Chapter 2

Panting, I could barely breathe as I struggled to catch my breath. I feel cold and yet sweaty at the same time.

My body quaking in such uncontrollable tremor, I fear I might lose my life.

"Slower, my lady. It takes time to regain your breathing pattern." A man's voice instructs beside me. I failed to identify his identity, nor hear his instructions clearly, for my senses remains useless throughout.

The more I force myself to regain my senses quickly, the more the pain in my chest worsens. Like a time bomb with a couple of seconds left before exploding, my heart ticks painfully with it.

I never really liked this shit. It seems to be playing with my life.

"Please calm down. Don't force it." The faint voice beside me sounded pissed by now. The audacity, though? I'm more pissed than he is.

"Alpha!" He shouts, and that's all it took for me to actually stop trying to fight for my life. I literally let my whole body relax in an attempt to just stop breathing and let my life be taken away.

It's way better than getting myself to look pathetic in front of a certain person.

"I- it's no big deal." I managed to choke out, trying hard to conceal the loud painful banging in my chest.

"What's wrong?" The familiar voice of the Alpha rings through my ear.

"It's nothing. I can take care of myself."

"As I am aware of, you might as well just avoid wasting my time like this." He tells me coldly. I know he's a busy man and all that, that's understandable. But since when did I ever call for his aid? I will never call for him even at times of my death, even if hell begged me to!

"I never called you here." I retorted in a glum manner. By now, my anger had taken control of restoring my senses as I glared at him morosely. "I never asked for your presence... Quinn."

The Alpha stood only meters away from my bedside the moment my vision focused on him. Quinn Coven, the Alpha of Lumina, the unfortunate husband I was unluckily married off to. He looked as charming as he always is with his blonde hair slicked back in a clean style. It almost deceived me from his true personality.

If only everybody else could witness how much of a demon he actually is.

I made sure to emphasize addressing him with unconcealed mock in an attempt to get under his skin. But much to my expectations, he looked far from being affected by it.

"Take extra care of my wife." Was all he mouthed before marching out of the room in a rush. I waited until I was barely able to hear his ascending footsteps before a loud bang sounded of something getting destroyed.

Oh, I got through him, alright.

There, I thought I failed to taunt the devil. With a contented sigh, I dropped myself back on the bed as I draped and armed over my eyes. My heart remains pounding still, though it now somehow intensified into small, sharp ticking beats.

"Do you need anything, my lady?" A voice question, the same ones just earlier. I took a small peak and saw the guy dressed in a guard's uniform.

"You're the new guard from the other day?"

"I assume you don't recall my na-"

"Claude Kaize, Beta of Pack Regime."

"You do." He eyes me knowingly, that stern and confident look of his shows as though he knows everything.

"This lady knows the most, Kaize." I flashed him a warning glance in an attempt to keep him away from me. "Fetch me some water and dare poison it, why don't you?"

Claude's eyes narrow through his glasses before he bows down and walks out of my chambers.

"He's sharp, I'll give him that." I tell myself in a low whisper. But none of that seemed to ease me enough, for I know better that he won't last, and I don't want to build any attachment issues with anyone anymore in this place.

Once I get fully recovered from whatever illness of mine, I'll be able to leave this place without any regrets. I don't even know why I aim to get away from here in the first place. There's just this something in me that just urges me to leave. Or either escape.

Yawning, I roll over to my left, all the while thinking deeply of my state with my grip still over my chest. I only have little to no idea when this hole in my heart appeared, since before I even recalled anything of its cause from the past, my mind immediately resulted in a blackout. Even when I dared to force myself to remember, my heart then pounds like crazy as though it's daring to kill me while keeping me alive.

Just like not long ago when I had this dream before my breakdown. Though the fractions of it were missing and the vision seemed blurry, I was able to feel it completely - the things I never thought I felt before. Happiness, satisfaction, contentment, comfort, and love. It was all exhilarating, I couldn't believe in taking it, and then, the scene shifted upon getting myself overwhelmed. The pieces of emotions I crave have shattered, then disappointment, pain, anguish, anxiety, and anger had caused the feeling of deja vu upon able to embrace escapism, liberty, pleasure, unholiness and everything that's consumed by darkness. All then seemed to have evaporated into a black hole before my heart pumped me awake.

Until then, before I knew it, I'm living the years of my life as the Luna of the Werewolves whole empire, Lumina, only by becoming the Alpha King's wedded wife- a title I'm most shameful of having.

But I know that there's still more than what the eyes see.

*****

"The letters have arrived, my lady."

"What type?"

Claude looked at me in confusion while I busied myself completing the reports from the border lands.

"What do you mean what type? Are you expecting any other letters except for invitations and requests for an audience?"

I slammed the pen on my desk out of timing. "What do you take me for, Kaize?" I flashed him an annoyed look. "Burn everything except the ones delivered from the border lands."

"I apologize." Quickly, he blurts out. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see through them myself?"

I refused to answer him while he went on reading one invite address to another. I don't have time to attend any boring tea parties and witness women gossiping like immature girls. Unlike any other Luna, I take my position way seriously to match my Alpha's grounds. Although nobody usually demands me, it is of the will in me that somehow urges to be the lady I should be.

The Luna of all Lunas and the lady of all ladies. With my current mindset that has somehow grown through the years, nothing matters more than the reputation I was placed. For I know for myself that I've bled to maintain and earn the respect I should have in this position.

"It seems that there aren't any letters addressed from the border lands." Claude tells me while still searching through the envelopes. "Though there is this one with a different seal, my lady."

"What do you mean by different?" All pack leaders usually use the same seal all over Lumina, although different colour of envelopes as to determine the pack it's from. The seal indicates the Colony's crest, which is a dagger with its tip facing upwards and a crown hanging loosely struck by the dagger.

"I've known for sure that the Colony's crest is used as the seal for every letter that circles around Lumina." Claude handed me the envelope. "Though this one looks more like a feathered crown."

The dry and dark wax somehow forms three peaks of a crown covered by two feathers on each side. We both looked at it in confusion before a thought got to me.

"I swear if I come to the conclusion onto knowing which pack dared use such rebellion against the Colony, I will skin them alive myself." I sneered, almost tearing the paper.

"Any pack who even dare use such trickery against the head of the Colony will be automatically annihilated, my lady. Let's not jump into such a conclusion without knowing its content first." Claude tells me, carefully taking the letter.

It's not like I needed to check the contents. It might have just been some lame prank, and a random pack has plotted to draw me out.

"There is quite a possibility this letter might have been from the other side of the border. I've seen this rare seal before...." He murmurs, deeply thinking it through. "That's right, the Lycan's imperial seal!"

I almost snapped the pen I'm holding into two upon the mention of the Lycans. It sorta feels like an automatic response upon hearing their kind mentioned that gets me all disgusted and enraged for some reason.

"Impossible, the letters from the other side should be delivered at the Alpha's study. There might have been a mix up, deliver that to my husband." Since I don't want to deal nor get involved with the issues involving with the Lycans.

"But this one has your name printed on it, Luna." Claude continues. "It even says so in the content."

"And who even told you to open it up?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm curious."

This little...

Although now that he had mentioned it, I'm beginning to feel curious as well.

Like, who even in their right minds would even send me straight a letter with the Lycan's imperial seal on it without consulting through my husband first?

Before I could request Claude to read it out loud, my doors barged open by force.

******

Third Person POV

"How many did you send this time?" Smoke surrounds his facade as he, the man by the window, questions.

"Half of a hundred, my lord." One of the soldiers in armour responded.

"Hmm." Humming. "It seems that I have forgotten to mention sending in a thousand, didn't I? If it were in a bigger number, there's no way the Alpha mutt would be able to block all them letters."

Deadly silence then dawned upon the darkness of the dimly lit chambers.

"I- if we dared to send such amount of letters, it might have not be able to get through the checkpoint, my lord."

"So you dared defy your lord's order instead, all for the fear of getting caught by a bullshit of a checkpoint?"

"We deeply apologize, my lord!" Their metal armors clank upon the contact of their bodies on the floor begging for forgiveness.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You useless pigs should just kill yourselves if you're that sorry."

The soldiers automatically drew out their swords as if on cue with his words. But as soon as they were about to take their own lives, one spoke up in the middle of death.

"My lord, if I may continue the report, one of the spies may have managed to slip through and in Lumina's castle walls."

"How is that even valid?"

"The spy's mistress works as a maid in the castle, my lord. Though they might have been caught by now, I'm sure the letter have reached the Luna by now."

"Don't make me question my doubts again." By now, the lord is far from frustrated at the huge lack.

Looking more excitedly, the soldier digs through his belongings to present a magic orb. "Fortunate enough, the maid have successfully planted a device on the Luna's chambers to -" Before he could finish his sentence, he was struck by his own sword down his throat.

"Follow up." Was his curt order before the cries of agony sounded. All life disappeared from the room in just a plunge while he stood there in the middle of the bloodbath.

"To think that this mere lowlife gets to have the first glimpse of the one I've been craving for all this time." He laughs out bitterly, rubbing the magic orb without delay. The scenery in the orb then shifted on the current scene in the Luna's chambers as she stood there with a troubled look in her face.

"There she is." Biting his lower lip while trying to conceal his emotions beginning to burst, King Caius's eyes darken at the mere sight of her.

"Scarlett."

******