Chapter 4 : Rejected by the Moon

*Varon*

After everything, I couldn’t believe that I had to deal with this.

I stood before my pack, watching as nothing happened. No moonlight shone on us, and no light engulfed us. It was particularly stark in contrast because there had just been a mating ceremony a few days ago.

The moonlight that had shone on them had been nearly blinding. And I was sure it was all anyone could think of at that moment.

And even if I hadn’t been connected to all of the thoughts of my pack, I would have heard immediately what they were thinking.

The Moon rejected the bond.

With everything else that was going on in my mind, I didn't even think that this could happen. I was so preoccupied with this plan to get a Luna and heir to make me stronger, that I forgot bonds could be rejected by the Moon.

But here we were, standing before the altar, the priest above us, and the Moon refusing to bless the union. This was definitely going to complicate things.

“Carry on,” I hissed at the Elder. “I don’t have all night.”

The Elder looked skeptical but nodded. And had it been anyone else in the pack, they wouldn’t have dared to even pause for that moment. But the Elder was not just anyone. At the same time, the Elder was not above my orders either.

“Blessed be the union,” he spoke, a little softer than before.

The coward edited the words. Though even I had to admit that it would have been stupid to use the original at that moment. We weren’t blessed by the Moon.

I took Tiessa by the hand and walked down the aisle with the pack. They were silent for a moment, still trying to process what was happening, and then slowly, they began to clap, and life came into them.

I breathed a little easier as the pack began celebrating around us. Even if the union hadn’t been blessed, we now had a Luna.

The abilities would come in time, I was sure. And it wasn’t like I was in urgent need of it.

I led Tiessa to the large table that was prepared for us at the feast, and the party really began. Whole stags were roasted for the evening, and I was impressed with everything that had been set up for the event. They only had one day to prepare, after all.

Next to me, Tiessa sat quietly.

“This is different for you,” I told her, wondering aloud. “I heard your pack celebrates differently.”

Tiessa raised an eyebrow as she turned to me, seeming to come into herself a little better. I had seen her a few times before I became Alpha. It never went unnoticed by me how beautiful she was, her skin was a light alabaster color, and her hair hung low down her back. Her eyes were the same as the wolves of her pack, only lighter, the same whitish gray.

I was a little shocked that Mason offered his own daughter as a prize, to be honest, but it wasn't up to me to question him about it.

“My pack doesn’t celebrate a union not blessed by the Moon,” Tiessa shot back but then sobered a little. “My pack has had little to celebrate these past few moons though.” She shrugged.

There was war pulling through all the packs, and more than that, the Hunters were moving through our territories. Nowhere was safe any longer.

“The Hunters can’t break through the Shields,” I told her simply. I had no idea why I felt the need to reassure her, but I did anyway. “No wolf can.”

Tiessa turned to me with bright eyes.

“How does it work?” she asked me curiously.

Irritation flared through me at her words.

“Already trying to escape again?” I snapped without thinking.

She sat back away from me and then turned in the other direction entirely.

I closed my eyes. There was more than a good chance that hadn’t been her intent. It was only us, and the Solaris Pack, that was able to use Shields around their territory. It was only our two packs that had wolves with talent born into it. It had been a fair question.

But before I could explain anything to her, one of my wolves came toward me.

“You need to come and see the border,” Fjorn, the leader of the wolves in my battalion, murmured in my ear. “Your Beta and cousin are already there.”

Voltaire was my cousin and Jeremy my Beta, but they had no love lost between them. They always worked together when it was for the good of the pack. I almost got up and went with him, but then I glanced at Tiessa.

I couldn’t leave her alone, not tonight. She might run away.

Or someone might try something.

There were more than a few wolves in the pack that had no love for the Silver Stone pack. And while she was Luna now, they might take the fact that the union hadn’t been blessed by the Moon and attack her.

And I wasn't lying when I spoke to her father. I needed an heir. Or this entire exercise was pointless.

“I will see to it tomorrow,” I told Fjorn. “Tell them that.”

We didn’t stay long at the feast, it wasn’t required. And then I escorted Tiessa back to our home. We didn’t speak the entire way, and only once we crossed the threshold of the stone house did I turn to her entirely.

The home was old, built a long time ago, but it had been built well and of stone that stood the test of time.

“We will share a bedroom,” I stated, leaving no room for any argument. “It's this way.”

I showed her up to where my bedroom was, though everything had been redecorated to prepare for a Luna.

The walls were the same exposed stone as the outside of the house, and the beams were dark wood, keeping everything in place. There were bearskin rugs thrown about, adding warmth to the room.

“This isn’t the room I was shown earlier,” Tiessa said as I opened the door and led her in.

“That was a guest room,” I explained. “Before the ceremony, you were a guest. Now, you are Luna.”

Tiessa glanced at the bed, and it was almost like I could hear her thoughts. It was big, but it wasn’t big enough to hold us both without touching.

“I will sleep on the floor tonight,” I told her. “But only for tonight.”

It was more than I thought I would compromise. If I wanted an heir out of this, it would mean that we shared a bed. But for some reason, I didn’t want to push her more than I already had today.

“Thank you,” she said softly, her gaze meeting mine for the barest of a moment. I nodded, and then her gaze flitted away again as she walked through the room, her hand trailing over one of the bearskins decorating the sofa.

I knew that she was here against her will, but we were all bound by our fates with the Moon. Still, something in me told me to be gentle. Or maybe it was something within her.

Tiessa didn’t say anything more to me, she only went to the closet on one side and searched through it until she found something to wear. She then went behind the changing screen, and came out a moment later, laying on the bed.

I tried not to look, but I had to confess it was hard not to feel attracted by the sight of her in a nightgown.

I changed out of most of what I was wearing and then sat down on the floor. It was one night, I could make that concession for her. But tomorrow would be a different story.

After a moment, I heard soft sounds fill the room, and I knew that she was crying.

I couldn’t think about it. I needed to do this. For my pack, for myself. It was as necessary as killing my father. It was needed. And if I had done that, if I had gotten through that, the hardest thing that I had ever done in my entire life, then I would have to do this too.

Still, I couldn’t fall asleep to the sound. And only once she drifted off, the noise dying down, did sleep claim me.

***

I woke the next morning before Tiessa did, and I was in no mood to go through a repeat of what I had last night. I quickly left the room before she woke up.

I would use a guest room to shower and get ready for the day, but I wasn’t going to be there when she woke. I might only go back tonight after she had fallen asleep too.

I quickly showered and changed. Then I headed to my study and had breakfast brought to me there.

I stared at my desk before even sitting down. There were a thousand things to do. And most of my morning would be in deciding what wasn’t important enough.

I had been working for a full hour before the door to my office opened again.

“Why should we follow Alpha Varon when even the Moon does not hear him?” Voltaire spoke as he came into the room. “That’s what they’re saying in the noble circles.”

I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

Voltaire came further into the room and sank into the couch closest to my desk.

“I know you probably don’t want or need to hear this,” Voltaire said again. “But your right to Alpha is what is being questioned now.”

“I am aware, Volt,” I said through gritted teeth. “Of exactly what is at stake here for me.”

But Voltaire just shook his head.

“Not just you, cousin,” he continued. “The entire pack will be called into question. There are more than half of the wolves against you. But the ones with you are our fighters.”

I knew what he was implying, but it got to a point in my head that I needed it to be more than just implications. I needed him to tell me what he was thinking out loud.

“Voltaire,” I called, eyeing him carefully. “What are you suggesting?”

Voltaire took a deep breath.

“I am telling you that we are on the brink of a civil war,” he said eventually.

I knew. There was absolutely no way for me to not know, even if I was completely blind.

“Do you really think that coming back from Silver Stone with an Omega wolf was the best option?” Voltaire asked me with a frown.

I had been wondering the same thing since I’d done it.

Maybe I should have left her there, and taken the stones of the citadel the way I had intended. Or slaughtered Mason. That would have proven to my pack that I was more than ready to do what needed to be done. Since they didn’t seem to realize it already.

“I need to speak to Jeremy,” I said simply.

Voltaire groaned but remained where he was. As much as Voltaire hated being around Jeremy, they were able to bounce ideas off each other.

I reached for Jeremy in my mind, and he came not even five minutes later.

“I was just heading back to the border,” Jeremy said, coming in through the door. “What is it?”

I remembered that they had wanted me there last night.

“What happened at the border?” I asked, frowning.

I should have asked that first. But I felt like there were just so many fires all over the place that I didn’t have the strength to put any of them out, much less all of them at once.

“Someone got wind of us having a ceremony last night,” Voltaire spoke airily from the couch. “And they thought they could use the chance to break through the barrier.”

I cursed under my breath.

“And?” I asked.

They would have told me right away if it was something bad, like if the Shield had fallen and an enemy had managed to press through, but I wanted the confirmation to come from one of them all the same.

“The Shield held,” Jeremy explained simply. “And they moved on. I’m trying to find out who it was.”

I nodded. They would keep me updated.

“Do I need to call a council meeting to deal with the Nobles?” I asked Jeremy. He had his ear to the ground better than Voltaire did, at least with the Nobles.

Jeremy considered for a moment.

“Not yet,” he answered. Jeremy looked like he had more to say, but was interrupted by the door opening again.

And we all turned to see Tiessa at the door.

I lifted an eyebrow. She made it clear more than enough times that she wanted nothing to do with me or be here. I wondered what would have spurned her enough to willingly seek me out, other than her freedom.

“I would like to make a request,” Tiessa said, coming into the room. “Alpha Varon,” she tacked on when I didn’t answer, “as Luna, I would like the Rising Moon pack to send some aid to the Silver Stone pack. Your pack wasn’t the only one we had debts with, and even then, we don’t have enough food and medical supplies to go around.”

I stared at her for a moment. Was she insane? I was fighting off a new battle that had been caused by our mating bond not going the way it should, and she wanted to claim rights that she didn’t even have?

“I am not going to bargain with something that I already own,” I snapped at her. “For all intents and purposes, your pack owes me. Your debt won't be paid off until I am given what I was promised.”