The Witch and the Wolf ✔️

A Hidden Library

The Deltas dressed me in a black dress, with a pretty blue cardigan over it to hide my pale shoulders. There were cross-stitches of white, like little stars. The symbols of destiny you can't escape.

I can't deny that I felt the stars closing in on me then as the Deltas dolled me up for meeting my tutor— whoever he was supposed to be.

Would I be locked in the future of being Huron's pretty little Luna forever?

I squared my shoulders back as Freya finished applying my dark pink lipstick, letting my dark blue eyes meet the mirror-version of me. I looked almost regal, like that. Like the Luna I was supposed to be.

But there was a mysterious, feral quality to those eyes. I would never be owned or tamed. I controlled my own heart— so no one else, especially not Huron— would ever take it from me.

🐺🌙🔮

Luna- term of endearment and a title for the female alpha in a pack who is not born into the role, but rather is the mate of the male Alpha. The treatment of the Luna depends on the view by the individual packs. The Southlands Pack sees the Lunas as more of diplomats, negotiators, and those who distract from the real troubles of the pack, acting as the face.

Some, like the Druids, only see them as breeders.

-Josephine Bishop, 1924

🐺🌙🔮

Tala marched ahead of me, winding through the hallways of the main house in the compound. Kaia and Freya were at my sides, bodyguards and prison wardens in the guise of friends.

I'd gotten sloppy, out in the wild. So I'd gotten caught, and would have to lull them into a false sense of security or something like that.

Just hold your breath, keep your head down, and soon you'll get your chance to leave.

But Huron's face flashed into my mind's eye.

What about your promise? To try?

I didn't owe the wolves anything— yet a part of me felt sorry for Huron, for whatever made him so afraid of his own father. I couldn't really comprehend what that felt like. Dad raised me, more than my mother ever had— not that it was her fault.

Tala entered the courtyard, where across from us, across the bricks and cobblestone, was an older man. His light brown skin deepened in color from exposure to the sun, and he had the sun in his coffee-brown eyes, too. He smiled in a way that was warm— almost human, I'd say.

"You must be Luna Heir Lenora," he said, extending his hand. "My name is Apollo D'Anaconia."

I accepted his callused hand hesitantly. He gave it a hearty shake.

"I prefer Lorna," I said. "What title do I refer to you by?"

"I believe I would be a Delta, although out in the old densite, I was a kappa," he said, glancing at Surt. "I was a Delta when—"

Tala shook her head ever-so-slightly. Delta D'Anaconia frowned, confused.

"What?"

"Alpha Lamar forbid discussion of her, around the new Luna," Tala said.

Her?

My mind was racing— who could they possibly be talking about?

Delta D'Anaconia nodded. "I see. Well, thank you, Delta Wilder. And Deltas Khan and Lycaon. If you will, I will begin educating our new Luna."

The three of them exchanged a glance before nodding and turning away.

Delta D'Anaconia placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'll show you a favorite place that I created for a former student of mine."