The True Luna They Tried To Kill

(Vaelith's POV)

I stuck the final stem of silverbloom into the vase and then took a step back to see if the arrangement was standing nicely. There were hundreds of candles in the ceremonial hall and all the servants around me were like they were wound up too tight and they were afraid they were going to be the one thing that didn't go right tonight.

Mira hissed at me across the room, holding the white ribbon in her arms, "Vaelith, hurry up. The elders will be here in no time at all!"

"Almost done," I said, tucking a petal back into the flower.

"They're here!" She screamed and I picked up my bundle of snipped stems and stealthed my way to the corner of the hall, where no one would see me standing.

Nobles started to trickle in, wearing silks that I'm sure cost more than I make in ten years. I saw a young lord readjust his cloak clasp, a lady laugh too loud at what her companion said, two warriors nod at each other in pride. None of them looked at me, None of them ever have.

'Eyes down,' one of the guards said, without even giving a glance to who he was talking to. He didn't have to. Breeders always knew who orders like that was meant for.

I looked down and held it down.

The doors at the end of the hall opened up and the energy of the room changed instantly. The elders went first, their robes falling like silken streamers on the marble, followed by the High Seer, his silver eyes already half-gone in some vision that he alone could see. Then came the oldest wolf in the land, Elder Tomasin they called him, but I never heard it said to his face. He had officiated at more weddings than any person living.

The hall was silent.

"Tonight the Moon Goddess blesses her chosen pairs," Elder Tomasin said, his voice resonating easily, despite his age. "Let no one break her will."

One by one, he called names. They took the initiative and came in pairs, holding hands, and knelt down before him and as he spoke the old words over their heads. I saw a young warrior beaming at his mate when the blessing came down, I saw a noble woman crying quiet, happy tears. It was beautiful.

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for.

"Alpha Kaedric Voss."

The entire hall appeared to be bending over in unison. Kaedric stood tall and composed in the middle of the room, his golden eyes fixed on nothing as if they were at ease with the weight of all gazes in the room. I only had a few encounters with him, always from a distance, always with my head down. He looked just like he was supposed to look - even from across the hall! An Alpha.

Elder Tomasin held up his hands, as if to start blessing, but he didn't.

Be froze in place, his hands lifted, his brow furrowed, looking at the High Seer.

The High Seer said quietly but the hall was silent, so it reached everyone else, "Something is wrong. His lips moved in some private calculation, he studied the moon through the great glass dome above us. "The alignment doesn't match, there's no woman in this hall tonight whose stars align."

Rumors started to spread right away.

"That can't be done," someone whispered.

"Why did he have to choose the Luna," another voice asked, "Is the Luna not already chosen?

"Silence!" Elder Tomasin commanded, and the hall instantly went silent. "He looked to Kaedric. Alpha, give your essence to her the Moon Goddess will guide it."

Kaedric's jaw clenched and he nodded. "As you say."

He closed his eyes, and a moment later a thread of glowing silver light rose up from him out of his chest, as smoke in the wind. All the noble ladies in the hall straightened up, as though they had been given a chance to see who was best, and their eyes were hopeful.

It didn't.

The essence passed the front rows of noble ladies. Beyond the warriors standing at attention around the walls. Outside the healers were standing around the altar. It was a slow, deliberate motion, darting between each of the unattached women in the room without stopping.

I didn't even see it coming towards my corner until it was just about to run into me.

I began to say, "What-", but it never came out.

For one beat, I felt it, like a second heart beating in me, a warmness I had never felt before. After that there was a lot of noise.

"Guards!" someone shouted.

"What is the meaning of this?!" a noblewoman shrieked.

Before I could even process what had happened, my hands were grabbed by his arms. I looked down and saw four guards standing around me, and there were elders standing up from their seats and nobles standing up from their seats, and everyone was shouting over everyone else.

"I didn't do anything," I said, my voice shaking. "I don't know what has gone wrong-"

Elder Tomasin commanded, "Take her to the council chamber! "Now."

"But the ceremony-" someone protested.

"Is over," he said. "Until the reason for what just happened is known."

I wasn't able to argue. The guards dragged me forward and my wreath of flower stems fell to the ground scattering all over the marble as we marched me out of the hall. I saw Kaedric's face, but I didn't see an angry or confused look, just a look I couldn't read as the doors closed behind us.

---

The council chamber was colder than the hall, all stone and shadow; and I stood in the midst of it, and a dozen elders looked on me as a thing of danger.

One of them demanded: "Explain yourself."

I said, "I have no explanation to give. I don't know what happened, I was just setting up flowers, I never came anywhere near the Alpha."

Another elder, leaning forward, asked, "Have you practiced magic? Forbidden rituals? Spoken to a witch?"

"No," I said. "No, I tell you, I swear it on my late parents grave."

So the third one asked, "Have you and the Alpha been alone together? "Met in secret? Have you swapped words of any sort?

"I have never talked to him at all," I said, my voice rising, " I did not ask for this, I don't know what this is.

"Shouting at her will not make us answers, High Seer, look at the essence again, we will not accuse anyone until we have the truth." Kaedric said and instantly the hall became quiet. "Tomasin, what's happening?"

The High Seer stood before me and studied me for a long silence, his hands dangling around my chest, but not touching me.

Finally, he said, "The essence of the Alpha is in her, there is no mistake.

The chamber erupted again.

"How can this be?" bellowed an elder. "A sacred essence of an alpha in a breeder?"

" This is unprecedented in history," another said.

"Someone must have done something," a third said, glaring at me as if the answer were obvious.

I said, "I am innocent I swear!" At this point, I was a few breaths away from crying.

The High Seer raised his hand and, slowly, the chamber became silent. "There is a way to be sure. But the readings are not clear until after the setting of the sun. We must wait."

"It's fine then, we wait till the sun sets." Alpha Kaedric said.

Elder Tomasin took a deep breath out. "She will be locked up until then. She will be guarded, she will be watched."

I was not asked what my thoughts were on that but I was locked, guarded and watched.

I don't know how much time passed inside the little room where they put me. There were two guards outside my door and I could hear them talking to each other from time to time, but not so loud that I could hear what they were saying. I sat on the edge of the narrow bed, my arms around myself and I did not want to think about what would happen if the elders decided that I caused it on purpose.

I had nothing. There was no family, there was no title, there was no one who would speak for me if they wished to punish me for something that I did not understand.

When the door finally opened and a guard informed me that I was being summoned again, my legs had become hard as a rock from sitting so still for so long.

The council chamber was different that night, the light came from torch instead of candles, shadows long stretched across the stone floor. There was a woman that I didn't recognize standing in the middle of the room that was older than the elders and was more intimidating than all the elders put together.

"This is the witch," Elder Tomasin said. "She will provide us with our response."

The witch didn't say anything to me, but she circled me slowly, looking at me with eyes. "There's no crime here," she said. "No magic is off-limits and no manipulation is allowed." She went to the elders. "In the days leading up to a mating ceremony, the stars can fog, a horoscope can briefly match the wrong person. This girl's stars coincided with the Alpha's true destined mate for a brief period of time. That is it. A misjudgement of time. That's all, a mistake caused by the wrong alignment of stars and the upcoming blood moon."

I felt relief, but it didn't last long.

Elder Tomasin said "remove it".

I felt the warmth that had been in my chest all along since the ceremony started rise, slowly and weirdly, like something being pulled out under my skin, as the witch raised her hands toward me and spoke words I didn't recognize. The radiant light ascended and floated through the room.

It would settle in right into Seraphine Duskmere, which I hadn't even noticed standing near the elders until that moment.

The elders breathed a sigh of relief and some of them prayed thanks.

"The issue is settled", Elder Tomasin announced. "Alpha Kaedric and Seraphine Duskmere's union is blessed. The ceremony will continue."

No one looked at me as they made my way out of the chamber. No excuse, no admission that it was not my fault, no apology, no nothing. I kept my head down and walked toward the door hoping to go and disappear before someone remembered who I was.

I nearly made it.

Silk skirts rustled and rustled as Seraphine moved directly in my direction, and I backed up to allow her to go past. She didn't pass.

She slammed her shoulder into mine and made me stumble.

She leaned in so close, so close, that no one in the room could hear her, gaze locked on mine, icy blue eyes fixed.

"This is not over."

(Vaelith's POV)

I sat up with a start and my heart hammered against my ribs while my nightgown clung to my skin in cold sweat.

"Another nightmare?" Fenna was asking from t across the room, looks like I woke up late.

"I still see it," I said, my voice still shaking. "The light. All the hall looking at me."

"It's over now," she said. "They put the essence into the Luna, that should be that."

I wanted to think that she was telling the truth, but my gut told me otherwise. I could still hear Seraphine's whisper in my ears. 'This is not over.'

Vaelith suddenly swung her legs off the bed, "The Head Maid has been looking for you, she wants you in the kitchen now."

"Since?" I said, already reaching for my clothes, "Why couldn't you wake me?"

"I did my best, you wouldn't budge." She grabbed her own dress off the hook by the door. "Come on, let's hurry," he said.

We hurriedly dressed, and together we went downstairs in silence.

"Has there been an increase in tension since the ceremony?" Fenna asked quietly as we walked.

I said, "I have noticed...It's hard not to."

"Since last night, everyone's saying the Luna's been in a bad humor," she went on, lowering her voice even more. "One of the maids said she was so harsh with a servant yesterday that she cried."

"If that's the case, then I should try to keep my distance from her," I said.

"That's what everyone wants to do."

When we arrived at the kitchen, almost all the servants and brewers of the palace had already assembled, elbow to elbow in the toasty warm air, perfumed with the smell of bread. At the front was the Head Maid, her hands clasped, her expression more serious than ever. "Listen carefully. The palace has to be perfectly clean before my younger sister, Luna Seraphine, arrives for an extended visit, and every one of you will be assigned more tasks from today on."

There was a lot of chatter in the kitchen but the sudden mention of my name made me nervous.

"Vaelith.The corridors and the reception hall will be decorated with fresh flowers – you will have to finish it before evening." The head maid ordered.

I nodded my head slightly and replied, "Yes, ma'am."

I picked up my baskets and began at once, arranging blossoms in the windowsills, twisting vines through the iron railings, from one corridor to another, working as fast as I could but my efforts were interrupted by the sudden wave of nausea.

It over me so fast that I had to come to a halt and press my palm against the cool stone wall.

A passing servant asked, "You alright?

"Fine," I said, trying to smile. "Just didn't have breakfast yet, I believe."

I picked up my basket and continued walking and telling myself that it'll pass.

It didn't.

The dizziness became more and more intense as the day continued. I had to see out of the corners of my eyes several times and my legs were like those of someone else, awkward and slow under me.

One of the older breeders said, 'You don't look well.' as she frowned while passing me in the hall. "Perhaps you should sit down for a while."

"Thank you but I am fine, I'm okay," I said gently, cutting her off. I couldn't afford to stop, and I didn't. I knew if the Luna heard I'd left my duties, particularly after the incident at the mating ceremony, I did not want to think what she would do.

I put my final basket of flowers in the reception hall and ascended the small step stool that was set before the tall display near the entrance. I shivered with anticipation as I reached my hands to place the last flowers.

The room tilted.

The flowers fell from my hands.

I clutched at the stool , but my hand couldn't reach anything but air.

Before I could feel my descent, everything went black.

On opening my eyes once more, I was not in the reception hall.

Instead, I was surrounded by white stone walls and there was an acrid odor of herbs and medicine in the air. Slowly, I blinked, trying to understand the strange ceiling above me.

I heard , "You're awake," and turned my head and saw that the Head Maid was sitting in a chair by the bed, and her face was contracted like it had never been before. "Do not move."

"What happened?" My voice was hoarse as I asked.

"You just fell down," she said simply. "In the reception room. You did scare everybody."

The door opened before I could ask anything else and an older man walked in carrying a pile of papers. I knew him to be the pack's doctor, but had never spoken with him before.

Setting aside his records on the small table next to the bed, he asked, "How do you feel?

I mumbled, "Yeah, I'm a little dizzy. But otherwise fine. What was my fate?

He smiled before replying. "You passed out and your colleagues brought you here straight away. I examined you when you were unconscious."

"Whats wrong with me?" I asked, my heart already dreading the answer.

He scanned through his papers for a second then looked up, his face taking on a slightly placating tone. "Well, there was some good news really."

I looked at him in amazement. "What news?"

He said, "You're pregnant."

I was silent for awhile. I wanted to understand the word, but my brain would not cooperate, it refused to make sense, no matter how many times I thought about it.

I finally replied, "Pregnant? As in carrying a child?Are you certain?"

He said he was "quite certain."

I said, "I was only called to the Alpha's chambers once," and then my voice got loud, like a panicky voice. "Just once, as part of my duties, how could this be possible?"

The doctor said simply and quietly, "One encounter is enough for conception. It is more common than people think."

I put my hand on my stomach, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"The pregnancy is at an early stage," he went on. "It's too soon to tell the sex of the baby, but both you and your baby look healthy." He put down his pen and stared at me. "From now on, you will have to be careful, you must not carry heavy loads, you must not exhaust yourself with work, you must not miss meals, whatever the day is going to be."

I said quietly, "I understand."

He started to put his records back in an orderly pile. "I'll have to issue a formal report to Alpha Kaedric."

My stomach dropped. I said, "Wait! "Please. Is there any way you could delay sending it? Even a few days?"

The healer shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I can't break the law, Vaelith, no matter the circumstances, because any pregnancy with the Alpha's bloodline must be reported immediately."

I was silent, for I knew that I could do nothing to persuade him.

Later in the afternoon a guard silent as a mouse took me back to the breeders' quarters, and as I walked back to them I tried to think of what would happen when Alpha Kaedric and Luna Seraphine found out.

It was only before I had taken a seat on the edge of my bed that there was a knock at the door.

It was opened before I could respond.

Then the Head Maid entered, her face expressionless and eyes boring into me.

"The Luna demands that you present yourself at her chambers."

(Vaelith's POV)

The weight of each step was more than the previous behind the Head Maid. I clasped my hands in front of me, as we walked through the palace corridors, my mind buzzing with one question that I could not get rid of. Has the doctor already sent his report? Did Kaedric know already? Did Seraphine?

I didn't know which would be worse:

The Head Maid knocked at a tall set of doors and after knocking twice, she pushed them open. "My Luna," she said, "the breeder Vaelith."

I went in and dropped my head, my eyes glued to the shiny floor.

A cup of tea was elegantly held in her hands, Seraphine was sitting by the window, the sunlight glittering upon the light blond of her hair. She didn't pay me any attention. She didn't say anything at all. She just let that silence creep up until it was too much and drank her tea as if I hadn't been there.

Finally, she didn't turn her head and she spoke. "Why did you fall when working?"

"I'm sorry, my Luna," I said, my voice from place to place. "When I was putting up the flowers for your sister's arrival, I suddenly felt dizzy, but that will never happen again."

I didn't mention the pregnancy.

She put down her teacup slowly, the porcelain of the cup rattling on the saucer, and then looked at me. Her eyes were icy, piercing.

"You've brought such a disgrace to this palace," she said. "The servants must work despite being uncomfortable. Has no one told you to do this?

"I know, my Luna," I replied. "I apologize

"You must pay for it," she said. "You have one less off day as a replacement for the day you wasted."

"Yes, my Luna." I mumbled.

There was no use arguing. All I could say would only make her punish me even more.

Her lips curled into a little smile of contentment. "There was one more thing I want you to do for me."

"Of course my Luna," I replied.

"I need a rare herb, one that only grows in Blackthorn Forest, my sister's tonic can't be made without it." She ordered. "All guards are busy so you'll go alone."

My stomach tightened. Everyone was aware that Blackthorn Forest was a hazardous area, particularly for a lone person, particularly so late in the day. A refusal of a direct command from the Luna, however, was not something that a breeder could do.

I lowered my head, and said, "I'll leave right away," and turned to leave.

The moment I stepped into the forest, I could feel eyes on me but I could not go back, holding my basket in my hand and a tiny knife in my hand, that only cuts stems and roots, I took the light with me but it was immediately absorbed by the forest. The further I went, the quieter I got. The birdsong was heard less and less. Then the insects. Even the wind paused as if it had a breath of silence.

I squatted down, almost touching a bunch of light-colored flowers, looking them over against the description Seraphine had given me, and trying to ignore the creeping feeling on the back of my neck.

There was someone or something watching me.

I slowly straightened myself up and turned around.

Nothing. Only trees and shade.

I told myself that I was only nervous, and that I have to concentrate on the herbs that are scattered around the floor of the forest.

I heard a twig break behind me.

I froze.

I knew this time, I was sure. I wasn't alone.

I picked up my basket and started to walk quicker – my heart pounding in my ribs. I heard another sound, from somewhere to my left. Then another one that was even closer and came from behind.

They all came out of the shadows, before I could run,

Wolves. Four or perhaps five, circling me, growling, low growls rumbled from their throats. I stumbled back clutching the worthless little knife in my hand, my basket to the ground forgotten.

"Please," I said in a trembling voice. "I'm just a breeder, I'm here picking herbs for the Luna, I don't mean any harm to anyone."

One of them laughed softly, a derisive laugh, and his figure changed, becoming broad and tall, a man, his eyes cruel and mocking. "You must be kidding me, do you think we'd let the woman carrying the Alpha's heir walk out of this forest alive?"

I froze completely. "How did you find out about that?"

"Another wolf grinned at him, sitting beside him. Blood as potent as that is not difficult to smell, certainly not for wolves like us."

"Why do you do this?" My voice cracked as I asked,

The one that appeared to be guiding them shook his shoulders like the query was insignificant and there was no need for an answer. "The situation itself isn't personal, we were hired to do a job."

"Who hired you?" I whispered.

He smiled slowly and cruelly. "The Luna."

He circled me, "She could never imagine the thought of another woman bearing Kaedric's child. Not after what happened at the ceremony. Her orders were clear: Neither you nor that thing inside you gets to walk back into Moonridge."

I found my knees buckling under me.

As I attempted to run two of them grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back, and a third pulled out a small bundle from a leather pouch in his hip. Beyond that, I saw the dark, twisted leaves within it, and terror filled me.

I knew it right away. Nightbane root. Poisonous if eaten.

"No!" I gasped, struggling against the hands that held me. "No, please, don't-"

I clenched my jaw shut, and twisted my head away, but it didn't help. One of them opened my mouth, and the other one pushed the harmful herb into my mouth, and he closed my mouth and blocked my nostrils with a great force until I swallowed it.

It was like fire that engulfed my chest in a flash.

I lay on the ground of the woods, gasping and choking, shaking from head to foot. Blood was spilling out of my mouth, leaving stains on the dirt under me, stains on my hands as I pressed them uselessly against my lips.

The wolves loomed over me, unmoved and indifferent.

One of them said, "That should do it."

They turned and disappeared back into the trees, leaving me alone in the middle of the forest.

I had blurred vision at the sides of my eyes. I began to breathe shallowly, getting weaker with each second. Tears blended with blood in my face and I put my shaking hand on my belly.

I pleaded quietly, "Please. Please survive this. Please."

The night was closing in, devouring everything, the trees, the sky, even me.

I heard big feet coming through the bushes just before it totally engulfed me.

With the last of my strength, I opened my eyes.

A large, dark wolf stood above me, its eyes shining in the dim light. I couldn't determine whether it was to complete what they had started, or for another purpose altogether. There was no strength in my legs to run. Have no strength to resist.

I whispered the only word I could muster on my last breath.

"Help..."