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?”
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Mina POV - The office door slammed open, feet thundering into the room, but one look at the scene had the warriors hanging back. Only three stepped forward, but their approach didn’t move Mina’s fixed stare. She looked at the intricate handle of the blade sticking out of her mother’s chest. Its pale blue shone proud in the candlelight, as it stole the Luna’s life. It was the ornamental blade she had often admired in the office, but she had never been allowed to remove it from its glass case on the wall. In fact, she had never seen it touched, but could see now how well it had been cared for. There wasn't a speck of dust on its surface, only flecks of red marring its perfect sheen. She was certain its silver blade would have been polished to perfection too. A warm hand cupped her cheek, gently guiding her focus away from the weapon. The noise around her grew quickly as her awareness spread. There was movement beside her brother’s body, another warrior opposite her at the Luna’s s
Mina POV - Dread pooled heavy in her gut. Mina turned to Owen, desperately taking a step towards her friend. He took a step back. “Owen?” Her voice cracked, her hand reaching for him, but he jerked away. He was pale, a sickly colour, his eyes flitting between her and his father. Oliver must’ve mindlinked him the contents of the letter while she read it. “It isn’t true. You have to believe me.” She went to take another step towards Owen, but his father blocked her path. “Yet the only wolves who could verify that are either dead or unconscious.” He stepped towards her. There weren’t many wolves that Mina would retreat from, but the head of the Hayre family was one of them. “You got here before everyone else.” He stated, stepping forward again. “I couldn’t sleep.” “You’re covered in the Luna’s blood.” At the mere mention, her fists clenched, her stomach turning at the sticky heat coating her palm. “I was trying to save her.” Mina’s voice shook. “She scream
Mina POV - She didn’t dare to stop at her room. Oliver would be listening to her every move as she fled the packhouse. If she paused, she didn’t know what he would do. She ran down the stairs, barely registering what was happening as she fisted the note into her pocket and spilled into the street. The cold night air hit her in a rush that tightened her chest. Her breaths were rapid and shallow. She hesitated on the cobbled street. The warriors stationed at the packhouse doors stared at her. Their gazes dropped to the blood on her hands, her tear-streaked face, the twist of red on her t-shirt echoing her mother’s wound. They frowned, piecing together their leader’s rejection of her and the image before them. Then, as if Oliver was punishing her for stopping, their eyes glazed over with a mindlink. She didn’t know what he told them, but their hands tightened on the daggers at their belts. Dread pooled within her as they refocused, the same hate twisting their features. Mina
Mina POV - As the mud cradled her, its chill seeping into her bones, preparing her for the sweet kiss of death at the warrior’s hands, Mina couldn’t help but wonder where everything had started to go wrong. The obvious answer was the moment she let her pheromones free at the choosing ceremony, exposing herself to doubts when Alastor became her mate, but she couldn’t help but feel like it went further back. For years she had been trained by her mother to be the perfect Luna. She couldn’t look in a mirror anymore without correcting her form as if her mother’s critiques always rang in her head. She kept a respectable distance from the pack and always did her duty, but Oliver was right. It didn’t come naturally to her. No matter how many times she was corrected, her posture would slip. No matter how many times she would be reminded, a carefree smile would slip past her composure when the sunlight warmed her face. No matter how much she practised, she didn’t have the grace of the oth
Alastor POV - If it wasn’t for her scream, Alastor would’ve walked right by Mina. She was curled tight on the muddy floor, her body muffling her weak sobs. Though he knew she was running, he hadn’t been able to envision her as anything but her usual composed perfection. He had been searching for the woman who had attended the Luna court only a few days ago. The woman who had managed to wrangle the tidal wave of feelings attached to their new bond, when it had him wanting to carry her away from prying eyes and claim every inch of her body. The woman at his feet was neither. She was broken, she was a mess, she needed help. Mina only roused when he covered her with a blanket. Something in his chest unwound when she spoke his name, but the tension returned when her eyelids fluttered shut. She slumped against his chest and he hel d her tighter. He had to move her, to get her to somewhere safe. Before he could consider a plan, a mindlink pushed into his thoughts. He almost ignored it.
Alastor POV - The late hour made it difficult to find a safe place to stay, so Alastor didn’t take Mina far. Though they were now rogues, he knew the territory around the Clear Blue pack and chose to stay close. On first look, the flat land didn’t leave many places to take cover, especially when he wanted to stay hidden from the pack and the wilderness alike. However, he knew every divot and weave of the land and found a slight hill that would cover their position and give him a wide view of the open space. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do until morning. Thankfully, the rest of the evening was quiet, but Alastor moved at first light. Mina was still sleeping, so he carried her again, taking her far away from the place that broke her. As an accomplished member of the Hayre family, he had travelled more than most, accompanying the Luna and his father on trips from the territory. He had made friends in other packs, building his own connections to wolves over the nation. A few
Mina POV - As an original three Luna, Mina was used to finery; her pillows were always plumped, her mattress soft, the warmth of home surrounded her each morning. However, she had never woken up so comfortable in her entire life. The bed beneath her was warm and cradled her like it was personally built for her body. It moved with her breath and purred as she nuzzled further into its comfort. It was heavenly, and she enjoyed every second as she was lulled from her deep sleep. Her stirrings awakened something around her, blooming a fresh scent that coaxed at her consciousness. It drew her from the dark, so light and clear. Her eyes fluttered open as she inhaled the breath of fresh air. Her nose chased it, pushing into her pillow. It tickled against her cheek, soft, teasing, drawing a smile. Light brown fur swayed in her vision, dancing in a breeze she was too warm to feel. Mina spread her hand wide in the fur, humming as it played through her fingertips. A rumble answered her, deep a
Mina POV - Despite promising to answer her questions after breakfast, Alastor inhaled his food and set about working on their camp before she had even finished her first bite. When she stood, ready to talk, he fired instructions at her, one after another. The rest of the day followed suit. When she had done whatever job he had asked, another one was already lined up, stealing her attention off the impending conversation. It was frustrating, but as their campsite began to take form, she decided they could talk after they were done working. It didn’t look like much when they had finished, but it was the first shelter she had ever built. Mina smiled, wiping the sheen of her efforts from her brow. They had found enough fallen trees and branches to create a shed of sorts, with three walls and one open side, overlooking the lake. They had cleared the ground inside but hadn’t bothered to find anything to form beds. The dirt was soft enough for them and, if it got cold, they could simply s