Denied by Destiny: Trapped in the Shadows of the Mate Bond

- Cleo -

I don't know her very well but I couldn't help but think Freya's odd behaviour was something I shouldn't ignore.

All week she refused to leave my side unless I was in the alpha house, so why has she left me alone to tour the hospital. It's not that I can't do it alone, but her sudden withdrawal of the offer to be with me, wasn't sitting well with me.

I take the time to walk around the hospital, meeting some of the Doctors who all greet me by using the title Luna. I guess I need to get used to that.

I'm not sure how not having access to the mind-link will work on a long term basis, I suppose the only way around that would be to become a pack member...something I have already briefly discussed with Than. I'm not marking him, that is for certain. It would just be too weird.

However, the thought of losing the pack link to my family pack, to Dad in particular....sits heavily on my heart.

My pregnancy was still a secret, I had asked Than not to tell pack members, not even his mother. So why did the female living in their house know...and if she wasn't related to them...and was found in the middle of the woods.

Who exactly was she...

I head back to the alpha house, keen to locate Freya but find no sign of her when I enter the quiet house. Not even Than.

Moving into the kitchen, a smile spreads out onto my lips as I find another vase bursting with freshly cut white roses...displayed in pride position on the kitchen side. They were hard to miss.

She knows full well that Luna Medea is going to see those first...see them and lose her composure. My fingers reach out, picking up a rose before placing it to my nose and smelling it.

I place it back in the vase, turning to leave only to find the old lady blocking my path...staring at me with those eery eyes.

"I thought I was alone." I back step slightly, her eyes still unsettled me. I never knew if she was in a trance or staring blankly at me, expecting something.

"You are a werewolf, you are never alone." She cryptically replies. I could be mistaken but there seems to be a bit of sarcasm to her tone...an annoyance towards me.

"Excuse me?"

"You are made up of two parts, the human and the wolf side. Therefore you are never alone, because you have your wolf." She moves past me, a grunt escaping her as she uses the kitchen side to support her weight.

My eyes drop down to find she was barefooted, the skin on her feet bearing the same aging spots as her face and arms. How old exactly was she.

"Oh...I see. I was actually looking for the female beta, you haven't seen her have you?"

"That meekly thing, no...but have you tried the beta house?"

No, I guess baby brain really was a thing.

"Meekly? Why do you call her meekly?"

"She's got no character, does exactly what the alpha and beta command her to do."

"Isn't that what a female beta does?"

"No, a female beta challenges, a luna challenges her alpha. She doesn't roll over and let tyranny be

committed." A large exhalation of air escapes her as she sits down at the table, the movement seemingly using a lot of her energy.

I stare at her, my mind trying to think not only who she was but how hold she must be.

Her appearance was pushing close

to the ninety mark, even one hundred years old mark....but her min had the wit of someone decades younger.

"Tyranny?" I shake my head, refocusing back on our odd conversation.

"On Kaia."

"On Kaia?"

"She was the luna here, she was his wife."

"Yes I know that already."

"I think you only know what he has told you, what he is willing for you to know. If I were you..." "Well you aren't me." I snap back.

"If I were you and in your current state, I would be miles from here. Especially knowing who you are connected to."

“And who am I exactly connected

to?" I take a step closer to the

kitchen table; my arms crossed over my chest, an eyebrow quirked.

QUMS

"You are the daughter of his rival...you being here is purely a game piece to him."

I bite down firmly on my tongue, trying not to rise to her bait.

"And why are you here?"

"He captured me..."

"He didn't find you wandering in the woods, alone?"

"Alone yes, in the woods yes...wandering yes but to my own tune. I live in the woods...he was ordered by

his mother to capture me."

"For what purpose?"

"I know things."

"Things?"

"Things on the White Moon pack."

I haven't even realised it, but I've

been hanging on every word that et

she says, that I haven't notice my feet move closer to the table to be by her side.

"The White Moon pack...the pack that attacked Alpha Kaia?"

"Yes."

"What business does Than have with them."

"None...not yet. But he would like that to change...are you sure you are of Arancea blood? You don't seem to know a lot."

I roll my eyes at her backhanded comment, no...it was clear I didn't know a lot about my parent's past.