Chapter 7

~ ELENA’S POV ~

“We’ve been followed,” 

My heart hammered in my chest as my hands gripped the child in my arm. He stirred in my arms, his soft whimpers blending with the rising tension in the room. Lisa’s claws extended, her body heating up as she started walking towards the door. 

The knock came again, causing my blood to run cold. How was someone able to track us through the tunnel? I thought Lisa said it was a secret. 

The second knock pushed the door in and it creaked open. I heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was.

 Garrison.

 Lisa’s claws retracted and I saw her chest return to base with a heavy sigh. “Your grace,” she greeted with a bow.

“I’m sorry I startled you,” Garrison apologized, his eres flicking between me and the child in my arms. They were filled with a deepening sense of passion and love as he inched closer. His gaze shifted back to me, with his hand racing up my sleeve. “Can I?” He breathed.

“Sure,” I replied with a smile. I gently passed the boy into his arms, and I saw them tighten around him. His body moved in an indefinite pattern as he cooed the child. His gaze lingered on the boy, a mix of emotions sweeping across his eyes. 

“He has his mothers eyes,” Garrison commented. His words hit me in the guts, but I was forced to smile. I joined where he was and placed my hand on the baby. Was I to come up with a feature similar to his father? 

For a moment, we stood there in silence. Garrison holding his son— our son, as though he was some precious gem which would shatter if it was dropped. Something inside me twisted as we gazed at the boy. A feeling. 

Garrison was just like every other werewolf or husband. He acted out of grief and loss. It sounded like something a reasonable man would do for the love of his life upon hearing about her murder. Was I to blame him for killing me? 

I snapped out of my thoughts, noticing that the emotional atmosphere was getting to me. I was letting it cloud my judgements. It was too soon for that. Garrison still had to pay for killing me. Yes he lost his wife, but that doesn’t justify his killing me. 

I watched as he rocked the child gently. A sad smile crawling up his face. “We’ll call him June, because his mother was brought back to us in the month of June,” he said, his smile growing wider as he looked at me. 

“June,” I murmured, returning the smile. His lips crashed on my forehead, his other hand pulling my neck in. Lisa made a sound in her throat, interrupting us. 

“I’m sorry, we have to get back to the palace before people notice the Luna is absent,” she said. Garrison nodded, concurring to her opinion. The woman who was sitting in the cabin when we arrived joined us, and I heard Lisa call her “sister” while giving her the child. 

We exchanged pleasant glances before she headed inside with the child. 

“I’ll escort you two back,” Garrison said,leading the way out. 

****

Morning came, bringing me back to my misery disguised as a second chance to life. The servants fussed around me, doing every chore I should be doing. I was bathed, cleaned and dressed in a fine silk. 

“The amateurs are waiting for your supervision,” Lisa whispered in my ear after I had stood in front of the mirror for minutes with no clue of what next was to happen. I smiled, as if I knew what I was doing and nodded. 

“”I’ll be down shortly,” I answered. 

After taking a few more seconds to get myself prepared for the day, I headed out, Lisa following behind with a trail of guards enough to defend the castle. We got to the arena, filled with shirtless and sweaty lycans. 

Many of  them bowed as I walked past, while the whispers of a few traveled into my ears. They were growing suspicious. What was it about Rhoda that I wasn’t getting right? 

Her walking step? Her poise? Her strength? What was it that was drawing this much glares from the lycans? 

“She’s no Luna!” A masculine voice rang in the air. I froze, my pulse quickening as his words sank in. This was it. This was the end of my pretense. I turned towards the direction of the voice and found him, all sweaty and rage full. 

“The goddess didn’t give us back our Luna! Our Luna believes in peace and justice. The werewolves must face their fate for their crime!” He yelled. “Justice must be served!” 

I swallowed hard, guilt and fear gripping me. Was this it? Was this my reckoning?

*****