The longer I walked, the more my thoughts seemed to run. I tried my best not to think so hard about the last couple of hours, but it was challenging. The mere image of my mother sacrificing herself just for me kept playing out in my mind like some sad song on repeat.

What made it all worse was the simple fact that I knew that I had to let these feelings go as I found myself walking back to the RoyalPack. There was nothing else I could do, and most definitely nowhere else I could go. At least with me inside of the RoyalPack, boundhunters could not get in.

My only issue would be the fact that the entire pack despises me. Once I made it to their boundary lines, I noticed the extra amount of patrols. Suddenly, their noses perked up as confusion made its way onto their features. I knew exactly what it was like to catch the unfamiliar scent of a lunabound. It was like someone had opened the door to a world that you didn't even know existed.

With my hands raised, I crossed the boundary line. All of their eyes fell on me as they widened. A feeling of shock ran up my spine causing my body to break out in a fit of shivers. They slowly got down on their knees as their hands laid out in front of them. I couldn't believe that they were bowing down to me.

"No, stop, please, that is so weird," I accidentally ordered them. Even I couldn't believe the amount of power that came from my voice. It was hypnotizing. The rich sound of it all seemed to confuse me in a way that I couldn't even recognize myself.

"As you wish," one of the patrols spoke. Just like in my dream, my nose caught ahold of a beautiful scent. It really did my dream injustice as it was even more strong and powerful. The funny part was that it smelled sweet. Like a berry garden, the sweet smell happily danced around in my nostrils. I couldn't tear away from the trance it had put me in.

Walking away from the men, I found myself growing closer towards the sweetest scent. The sounds of my feet crunching down on the dead leaves seemed to echo through the entire forest. Onyxia was quiet which was very unusual. I wasn't sure if she had decided to finally stay silent for more than five minutes, or if something was wrong.

Letting it go, I continued to walk until I caught sight of the back of a muscular body. He was standing at a distance in the water of the beach. The way the moon seemed to glide against his skin made him look even more beautiful. I couldn't stop my legs from walking towards him, and I knew that he was aware of my presence. What surprised me was that he never turned around to look my way.

Leisurely, I walked into the water. My mind couldn't even operate, it was if I were purely functioning on just instinct as I finally caught up to him.

"You are a lunabound," he stated, his face hard and cold. My heart had felt rejected, and for some reason I could not shake the feeling. I guess it was the fact that I had expected more.

Looking down, I began to fondle my fingers as the wind picked up speed. The best part about being a werewolf was that being cold was a challenging thing.

"I don't want to be," I whispered. Those words are what forced his eyes to meet mine. The minute I caught sight, I wanted to melt and never look away. I had always heard of mates, but I had never anticipated to visualize someone so perfect. From his face to his bare chest, I wanted every single thing as long as it was him.

"You don't want to be?" He scoffed, shaking his head before he returned his gaze to the moon.

"Excuse the hell out of me. What is your problem exactly? I'm sorry if you were expecting someone more royal as a mate or more sophisticated as a lunabound, but I am what you are stuck with," I said, rolling my eyes before moving to leave the beach water.

Just when I had turned around, he grabbed me by my neck and crashed my body against his. I could feel the anger radiating off of him in waves. My heart was pummeling in my chest at the amount of tension flowing through me.

Woah, that was hot.

"More royal, more sophisticated?" He asked, my back still was right up against his front and his hand still was curled around my neck. The amount of tingles that traveled down my spine and which led to the throbbing in my lower region was unbearable.

Slowly, I turned to face him only to catch sight of his piercing eyes. They rested on my eyes before they traveled down to my lips. His eyes shut momentarily before they opened again. I noticed the darker shade they had seemed to contort to.

He slowly began to lean down, his eyes flickering from my lips to my eyes. Instinctively, my eyelids shut. After a few moments of just the air was left kissing my lips, I opened them again.

It was almost as if I had burned him when he had snatched away any physical contact he had with me. He turned back over towards the moon. Once again, rejection surfaced my entire being. This time, it hurt a lot more than his words previously.

"Go find Elliot," was all he growled out. My eyes narrowed at his backside just before I began to walk away.

"Go find at least half a brain," I mocked under my breath. There was a need to curse myself for not being bold enough to say it to his face. Although, he's a king, and I am sure that he heard the words that went flying from my mouth.

Before I completely left, for some reason, I wanted him to hurt the same way I did. "I don't understand how the only alpha in the entire world who had gotten a mate doesn't even want her. I'm not sure if you are ungrateful, but I do know that I really deserve better."

The minute I made it to shore, I looked back over at him to see that he was looking at me. I couldn't read his expression at all, but I gave up on trying so hard for something that meant nothing. Snapping my eyes away from his, I walked away and up towards a trail. Disappointment in myself and from this day couldn't end the constant brutality in my mind.

"Are you okay, Xena?" Onyxia had asked, suddenly appearing in my thoughts.

"I will be. Now, I really kind of wish that my dream happened instead of what happened in reality," I told her with a frown on my face. My memory swam over to the dream I had about the King. It went a lot more 'happily ever after' than what truly was planned out for me.

"Who knows, Xena? Maybe your reality will have a better outcome than what you've ever dreamed," she spoke, her voice only made it sound like she was some wise Philosopher.

"So, what are you saying? That despite his heartlessness and treating me like I am the last person in the world, he will magically realize that he actually cares about me? Like we are in some cliche werewolf fairytale? No. None of this is cliche, Onyxia. I am a lunabound and I am the only one left. The entire race is depending on me, and I don't even know the first thing that I am supposed to do!" I sobbed out. My words were so loud that I wasn't sure if I had said them out loud, or if it was just in my head like it was supposed to be.

"You're a queen-"

I turned off my connection with her as I continued to follow the trail with tears falling from my eyes. I knew exactly what she was going to say. All that was going to grace her lips were the words I hated the most. I'm not a queen, I can't save an entire race on my own. Maybe people, including me, were stupid to believe in so much power of a Luna.

A group of young kids slowly walked up towards me. I quickly wiped away my tears and smiled at them. They were looking at me as if I were an exhibit in the zoo. The way their eyes were so focused on me, they soaked in every detail of my body.

"Luna," one of the girls called out as she slowly walked towards me. I smiled at her even though her eyes widened with each step. Bending down, I opened my arms which she happily ran into. Her arms curled around my neck as all of her love spilled out into our hug.

"You are so pretty," she whispered. I pulled away from the hug, looking into her brown eyes as they filled themselves with curiosity. Soon, all of the kids bombarded me.

"You are beautiful. What is your name?" I asked her, smiling gently. I could feel someone touching my hair, but I chose to ignore it as my attention focused on the girl. She smiled even harder, showing off her front two missing teeth.

"My name is Zoey," she said shyly.

"Well, Zoey, you just so happen to be my new best friend. That is, only if you want to be," I said, poking her nose as her smile grew even bigger. Then, I turned towards the other kids. They all wanted a hug of their own so I gave each of them their own personal time to ask questions, or speak about almost anything.

I recall how curious I was about lunabounds, I am sure that they felt the exact same way. When I finished, they all offered to show me where to find Elliot. I ended up asking Zoey to show me the way.

What surprised me was the amount of people that lined up along the trail as we walked. Some were crying and happy. Others were surprised and looked as if they couldn't believe it.

"Is she the alpha's mate?"

"That's a lunabound?"

"Mommy I thought they weren't real?"

"Is she going to save us?"

"How did we not know?"

"I thought there was no more."

The whispering as I walked was driving me insane. They were asking and saying things that even I have already said to myself. I just kept my head down and tried my best to get past all of this. I understand their interest, but everything was already weighing down on me.

"Zoey!" A woman exclaimed as she walked right in front of us. Zoey had her small hand in mine while she guided the way.

"Mommy, I am walking Luna to third-ruler," she explained. The woman looked up at me with wide eyes as she quickly began to bow. The people around us lowered themselves as well, preparing to bow down. 

"Everyone please stop. Let's not forget everyone thought I was a boundhunter a few days ago," I chuckled out. It was meant to be a complete joke, but when the guilt began to swim around me, I knew that it was not taken in that way.

"No, guys, it's okay. I completely understand you were only looking out for lunabounds which is very admirable. I am just like you, and the person next to you. Please, you don't have to treat me like some superior being, okay?" I asked as softly as possible. What I decided not to add is how much it freaked me out.

"Yes, Luna," they all replied in unison.

"I apologize for not speaking to you first, but is it okay if Zoey takes me to see Elliot?" I questioned. She was quick to nod her head before backing out of the way of the trail. Sending a small smile her way, we continued to walk.

Slowly, people began to descend back to their homes. We walked all the way towards a huge castle. It looked like it could kiss the sky. She walked me towards the gate before stopping. "I am not a royal, so I am not allowed in."

"Neither am I," I laughed. She giggled a little, shaking her head.

"I have to go, but I will see you later Luna." She smiled at the word Luna just before running away. I didn't even get the chance to thank her. A sad smile played on my lips as I pushed open the gate.

The second I walked into the castle, Elliot was already there. He was pacing back and forth until his eyes met mine. There was worry laced in every nook and cranny.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your mate is the King, right?" He asked me, his brow raised as he quickly made his way over to me. I nodded my head slowly. There was confusion knocking at the door of my brain.

"He came in about ten minutes ago and he didn't look okay. I thought something might've happened, but then I connected a few dots," He explained.

"I was angry and I said something that was sort of mean. I am not going to pretend to be all proper and say that I feel really bad because I don't. Honestly, I should've pinched his balls," I tell him, smiling innocently.

"Do you know what this means? We are going to be the only pack in the world with a real luna and alpha. Not only do we have to keep you from boundhunters, but we also have to fight off every alpha to almost every pack. This is no longer a joke, Xena. A lot of our pack members could die," he said, completely ignoring my previous words.

"I'm scared, okay? I want to help everyone and I feel like everyone is depending on me, but I am incompetent of doing this on my own. I can't be what everyone wants me to be, Elliot," I cried. He wrapped his arms around me and held me against his chest.

"You've got me. Look, I have always believed in you. No matter what you choose to do or don't do, I will be right here," he said. My arms tightened around him as more sobs climbed out of me.

Suddenly, a presence and a familiar smell that wish I could despise suddenly made its appearance. Pulling away, my eyes met the king's. He was watching us. I watched him as he began making his way towards the two of us.

For some strange reason, my eyes couldn't move away from his.

"Elliot, show her to her room," was all he said as he continued to walk towards us before strolling right past me as if I meant absolutely nothing.

Like nothing.

𝕝𝕖𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕪. . .
I haven't updated this story in months. My hopes are that there are still readers who actually might be interested in this story. I don't get why I am so insecure about my writing in this book, it may be because I am testing out something that I am not used to. Please be sure to leave your thoughts.

See you next update,
-a. marie

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