Here we are, back at the palace once again. We woke up in the early morning and returned here without exchanging a single word.
I didn't even eat the breakfast he prepared for me, claiming I wasn't hungry, even though hunger was gnawing at me.
I immediately headed to the training hall, where I poured all my anger and annoyance toward him into a brutal training session.
I intentionally exhausted my muscles with grueling exercises; every strike and every movement was an expression of the suppressed tension within me, an attempt to rid myself of the conflicting feelings I had for him and what happened last night.
I lay stretched out on the floor, panting heavily; I had truly had enough of the hard training.
I was starving, and I had already missed lunch. I went to shower, put on the clothes I brought with me, and then hurried toward the kitchen.
If I didn't find something to satisfy my hunger, I would make it myself.
I saw the maids panicked, working with extreme speed, some of them crying silently.
"What in the name of the Moon Goddess is happening here?!"
I wondered in amazement. I entered the kitchen, baffled by their state, and motioned to the head maid who was staring at me in extreme confusion. I added with a slight sharpness:
"Has the cat got your tongue? What is going on here? Why are the maids terrified and why is the place in such chaos?"
The head maid said with intense fear, trembling—was I really that bad? Am I that scary?
"I apologize, Aluna... Violet ordered us to prepare a vast variety of food for dinner... We refused her request, but she rebuked us and threatened that we would be punished if we didn't comply."
I closed my eyes tightly and sighed.
"That bitch is trying to impose her control over my palace and my servants! I am the Aluna here!"
I placed my hand on her shoulder to reassure her and said in a calm tone:
"Don't worry about this; I will discipline her myself."
Then I added jokingly with a calm smile to reduce her tension and fear toward me:
"And why didn't you contact me? You know I'm not a monster that will eat you!"
The head maid smiled at me with relative calm after my reassuring words. I asked her:
"Um... what exactly did that old hag request?"
She began to recite a long list of numerous dishes; I forgot most of them due to their excessive and exaggerated variety. I said with feigned astonishment:
"Do we have a wedding here?!"
Then a mischievous and amused smile appeared on my face, and I ordered her:
"Cancel all of this!"
I started providing a list of other dishes, the ones I personally love, and added:
"No need to rush; it won't take much time. Now, I am very hungry and I want something to eat immediately."
One of the maids approached me kindly, gesturing for me to sit:
"Luna, sit here; I will bring you the most delicious dishes right away."
The wait didn't last long until she placed three delicious and varied plates before me.
Their appetizing aroma hit my nose, making my smile widen further. I thanked her and started eating greedily and ravenously, making sounds of enjoyment at the exquisite taste of the food.
I heard their faint giggles at me and my way of eating, but I didn't care at all; I was fully enjoying the delicious meal before me.
I finished my delicious meal and bid the maids farewell with a warm smile. I said to myself with determination:
"Now I want to go out; I'm tired of sitting here in the palace."
The idea of wandering around the kingdom was pressing hard on my mind.
I immediately headed toward his office, resolved that if he didn't let me out with his permission and approval, I would sneak out again, and I wouldn't care what he might do or think this time.
I entered the office with a forceful push, barging in with my usual savagery—it seemed he had grown accustomed to my way of entering.
I found him sitting behind his desk, pressing his temples and head firmly, with clear signs of exhaustion and fatigue evident on him, while papers were piled and scattered messily across his desk.
He didn't realize I was sitting in the chair opposite the desk. I was staring at him with an inner concern that I didn't show; he was truly exhausted from the weight and pressure of his work.
I tried to communicate with him via mind-link:
"Night."
But he completely ignored me. I knew for certain he heard me clearly, but he didn't answer or look up. I raised my voice slightly and said more clearly:
"Night."
He finally lifted his eyes to me with slight surprise and irritation because I insisted on interrupting him.
I was staring at him with sharp, annoyed looks at his constant ignoring of me.
He just watched me with his gaze, not uttering a single word.
I finally initiated the conversation:
"I want to go out."
I said it with feigned calmness. He knit his eyebrows in clear annoyance and said with one decisive word:
"No."
I raised my eyebrows sarcastically and said in a challenging tone:
"You know very well that I can sneak out whenever I want. It won't take much from me."
Signs of anger immediately appeared on his handsome face, and he gripped the paper in his hand so tightly it wrinkled instantly. He knew perfectly well that I wouldn't listen to his words.
I stood up and walked toward him, grabbed his hand firmly, and dragged him behind me while saying in a cold tone:
"Let's go!"
He followed me in a strange and unusual way.
I looked at him; he was staring at me with somewhat wide eyes, seemingly surprised that I didn't just do what was in my head entirely, or that I was doing it now but in a different way, taking him with me instead of sneaking out alone.
I quickly looked away from him and said with slight annoyance:
"Don't look at me like I'm a creature from outer space!"
I heard his deep sigh, then he gripped my hand tighter, interlocking his fingers with mine in a sudden and intimate gesture.
I was surprised by his action and struggled greatly against the urge to smile like a fool from happiness.
We were wandering around the kingdom, receiving warm welcomes and kind smiles from its good people.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of joyful children's screams coming from a large nearby park.
I advanced toward the park, dragging him behind me by his hand interlocked with mine.
Upon seeing me, they rushed toward me, surrounding me with their sweet and innocent laughter. One of them said enthusiastically:
"Come on Luna, play with us!"
I smiled immediately and answered with excitement:
"Alright, you little rascal!"
I was about to let go of his hand to join them, but he held onto me tighter. I looked at him and saw him staring at the children with sharp, scary looks that made them afraid of him.
"Oh my God, is he jealous of them?!"
I wondered in shock. I said to him via mind-link in annoyance:
"Night, let me go! They are just children!"
He frowned and looked at me sharply, so I shouted his name:
"Niiiiiiight!"
He finally let go of my hand with hesitation and resentment.
I began playing with the children, running after them trying to catch them, as our cheerful laughter filled the air and added an atmosphere of joy to the place.
He was watching me silently from a distance, and I caught a faint smile on his lips after a long time of seriousness and frowning.
After a long time of playing, the children's mothers came to take them home, apologizing for their mischief and for bothering me.
I smiled at them warmly and headed back to Night, sitting beside him.
I was immersed in my contemplation of the park, which had begun to shed its usual bustle.
The sun was setting, casting long shadows on the silent swings and empty benches.
The silence that settled was like a heavy weight on my chest, reflecting the void I felt inside.
Suddenly, a shadow moved beside me.
I didn't notice him approaching until I felt a sudden weight extending along the bench, then the weight of his head resting on my thigh. I froze in place.
I stared at him with a surprise I couldn't hide; he was completely relaxed, as if the world around him had ceased to exist.
He slowly raised his eyes to meet mine directly; that look was like an electric shock.
Despite the usual coldness of his eyes—those that resemble winter ice—I saw behind them an ocean of endless fatigue and exhaustion.
Our gazes embraced in a heavy silence, a silence that said more than a thousand words.
With a firm squeeze on my hand, I felt an overwhelming urge—a desire that almost betrayed me—to run my fingers through his soft black hair, to relieve that heavy burden from his forehead.
But I resisted. I stood my ground; my anger at him was the dam preventing me from collapsing before him.
I remained frozen, watching the struggle in his eyes as I fought the anger within me.
I decided to ignore his presence entirely.
I turned my head away from him, focusing my gaze on the burning sun as it sank into the horizon.
I was staring at the sunset distractedly, while my teeth clenched together from sheer anger.
I tried to convince myself that the seat beside me was empty and that the weight I felt on my thigh was nothing but an illusion.
I could feel his piercing gaze cutting through my feigned silence.
Most likely, he sensed my silent anger boiling inside me because of what he did.
I began to hear the rustle of his movement as he slowly sat up, then the sound of his clothes rubbing.
And before I could grasp what was happening, he made a move that froze every cell in my body.
He hugged me tightly.
His arms wrapped around me firmly, pulling me to his chest; it was a harsh and sudden shock.
I was completely frozen, unable to move or even breathe, while his hand stroked my hair with a strange tenderness I hadn't known from him—a tenderness capable of breaking my defensive walls.
In that moment, I no longer saw the sunset; my entire world was confined to that instant. I listened to his mad heartbeat, beats that were faster than my own, as if revealing his deep-seated fear or tension.
His strong masculine scent, a mix of coffee and dark chocolate, began to numb my senses and make me forget the reason for my anger.
I didn't realize it until I was relaxing in his arms, drowning in a warmth I didn't know I needed.
The anger turned into sudden reassurance, and I surrendered to that rare moment of shared weakness.
We remained like that, in complete silence and close proximity, for a long time that we didn't count.
Finally, I slowly moved my head away from his chest, staring at him up close. A slight, charming smile graced his lips as he stared directly into my eyes.
I saw my reflection clearly in his eyes, but I also saw something else: a silver flash that darted through my pupils as fast as lightning.
My eyes widened in shock and horror.
"Damn! My secret is out!"
I realized that my true feelings had been exposed to him through my eyes.
"Damn, why was I so attracted to him? Why did I reach a point where I no longer control my feelings and my admiration for him?"
I couldn't help myself; I suddenly and forcefully pushed him away and stood up in extreme embarrassment.
I turned quickly and headed forward toward the palace, leaving him behind to escape the embarrassing situation I had put myself in.
I was walking toward the palace, and I felt him walking behind me quietly and steadily.
Meanwhile, I sensed something strange in the forest that separated the city from the palace; there was a pure and mysterious energy hovering in the air around us.
I felt my wolf, "Siran," trying to communicate with me urgently, so I allowed her.
Siran said via mind-link:
"This is sacred Mana! There is something very strange in this forest. Don't you feel attracted to this Mana in a strange and urgent way?"
I immediately agreed with her; I truly felt as if it were leading me to something unknown and important.
I suddenly stopped in my tracks and sharpened my senses to better feel the source. I looked at "Night," who seemed puzzled by my sudden stop. I said to him:
"Don't you feel this?"
Night sharpened his senses as well, his features tightening with intense focus, then he said in a serious tone:
"Feel what? Sira?"
I answered with strange calm and confidence:
"The sacred Mana hovering throughout the forest."
He scanned the forest with alert and cautious eyes, then returned his pupils to me and said with one decisive, final word:
"No."
I closed my eyes tightly, focusing all my senses on feeling the source of the Mana.
I began walking slowly and confidently toward the place where the Mana was emerging strongly and clearly.
I finally opened my eyes to look at the place I had reached, while "Night" followed me in wonder and confusion at my actions.
I said to him: "Come on!"
And I advanced toward the lake. The lake was emitting a massive amount of sacred Mana.
I felt my head splitting from pain due to its overwhelming and unusual power. I placed my hand on my head, pressing it with intense pain in an attempt to relieve the headache.
Night rushed to catch me, pulling me to him with clear concern, and said:
"Are you okay, Sira?"
But I didn't answer him; my focus was fixed on the lake. He followed his question urgently:
"What do you feel? Tell me!"
Only then... did I know the answer. I said it with strange calm:
"Jumping into the lake. It wants me to do that."
I pushed him away from me and immediately threw myself into the lake, leaving him shocked by my words and my reckless act.
The moment my body touched the cold surface of the water, I felt a massive energy pulling me to the depths.
I didn't resist it at all; instead, I followed it with total obedience and submission.
I finally stopped before a large and strange stone, and in its heart, there was another stone pulsing with a bright green color.
I couldn't resist my overwhelming urge to touch it, and the moment I did, its pulses increased and its glow intensified with a much stronger radiant green light.
Suddenly, the pulsing stone crumbled, and the massive Mana that was trapped inside burst forth to begin circling and swirling around me with infinite violence and power.
I felt then an overwhelming mix of terror and amazement at the power of the scene unfolding before me.
The Mana darted toward me like gunshots, piercing my body with an indescribable and unbearable force.
I screamed from the intensity of the pain, and with every scream that escaped me, the lighting of the place increased and became stronger, and the entire lake began to light up in a bright, glowing green.
The crumbled stone receded, transforming entirely into pure green Mana energy, and entered my body with a madness and violence I had never experienced.
I couldn't scream from the horror of the pain that became unbearable, and I lost consciousness completely as I sank into the depths of the shimmering lake, which was the last thing my eyes saw before the darkness.
I was staring at the surface of the lake, and before I completely lost consciousness, I caught a glimpse of something swimming with amazing skill and speed toward me.
He grabbed me firmly and tightly.
I closed my eyes before I could see his face clearly. I then drifted into total darkness, and nothing else.
I was pulled back to consciousness again.
I felt something pressing hard on my chest, and something wet on my lips.
I coughed forcefully, expelling water in abundance from my mouth.
"My God, did I really drown?"
I was breathing the air ravenously, my eyes closed.
I felt my face being held by hands, and he was saying with clear concern:
"Oh, my God! Are you okay? Look at me, come on! Look at me, Sira!"
His voice was full of genuine worry and fear.
I opened my eyes heavily, staring at his figure before me.
He was completely soaked, his black hair dripping onto my face.
"Was it him? Is he the one who saved me?"
I smiled at him with relief and nodded my head that I was fine.
I heard his relieved sigh, but soon his features turned into raging anger:
"Have you gone mad to jump into that lake? Have you lost your mind or what?!"
I frowned and stood up with difficulty due to the cramping of my stiff body. I said stuttering:
"I don't really know, Night. All that occurred to me at that moment was just to jump."
I was limping as I moved toward him. He noticed that, and his harsh features softened slightly. He approached me and carried me like a bride in his arms.
I clung to his neck, staring at him with some embarrassment, contemplating his features up close: his sharp eyes shielded by wet black lashes, and his nose which had a few freckles extending to his slightly flushed cheeks.
My eyes slid to his reddened lips—they were very tempting, with water droplets flowing from his hair to settle on his chin and drip calmly.
With my focus on his lips, I didn't notice his cunning gaze on me. His lips stretched into a wicked side smile.
I knit my eyebrows and raised my gaze to his eyes hesitantly.
"Damn, he was staring at me the whole time!"
He said to me via mind-link in an impudent tone:
"What? If you like them that much, you can kiss them. I don't mind!"
My eyes widened at his bold words and my face turned red with embarrassment. His wicked smile widened further.
"Damn you, you pervert!"
I searched for a quick escape, and his chest was my only sanctuary to bury my face away from the eyes of that cursed wolf.
Julia:
I was sitting in the palace garden, contemplating the roses before me and slowly sipping cold orange juice.
I sighed with intense distress, sadness gnawing at my heart from the inside.
"Why didn't he come to take me with him?"
I was wondering in my mind.
"My brother Night has already agreed to our relationship, so why didn't he come then? Is it possible he abandoned me after knowing I'm his sister?".
My heart tightened with pain and doubt, and I was on the verge of bursting into tears.
I stood up to enter the palace, trying to escape my dark thoughts.
I stopped in the main hallway suddenly to see my brother Night entering while carrying "Sira" in his arms like a bride.
Sira was burying her face in his broad chest from clear, intense shyness. I looked at them with wonder:
"And why are they so soaked like that?!"
I giggled at their sight—cute and funny at the same time. Their relationship had truly evolved with amazing speed.
An overwhelming happiness and a sincere wish took hold of me:
"I hope their relationship lasts forever."
I headed toward my room with heavy steps; I wanted to sleep and nothing else.
Upon entering, I locked the door firmly and leaned against it weakly.
I could no longer suppress this pain; I burst into a bitter bout of crying, placing my hand over my mouth to stop my sobs from escaping.
I slid down, sitting on the cold floor, hugging my knees to my chest tightly, and said to my wolf "Jana" with a broken heart:
"Jana, our mate doesn't want us! He doesn't want us!"
While my hot tears were flowing like a flood, "Jana" howled inside me with intense pain, then isolated herself from me completely, refusing even to communicate with me, as if sharing my rejection and pain.
I didn't realize how much time had passed while I was in that state of deep sadness.
Suddenly, the maid knocked on the door and said in a polite voice:
"Alpha Miss, Night requests your presence in his office."
I answered her with weakness and sadness:
"I don't want to, just go."
But she replied with clear firmness:
"You must come; these are his orders, Miss."
I shouted at her with nervousness and despair:
"I said I don't want to! Don't you understand? Just leave or I will kill you right now! I've truly had enough; I want to be left alone."
I heard the sound of her footsteps as she hurried away. I sighed with deep sorrow for myself and the miserable state I had reached because of him.
Not much time passed after the maid left until strong and different knocks returned to the door—knocks that didn't carry the roughness of Night's orders, but were more persistent.
I was filled with anger and resentment toward everyone, so I grabbed the door handle violently and opened it while saying with overwhelming nervousness and shouting:
"I said I don't want to! Don't you understand for hell's sa—"
I stopped immediately and swallowed the rest of the words in my throat upon seeing the person at the door.
My eyes widened in shock and wild surprise; it was him, my mate.
"Jack."
He advanced toward me with quick steps full of concern upon seeing my flushed face and my eyes swollen from so much crying.
He said with intense longing and fear, holding my face with both his hands with extreme gentleness:
"Julia, are you okay? Huh? Were you crying? Did someone bother you? Huh? Tell me... Julia!"
As soon as he said those words that touched my aching heart like a cold balm, I couldn't help myself.
I burst into tears loudly and intermittently, with successive sobs I had tried to suppress earlier, while saying to him in a tone carrying bitter reproach and deep blame:
"Why did you leave me, Jack? Why didn't you take me with you? You don't want me... why are you doing this to me?"
Jack knit his eyebrows in slight annoyance at my blaming words and said in a calm, explaining tone:
"You know I am an Alpha, and I have a pack to care for and look after. Truly!! I had to finish my tasks and responsibilities before I came to you."
He sighed with regret, then went back to holding my face with his hands with extreme tenderness, wiping my flowing tears with his thumbs gently, and smiled at me with deep love:
"Besides, who is the madman who said I don't want you? You don't know how many years have passed me full of despair and pain while I was searching for you, Julia."
He brought his face close to mine slowly, his eyes fixed directly on mine, and completed in a very serious and sincere tone:
"I never believed myself when I finally found you. So why do you think for even a moment that I don't want you? You know what? I am crazy about you, crazy about your love even before I saw this enchanting face of yours."
He planted a soft and warm kiss on my cheek with extreme gentleness.
I stood there not fully grasping the amount of feelings he drowned me in, not even grasping the fact that he was finally before me now, after all this pain and waiting.
I uttered his name in a faint voice that was barely audible, as if confirming the reality of his presence before me:
"Jack."
He answered me with calm and tenderness, his hazel eyes fixed directly on mine.
I smiled with a frown mixed with reproach:
"Why are you late? The wait was so long that I almost lost hope."
He laughed at my sight and my childish frown—that masculine laugh I adore—and said in a warm and decisive tone that dispelled all doubts:
"I'm sorry, darling; you won't wait for me anymore."
Then he added while looking at me with deep love and a sincere promise:
"I will take you to our new home."
My smile widened until it almost tore my face from the overwhelming joy that flooded my heart and overthrew all sadness.
I didn't waste a single second; I closed the distance between us in an instant and hugged him with strength and passion, burying my face in his broad chest, inhaling his captivating masculine scent that filled my lungs with comfort and safety.
He returned the hug with intense heat and love, holding me to him tightly as if he feared I would evaporate and vanish from between his arms.