**Evelyn**The day of the full moon, I was surprised to see the makeup artist Lucian brought to me. I wondered what he was up to, but he just gave me a mysterious smile, asking me to trust him and let the girl work. Figuring it was part of his plans, I just let her do as she wanted and even wore the dress she gave. Honestly, I was expecting to go there in a disguise and was expecting some hooded dress or even a men’s costume. That’s why I was surprised to find that the dress she gave me was a sky blue gown that was pretty but yet not too outstanding.“You are going to hide in plain sight. For that, you have to blend in,” Amy, the makeup artist, said with a smile and I nodded.“I guess that makes sense.”After she was done, I looked at the mirror and gasped. With brown hair and eyes, and the contours and even the tone of my face altered, I looked like a stranger even to myself. Pretty, but not too glamorous to warrant a second glance.“You are a magician. I can’t recognize myself,” I t
I took one more look in the direction I had seen the woman I thought was Evie, but I couldn’t spot her anymore. Hearing the shouts of the warriors, I hesitated for a moment, torn between trying to find Evie and fighting the enemies. But hearing the desperate yells of the warriors, I turned and rushed to the front of the packhouse where the warriors were fighting the intruders.Forgetting everything else, I focused on the battle, my body entering the battle mode where all I cared about was defeating the enemies. Soon, our warriors were winning over the intruders. Suddenly, cries came from the west side of the pack and we froze, looking at each other as we stopped attacking the intruders. Hearing the shouts grow louder, I turned in that direction for a moment and my eyes widened in horror when I saw smoke coming from there. Did that mean…“Fire! The barn on the west side is on fire! Someone help!” somebody shouted, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Damn it!While we were distracted by t
**Ryan**“What did you say?” I asked Elder Anthony, daring him to repeat his words. How dare he accuse Evie like that? Elder Anthony, rather than realize the fury in my eyes, visibly grew excited as he nodded at me.“It could only be her! She is the only one with the motivation! Think about it! Who will have a grudge against the entire pack than a Luna who was scorned by all? She was forced to leave the pack, and she lost her husband to his mate. She will definitely be pissed and have all the reasons to hate us!” Elder Anthony declared proudly.“You are right. It is clear the intruders knew the exact location of the barn. That is possible only if a member of the pack sold them that information and who else would do it than a vengeful woman who lost her power and man both?” Elder Timothy added his own ideas.“Exactly! And the timing! Such a thing has never happened before this and right after she leaves the pack, someone knows the location of the barn! Isn’t it clear that she was the
**Ryan**Slowly, we all turned to see Freya who was standing there, her face full of determination. To be honest, I had even forgotten she was there. Seeing her confidence, I felt a mix of agitation and indignation. Even though my first instinct was to ignore her, I couldn’t just leave the matter when she had made such a declaration, can I?“You can help?” I asked, my brows raised in curiosity. Freya gazed at me before nodding confidently. “How?” I asked, and she smiled. “I know you don’t think much of me, Ryan. You think of me as a nuisance who caused Evelyn to leave you. Even though I only wanted to help you find her, circumstances led you to marrying me. And you think I deliberately trapped you even though I never had any such intentions,” she said, and I nearly rolled my eyes.“What does this have to do with the situation we are facing now?” I asked, not interested in her declaration of innocence. Freya shook her head before sighing.“You may have forgotten, but I am not just
**Evelyn**It has been a week since the day I left the pack with Lucian. For a day, I had been riddled with anxiety and guilt at leaving the pack in such a perilous state. I knew that Lucian was right, and I had no connections with the pack anymore. That I had no reason to worry anymore about them. But it was hard to get rid of the feelings I harbored in my mind in just a day. Afterall, I had been their Luna for years and caring for them had been ingrained in my blood. I couldn’t just stop caring because they chose someone better than me as their Luna. And hence, I couldn’t help but worry about the fate of the pack after the attack, hoping that they were all fine.The next day, Lucian brought news that everyone in the pack was safe and there were no casualties in the attack. Even though I was relieved at the news, when I heard how the enemy had destroyed the pack’s barn, I was worried once again. Without supplies to aid them in the winter, how were they going to survive? But I decided
**Evelyn**I turned to see Caleb standing there, staring at me with wide eyes, and I frowned. “I shouldn’t go there?” I asked, pointing towards the inconspicuous looking herbs and he nodded furiously.“Why?”“Uh… Brother Lucian has prohibited us from going to that area!” He said, his voice sounding nervous and I frowned, looking back at the herbs. Even after a second glance, they looked nothing special. Huh?“Why aren’t you allowed to go there? Is there anything special about those herbs?” I asked curiously.Caleb looked conflicted as if pondering something and then he straightened up.“The herbs there… They have harmful effects. Some of those are even toxic to touch and should be handled with gloves only. That’s why we should never go to that area,” he said and I stared at him in shock. Toxic to touch? Wasn’t that too dangerous for a place with kids? I know he said they were prohibited to go there, but we were talking about kids here! Who didn’t know that they loved to explore and r
**Ryan**“Alpha, didn’t you promise that the Luna will be back soon? Why isn’t she back yet?”Under the accusing stare of the little guy in front of me, I felt like a criminal.“She will come, Mike,” I said, and I didn’t know if I was trying to convince him or myself. My mind flashed to the moment I saw the brown-haired woman in the marriage. She looked nothing like my Evie, but my mind told that it was my Evie. And she saw me marrying Freya. Even if it wasn’t her, the news must have spread that I had married Freya. Evie would certainly have heard of it by now. She would hate me by now, wouldn’t she? After all, I had married another woman even after promising her that I will never even glance at any woman other than her. Whatever my reasons may be, there was no excuse for my actions. She will never come back to me now. I had lost my Evie forever. I was startled out of my thoughts when the little one spoke. “But Momma said we have a new Luna and the old one is gone forever. That I sh
**Evelyn**“Luna, it's so boring here! Can we go to the park and play? Please Luna! We miss playing with you!” I looked at the little boy smiling up at me, his big brown eyes full of innocence and hope. If only I could feel half as hopeful as him... Too bad. I was not as naïve as a four-year-old.Shaking off the unpleasant thought, I smiled at him even though it never reached my eyes. How could I explain to a child that we were in the midst of a war and our peaceful days were all but a memory? “I would really love that too, but not today, Mike. We can go to the park some other day,” I said before pausing, trying to think how I could explain to him that going out was not safe anymore. But I didn’t want to be the one to taint his innocence. Not when his parents had tried their best to shield him from the horror that was happening around him.“Why not now?” He pouted, his eyes drooping dramatically. “We are a little busy now, kiddo. Otherwise, will I ever say no to my favorite little b
**Ryan**“Alpha, didn’t you promise that the Luna will be back soon? Why isn’t she back yet?”Under the accusing stare of the little guy in front of me, I felt like a criminal.“She will come, Mike,” I said, and I didn’t know if I was trying to convince him or myself. My mind flashed to the moment I saw the brown-haired woman in the marriage. She looked nothing like my Evie, but my mind told that it was my Evie. And she saw me marrying Freya. Even if it wasn’t her, the news must have spread that I had married Freya. Evie would certainly have heard of it by now. She would hate me by now, wouldn’t she? After all, I had married another woman even after promising her that I will never even glance at any woman other than her. Whatever my reasons may be, there was no excuse for my actions. She will never come back to me now. I had lost my Evie forever. I was startled out of my thoughts when the little one spoke. “But Momma said we have a new Luna and the old one is gone forever. That I sh
**Evelyn**I turned to see Caleb standing there, staring at me with wide eyes, and I frowned. “I shouldn’t go there?” I asked, pointing towards the inconspicuous looking herbs and he nodded furiously.“Why?”“Uh… Brother Lucian has prohibited us from going to that area!” He said, his voice sounding nervous and I frowned, looking back at the herbs. Even after a second glance, they looked nothing special. Huh?“Why aren’t you allowed to go there? Is there anything special about those herbs?” I asked curiously.Caleb looked conflicted as if pondering something and then he straightened up.“The herbs there… They have harmful effects. Some of those are even toxic to touch and should be handled with gloves only. That’s why we should never go to that area,” he said and I stared at him in shock. Toxic to touch? Wasn’t that too dangerous for a place with kids? I know he said they were prohibited to go there, but we were talking about kids here! Who didn’t know that they loved to explore and r
**Evelyn**It has been a week since the day I left the pack with Lucian. For a day, I had been riddled with anxiety and guilt at leaving the pack in such a perilous state. I knew that Lucian was right, and I had no connections with the pack anymore. That I had no reason to worry anymore about them. But it was hard to get rid of the feelings I harbored in my mind in just a day. Afterall, I had been their Luna for years and caring for them had been ingrained in my blood. I couldn’t just stop caring because they chose someone better than me as their Luna. And hence, I couldn’t help but worry about the fate of the pack after the attack, hoping that they were all fine.The next day, Lucian brought news that everyone in the pack was safe and there were no casualties in the attack. Even though I was relieved at the news, when I heard how the enemy had destroyed the pack’s barn, I was worried once again. Without supplies to aid them in the winter, how were they going to survive? But I decided
**Ryan**Slowly, we all turned to see Freya who was standing there, her face full of determination. To be honest, I had even forgotten she was there. Seeing her confidence, I felt a mix of agitation and indignation. Even though my first instinct was to ignore her, I couldn’t just leave the matter when she had made such a declaration, can I?“You can help?” I asked, my brows raised in curiosity. Freya gazed at me before nodding confidently. “How?” I asked, and she smiled. “I know you don’t think much of me, Ryan. You think of me as a nuisance who caused Evelyn to leave you. Even though I only wanted to help you find her, circumstances led you to marrying me. And you think I deliberately trapped you even though I never had any such intentions,” she said, and I nearly rolled my eyes.“What does this have to do with the situation we are facing now?” I asked, not interested in her declaration of innocence. Freya shook her head before sighing.“You may have forgotten, but I am not just
**Ryan**“What did you say?” I asked Elder Anthony, daring him to repeat his words. How dare he accuse Evie like that? Elder Anthony, rather than realize the fury in my eyes, visibly grew excited as he nodded at me.“It could only be her! She is the only one with the motivation! Think about it! Who will have a grudge against the entire pack than a Luna who was scorned by all? She was forced to leave the pack, and she lost her husband to his mate. She will definitely be pissed and have all the reasons to hate us!” Elder Anthony declared proudly.“You are right. It is clear the intruders knew the exact location of the barn. That is possible only if a member of the pack sold them that information and who else would do it than a vengeful woman who lost her power and man both?” Elder Timothy added his own ideas.“Exactly! And the timing! Such a thing has never happened before this and right after she leaves the pack, someone knows the location of the barn! Isn’t it clear that she was the
I took one more look in the direction I had seen the woman I thought was Evie, but I couldn’t spot her anymore. Hearing the shouts of the warriors, I hesitated for a moment, torn between trying to find Evie and fighting the enemies. But hearing the desperate yells of the warriors, I turned and rushed to the front of the packhouse where the warriors were fighting the intruders.Forgetting everything else, I focused on the battle, my body entering the battle mode where all I cared about was defeating the enemies. Soon, our warriors were winning over the intruders. Suddenly, cries came from the west side of the pack and we froze, looking at each other as we stopped attacking the intruders. Hearing the shouts grow louder, I turned in that direction for a moment and my eyes widened in horror when I saw smoke coming from there. Did that mean…“Fire! The barn on the west side is on fire! Someone help!” somebody shouted, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Damn it!While we were distracted by t
**Evelyn**The day of the full moon, I was surprised to see the makeup artist Lucian brought to me. I wondered what he was up to, but he just gave me a mysterious smile, asking me to trust him and let the girl work. Figuring it was part of his plans, I just let her do as she wanted and even wore the dress she gave. Honestly, I was expecting to go there in a disguise and was expecting some hooded dress or even a men’s costume. That’s why I was surprised to find that the dress she gave me was a sky blue gown that was pretty but yet not too outstanding.“You are going to hide in plain sight. For that, you have to blend in,” Amy, the makeup artist, said with a smile and I nodded.“I guess that makes sense.”After she was done, I looked at the mirror and gasped. With brown hair and eyes, and the contours and even the tone of my face altered, I looked like a stranger even to myself. Pretty, but not too glamorous to warrant a second glance.“You are a magician. I can’t recognize myself,” I t
**Ryan**I hesitated for a moment before placing my hand on the divine orb, my mind flashing back to the moment when I had done the same with my Evie. I shook off the memory and looked at the orb. As instructed, I stated my name and rank as I sought the Goddess’s blessing. Following me, Freya did the same, placing her hand on top of mine. Despite the tingles that ran through my fingertips where my skin touched Freya’s, all I ever felt was disgust. I didn’t want her touching me! It just felt wrong!As the orb glowed brightly signifying the mate bond between me and Freya, cheers erupted around us. Hastily, I took my hand back from the orb and stared at the elder.“Now both of you chant the prayers to the Moon Goddess as I do,” the elder instructed before chanting the prayer. As I chanted the prayer, my eyes scanned everywhere for the familiar figure of my Evie. Was there anyone trying to hide in the shadows? Was there anyone wearing a hood to cover their face? Where are you, Evie?“And
**Ryan**I paced back and forth in my office restlessly, my mind full of questions. It was the night before the wedding day and I was too tense to lie down, let alone sleep. I hadn’t slept in our room ever since Evie had left the pack, anyway. Leaning against the windowsill, I went over the plans for the next day in my head for what felt like the umpteenth time. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes.As I stood by the window gazing at the moon that was almost full, I wondered what Evie was doing now. Was she also staring at this moon somewhere? Suddenly, I heard a slight noise that sounded like twigs snapping in the otherwise silent night and straightened, all my senses on alert. It was so late in the night and no one should have been outside here at this time of the day. So what was that sound? As I listened, I heard the sound again and then I saw someone step out of the packhouse, their silhouette shrouded in darkness. I watched curiously, wondering who was out at this time of the ni