Page 5 of The Barren Luna

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“We’ll make the announcement tomorrow at breakfast. Together,” Henry told me casually over dinner. “And then the day after that, the Elders and I will choose the breeder.”

I'd made risotto using the broth I’d prepared the day before and served it with pan-seared salmon and roasted asparagus. It all tasted like cardboard but I kept eating because my body needed fuel.

“No, thanks,” I replied politely.

“You will be there and you will look excited, Regina,” he looked like he was going to have a stroke of some kind. A vein in his temple was pulsing.

“I will not. I am not excited and I will not be pretending to be.”

“This is your duty, Regina, you forget yourself.”

“I don’t care. I may not have the power to prevent you from doing things, but I certainly have power over my reaction tothem, and I will not be faking it “for the pack.” I think I’ve done more than enough for this pack.”

“I will command you,” he said darkly, and I gasped. Every Alpha had the power to command his pack members in broad terms, things such as “tell the truth” or “stop resisting.” Such commands were to be used in the most extreme circumstances, such as trials, interrogations, arrests, or hostage extractions. That particular power carried with it a tremendous amount of responsibility, since it harmed the other wolf physically every time it was used. In the process of breaking a wolf's mental resistance, the command broke something in their body as well. It was not to be used lightly, it was not to be used for personal gain, and most of all, it was never ever to be used against one’s Luna.

“You wouldn’t – Henry, that’s low, even for you.”

“Keep pushing me and see where we end up. I’ve had enough of the attitude.”

“Well, I’ve had enough of many things as well, yet no one cares.”

“I keep trying to make you understand, and yet you keep making it difficult. I'm the Alpha. This is my pack. It is my duty to provide the pack with an heir. If I can’t do it with you, I must do it with someone else. Do you think I'm enjoying this? Do you think I'll like having my wolf drugged in order to be able to go through with it?”

“Well, that's the difference between you and me, Henry. Even if my wolf were drugged, I wouldn't be able to cheat on you. I couldn’t stomach sleeping with someone else, making love to someone else while knowing I was yours, human and wolf. But you keep telling yourself whatever makes you feel better.”

I got up and went to the living room, where I spent another sleepless night on the couch, during which I decided I’d laylow for the next day and a half until he was in the middle of the selection process. Then I’d make my escape. It would serve me better not to rock the boat too much before that because I wouldn’t put it past Henry to command me to obey him. How did we get here? How was my mate already working on committing one unforgivable sin and threatening me with another one? How and when did our relationship deteriorate this badly? Was there something we could have done to prevent this? Was there a point at which we took a wrong turn that led us here? Luckily, exhaustion knocked me out shortly before sunrise and I awoke to the tingles from Henry shaking my shoulder gently.

“Wake up, Ginny, we have to go in an hour.”

I stood there in my bright yellow dress, my long hair in a fishtail braid, with Henry’s hand on my lower back, while his voice boomed across the full pack hall:

“Dear pack members, today marks a significant day for our pack. After much contemplation and prayer, my Luna and I have decided, with the support of the Council of Elders, that I will choose a concubine to breed from among our pack’s unmated females who volunteer for that honor.

The honor of providing an heir to the Spruce Mountain pack, the fourth largest pack in the country,” he announced and was interrupted by applause, cheers, and someone even whistled. I hated all of them so much.

“Tomorrow at 3, all the interested females should come to the Council chambers, where they will undergo a series of medical tests and an interview. We hope to announce the results the day after tomorrow and then begin the process as soon as possible. Me and my mate couldn’t be more excited for this journey,” here, he dug his claws into my back, and I forced a smile on my face, but I didn’t try too hard to make it a believable one.

Afterward, his mother approached us with a delighted smile on her face.

“Henry, dear, I'm glad you finally decided to heed my advice,” she said triumphantly as she kissed him on the cheek and then turned to me: “And I'm glad you finally accepted reality, Regina, and stopped being selfish. This is not about you, it's about the pack.”

I looked at her evil, spiteful face, and decided to give myself a little going away present.

“You had Henry five years into your mating, right? And no pups after him? I wonder why you were so selfish,” I said and immediately felt lighter, it was almost like taking a deep breath after having been underwater for too long.

Her eyes widened and she took a threatening step towards me before Henry decided to interfere, “Enough, Mother. It’s done, go and be happy elsewhere.”

For a moment, he reminded me of my Henry, the male who used to put me first and who protected me, but now he was someone I needed protection from.

“I let that one slide because you’ve been good during the announcement. Don’t make it a habit,” he hissed at me while dragging me through the crowd, smiling and nodding at the ecstatic pack members. One more day, I thought to myself, just keep it cool for one more day.

For our last dinner together, I decided to cook the same thing I'd cooked for Henry for our first dinner together as a mated couple – roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. It was a simple, comforting, delicious meal, and my stupid sentimental heart had to say goodbye in some way.

The next day, I packed all of my jewelry and two changes of clothes, together with five pairs of underwear, into a small dufflebag which I’d be able to carry in my mouth in wolf form. There was nothing else in the entire house I would want to take with me.

I spent the better part of the morning in Henry’s home office, going over maps of our pack territory and the closest human settlements, planning a mental route for my escape. Once it was past 3, I went out the back door, shifted, and ran as fast as I could.

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