Marcus was waiting in the living room, sitting on the couch. This trip was taking a lot longer than he had expected.
His phone rang, and he answered it immediately when he saw that it was Lia who was calling.
“Hey.” Lia sounded tired and her voice was hoarse.
“Hey,” he smiled. With things awkward between them and the separation, he really missed her. “What’s wrong with your voice?”
“Long story,” she replied. “I’ll explain when I get back.”
“I missed you today,” he said, leaning back on the couch. He didn’t care if someone heard him, most likely no one did because they were all asleep.
“Oh, yeah?” Lia replied, and he could practically feel her smiling. “Well, me, too.”
There was silence for a moment.
He heard Lia suck in her breath. “I’m sorry about last night, and this morning—mostly this morning. I shouldn’t have treated you that way, it was disrespectful of me.”
He sighed. “Lia, there’s nothing to apologize for. If anyone should apologize, we both know it’s me.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m so sorry for everything.”
He heard Lia’s breathing, after a moment, she said, “let’s talk about it when I get back, okay?”
“Alright,” Marcus replied. “Where are you?”
“We’re at a restaurant where the boys are ordering take-out, so we can get back on the road as soon as possible.”
He stopped himself from growling or snarling. The idea that she had spent the day with a bunch of men—even if they were his subordinates, one of them, his cousin—made his wolf go into a possessive mode, and he’s been restraining himself from driving out there like there was no tomorrow.
“Anyway, the other reason I called was because I… uh…” Lia was hesitating, and was definitely nervous. “Well… um… You see…”
“Just say it, Lia,” he sighed, rubbing his temples.
“Could you prepare a room there?”
“What for?”
“Not what, who. A girl.” Lia replied, her voice firm. “She’s going to start living with us.”
Her tone was one that brooked no argument. It had been decided, and that was how it would remain.
“Will do,” Marcus replied, wishing that she’d just arrive already.
“How are Sophie and Henry?” Lia asked, and he could just see the smile on her face.
“They asked where you were, and I didn’t really have anything to tell them.”
“Yeah, I saw the calls and messages.”
“They were worried, but I told them not to since you have the guys with you,” he tried to laugh, but found that mentioning that she was around guys had him gripping the phone so hard that he was sure it’d break.
“That’s good,” Lia replied.
There was silence again. Marcus wanted to say something, anything at all, just to keep the conversation going. Was it the same for Lia?
“So, uh,” Marcus started, leaning back again, looking up at the ceiling as he rested his head on the couch. “My mother said you could go back to work whenever you want.”
“Oh, that’s good.” She replied, sounding genuinely happy. “You think tomorrow would be okay?”
“Maybe the day after tomorrow, so you can rest from your trip today,” Marcus replied. Tomorrow, he’d figure out a way to spend the day with her.
“Okay,” she replied, sounding excited, and he wondered what for.
“What’re you so excited for?” He asked, not being able to help himself.
“Oh, nothing,” she mumbled. “Anyways, shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“No, I wanted to wait up for you,” he replied, though he was genuinely tired.
“You don’t need to. You’re tired, I can tell.” She said, concerned. There was some noise from her end and she said, “I have to go, Marcus. I’ll be there in, maybe, two hours. Please, get some sleep, okay?”
“I’ll try,” he said, and he really was going to try since she’d asked it of him.
“Thank you,” she paused for a moment before continuing. “I love you and I’ll see you later.”
“I love you, too,” Marcus replied, smiling.
The line went dead and he rested his head against the couch, closing his eyes.
Lia put the phone back into her pocket. She was a few steps away from the restaurant and cars. They had vetoed the idea of stopping to eat, because it would take too long and Krysten could barely move—not to mention the fact that they didn’t want to attract attention brining in a girl who was covered in scars and bruises.
She headed back to the car, where she had left Krysten, who was sleeping, with pillows surrounding her, a blanket covering her legs and another to cover her upper body.
The day after tomorrow, she’d go through her first shift, and Lia had asked Alex what it had entailed, which was essentially the same for werewolves. Which meant unbearable heat, glass-like bones, and an excruciating pain that would go on for hours. It was often a cause for celebration in a pack, another member going into adulthood, but Lia was slightly glad that she never had to go through it.
“Do we wake her up to eat?” Nolan asked, jerking his head to Krysten as he came up to the car. The wolves from the other car, now joined by Ian, nodded at her before entering the red SUV.
“Yeah, she hasn’t eaten dinner, maybe even lunch, so she should eat.” Lia replied. “She’s way too thin for comfort.”
“Alright,” he replied as he handed a bag of food. “She should eat little by little though, so her stomach won’t get upset.”
“Yeah,” Lia whispered as she got into the car, with Jace following beside her. Krysten sat by the door, so she’d have something to lean on to sleep. “Nolan, could you get Lorraine to look at her first thing in the morning, please?”
“Will do, Luna,” Nolan nodded with a smile.
“Krysten,” Lia called out to the sleeping girl, afraid to touch her because of all the bruises on her.
She only had to say it once before Krysten bolted upright, the blanket falling off her shoulders, her eyes wide and fear in her eyes. She winced when the pain registered, but didn’t alter her stance
Everyone froze, aware that any movement would cause the girl to panic.
It took a moment for the girl to relax and she sighed, mumbling, “sorry.” She fidgeted with the makeshift sling on her arm, looking embarrassed.
“It’s alright,” Lia smiled as she took out a burger from the plastic bag. “You should eat, have you eaten anything today?”
Krysten shook her head.
“Then eat with small bites, slowly, so you don’t upset your stomach.” Lia said, repeating Nolan’s instructions. She handed Krysten the burger, which the girl took with her very frail looking and bruised hand, which was covered in bandages, too.
They definitely needed to get some weight on her. The day after tomorrow, she was going to shift into a very small lioness, compared to others of her kind.
The car started and they were on their way once again.
They had left the pride village a little after nine and had been on the road for an hour before they were able to find a place that looked like it had decent food—a.k.a. food that wouldn’t kill anyone.
After eating, Krysten went back to sleep on her comfortable pillows and Lia was left to her own thoughts, deciding against eating because she wasn’t hungry.
Their world was definitely changing.
She used to think that packs so big couldn’t exist, not to mention that she used to live in a pack—what did the Moon Goddess call it? A cascus pack?—was practically primitive in the werewolf society, with outdated teachings and traditions. Were there others out there? There had to be, but just how many? Were they even doing anything about it?
Well, obviously, if they were, the Moon Goddess wouldn’t have had to choose—or create—her.
She sighed and looked at Krysten. How many other people suffered like Krysten? Or maybe even worse. Lia didn’t want to imagine what ‘worse’ was.
Honestly, the Moon Goddess was some crazy ass strategist. She’d already thought of everything.
For a moment, she remembered what had happened in the pride village hours ago.
Just touch your finger on his hand and wait for a moment, the Moon Goddess instructed as she had turned back to thank the new pride leader, Alex.
She reached out her hand to his forehead, and though he stiffened for a moment, he let her. Her forefinger touched his and, almost immediately, a tingle that intensified into a shock crawled up her arm and to his forehead.
Lia pulled back because of the sensation, but when she did, she saw that a string of light still connected her finger to his forehead. The string of light was cut off from her finger and receded into Alex’s forehead, making him flinch back for a moment, closing his eyes.
“What happened with Alex back then?” Nolan asked, as if being able to read her mind.
Lia looked up, surprised for a moment, then answered, “it’s a way to establish a link. It’s easier to communicate in the mind rather than by phone.”
The pack link, or pride link or what not, depended a lot on distance. But the ability the Moon Goddess had given her would let her communicate with leaders of the various races without having to consider the distance.
“Luna?” Lincoln asked, looking at her through the rear view mirror.
“Yeah, Lincoln?”
“Is the war you were talking about inevitable?” He asked, worry filled his voice, and Lia felt sorry for being the bearer of bad news.
Lia looked down and sighed, “yes.”
“You sure?” He asked, hope still in his eyes.
“As sure as I know that the sky’s blue.” Lia locked eyes with him for a moment in the rear view mirror, and then he looked away, back to the road.
These people had suffered great losses due to the Rogue War four years ago, and she felt deep sadness at the knowledge that they’d have to face another such war in the coming days. She did not know when the war would occur, but she did know that it would happen, and what she had to do was prepare their world to face it.
Lia woke up when Nolan had called out to her, stating that they were back in their territory, arriving at the pack house.
She yawned and sat up, her eyes refocusing as they entered the garage. Lia heard the engine turn off and the car doors open, with the warriors getting out.
Krysten was already awake, and waiting on Lia’s next move.
“Let’s get down,” Lia said with a yawn.
Moon Goddess, she was exhausted.
“Someone, please help Krysten get down, I don’t want her walking just yet.” Lia said as she got down from the car.
Nolan opened the door to Krysten’s side, careful to catch the pillows that fell out by accident. He handed the pillows to Clyde, who was nearby, and looked at Krysten. “Do you mind if I carry you?” He asked in as gentle a voice as he could possibly muster.
She shook her head, blushing, looking up at him with wide eyes.
He smiled and asked her to step out, which she did, quite slowly, then, when she had turned her shoulder, the one in the sling, to him, which was opposite her broken ribs, he hooked his arms under her knees and around her back, careful not to bring her too close to his body in fear that he’d hurt her. She was so small compared to him.
They headed out of the garage and into the pack house.
Marcus was waiting by the door, but to judge by his wrinkled suit and tired eyes, he just woke up.
She tiptoed and he leaned down, both of them smiling when their lips met. They were happy to see each other. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, trying to calm his wolf. He’d never been so anxiously waiting for someone like he’d been waiting for her. It scared him that he didn’t know where she went and when he’d lost contact with Nolan, he knew they went quite far, with the possibility of danger so high, he’d been on edge the whole day.
The rest of the company made their way inside.
Marcus leaned his forehead on hers, inhaling her scent. “I missed you so much today.”
Lia’s smile widened, and she whispered, “me, too.” She closed her eyes, tired. “Let’s go inside, I’m really tired.”
He nodded and let her enter the house first, closing and locking the door after him. They went upstairs in silence, holding hands.
Lia felt light headed, and slightly dizzy, which was why she was so eager to get to sleep. Everything that had happened, she just wanted to put it all behind her first and get to sleep
And now she was back to the Dissaeptum. Even in her sleep, she couldn’t rest. She sighed.
“Starting from today, I need to talk with you about the future, but to start it, I must first explain the past.” The Moon Goddess appeared behind her, with her silver robes that flowed beautifully around her.
Lia turned around and looked at the Moon Goddess. She looked down, wondering what she was wearing, because, truth be told, she didn’t understand how she could be wearing the same clothes as when she was awake, in her actual, physical body.
“Hunters are in the area.” Lia’s head snapped up and looked at the Moon Goddess, shocked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Moon Goddess,” she whispered. She didn’t know what was so significant with hunters.
“A cascus pack is a kind of pack that keeps to itself, it has no relations with other packs and has, for the most part, its own laws and teachings. The teachings are often old customs and beliefs, which have not been corrected.” The Moon Goddess started, walking away from Lia and towards somewhere else, and Lia followed suit. “Now, they are often hidden, and no other pack knows of them. This kind of setting is what makes them quite dangerous to be a part of.”
It had been mentioned to Lia before, that she, Sophie and Henry all belonged to a cascus pack, though she didn’t know what that meant completely. She followed the Moon Goddess, not knowing why—who could ever understand the Moon Goddess?—she was going off on a tangent.
“Due to traditions, mostly outdated, sometimes harm comes to members of the pack. Some traditions are developed on their own, and these traditions are something I have never wanted to exist. It is also believed that relations to other packs are unnecessary, so none take place, but you know about their existences.”
Lia nodded, she grew up knowing about other packs, but it was general knowledge that packs kept to themselves and it was completely unnecessary for packs to even communicate with one another.
“The pack you grew up with was not at all that bad. In fact, I would say it would be one of the best cascus packs to be in.”
“That’s why you put me there.”
“Yes,” the Moon Goddess replied, but there was something much more to it, really. “Putting you in any other kind of pack could have gotten you killed in the Rogue War, and I could not risk that. One of the benefits of being in a cascus pack is that, more often than not, the pack is not usually attacked by rogues, because nobody knows its location, which is also why hunting incidents rarely occur, if there even are.”
“We never even knew that there was a Rogue War.” Lia said, looking down. Her pack had been an outlier, completely unaffected by the war or by, apparently, hunters.
“Yes, but every one of the races I have created were. Rogues of each race came together and attacked, which had never happened before, and they had only attacked those of the same race, which is why the different groups—packs, prides, courts, covens, communities and such—dealt with it on their own, no one knew that they were dealing with the same thing. It was divide and conquer.”
Lia could somehow sense where the conversation was going. The rogues were organized enough to even think of it that way. Something was definitely up.
She gasped as she realized. “They’re being commanded by someone else.”
“Yes, exactly.” The Moon Goddess said as she lifted her hand up, revealing a pale, slender hand under her robes. She waved it in the air, slowly dissipating the mist, a circular light appeared, dim at first then became brighter. “Which brings us back to hunters.”
The circle of light became dark in the middle, and, Lia didn’t know how, it suddenly became like she was watching television, but instead of watching from some outside position, it was as if she was looking at things through someone’s eyes.
Running. The person was running.
But it was a bit close to the forest ground, so she figured that it probably was a person who’d shifted already. The sound of running was padded, and the person looked down, and Lia had guessed right. The wolf had a brown fur with white patches here and there.
Suddenly, the wolf fell to the ground with a loud thud, it looked back and saw that around its hind legs was a chain, and by the agonized howling and the odd, sizzling noise—which, Lia guessed, could only be heard with werewolf hearing—the chain was made of silver.
The wolf was panting and struggling, the vision was completely shaking and the person was trying to twist itself out of the chain in panic.
“Oh, my God,” Lia whispered, bringing her hand to her lips. She had a terribly horrible feeling about what would happen. She didn’t want to keep watching, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the vision. She was rooted to the spot, unable to move as she continued to watch the wolf struggle, one part of her wanting to know what would happen, and the other begging her to look away.
There was a rustling of leaves as the wolf was dragged backwards, accompanied by howls and growls. The wolf looked at its attackers as they threw more chains around it and one of the attackers came closer, brandishing a knife.
Blood seemed to thunder in Lia’s ears as she watched what was happening. The woman—who had short, brown hair and bleak, black eyes, her expression one of cold calculation—raised her hand, gripping the knife as the blade glistened with the moonlight that passed through the leaves.
Lia turned her head and body backwards fast as the knife plunged down.
It was real. Dear God, it was real. She had just watched a person’s last moments.
“Those are Hunters.” The Moon Goddess walked away, leaving Lia standing there, stunned, eyes wide with absolute…fear.
Hunters.
Her hands should be shaking, and her knees should be wobbly. She imagined that she was probably pale and was probably short of breath. Oddly enough, she didn’t feel any of it, but she did feel the fear.
She looked at her hands, wondering why they weren’t shaking.
“The physical responses that you expect do not exist here. It is only your spirit and mind.”
“But I feel my body with me.” Lia responded, trying to occupy her mind. She didn’t want to think of the last moments of a person, she didn’t want to acknowledge them, because that would mean it was real.
“Because your mind tells you that you have one. Your mind and spirit is used to being confined in a body, and that is a natural thing to think in the Dissaeptum. Do not worry, soon, you will feel lighter here.”
They were silent.
“It was real…” Try as she may, it had still sounded like a question, rather than the statement that she’d wanted, so she’d simply let it trail off.
The Moon Goddess was silent for a while, and Lia wondered if it was because of the question-sounding statement that she had said. “Very real.” There was pain in her voice, and Lia thought that the Moon Goddess might cry, but it seemed like an odd thing coming from such a divine person. “One of my children has just died. By the hands of Hunters.”
There’s silence. Lia stood there, not knowing what to do. Swallowing, she spoke. “Hunters. Please, tell me about them, Moon Goddess.”
“Often, Hunters are trained from childhood. They are isolated from the outside world, drilled into a particular mindset and are rigorously trained, physically and mentally. Usually, children of Hunters will become Hunters themselves, and their children after them.
“The reason is because they cannot accept that there are beings that exist that are so different from them. They believe that humans are supreme and that they should be the creatures that dominate the Earth, they cannot accept that there are beings more powerful than they are.”
“But that’s not reason enough. They’re killing innocent people!”
“To Hunters, we are not people.” The voice held rage, but it was a cold kind of rage, the kind that Lia knew was rooted deep within. “To Hunters, we are vicious killing machines that will take over the world if not stopped, therefore, they dedicate their whole existence to eradicating anything supernatural.” She turned to Lia. “Your job, as my ambactus, is to stop them.”
“But I don’t know how.”
“Do not worry, my dear. I shall take care of it.” The Moon Goddess replied. “First, I must assemble the court around you.”
“A court.” She said, incredulous. “I have a court. Whoa.” She swept a hand through her hair, breathing out.
“Well, of course you do. You are currently the single most important person in the races.” The goddess replied nonchalantly. “I have chosen the court, and now I must gather them around you. It will take quite some time, I fear, but it will be a strong court. It will be capable of bringing the order that is necessary among the races. Your court will also be in charge of several aspects of your life, such as health and security. You must be protected at all times, Lia.”
Lia understood the need for her to be protected, but she worried about how it would affect her freedom.
“This will be hard, Lia, and I apologize for putting such a burden upon your shoulders.” The Moon Goddess was sincere in her words.
Lia smiled in return. “I’ve chosen to accept this, Moon Goddess, and I don’t plan to back out. I want to help, for the survival of all the races.”
“I am happy to hear that,” the Moon Goddess said, and Lia thought she heard a hint of laughter in her voice. She turned once again, away from Lia. “Now, walk with me, I shall tell you about the court I have assembled for you.”
Lia opened her eyes, which was blurry at first, but she managed to focus them in the end. She sat up with a groan, immediately falling back to bed when she felt lightheaded and weak.
She should definitely have eaten that burger last night. Why was she so picky with food? At least her throat felt alright, still a bit scratchy, but she sounded normal.
She looked down for a moment and remembered that she hadn’t bothered to change before going to sleep. She was that exhausted.
Reaching for her phone by the bedside table, she sat up slowly and checked the time. Breakfast should be served by now and she should get there now before she loses consciousness, which she was incredibly close to doing.
Thankfully, there was a knock on the door.
“Come inside, door’s open,” she groaned weakly, but she knew that whoever was on the other side heard her perfectly.
The door opened and Sophie popped her head in.
“You don’t sound too well,” she said, worry etched on her face.
“I don’t feel too good.” Lia groaned, rolling over, trying to make the headache go away.
“You forgot to eat again, didn’t you?” Sophie said, phrasing it like a question, but she knew better than that. Her sister was way too picky with food, and she had an amazing ability to forget hunger.
“Make it go away,” the older sister whined, burying her face into a pillow.
Sophie sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’ll go get you something to eat and some medicine.” She liked these moments, not that she liked the fact that her sister didn’t feel well, she liked the fact that she had the opportunity to take care of her sister which was not a lot in the past.
After gathering the curtains at the side to let the light in, Sophie made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, passing by pack members who were still having breakfast. As always, there were huge pots and pans with food in them, being in a huge pack as this, they needed it.
Grabbing a tray—she was lucky enough to find one that was perfect for a breakfast in bed—she set it on a counter and gathered food. First, she got some soup, so as not to startle her sister’s stomach, then she got some toast and grabbed the jar of strawberry jam and some butter. She was carrying the tray already when she remembered the utensils and a glass and pitcher of water, she quickly remedied it and went out the door.
“Hey, babe, who’s the food for?” Will asked when he saw her. He was seated at the long table, at the end, next to Janine, Henry and some other kids their age. He had stayed behind when Sophie said that she’d check up on Lia.
“Lia, she’s not feeling too well.” Sophie replied, managing a small smile as she neared. She gasped when she remembered what she had forgotten. Looking at Janine, because she was sure that Will probably had no idea where it would be, she asked, “do you know where I could get some aspirin?”
“Oh, I’ll go get some for you,” the girl replied cheerily, quickly getting up and walking to the kitchen.
“Do you think you should ask the doctor to check on her?” Will asked as he placed his arm around Sophie, bringing her a bit closer.
Henry shook his head. “This happens from time to time, no need to worry about it.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t really need the check up.” Sophie replied.
Sophie looked up, briefly making eye contact with Lorraine, the pack doctor, who was at the other end of the table, eating and reading some papers. Her red hair was down, flowing in waves, and she gathered it to the side when she looked away from Sophie. She looked back down at Will, her heart skipping a beat as she gave him a smile.
She didn’t like the pack doctor, mostly because of the stuff she’d heard from Will about her and the Alpha. It was mostly a sister thing, though. Sophie didn’t like Lorraine because of her older sister, she disliked the pack doctor for her sister, who probably had no idea of the stuff that had supposedly happened.
“Well, I’m pretty sure the Alpha’s going to get her checked anyway,” Linda, a blonde haired girl sitting next to Henry, said while taking a sip of her drink.
“Yeah, but no need to make a big deal out of it,” Sophie replied, smiling.
Janine came back with a bottle of aspirin. “Here you go, I hope she feels better.”
“She will once she eats and takes some medicine,” Sophie assured. After giving a quick kiss to Will, she was once again walking to her sister’s bedroom.
Holding the tray in one hand, she was easily able to open the door. Those double doors were really pretty, and Sophie wished that her room had it. With the curtains open, the room was lit better, though it didn’t really reach Lia’s bed.
“Come on, you need to sit up,” she said, placing the tray on the floor for a moment to help her sister sit up, rearranging the pillows to support her back She picked up the tray after and put on her sister’s lap, letting it stand on either side of her legs.
“Thanks,” Lia said as she started to drink the soup, sighing from the taste. She popped open the aspirin bottle and took one tablet, downing it with the water.
Sophie pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Lia. After the attack the other day, they said that you got hurt.”
Apprehension showed on her face and Lia felt bad for not checking up on her little sister. For a person who claimed that her main priority was her siblings, it seemed that, for the past couple of days, she didn’t care much anymore.
“Then you left for God knows where yesterday, and Henry and I were so worried,” Sophie said. “But Marcus was very reassuring, so I guess not that much. But still.”
“You worry too much, Sophie,” Lia chuckled.
“I know,” Sophie mumbled.
Lia sighed. “How’s it going with you?” She smiled at Sophie, putting her spoon down on the tray. “I’m sorry I haven’t been there much for the past couple of days.”
“No need to say sorry, sis.” Sophie replied, smiling. “I mean, a lot’s been going on, y’know, and there’s been a ton of things you’ve had to do, so no worries.”
Lia looked at her, an odd smile on her face. “When did you get so grown up like this?”
Sophie stuck her tongue out at Lia as she leaned back on her chair.
“Or not.” Lia snickered as she continued eating.
Then Sophie remembered what she had heard from Will that morning, “Lia, I heard something.”
“Hhhmm?” Lia’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Sophie, sipping her soup.
“They said you brought someone back yesterday? A girl?” Sophie inquired, curious. It had been quite the talk that morning, and everyone was eagerly conversing about it with the ones that accompanied Lia the day before, until they all had to leave for patrol, of course.
Lia made a sound as she swallowed, clearing her throat. “Yeah, Krysten. She’s younger than you and…” her eyes went wide as she remembered. “It’s her birthday tomorrow!”
“Yeah, I heard,” Sophie replied. “Fourteen. Her first shift’s coming up.”
“Yeah, we need to be prepared for it,” Lia replied. She opened the jar of strawberry jam and grabbed a toast and a butter knife to spread it. “That means ice cold water, towels and a hell of a lot of food, before and after. In fact, I think she needs to start eating a lot right now.”
“What do you mean?” The younger sister asked as she grabbed one of the toasts from her sister’s plate and started to eat.
“She’s extremely thin, Sophie, and I’m afraid of all the mental and psychological stresses she’s been put through.”
The alarm and worry that passed through Sophie’s face made Lia want to hug her. Sophie had always been the caring one, even to complete strangers.
“But we’ll definitely help her through whatever she’ll be going through.” Lia said, determined. “Which now reminds me that I should check up on her.”
There was a knock on the door and Marcus popped his head in. It wasn’t fixed like usual, which made him appear even more good looking than usual, though Lia felt that something was off. She couldn’t really tell because of the dim lighting of her bedroom at the moment, not to mention the headache she was experiencing. He stepped in, closing the door behind him and greeting Sophie. He sat at the end of the bed, near her legs.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well,” he said, his shoulders a bit slumped as he looked at her with worried eyes.
Sophie stood. “I’m gonna go,” she pointed to the door with her thumb, giving Lia a smile before turning and leaving, eating the rest of the toast.
“I wasn’t feeling well when I woke up,” Lia explained, taking a sip of her water.
“I’ll call Lorraine,” Marcus said as he took a seat on the chair that Sophie had previously occupied.
“No need, Marcus,” she replied, smiling reassuringly. “This happens every now and then, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Why does it happen?” His eyebrows furrowed and, for a moment, anger seemed to flash in his eyes. He didn’t like knowing that she got sick regularly.
Lia shrugged. “When I get stressed, I forget to eat, or I don’t have the appetite to eat.”
“Lia,” Marcus said in a warning tone, and she was sure that she was about to get scolded.
She cut him off before he even started. “I just really forget, okay? Ask Sophie. Sometimes, I don’t really need to eat either, I feel just fine anyway.”
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please eat regularly, Lia. That really worries me.”
“I’ll try,” Lia replied. “But no guarantees because it comes natural to me, it’s not something I can change so fast, okay?”
“It’s a habit that you need to get rid of, and I’ll personally make sure that you do,” Marcus replied. “And when I’m not there, I’ll stick Maggie or one of the others with you to make sure that you eat.”
Lia stuck her tongue out at him, but she knew that he was right. It might’ve worked for her before, but she needed to take care of her body now more than ever. As Luna of the Cerulean Pack, she was sure that she’d be placed in a lot of stressful situation, not to mention the fact that she was the vassal to the Moon Goddess.
“Okay,” Lia replied, really wanting to change the habit. She looked down for a moment, then looked up, fidgeting with her fingers. “What’s up with the rogue situation?”
“We haven’t found any trace of them in the area, but we haven’t checked the city completely yet.”
“I see,” Lia nodded, pushing the feeling that he wasn’t being completely honest with her aside. She cleared her throat before speaking up. “How’s Krysten doing?”
Marcus smiled, though it was a bit strained. “She’s going to be okay, physically at least. She freezes up around males, but she seems to be fine when surrounded with the females.”
“How do you even know that?” Lia’s eyebrows were furrowed in curiosity.
“People have been in her room to check on her, they’ve been very curious.”
“And you didn’t tell them off?” Lia exclaimed, setting the tray aside, making the water in the glass and pitcher slosh with the movement. She got up from her bed, feeling slightly dizzy but not showing it. “Marcus, she just got out from an abusive and scary environment, you can’t stick her with people she doesn’t know!”
She walked out of the room and started walking down the corridor. She gasped as her legs were swept from under her and she was in Marcus’ arms, being carried once again.
“I’m really sorry, Lia,” Marcus said, his mouth by her ear. “I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t Nolan tell you?” Lia asked, slightly frantic.
“Nolan’s still sleeping,” he chuckled.
“And you didn’t ask the others?” She huffed. Her hair was still a mess and she was now combing her hair with her fingers.
“Sorry,” he sighed. “People are naturally curious of her, she’s the first werelion we’ve ever seen. People have been volunteering to bring her food, or assist Lorraine in her check-up, and, they go in groups.”
They were silent for a moment and that’s when Lia had noticed the dark circles under his eyes and his ashen complexion, which had been hidden by the dim lighting of her room, now revealed to her by the sunlight streaming in from the windows. And, she hadn’t really noticed it before, but he hadn’t shaved for days, making his chin and jaw feel rough whenever he moved his jaw over her forehead.
“You haven’t been sleeping,” Lia whispered, afraid that saying it out loud would make it true. Her forehead was creased in worry as she brought her hand to his face.
His hair wasn’t purposefully out of place, he hadn’t been taking care of himself.
“Marcus, what’s wrong?” She asked when he wouldn’t say anything, just staring straight ahead.
“Nothing,” he replied, casually smiling at her. “Don’t fuss about it, Lia.”
She glared at him and pursed her lips. “Put me down, Marcus.”
He set her down without another word and she turned to him, angry, but more worried than angry.
“What’s wrong, Marcus? You don’t look too well, and if you keep going like this, you’re going to end up sick.” Lia said, standing toe to toe with him, craning her head to look up.
“Lia, it’s nothing, okay? I’m alright.”
“The hell you’re alright,” she snapped. He could be fussy about her health, and she couldn’t worry about his? “You can fuss all you want about my health, and I can’t even get an answer about this?”
“Just drop it, Lia.” He said it in a low tone, reinforcing his seriousness. It gave Lia a painful reminder that even if they were mates, it wasn’t possible for her to be an equal. Just like Luna Teri was never an equal to Alpha Johnson.
Suddenly, she was back to being the girl from Riverfalls, the timid girl, the girl who was scared of how to react to an Alpha, afraid of the consequences. And for that moment, she actually went back to old habits. This wasn’t just about being sick, it was about equality. It was about his unwillingness to tell her what was obviously bothering him, causing his decline in health or whatnot, when she had told him what was happening to her.
“Alright.” She said, her face turning back into the mask she always hid in, expressionless. “I’ll go ask Sophie where the room is.” Lia turned around, clenching her jaw, calling on her strength from long ago to keep the mask from crumbling in front of her mate.
They were definitely not okay.
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I have been in school forever~ And now, it's about to start all over again. Anyways, I hope you guys understand, I have to keep up my grades and all that, plus a competition's coming up, so I need to train more intensely. I hope you like this chapter, parts are more filler than anything but I need to "introduce" the other characters, too, so I hope you guys don't get too bored. These other characters shall be important in the next books~