Page 58 of Chasing Luna

“You’re getting what?” I echo what everyone’s thinking right now.

“Your Highness, this isn’t—” Gregory starts to protest, but he’s immediately shushed when Katarina’s long finger pushes itself to his lips.

“You say you want my permission, but it seems like you’ve already made up your mind?”

She’s gone batshit crazy, hasn’t she?I sneak a glance at Gregory, but he just appears terrified.

“Well, for starters, I’d like to formally include Grayson into the family! He has no one else in life, he can’t even remember his past. He needs our protection. A rogue Alpha won’t survive anywhere else, we all know that, right?” I cringe internally but don’t interrupt her manic tirade. “And, with you being the Queen in a few more days, you’ll be so busy running everything you won’t even have time to, you know, date.” She smiles. “Oh! Not that you need to, of course. I mean, Kenji’s right here.” She points to the stunned man beside me.

“Huh?” he asks more to himself than to Katarina.

“Oh, come on. Everyone’s been talking about you two eventually getting mated, and even merging the two packs together. It’s an alliance you won’t want to miss out on, as the new Queen.” She giggles. I look at Kenji who just seems horrified too at the things he’s hearing right now.

“No one said anything about me mating with ormarryinganyone, Kat.” I shake my head at her.

“Exactly. Which is why you wouldn’t have any qualms about me getting together with Grayson, right?” she says as she trails her fingers across the man’s chest.

“Um, I still think he needs to have a say in this.” I look pointedly at the man in question.What exactly did you do to make her believe this was a possibility?I make a mental note to ask him later.

“Why?” she queries, actually confused. At this point, the room had gone deathly silent. All those in here have stopped murmuring amongst themselves and are now just as troubled with Katarina’s behavior as the rest of us. “He won’t disagree. Right, dear?” I cringe for a second time tonight. “Also, if you make it your command, he won’t have any other choice.” I gulp. It’s an unspoken rule that once the Queen makes a decree, no person can ever disobey.

It was how my mother married my father. It was how my grandmother had married, and so on, and so forth. “Kat, I’m not taking someone’s will away.” She looks at me dumbfounded. “I don’t plan on being a dictator. Our members are allowed to love whoever they want to love.” I take a step back and let them both become the center of attention. “You’re going to have to ask him yourself on this one.” I stare at Gregory who seems a bit hesitant to speak up. The crowd looks on, eager to await his answer.

“Your Highness, I can’t...” Gregory trails off and disentangles himself from Katarina. She watches him in shock. “I don’t want to marry you. I don’t even see you in a romantic way,” he says simply and takes a step away from her. She shakes her head, as if this is a nightmare she’s just having.

“I’m not going to ask you. I’m commanding you,” she declares, indignant to his obvious rejection.

“You don’t have authority over me. I’m not part of this pack. And you are not the Queen.” He bows his head as he finishes the statement, unable to look the woman in the eye.

“Why don’t you ask the Queen for permission?” Kenji offers, and I subtly nudge him in the stomach.

“Don’t make this worse, you idiot,” I whisper.

“Shh, chill. I just want to know why she came straight to you,” he whispers back.

Katarina laughs maniacally. “She’s not going to agree! Why would she when we know nothing about him?” She continues to laugh.

“Oh, she’s completely lost it,” Kenji mutters, grip tightening instinctively around my shoulder.

“I can’t believe this. You chose her? Over me? Why would anyone choose her over me?” she screams at Gregory, who is astoundingly silent throughout this whole thing. “I should have known. This whole time you must’ve been in love with her!” The crowd gasps in response.

“No!” I yell out instinctively.

“Shut the fuck up! You’ve been the thorn in my side ever since we were kids. You, being the chosen one, doesn’t mean a thing! I climbed up the ranks on my own. I made my own name within this family. I’m the firstborn that everyone loves, not you!” She points an accusatory finger at me and starts to cry. “So why does it seem like you’re always one step ahead of me?” Disgust looms over her facade. “You don’t deserve anything in this world. You’re always so loved, adored. Even our own father loved you and Katya more than he loved me!” she blubbers. “Well, I took care of that, didn’t I? I took care of one sister. I can take care of another.” Her snide remark doesn’t go unnoticed and the pack is immediately on high alert.

A chorus of disbelief swirls around the room at Katarina’s sudden confession. “Your Highness, what do you mean?” someone presses on, a bit apprehensively.

“What the fuck do you think it means?” Her shrill yell hurts my ears. “I killed Katya!” she confesses and raises a hand to point at me. “And tonight, I’m killing you, too.” She smiles.

But before Katarina can do anything, she is tossed into the air by some unknown force.

Chapter Fifty-Five

“That’s enough,” the icy voice of my grandmother booms throughout the room. “I’ve heard enough, child.”

She doesn’t even sound angry, just… disappointed,I think. Katarina lands on the ground with a hard thud.

“My Queen! It’s not what it looks like! She’s the one at fault here.” Katarina points at me from where she is sitting on the floor.

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