Thank you @lunalove21 for this cover! I love Lydia!
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*Aletha*
She'd been in his room for hours. Rush hadn't come in, so she didn't know what was going on. Sirka told her to get dressed, because she would be visiting the two most powerful figures in the Darklands. The Alpha and Luna of the Death Pack.
When it was past nightfall, she suddenly heard the door creaking open. The air shifted darkly, and for a moment, Aletha was startled at the power coming from the presence by the door. It wasn't Rush, but whoever it was, they carried a lot of influence.
In stepped a tall female wearing a black warrior dress. The sight of her was jarring yet magnificent. Her silver hair was let loose, spilling past her shoulders to her hips. There was a smile on her angular face as her dark gaze took her in. "You must be Aletha," came her naturally low and husky tone. "My, you're so beautiful. So breathtaking. I've never seen hair like that before, and those eyes...you're so perfect."
Aletha didn't know what to say. She was at a loss of words. And right then, Sirka rose from the seat and bowed. "Luna Iyla," she greeted.
Luna Iyla? Which meant she was the Death Luna. The most powerful female in the realm, and perhaps the most powerful of all in the realm.
Aletha's bones shook as she lowered her head, her heart pounding hard. "Luna Iyla," she whispered. This woman's crackling presence demanded all to bow down to her. Her essence compelled it. She didn't once need to say to show her respect. Respect was always given to her without question.
A pleasant laugh came from her throat. "No need to be so formal with me, sweetheart. I'm not here to terrify you or torment you." Then her eyes flashed wickedly. "Although I am known as the Queen of Torment in many places."
Sirka cleared her throat. "Luna, if you desire it, I can take my leave. You can talk to her alone."
"You're Sirka, aren't you?" the Death Luna said. "I've once visited the Night Pack four years ago with Maddox. You were a female warrior back then, not Rush's Gamma."
Four years ago? But if Aletha remembered correctly, Alpha Maddox of the Death Pack had just taken in his first Luna at the time. Luna Isabelle. The Luna whom he brutally murdered in front of his entire pack before throwing her into the river.
Something sad flashed in Sirka's eyes. "Yes, I'm Sirka. You looked so different back then."
Luna Iyla nodded, flashing an easy smile. "I was Isabelle back then. That was my mortal body before I was born again into this form."
"Wait, you were reborn?" Aletha asked, shocked. She'd never heard of such a thing. No books, no passages, no scrolls, nothing described reincarnation.
She nodded. "I married into the Death Pack four years ago as Isabelle. However, a year after I was mated, I was killed."
How could she say that so casually? Aletha looked at her closely, but there was nothing haunting about her expression. Nothing miserable or tormented or even terrified. She seemed almost pleased about it. Like it was just a small ordeal and it didn't matter. "You were killed by the Death Alpha," Aletha said slowly, trying to gauge in her strange reaction. "By your own mate."
"There's a long story to that," she said. "But after I was killed, I took the form of an immortal deity and here I am."
Aletha stared at her for a long moment, thinking whether or not if she lost her mind. The Darklanders were not like the Ironlanders. They were plagued by insanity and darkness. Many of them carried no remorse or humanity. "Why did you return to Alpha Maddox when he killed you?"
Luna Iyla began to laugh. Mirth coated her gaze as she took Aletha's hands. "Is that what you're bothered about? That I returned back to my husband who supposedly killed me?" Something dark washed over her face. "I wanted vengeance for my murder."
"I would have too," Sirka agreed. She was angry at what she'd just heard. And from the looks of it, she respected the Death Luna even more than before. "How are you even immortal? How does that work?"
"I'm from the Lunar Pack originally. Anyone from the Lunar Pack are moon-blessed. When we die, we turn into moon spirits, or basically immortal reincarnations in a much superior body." Now she pulled Aletha toward the bed and made her sit. "I shouldn't be the center of attention. I came here to see you and know about you. Rush seems to be taken with you. I just couldn't wait to see who his mate was, so I came to your room all by myself."
Rush was taken with her? Now that, she wasn't expecting. "Uh," she began, feeling her cheeks heat up. Sirka was grinning at her, giving her an "I told you so" look. "What do you want to know about me?"
"Many things, sweetheart." Luna Iyla turned to Sirka. "You know her well, don't you? She was with you for over a month."
Sirka nodded. "I trained her for the Luna Trials."
And that was when something nasty twisted in the Death Luna's expression. Her eyes flared into daggers and a dangerous snarl fell on her lips. "The Luna Trials? Why in the hell would Rush hold the Luna Trials?"
Sirka shook her head. "It's not what you think, Luna."
"Not what I think?" she repeated ferociously. "Then enlighten me."
"He just let me train with Sirka," Aletha quickly cut in, breaking the Death Luna's heated glare at Sirka. Sirka wasn't to blame for anything, and in a way, so wasn't Rush. "That was my Luna Trials. Me training to get physically stronger so I could at least look like I know how to fight when his mother comes."
The Death Luna took that in, and her expression grew from wrathful to thoughtful. Then her gaze narrowed at Aletha. "He didn't hurt you in any way, did he?"
"No," she answered honestly. He did make her body ache from the training, but she knew training did that to anyone.
"Okay...okay." She sighed deeply. "I know Rush. He would never hurt you. He's very gentle and kind. He's not evil like the other Alphas that ruin their Lunas." She began to pace around, still conflicted about something. "But why did he call it the Luna Trials then? Why didn't he just say it was your training?"
She was sharp. Aletha should have known it, but experiencing it was different. It was terrifying how cunning she was, how brutally discerning her mind could be. That was why she was so powerful in the first place. She didn't miss anything. Aletha didn't know how to reply to that, but the door opened at that exact same moment and one of the guards popped in his head. "The Alpha is here," he announced.
"And here I was, trying to surprise her," Rush muttered as he strolled right in. All the females in the room stared at him and he raised his brows. "What, am I interrupting something? You all look like I committed the greatest crime."
Luna Iyla gave him a stern look. "I will have to talk to you. In private."
Rush seemed taken aback by her response, but he only shrugged. "As you say, mom." Then his eyes fell on Aletha and he gave her a soft smile. "Hello there, love. How're you holding up? Is Iyla terrifying you?"
"Not really," Aletha said, her body tightening at the sound of his voice. He spoke to her tenderly, like a lover. Not abusively, not viciously. Just...very warmly.
"You don't have to lie about me, you know," Luna Iyla laughed. "People pass out when they hear my name. You know what they call me around the world? The Storm, the Bringer of Death, the Killer of Malice, the Queen of Torment, oh and my favorite--the Mother of Life."
"That one's beautiful," Rush agreed.
Aletha found herself entranced. "Are you really the Mother of Life?"
"Of course, dear," she said with a soft chuckle. She came over to her and sat. "I have moon magic. I can bring back those who are at the verge of death. My power works both ways. It can kill souls or keep them here to live on."
"That is kind of...terrifying," Aletha agreed, somewhat drawn to her. She had the ability to make someone feel spellbound by just hearing her talk or watching her facial expressions shift ever so slightly.
Luna Iyla took her hands again and caressed her palms. "I hope we can be friends. We have so much to talk about." She looked over at Rush, a beautiful smile spreading on her lips. "Oh Rush...she's absolutely beautiful. I can't believe you have a mate now. A living, breathing mate. A Luna!"
He nodded, but his gaze was fixed on Aletha. Her heart picked up as she watched him back, unable to look away. "I can't believe it either."