Chapter 45: The Luna And Oshan Dew

Far away from the Star Lily, on the high dais of the Vaelis pack, Alpha Vaelis wasn’t as happy as Moon.

He threw the tray holding a luxurious teapot and cups with northern frosty pastries served on decorative plates.

The cups and spoons clattered on the marble floor, spilling hot water everywhere. The maids hissed in burning pain as the spilled tea reached their knees, soaking their skirts’ hems.

"Useless! Bastards! All are useless!" the Alpha roared from his seat.

"My Alpha, this is outrageous! We must punish them severely for making the Alpha worry so much. It’s all that bitch’s fault for not raising her sons properly." Luna Alisa kept her soft palm rubbing the Alpha’s shoulder.

Alpha Vaelis didn’t comment on that. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"Owen, ready my carriage. I am going to the cold fortress of the 6th garrison."

A cruel glint flashed through Luna Alisa’s eyes. ’The time has come at last,’ she thought.

She had been waiting for this moment for almost twenty years. To crush Emma, the second Nova, to make her suffer, and to remove her from her path. That naive, foolish woman was always an eyesore in this gaudy, critical palace.

Alpha Vaelis shrugged his shoulders. The soft palm of the Luna didn’t hold any appeal to him anymore.

As her hand slipped from his shoulder, the Luna’s eyes narrowed while the Alpha’s eyes became momentarily hazy.

A momentary softness passed across his rough and hardened features. Though it only reflected in the spilled water on the floor.

Nothing more.

And nothing more could be shown.

He had to suppress his turmoil, his pain, and his grievance.

Alpha Vaelis stood up.

Without any more words, he passed through the long grand hall, passed the gorgeous corridor, and stepped onto the gravel path that led to the big iron gate.

From behind, Luna Alisa stood still, looking at the departing figure with malice and admiration.

She could love this man, but she could also ruin him because of that love.

The grand hall fell into a deadly silence.

.

.

.

A few moments later, Luna Alisa slipped through the narrow path of Mount Mraor, going deeper inside the Skerrow Brake forest.

The fallen pine needles formed a thick, springy carpet of duff on the earth. Cold-hardy lichens were resting here and there. Even the witch’s hair lichen didn’t want to be left behind.

The rustling, cracking, and breaking bark under her feet made the forest feel bright and cheerful.

But the heart of the Luna was anything but cheerful.

Her eyes held no warmth that she usually showed to the Alpha, nor was her demeanor that of an obedient woman.

The black cape hid her entire body, and her mask was doing its proper work to hide her full face.

After an unknown amount of time, she stopped near a large thicket.

From the other side, a soft chuckle waved through the air.

"You came."

The deep male voice held a tiny bit of affection. But that didn’t calm the heart of the Luna, who heard countless flatteries every single day.

"Are they still alive?" She got straight to the point.

"Alive. I saw them enter the Black Sea Gorge."

"And then?"

"Then nothing."

"Don’t play your word games at the wrong time, Oshan." Luna’s voice sharpened.

"Sigh! Let me look at you, Alisa. It’s been a long time," the man’s voice came playfully.

"Not now. I am busy. The Alpha will find out." Luna’s voice softened a bit.

"Find out what? It’s not like I am fucking you like a mutt anymore," the man chuckled.

"Shut up, Oshan! This is your last warning. You don’t bring up the past again."

Alisa’s voice trembled.

She clenched her fingers into a fist.

This was absurd. She hated this man for knowing all of her past.

The thicket rustled again, a dry branch crackling under a heavy boot.

The Luna took two steps backward.

"Don’t come out, Oshan. I... I will meet you later. Later when things settle down."

The sounds stopped. A long sigh tore through the man’s deep throat.

"Fine. It’s not like I wanted anything. I just wanted to see you, Alisa. You have grown into such a beautiful woman."

"Where are they?"

"They are in the Black Sea Gorge."

"Oshan!"

"They fought with the scavengers underneath, who lived around the cliff-hanging boulders."

"..."

"They entered a crack underneath and disappeared."

The Luna lifted her head, a flash of surprise showing under her mask.

"They disappeared in a crack? Where did the crack come from? I have never heard of it before."

"There was a crack, but it was always hidden behind the scavengers’ barricades. They always stay there."

"And then?"

"Then nothing."

"Oshan!"

"Yes, baby."

The Luna’s lips twitched at hearing this. She really wanted to ignore the boundary between them and slap the man to death.

"Why didn’t you follow them?"

The man exhaled a long, deliberate sigh.

"Alisa, what do you think of me? I am just a hunter. Not a witch, and not a wolf either. I can’t even step into the sea, let alone fight and follow them inside."

"Who are you fooling, Oshan? What do you want?"

"I want you." The answer was clear and crisp, without any trace of amusement.

"Fine, you will have me. But I want their situation monitored clearly. If possible, just kill them."

"Umm."

The forest fell into silence again.

Somewhere, a bird started to sing. And a beetle passed through the Luna’s cape on the forest floor.

It had no worry of being slaughtered for defiling a pack Luna.

The Luna hesitated a little, then took out a luxurious pouch and threw it over the thicket. "Don’t refuse, Oshan. I know you need the Sikimons badly."

The other side was silent.

The Luna sighed and turned around. A little trace of sadness vanished from her eyes as she walked back toward the Vaelis pack, where her fate remained.

Freezing wind howled through the pines. The winter fog slowly swallowed the footsteps she left behind.

.

.

.

Behind the thicket sat a man in a coarse leather jacket. His trousers still held the glory of the past he once had. His boots had a few new patches of who knows what beast skin he had scavenged.

His face was chiseled, his jaw sharp, and his eyes held the history of countless battles he had fought in the jungles.

Oshan Dew was once a revered young master of the Bruce hunter clan in the western territory.

Arrogant as he was, he was also the apple of the clan’s eye. In just one night, he had lost his clan, his territory, and his beloved Alisa.

Oshan threw the pouch in the air and caught it again.

Threw.

Catch.

Threw.

Catch...

He repeated it many times until the weight of the Sikimons made his palm red. He pulled his shirt sleeve up. The black lines were slowly spreading through his entire veins.

"Alisa, you don’t care about me at all," he muttered, then stood up.

He needed to go and check out that crack.

Not for the Luna of Alpha Vaelis, but for himself.

This time, he refused to bow down to the wolves and would live his own life.