Page 45 of Nyte's Rejected Luna

My eyes widened, a smile breaking my grimace. “So, Alexander would have no choice but to get her back. No matter what.”

Chapter twenty-one

Paige

WearrivedattheOceanside Packhouse, a severe-looking woman standing outside with her hands on her hips, glaring at the car. Her dark black hair was pulled to the top of her head in a high knot, and baby hairs curled around her forehead perfectly. She looked like a force to be reckoned with. As Markus stepped out, he smirked at the woman before reaching into the car to drag me out to him.

“Morghan, I didn’t expect you to be the first in line to greet your new Luna.” His hand dug into my arm, a hiss of pain slipping through my teeth.

The woman’s eyes snapped to mine before looking at Markus. “You know damn well that’s not what I’m standing out here for, Markus. You’ve lost your damned mind if you think we will keep standing aside while you doom the pack the way you have been.”

“Alpha Markus,” Markus growled to her. “You will address me properly, Morghan.”

“I will address you as my Alpha when you start acting like him again,” Morghan growled, her teeth peeled back in disgust. “If it wasn’t for your scent, I would swear you aren’t the same man at all.”

“Morghan, that’s enough,” Thompson stepped between Markus and the she-wolf, turning anxious eyes to me. “Greet the new Luna and tell the others to prepare a feast for tonight; we celebrate in her honor.”

Morghan glared at Thompson, turning to the door and storming inside.

“All hail, his majesty!” she yelled out behind her. “And his stolen bride!”

Markus growled, pulling me to follow him into the packhouse. Pack members were already stepping into the hall and watching us with curiosity. A few whispered, quickly disappearing with anxious glances in my direction, Nyte’s name fluttering in the air within their whispers. From the looks in their eyes and the fearful whispers, I could tell they knew who I was. They knew the truth, so why was their Alpha so adamant that I was his to claim?

“I present to you your new Luna!” Markus announced as he entered the packhouse, smiling at those still present. “I expect the feast to be ready as soon as possible. We shall celebrate our new Luna and the protection she will provide us from here on!” He looked at me. “You should set the perimeter around the compound, like they do in the Rigel Pack.”

“I don’t know what you think I’m capable of, but the Rigel Pack’s witches are an entire coven. I’m only one witch.”

Markus frowned. “You are Luna, and it’s your job to protect this pack. Now protect it!”

Something in his eyes looked detached, a tick in his cheek showing the growing rage under his furry. I felt his hand twitch around my arm, tightening as his fingers dug into my skin. “Okay, okay. I will protect the packhouse. I can do that.” I lied.

My powers were focused on protecting my baby, but he didn’t need to know that. I didn’t have enough energy to protect the entire Packhouse, but he wouldn’t know the difference. Besides, something told me the only thing he needed protection from right now was Nyte, and I wasn’t about to prevent my true mate from getting to me.

“Good girl,” Markus purred, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. It took all I had not to flinch away, swallowing the disgust as it rose in my throat. “Take her upstairs to the Luna rooms.”

Markus shoved me into Thompson’s arms, the Beta nodding at the order and turning me toward a large staircase like the Coronado Packhouse back in Point Loma. Ascending the stairs, I looked down at the pack, their gazes following me as I reached the top. Their stares broke from me as Markus walked to them, an uneasiness settling in their postures as they looked at their Alpha.

“What happened to him?” I asked Thompson as we approached another set of stairs leading to a third floor.

“That’s not your concern,” he growled at me.

“He’s claiming me as his Luna, so I think I should know what I’m getting dragged into,” I insisted.

“We both know you aren’t his mate,” Thompson growled at me, pushing open the door at the top of the stairs and shoving me into the room. “Just play along until Nyte gets here for you. I’m unsure when that will be, but I doubt he will stay away for long. Until then, mind your own business.”

The door slammed shut behind me, followed by a slight click, telling me the door had been locked. To keep me in or to keep Markus out, that was the question. It was more than clear that he was the only one who thought I was his mate. The rest of the pack knew better.

What the hell is wrong with him?

I looked around the room, taking in the clear remodel that had recently been done. It was an attic room, the ceilings arched with the roof above. A beautiful vanity sat next to the large circular window overlooking the beach through tinted glass. Between the vanity and me stood an antique iron bed, a quilted comforter folded down in a welcoming gesture.

Exhaustion settled over me at the sight of the bed, my feet moving before I even gave them the order. I fell onto the soft mattress with a sigh, my eyes drifting closed, but just as a void of darkness greeted me, a flash of light chased away the dark around me, fading into a vision of a forest. The forest shifted before my eyes, creeks and rivers moving by in a blur before settling over rocks and caves. Inside the caves, the sounds of children crying echoed off the walls. I moved closer to the caves, looking inside the darkness.

My heart stuttered at the sounds coming up through the darkness of women consoling their weeping children and men screaming in agony after the sound of leather cracking. I ventured deeper into the cave, my hands tracing the side of the cave to keep my balance as I moved deeper into the cool, dark earth.

“Shift!” A snarled voice yelled, another crack of a whip piercing through the cave. A light began to shine at the curve of the tunnel, my pace slowing as I approached.

I pressed my body to the side of the cave, looking around the corner; a gasp barely held back as I saw the rows of cages strewn within the cavern. Women and children huddled together in large pens, separated by bars of silver. I watched as many of the women pressed their bodies against the bars, reaching over to the crying children on the other side, their flesh sizzling beneath the pure metal.

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