The Eclipse (MXM)

CHAPTER 16: DECLARATIONS 🌖

Tsuki snapped me out of my thoughts when he spoke again. "Come. We're expected before my mother and her council this evening. She plans to announce our imprint and future union to the pack, but to what end I'm not entirely sure. Keep your head down, but don't accept disrespect from anyone. You are the mate of the Prince of the Luna pack, and though we're both men, the Prime is still my mother, which grants me royal privileges. By our laws, those same privileges extend to you. However, I want to warn you—my mother has an uncanny gift for prodding at people's weaknesses to provoke the reactions she desires. So please, choose your words and actions carefully. She'll use any advantage she can against you," he said seriously.

"I've seen her intolerance firsthand. I may be strong-willed, but I'm no fool," I replied begrudgingly, recalling how she'd decapitated Colby without a second thought.

"What you witnessed is nowhere near the horrors she's capable of. Don't think decapitation is the worst she can do," he said gravely, his expression familiar to me.

".....What has she done to you?" I asked hesitantly, concern evident in my tone.

He looked at me for a moment before answering. "You're not the only one who grew up with monsters." He said with a grim expression. "We've delayed long enough. Come." He gently but firmly pulled me by the hand.

I looked down where our hands connected, and another childhood memory flashed in my mind—him, the same little boy with obsidian skin and curly silver hair, leading me around the courtyard of the Sol royal palace as we both laughed with pure, unadulterated joy. How could I have forced myself to forget such wonderful moments? I wanted to ask him questions, to know more, to remember more. Right now, aside from our cultural differences, the person in front of me seemed to genuinely care for me. So why would my spell instinctively force such memories from my mind? I hadn't yet remembered any transgression, other than his engagement, that would warrant such a reaction. My curiosity was all-consuming until we reached a massive closet the size of a small house.

The room was astounding. The closet doors were made of glass with gold handles, and clothes were coordinated by color along each wall, creating a seemingly endless rainbow, with shoes at the bottom to match—all styles and varieties. In the middle of the room stood an island, adorned with all kinds of accessories, from earrings to watches to cufflinks, and there was even a vanity at the far end, complete with hair products and curling irons. It was everything you'd expect from a royal's closet—minus the attendants.

"This is... wow," I said, breathless, running my hand over the fabric of the clothes. "So, she wants to make a spectacle of me, I assume?" I asked, turning to look at Tsuki, letting my fascination fade as quickly as it had come.

"Us," he corrected. "As I said, we've both grown up with monsters. We need to play her games before the council, but I'll stress again—the seriousness of our situation is unique. We are an oddity among the packs, representing the unknown—a change many will protest. The more interest I show in you, the more you may be subjected to my mother's games and pack manipulation. I don't want anyone to interfere with our fragile bond, which is only just starting to heal," he said, his voice laced with fear for the first time.

"Is that why you ignored me before, in the mountains, with your mother present?" I asked, failing to hide the bitterness in my tone.

"I was only—"

"I didn't want this, but if we're going to do it, we either do it proudly, or not at all. I've spent the majority of my life in fickle relationships, aside from a select few, always afraid of who I could and couldn't trust. I don't want that for us." I said, walking toward him. Rubbing my hands together nervously, I spoke hesitantly while looking at the ground. "I—What do you know of dreams?"