Chapter 2 - The man in the window

Mina POV

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Mina flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. Gone was the party dress, make-up and accessories, but the largest weight off her was the day. Finally, her birthday had ended. The party, the tour of the pack, the silly events to congratulate her on finding her mate. The wrong mate, but still, a mate. Only one wolf didn't manage to see her to say the same. Owen. She hadn’t seen him since he stormed from the packhouse earlier and, no matter how hard she tried, he rejected her mindlinks. Sam had promised to keep an eye on him, and reassured her he was okay whenever she asked, but it was still hard. She had hurt him. 

She had no control over who the Moon Goddess mated her with, but blame fell as heavy on her shoulders as the atmosphere lingering around the pack. She felt eyes on her wherever she went, questioning, doubtful. It wasn’t a surprise. Not when she felt the same. However, there was one wolf who was oblivious to the tension.  

Mina had expected a lecture, a reprimand or, at the very least, a slap after the Choosing ceremony. She had left the hall, abandoning her mate in front of the entire Hayre family, chasing another man only to return alone. The Luna wouldn’t be happy, and she had stood at her mother’s mercy in the office, prepared for her punishment. What she didn’t expect was a hug. Mina stiffened, not recognising the warmth of her mother’s affection, but the woman didn’t notice. She merely patted her back with a little too much gusto to feel natural and then continued like it didn’t happen.  

The Luna’s smile was beaming in the privacy of her office, congratulating her for her good choice of her first mate. Mina stood silently; her words caught in her throat. Even when she had returned home from her first Luna Court, her mother had met her with critiques, despite her doing everything the Luna had ordered. A nice word was unusual, a hug unheard of. She knew she should’ve relished the affection, but it felt cold and undeserving. Owen’s broken heart had been the price for it.  

So had her own.  

Not that her mother cared. She made it sound like the choice was always obvious, that Mina was always supposed to choose Alastor. Then, why had Owen been her personal guard? Why had her mother allowed feelings to grow between them? She knew who she would’ve chosen if given the chance, but she could already sense those feelings fade. They were replaced by the memory of Alastor’s touch, his nose buried in her neck, his arms wrapped around her.  

“I sometimes questioned if you were mine, Williamina, but you’ve really matured into a proper Luna.”  

The words were supposed to be a comfort but landed like lead in her stomach. She had barely managed a smile, sharing no more than a word or two, before making her excuse to leave.  

Mina had only managed to get half an hour of respite, before she was called to her duty again. She dried her tears, straightened her back and carried herself with pride into her birthday events. Just as a Luna should.  

The day was as difficult as she imagined, but the worst was having Alastor at her side. Mina hadn’t noticed how little they spoke before, but now the silence rang loud and clear, deafening any conversation she attempted. He was like a wall, freezing her out with clipped, obligatory answers, far from the wild, excited, touch they had shared in the hall. They had never been friendly, only spending time together when he was on duty, or at formal events, but why should they have been? He was simply Owen’s older brother. He had never invited anything beyond that to form between them, and neither had she, yet the chill between them was clear. She had hurt his brother and made him liable for the same crime.  

Mina huffed and curled onto her side. The peace of her bedroom was welcomed after such a day. She could cry here, let herself relax, just be Mina for a while. She had no idea what she was going to do. The man she thought would be her mate wasn’t, tearing a lifelong friendship apart in minutes, and the man who was her mate hated her. He happily joked over dinner with others at the table, but iced her out the moment she listened in. Was she that horrid as a mate? There was no question she’d be sleeping alone that night, her neck left bare, unmarked. Her bed felt oddly large, stealing her chance to sleep with its empty corners chilling her flesh.  

A sudden mindlink burst threw her worries.  

‘Williamina!’  

Mina jerked upright, her mother’s scream sending her blood cold. Its panic bled into her, forcing her to her feet and out the door. She had never heard such pure fear in her mother’s voice before, the sound ricocheting in her mind with each pound of her feet down the corridor. She didn’t bother calling for help. The mindlink had been pack wide, and the warriors would be on their way, but she wouldn’t wait for them.   

She followed her mother’s scent and burst into the Luna’s office. Immediately, a metallic tang pooled around her, turning her stomach, making her retch. Only a single candle glowed on the Luna’s desk, its light spilling onto two figures on the floor. Mina’s eyes flew wide. She took a step forward. Another. Then, a clatter behind the desk jerked her attention. There, crouched in the window frame, a man was silhouetted against the night sky, the candle’s flickers barely reaching him. She froze, terror gripping her in its claws. Her eyes locked to him. He was her only focus as she was his. She couldn’t see his face but felt his scrutiny. Then, he dropped from the ledge and out of sight.  

  

As if his gaze had bound her, she rushed forward upon freedom, tumbling to her knees. Sam. Mother. They both laid still, the scent of blood hanging over them. Her hands gravitated to her brother. He was on his front, his face turned away, towards the desk. He was still wearing his clothes from the party, but there wasn’t a single speck of red on his white shirt. She pressed a palm to his back, a rush of relief blowing past her lips. Not only was he warm, but his body rose and fell with soft breaths. He was alive.   

‘Mina. Where are you?’  It was Oliver; Owen’s dad and head of the Hayre family.  

  

‘The Luna’s office. Hurry.’  

  

Though she managed to respond, there was no urgency to her voice. She barely focused on what she was saying as her eyes fell to her mother. If the blood wasn’t coming from Sam... Mina found it. The source of the iron tang. A knife she recognised was buried deep into the Luna’s chest, red pooling around it.   

Mina stared. It wasn’t real. How could it be?   

  

She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing to catch the trick of the light, but the knife remained in place. A cold shiver traced her spine, the chilled night air brushing over her skin. She reached forward, watching her hand stretch out as if it wasn’t her own. It shook as it touched her mother's, her fingers barely feeling her skin before the Luna coughed.   

  

She jerked. Then, Mina crawled through the growing pool of blood, drawing to her mother’s side. The hesitation vanished, replaced by an urgency that had her fretting over the wound. Her hands hovered around the knife, until she settled on applying pressure around it. Once the others got there, they could take out the knife and save her.   

  

A hand slammed against her arm, its force shocking through her. “M-M-M-Mi.”  

  

“I’m here, Luna.” Mina spoke around the lump in her throat, willing her body to stop shaking as she smiled. She tried to ignore the red stain on her mother’s lips, the dazed cloud covering her expression.   

  

“S-S-Sam...” The Luna forced his name out around a gurgle of blood.    

“He’s okay.” She spoke just to keep her mother quiet. “I think he’s just knocked out. He’s still breathing, and I couldn’t see any wounds. The warriors are on their way. They’ll catch who did this.”   

  

Hot tears stung her eyes as she glared at the window, its pane blown shut with the wind. She sniffed, but there were no unfamiliar scents in the office. They must’ve used a scent blocker.   

  

The hand on her arm loosened, falling to the floor.  

Mina tore her attention back to her mother. She froze. The Luna’s eyes were wide, unfocused, staring through her. Her lips were parted, their only movement a thick drop of blood sliding its way to her chin. Mina’s brow furrowed. Her hands clamped tighter around the blade, the flesh beneath hot and sticky with blood, but there was no push against them. No breath rising to meet her palm.   

Her mouth dried, her breath catching. “Mum?”