The Luna That He Rejected The Queen He Could Not Break

POV: Vaelira Ashwyn

"Thank you moon goddess." I mumbled the second I woke up

Today would be the day to find out all the answers to the questions I had lost sleep for.

As I was sitting in front of the mirror, I felt the gaze of Elira, who was studying my face. My hair was pulled back from my shoulders, and she said softly, "You look exhausted. Were you able to get any sleep at all?

I said, "Not really. I could not get the nightmare out of my mind, or the moon." 

"Vaelira-" she started.

"But I won't let it spoil today," I said gently. "It's supposed to be the happiest day of my life, I don't want a bad dream take that away from me."

She didn't say a word, but she looked at me a second longer than usual before she got to work on my hair again, silently.

When we were both dressed, we joined the pack of wolves that were all rushing toward Moonridge Palace. The roads were alive with excitement, unmated wolves were laughing and speculating about who they would find their destined mates before the setting of the sun. I wanted to absorb their happiness, but as we approached the palace, my stomach grew tighter and tighter.

I couldn't stop thinking about Kaelor. Information about the black magician. My nightmare and the blood moon. 

I had to see him before the ceremony started. I had to explain to him about the nightmare I had, about the Blood Moon, about the sensation in my chest since waking up screaming.

I told Elira, "I'll meet  you inside."

I didn't catch sight of Auren for several minutes, as he stood by one of the side entrances watching the royal guards. There was relief in me, and I ran to him.

I started to say "Auren," breathlessly. "Is Kaelor available? I have just a few minutes, I have something important I need to say before the ceremony."

He looked at me, but I didn't see the warmth I was looking for. His face was set in a way that I didn't recognize.

"Alpha Kaelor is busy," he said coldly.

I blinked. "What? Is he preparing? I can wait, I just-"

He repeated, his voice devoid of any emotion whatsoever, "Alpha Kaelor is busy."

"Auren." My voice trembled a little. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

He said nothing. He just ignored me as if I were not in front of him.

"Fine," I whispered, hurt blooming sharp and sudden in my chest. "Thank you."

I didn't want him to see how much his coldness shook me.

I quickly found  Elira again and she frowned at my face. "What happened?have you spoken to him?"

I lied and put a smile on my face, "Nothing. Kaelor is just busy,Royal duties before the ceremony."

She wasn't especially pleased, but before she could ask any more questions, the great horns of the palace were sounded, summoning all the wolves to the great hall.

The hall was enormous on the inside, with wolves coming from all around the kingdom. The old people sat in front. The nobles were seated with pride in their reserved seats. Near the rear, there were common wolves, including myself, waiting amongst the unmated maids.

I scanned the crowd and spotted Kaelor close to the royal dais.

He didn't look me in the eye. Not once.

Shortly afterward, Alpha King Alaric Draven arrived with his family, and the entire hall stood in silence before resuming their seats as the royal family were seated.

High Elder Eldric Thorn rose to his feet and spoke into the empty hall. "True mates are chosen by the Moon Goddess alone," he said. "No wolf can resist her will."

One by one, wolves were called forward. Others met their partners from the readings of the elders. Others let out their spirit and allowed their destiny to take its course. Champagne was again popped, and again, and again as new pairings were announced, and with each pairing, my nerves were pulled tighter.

Then Eldric called Kaelor's name.

I smiled, not really knowing what to expect,  chance that my name would be called next to his.

Instead, Eldric frowned, studying the reading in his hands. He said that the "Alpha Kaelor's mate star is not found in the traditional readings. He has to let go of his essence and let the Moon Goddess lead it towards his destined mate."

The hall echoed with whispers. My heart started beating, but I said to myself, "There's no need to be afraid. The spirit would still reach me. It had to."

Kaelor went to the ceremonial circle. I saw him take a breath and then let go of his Alpha essence into the air. A column of silver light cascaded out of his body, trailing meaclingly across the hall.

I was about to reach out for it, my whole body yearning for that light.

It moved closer.

Then it turned and went in a different direction.

It came to a halt in front of Seraphine Vaelor.

There was silence in the hall.

I couldn't breathe. I waited for Kaelor to say something. Anything. I waited him out, waited him to say no, waited him to say the elders were wrong.

Rather, he came to her.

"Kaelor," I whispered, but nobody could hear me amid the growing commotion. "Kaelor, don't-"

He put his head down and bit into Seraphine's neck.

The mark grew black on her white skin, and everyone around the hall cheered for me.

"NO," I screamed before I could stop myself,  my voice cutting through the festivity like a knife. "No! Kaelor!"

The cheer went haywire. Before I could push my way toward Kaelor, rough hands seized my arms, Alpha King Alaric barked out an order to clear the hall. The guards dragged me behind, and they never answered a single question that I asked, and they put me in a private chamber in the palace.

I don't remember how long it took for the door to open.

Kaelor came in first. Alpha King Alaric and Luna Maevra Draven followed him.

"Kaelor." I shot to my feet. "Please say this is  wrong." 

He wouldn't make eye contact with me. Finally he spoke and his voice was maddeningly calm. "Perhaps our relationship was a wrong one, Vaelira."

"What?"

"Youngsters...we..., we were young," he said. "Perhaps we got in a situation that's never going to be right." He paused. "I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me you're sorry, tell me this is a joke." My voice shook. "Five years, Kaelor. Five years of hiding, sneaking around, waiting for the day you'd finally tell your pack about me, last night you said you would. You held my hand and told me you would."

He said nothing. He was silent, he stood there, and my words went around him.

It was obvious that he would not say anything, so Alpha King Alaric took his place. He looked as though he were making a business deal instead of dealing with my life, and his voice was businesslike: "What happened today can't ever become public knowledge. For your silence about your past relationship with my son, I will give you a generous amount of gold, and if you need land, I have some to give you."

I looked at him and knew that the words must have been misheard. "You want me to go away and not come back, right?"

"I'm doing what needs to be done." He said. 

"I don't want your gold!" My voice broke. "I want the truth, I want to know what happened to the man I held last night and swore that nothing would ever come between us."

I was desperate and turned back to Kaelor. "There was something wrong with you last night, I know there was. I tried to contact you, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't. And at night, the moon was red, Kaelor, blood red. You must listen to me-"

I stretched out my hands to his arm.

The second I was going to touch him, there was something in between us, as invisible as a ghost, but as real as a brick wall, a sudden force flung me back. I hit the stone floor and felt pain shooting up my spine, I lost all breath from my lungs.

The room went totally silent.

Kaelor had just turned around and walked away, his parents trailing behind without a single glance in my direction, when I was able to lift my head.

I lay there on the cold floor, blood gathering in my mouth. 

What just happened?