Moonstruck

𝓽𝔀𝓸 | A Knife in the Night

If Ellie wasn't so embarrassed, she would've laughed at the absurd sight of Seth Reagan—the Alpha of the Sanguine Pack, in the flesh!—sitting in her tiny, cramped living room. To her dismay, she felt herself flush as she watched Seth's ice-cold gray eyes sweep the room with evident disdain, taking in the sight of the piles of empty beer cans and pizza boxes stacked haphazardly upon the slanted coffee table, the crumpled-up kleenexes and lone socks strewn about the dusty wooden floor, the tower of unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink. In Ellie's defense, she had been too much in shock from the emergence of her newfound Luna powers to clean up after the Jackass for the past several days.

"The Rogue Luna," Seth said, and Ellie realized with horror that he was reading the titles of the werewolf books she had left piled upon the sofa next to him. "Mated to the Alpha. Rejected by My Mate. Rejected by the Alpha. Second-Chance Mates—"

"That's—enough—" Ellie leaned forward and snatched the books from him, and then dumped them unceremoniously onto the floor beneath her chair. "Alpha Seth. To what do I owe this... pleasure?"

Fortunately for Ellie's dignity, Seth said no more about the books. Instead, he clasped his hands together and said briskly, "I've come to make a proposal," which was, arguably, worse.

"So you've heard."

Seth nodded. "I see you're not in the mood for small talk. Let me get straight to the point, then." He reached into the pocket of his tailored blazer, pulled out a tightly folded piece of paper, and handed it to Ellie.

Tentatively, Ellie unfolded the paper and peered at the dense forest of tiny text printed on it. A labyrinthine list of unfamiliar names swam before her eyes. "What's this?"

"It's a list of casualties. Just the battle at Sangria, alone. That's not even counting MIAs and property damage. You see how much bloodshed this war has caused?"

Mouth dry, Ellie returned the paper to Seth. "I'm sorry for your loss. But" —she frowned— "what are you getting at?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed at how callous she sounded.

"Elaine Bellamy," Seth said. "I'm asking you to join the Sanguine Pack. Become my mate and Luna. With Aurelia's blessing, we can surely end this war. Annihilate the enemy."

Annihilate the enemy.

Wringing her hands in her lap, Ellie looked down and traced the seams of her sweatpants with her eyes. There was an old brown stain on the right leg, along her outer thigh. She still remembered how she'd gotten it. Her father had told a spectacularly cheesy joke at breakfast one day—she couldn't even remember the punchline anymore now—and she'd snorted out coffee through her nose, causing him to choke on his cereal and her mother to roll her eyes at the both of them in mock disgust.

She really missed him.

"I..." Ellie began hoarsely, trailing off. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat at the uncalled-for memory of her father, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I want no part in this war."

Seth raised his eyebrows. "I realize your father was killed in action, so—"

It was like he had jabbed her in the gut. Ellie instantly bristled, on edge and on the defensive. "That's what you claimed," she said through clenched teeth, "just so you could mate off my mother to some dischargee you wanted to get rid of and wash your hands of the whole business—"

"So I came with the understanding," Seth continued, ignoring her, "that you'd be more sympathetic to our cause."

Ellie scoffed. "You were wrong."

There was a moment of tense silence. Then Seth said, "Tell me, what's the real reason?"

"Sorry?"

Seth tilted his head, contemplating her. She barely repressed a shudder at his piercing gaze. "You do not wish to offend the Sanguine Pack. That's why you let me in, heard me out. And yet you still jumped at the opportunity to snap at me—almost like you were waiting for an excuse to refuse any request I would make of you." His lips curled into the slightest of sneers, sending chills down Ellie's spine. "You've been opposed to becoming our Luna from the very start; you never even considered it. So tell me—why? Why won't you do it?"