Page 25 of The Barren Luna

But I didn't see him the next day. Instead, two female guards in uniform picked me up from the hospital and drove me to the palace. It was a majestic, imposing building, very tasteful and welcoming despite its size. I’d visited several times in my past life, and it never failed to charm me. I wondered why they were taking me there. Perhaps I would have an audience with the King first. They led me through a series of corridors, none of which I remembered from before since, during my visits as Luna, we’d used a completely different entrance, and we only ever saw theinside of conference rooms and ballrooms. They announced my arrival to a butler, who then opened a set of double doors for me and ushered me into a room that could have been both a library and an office.

There, looking out the window, stood David, who I immediately realized was the King. He was in a suit again, paired with a crisp white shirt and a forest green tie.

“Your Highness,” I started to curtsy like I was taught to in Luna lessons, but he laughed, and the sound was like dark molasses dripping from a spoon, thick and rich.

“Please, Regina, continue calling me David. And don't curtsy or bare your neck to me.”

“But -”

“I hate titles. I’m sure you can relate somewhat,” he fixed me with a knowing stare and it was true. I’d often told people to drop the “Luna“ and call me Ginny, so I acquiesced.

“Very well, David, hello.”

“Hi,” he grinned, taking me by surprise by how mischievous and boyish he looked doing it. “Welcome to my home. You will be staying in one of the guest rooms here. The two guards that accompanied you will stay with you whenever you’re outside of your room and will remain posted at your door while you’re in it. You’re free to roam the palace and the grounds to your heart’s content. If you need anything, let them know.”

I felt like I had stumbled into a parallel universe. Why was the King being so nice to me? I was a murderer, brought here to be tried. I mean, I wasn’t going to complain and get myself sent to the dungeons on principle, but it felt surreal to be chatting about “roaming the gardens” like I was a fancy lady in one of the human romance novels I used to enjoy so much.

“Did you set a date for the trial?” I asked, pulling us back into reality and I could tell he didn’t like it.

“In three days, most likely. We need to wait for all the Alphas to arrive, I think they should all make it by then.”

I exhaled noisily, my shoulders falling a bit. Then I straightened them.

“Okay. Three days.”

“You just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, David.”

“You’re very welcome,” he smiled warmly.

After my audience with the King, the guards showed me to my room, which was at the opposite end of the palace. It was a lovely guest bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a vanity table with a beautiful ornate mirror, a wardrobe, and an ensuite bathroom that had both a shower and a tub. The walls were painted a beautiful powder blue, with little clouds all over them. For a moment, I was tempted to pretend I was staying here on pack business instead of awaiting trial. However, despite my being painfully aware of what awaited me, I was not anxious. Quite the opposite, actually.

I eagerly snooped around my temporary home, discovering a bottle of my preferred shampoo as well as my usual skincare products in the bathroom cabinets. Whoever was in charge of guests, a housekeeper, or an administrative assistant maybe, must have contacted Calum, who then spoke to Lucy about what I might need. They really went all out for the criminals they hosted. For a moment, I thought about sharing that thought with Dotty, just to be stabbed in the heart with the realization that she was gone.

The wardrobe had a few nice dresses and blouse-pants combos in it, along with pajamas and undergarments, all with the tags still attached, all in my size, and a lot of them in different shades of blue.

I was starting to sense a theme here. It wasn’t a color I wore often but I didn’t mind it, especially since someone went through all this trouble, even procuring several accessories and a watch for me to wear. So this was how the other half lived. I remembered making a big fuss over guests who came to stay in our pack, but the furthest I'd go was maybe a complimentary bathrobe or some Appalachian milk soap. This was a whole other ballgame.

My guards (whose names I learned were Laura and Kelly) soon brought in a female who greeted me cheerily, “Hello, Ms. Haines. My name is Maria, and I’ve been asked to come fix up your hair for the trial.”

From her smile, you’d think the trial was a beauty pageant that I had a shot at winning. Luckily, she didn’t ask what had happened to my hair. I remembered the braid in Henry’s drawer and I shuddered.

“Are you sure it can be fixed?” I grimaced while running my hands through what was left of it.

“Don’t you worry,” she reassured me. “I’ve seen and fixed much worse.”

Maria reminded me of the hairdresser I used to go to in my parents’ pack – she was perfectly suited for her job since she had a calming, engaging presence. She talked a lot without being annoying, and knew what questions to ask and what things were best left alone. And most importantly, she was an absolute genius at cutting hair since I couldn’t help but gasp as she showed me the end result of her work, a cute pixie cut that looked 100% intentional.

“I love it. Thank you, Maria!” I couldn’t look away from the mirror. It was a seemingly small and insignificant thing, but the haircut helped me take a step towards the old me, away from this broken me.

“I need to pay you, let me -”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Haines, it’s all taken care of,” she winked at me, and I felt relieved because I had absolutely no money and no documents on me. I wondered how I would get to my stuff and whether I’d even need it if I was found guilty at my trial. After closing the door when Maria left, I stopped in my tracks.

The room, the clothes, the haircut, it all lulled me into considering a future where I was free and acquitted. But I did kill Henry, I was guilty of murder. Oh, God. Breathing was starting to get difficult again as the truth once again hit me hard. I had killed my mate. I had murdered him, as awful as he was, I was worse.

I quickly showered to get rid of all the tiny hair bits from my haircut, as well as to calm down. I then changed into one of the buttery soft pajama sets. I needed to think less and sleep more, I told myself, and eventually, the exhaustion won.

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