now he was different. He would share his tea with me in the morning. He would ask for my advice when there were problems. I had fallen for him not because we were meant to be but because of the time we had spent together. Tonight I was going to ask him to forget about the contract and stay with me because he wanted to. A horn blew from the edge of the forest. "He's back!" someone shouted from the crowd. I looked down. My heart started beating fast. Caspian came out of the trees, his chest bare and sweaty from the hunt. His dark hair was messy from the wind. He looked like a king. I had helped him become that king. He was not alone. The crowd. The cheering stopped. Caspian was not carrying a prize from the hunt. He was carrying a woman. She was small. She was wearing a white cloak that was torn and dirty. Her hair was a yellow color that stood out against Caspian's b****y skin. As they reached the center of the clearing Caspian's face looked desperate. It was a look I had never seen him give me. "Sienna?" I. The name felt bitter in my mouth. I knew that name. I had seen it in Caspians journals and I had heard the older pack members talk about her when they thought I was not listening. She was his brother's mate, his love. She was the woman who had left the pack years ago. Caspian did not look up at the balcony. He did not look for me, his Luna. He knelt down in the dirt holding the woman as if she would break. "Healer!" Caspian. His voice shook the windows behind me. "Get the healer! She's hurt!" I moved then my feet took me down the stairs. By the time I reached the clearing the pack members were backing away making a circle of silence around us. "Caspian?" I called out my voice steady even though my heart was beating fast. He finally looked at me. His eyes were wild and sad. "Elowen... It's Sienna. Joshua is gone. She has else to go." The woman in his arms moved, her eyes opening. They were a blue color that made me feel cold. She looked at Caspian at me and then she hid her face in the crook of his neck. Her small hand held his arm, a sign that she owned him. "Please " she whispered, her voice weak. "Don't let them hurt me, Caspian." "No one will touch you, " Caspian promised, his voice low and rough. He stood up still holding her and started walking toward the pack house. He walked past me without even looking at me. He did not see the festival decorations that I had spent weeks putting up. He did not see the brooch I was wearing, the symbol of our five-year deal. He only saw the woman from his past, the woman who had come back. I stood alone in the center of the clearing Luna of a pack that had forgotten about me. The moon was rising, full and bright. It felt cold to me. The contract in my body felt like it was burning my skin. It was a piece of paper after all.. Paper is easy to tear. I watched as Caspian carried her inside. I knew that everything was about to change.