It's morning and I woke up with cramps in my body from sleeping on the kitchen floor with Nadine and my mother. We spent the night together, crying and hugging. I didn't know where Lykaon was, but I assumed he was going to be okay since Klyn didn't say anything about him dying. I couldn't the image of Luna Gwenna's body out of my head. I didn't want to talk about it with Nadine because she was scared enough, and not with my mother because she'd only worry. I wasn't sure if I could talk to Lykaon about it either.
I stand and go into the living room where more people slept soundly. Not finding what I want, I walk around a bit and find my way outside and towards what used to be Lykaon's house. I had no tears left, so I didn't cry. I was just frozen in shock as smoke still billowed into the sky. Seeing as it has mostly cooled, I walk over and open the door.
Before I could step inside though, an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me away. I yelped and struggled until the soft whispered made me relax. "There's nothing left, baby. I don't want you to get hurt by having the roof collapse completely."
"But, our stuff…"
"We can get new, Opaline. We're just not going to find anything in there." His voice was scratchy and hoarse.
"What about Gwenna?"
"She's gone, burned along as well as everything else." He turns me around to face him and cups my face. "Why did you come out here?"
I shake my head. "I was walking around. I ended up here and I was going to go in and see…see…whatever's left." I take a deep breath and look down. "What happened? Did she do that?"
"Yes, and Gwenna wasn't the only one who died last night. I found another body in my office and was trapped inside when the fire started. I had to jump out the window to escape and Klyn helped me to the pack house."
I wrap my arms around his neck and put my face in his chest. "You could've died!" I hiss.
"But I didn't. I'm here, baby."
"Alpha Lykaon, Luna Opaline." I looked behind me to see Vuk walking up to us. His eyes settled on me for a moment before pointing behind him towards the forest. "Care to explain what happened before everything went to shit and we were sent to the pack house? Why did you two disappear? And who killed Alpha Zy's mate?"
Lykaon pulled me closer and kept his arms around me. "Vuk, we have a few things to discuss with you and Aryn. Care to join us for dinner? We can explain everything then, though I am quite sure you know half of it."
Vuk stood straighter and narrowed his eyes at Lykaon before looking at me. "Where did that baby come from? Where did you find it?"
I hardened my eyes on him. "Like my mate said, we'll explain everything over dinner. Please, be patient until then."
I saw a smirk grace his lips before he said, "Nice to see you again, Luna." He bowed slightly and Lykaon tensed, tightening his arms. "I see I didn't kill you before."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed, Vuk?" Lykaon growled.
Vuk ignored my mate completely and focused completely on me. "I knew I recognized your smell when I was in that house. Tell me, how did you survive?"
Before Lykaon could growl anything else, I smirked. "Tell me about the males I killed then, and I'll tell you how I lived to this day."
His smirk turned into a grin. "Still a feisty she-wolf. I'm glad to know that hasn't changed." He bowed again, keeping eye contact with me and backed away. "Dinner it is, then."
Lykaon and I walked together into the forest, wanting to be away from everyone else for a while. We didn't speak, didn't touch other than our linked hands, but walked. Peacefully walked and took in nature as it was. We were content to let the world around us sing its story through the creatures and plants. We kept walking for a long time until we ended up at a cliff overlooking a pasture that was still within Lykaon's borders on the north side. I sat and just gazed out, clearing my mind and letting the wind brush my hair about.
We didn't return until the sun was halfway to the horizon and Klyn had linked Lykaon about needing a pack meeting to let everyone know what was going on. When we got there, people were milling around the raised platform, speaking in low voices to each other. I looked around, but didn't find Alpha Zy or Nadine or Bertolf. Sighing, I stood with my mate as he told everyone to take precautions and be alert for Melanie. I saw Aryn's face turn pale and Vuk's lips twitch when we met eyes. He suspected we knew now and now it was confirmed.
Afterwards, Lykaon told Aryn about dinner and turned to me. "Why don't you go find something comfortable to wear and I'll go get Rosetta."
I give him a small smile. "Be careful?"
He nods. "I'll be careful. Stay near Klyn and be safe." He kisses my head before heading off.
Klyn came up and walked me to where Lykaon's room was and where a blue dress with a beaded neckline was waiting on the bed. I walked into the bathroom and slipped it on after a hot shower. When I returned to the bedroom, I fixed my hair as Klyn stared out the window. I asked him how I looked and he turned and smiled. He said Lykaon would love it and helped me downstairs where Aryn and Vuk were waiting. Lykaon nowhere to be seen.
"Luna Opaline," Aryn greeted, bowing his head. "It's a pleasure to see you."
I give him a tight-lipped smile. "You too, Alpha Aryn."
I turned to Vuk who also bowed his head, but made sure I saw the smirk. "Luna."
"Beta Vuk, wonderful to see you again."
His eyes gleamed with humor at my sarcasm. Klyn whispered that he needed to go see something before leaving. So now I was left alone with the two men. Aryn decided to get straight to the point. "Who is Melanie? And what does she want?"
I bit my lip. "I think that's best left to be explained by our other guest who will be arriving soon."
Vuk narrowed his eyes at me before understanding. "Guest? Why can't you explain, or Lykaon?"
I glare at him. "Why can't you, Beta Vuk?"
He glared, but Aryn didn't seem to notice what I had asked him because he growled. "What the hell is going on?"
Before I could answer, the door opened with Rosetta and Lykaon. He glanced at the two men, then looked me over. He looked around the room again before his jaw clenched. "Where is Klyn?"
"He said he had to go check something. I don't know." I bite my lip and look away, but Lykaon leaves Rosetta's side and comes to embrace me, kissing my head.
"Who's hungry?" he asked the others.
Aryn and Vuk eye us suspiciously then Rosetta before turning and walking into a private dining room. Rosetta follows after them and we hang back for a minute. I turn to Lykaon quickly. "I can't go in there, Lykaon. I just can't."
"What is it?"
I hide my face in my hands. "Vuk is playing Aryn and Aryn was putting it all on me!"
"Hey," he whispered, pulling me close. "I'm here. It'll be okay now."
The door opens again and I look up to see Klyn. He looks proud of himself when he says, "Melanie is unconscious and waiting punishment."
"You caught her?" I ask hopefully.
"Well, with some help, but yes." He brushes off his clothes and fixes his hair. "Who's ready for food?"
Lykaon chuckles and the three of us enter the dining room. Lykaon sits at the head of the table, I on his right and Klyn on his left while the other three fill the remaining seats. I make sure to keep my chair close to Lykaon since Vuk was the one sitting on my other side. I saw a smirk curve his lips as Lykaon cleared his throat. "Thank you for joining us, Alpha and Beta of Vengeful Pack, and Luna of Nightstar Pack."
"Nightstar?" Aryn hisses, looking at Rosetta. "I thought you all went extinct."
"No. I can assure you we are all still here," she says venomously. After a moment, the dishes arrive and we all began eating. Rosetta says after a bite or two, "Where is the child?"
"Asleep," I announce. "One of the girls is with it…I haven't been able to see if it's a girl or a boy, so my apologies."
"It's a girl," she says softly. Vuk looks at her then at me.
"So, Luna Opaline, are you going to explain what this is about?"
"I will," Lykaon said a little harshly.
"Alright…" the Beta said slowly. "Go ahead."
Lykaon took a bite, taking his time and thinking carefully about his words. What he said made Aryn pause. "Maybelle wasn't murdered on purpose, but by accident. Vuk never saw who killed her and mistook the wolf who had done it. And I will tell you this right now, my mate is a Himalayan, but she was nowhere near your wife when all this happened."
There was silence before Aryn put his fork down and wiped his mouth. "Who did it? And why?"
I looked at Rosetta who was hanging her head in shame. "I did, because I thought she was Melanie."
"Who is Melanie?"
"Her twin sister no one knew about."
Aryn's head snapped to me and Lykaon. "The one who ruined the ceremony last night?"
"Not exactly. Rosetta ruined it, but Melanie is the reason for my house and Zy's mate being dead," Lykaon explains. He glances at me before saying, "And also the reason Vuk attacked my mate three years ago for unknowingly trying to protect a criminal."
"You attacked her?" Aryn hissed.
"It was a misunderstanding," Vuk shrugged.
"What a misunderstanding!" I hissed at him. His eyes fix on me and narrow. I sit up and glare at him. "If it was such a misunderstanding, then why in the hell would you beat me to near death, to the point where I spent months in the hospital and had temporary hearing loss? If it was such a misunderstanding, why didn't you just knock me unconscious and finish her off then come back and ask questions later? You're the reason I'm for all my nightmares! You're the reason I spent two and a half years locked inside until Lykaon came and gave me a breath of fresh air. You're the reason I hate rogues and lost all confidence in myself. All for a damn misunderstanding. That's fucking bullshit!"
I was breathing hard, tears threatened to fall and I knew all attention was on me. I didn't care. I didn't want to care. But I needed to calm down before I shifted again. A chair scraped and snapped my attention away from him to my mate. He pulled my chair out and pulled me up, hauling me out of the room with a growl for everyone else to stay.
When we were a few doors away I turned to him. "I'm sorry!"
He cups my face. "Shh. You have every right to be angry with him. Every. Right. Don't think for a moment that I'd be mad about that. You outrank him, even if you're in a different pack. I just needed you to take a short walk and calm down."
"I wasn't trying to bring it off subject," I whisper. "But he made me irritated."
"If you weren't going to say it, then I would have," he said with a smile. "I would've done the same and probably more."
I smiled back, breathing normal again. "If we weren't inside, I'd probably thrown him across the room."
Lykaon chuckles and kisses my brow. "There's my Luna."
"I'm ready now if you are," I say and he pulls me close.
"Not yet. Just give me a minute," he whispers and buries his nose in my hair. I give a little giggle and wrap my arms around as he has done with me. We stand like that for what seems like a peaceful eternity, but it was only minutes.
When we went back into the dining room, Vuk and Rosetta had switched seats and the former wasn't looking at anyone. He kept on eating, the smirk long gone. Aryn asked a few more questions about Maybelle and Melanie and how it all came to this. Most was explained by Rosetta, with add-ins from me or Lykaon. Rarely did we hear Vuk say anything. I was okay with that, but when we locked eyes again for the last time that night, I saw the regret and guilt residing within. He mouthed an apology, but I looked away, hardly able to do, much less say anything to him at the moment.