Chapter 7 Lunareth's Bond

Morwen

What if rejecting Sir Kaelen wasn't going to be as easy as I thought? The thought haunted me as I lay face up, on my bed.

The bond hasn't yet settled but I could already feel strong emotions and connection with his wolf.

‘Apologize to mate.’

‘No, I won't. Aetherion is just a spirit being.’

‘So? You made him upset’

‘Sir Kaelen embodies Aetherion's anger. Therefore I won't go.’

There's a difference. Aetherion is hurt because of my actions. But Sir Kaelen's outburst on discovering it wasn't really out of Aetherion's compulsion.

But the distinction meant nothing to Veyra.

I had agitated Aetherion’s jealousy, he reacted through the bond, so she's practically asking me to run behind Sir Kaelen's tail.

No way.

–––

The next day, I rose before dawn, as I did every day. Ma Madonna, the head maid, assigned our duties, and I was sent to the wine press.

Begrudgingly, I grabbed two empty fruit baskets and joined the other maids to the orchard. Luna Isode had been issuing strict instructions for some time.

I picked fruit from the designated trees alongside the other maids and carried it down to the wine press.

Halfway through washing my first basket, Ma Madonna walked into the pressing unit to inspect our work.

No small talk, no warmth, no wasted words.

Just that flat attention that somehow made people want to work harder just to earn a reaction from her.

I pushed away the now dirty water and filled another bucket with clean water, picking up my first basket out of muscle memory. I stood and emptied the fruit into the fresh bucket.

When I looked up again, Ma Madonna was watching me across the room with the expression of someone scrutinizing a troublemaker, so I quickly lowered my gaze on my bucket before she came and asked about yesterday's event.

For some reason, the other maids hadn't gossiped about my humiliation yesterday. Their silence should have been a relief.

Instead, every time their conversations stopped when I approached, I wondered whether my name had been on their tongues a moment before.

I hated that yesterday had made me suspicious of even their silence.

“Morwen”

Ma Madonna called and I jerked my head up, only to see her already standing before me.

I straightened but none of us said a thing for a stretch of time.

“Take the Moonwater bowl and extra incense to the veneration chamber, the Bone oracle would need them.” She instructed.

I nodded and set aside my now-empty basket on the edge of the table.

“Odette,” she called the girl on my right side. “Morwen's re-assigned, trust you could handle her task over here.”

She nodded and Ma Madonna turned. Walked out without any further clarification, which was honestly a personal record of her.

At the Veneration Chamber, the royal family were seated. The Bone oracle leading the veneration.

Noisy chants rose and fell in ancient wolf tongue. I continued deeper into the smoke-filled room.

Frankincense.

Moonflower and herbs that I couldn't figure out their smell.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Leoric and Elara sitting together as a couple. Leoric had asked me last night to tolerate her until he took over the throne fully.

"— fate is still uncertain." The Bone Oracle's voice loomed eerily, making me shriek back to my senses.

His eyes were rolled white. One that tells you that his wolf had fully surrendered to the spirit. “He's destined to set a whole new order none of his previous descendants had ever practiced."

I lowered myself carefully and placed the Moonwater bowl on the fur mat, just in front of the cross-legged seer and started off.

Moonwater.

The one collected during the Crimson full moon. That's about a century ago and according to mythology, it was essential for any true prophecy.

The conversation skeptically changed to the bond. The Alpha didn't really wish to discuss whatever the Moon oracle was saying in front of me

"Seer.”

Alpha Brannock grunted deeply. “Tell me what to do to stop the bond chaos from yesterday.”

“I will test the strength of the bond in order to be able to give you an answer,” the Bone oracle replied.

I crossed the room in three strides, but the Alpha's voice stopped me.

“Morwen. Kaelen, step forward.”

Yes.

I heard him clearly but I stood, completely unmoved. Sir Kaelen, on the other hand, staggered to the front.

“Morwen, do not waste my time”

Alpha Brannock’s presiding Alpha's aura hit my ears.

I walked over to where Sir Kaelen was and waited for the next instruction.

“Sit”

The Bone oracle ordered,

I lowered on the fur mat, drawing my scarf over my head.

“Stretch forth your left palm.”

He asked none of us in particular.

Sir Kaelen and I extended our hands in unison. The Bone oracle placed a talisman on top of Sir Kaelen's palm before placing my palm on top.

My gaze tilted at Sir Kaelen, he looked way composed like he had done this a lot,

I steadied myself and focused on the Bone Oracle.

“Hold still” He rasped, rattling his bones—actual wolf bones, ancestors bound into his regalia. His lips moved, whispering to a world I couldn't see. Then suddenly he paused.

“Lunareth’s Bond!. Unbelievable.” He grasped our palms and squeezed. “Alpha Brannock you need to see this.”

He didn't say anything else but when I looked around me, the floor began emptying. First Leoric and Elara. Then the rest of the family, until it was just us, Alpha Brannock, and the Moon Oracle.

“Nature's greatest changes come beneath the autumn sky.” The Bone oracle cleared his throat, removing the talisman separating Sir Kaelen and me.

I blinked, unable to wrap my head around what he meant. When I glanced at Sir Kaelen, the crease between his brows told me he was just as confused.

Then I noticed his eyes.

I looked closely or should I say more accurately.

For one brief moment, they shone with the same unnatural silver light I'd witnessed yesterday. An unfamiliar warmth spread through my body, leaving me unsettled.

The Curse!

My instinct screamed and I repulsed my hand almost instantly, but Veyra was satisfied with that glow.

She huffed and howled excitedly, urging and pushing me with the desperation to hold onto him again.

I refused to finish that thought, instead I curled away my palms into a fist.

“Don't speak in riddles. It's just us.”

Alpha Brannock cleared the looming haze we couldn't speak of.

“The explanation is that whenever their skin touches, his wolf recognizes and responds to it. Alpha Brannock, his eyes glows.”

“Sacred bonds of this caliber only occur once in a century, when the blue moon is at its peak, and permit me to say this union coincides with—.”

“I'm deeply aware" The Alpha King's impatience cut the message. "But something has to be done. Kaelen is married and The girl is nothing, just a Thrall— a controversial whore.”

“Nothing can be done.” The Bone Oracle echoed. “Unless something priceless is offered to Lunareth in exchange for the bond.”

“What needs to be sacrificed?” Sir Kaelen's voice ran out rough, stripped of the calm confidence he'd worn since this conversation started.

"I'm ready."

The words left his mouth without hesitation.

Something inside me sank.

I stared at the floor, confused by the sudden ache beneath my ribs. Why should his decision hurt? This was what I wanted, wasn't it? To escape the impossible fate the Moon Goddess had apparently chosen for me?

I blinked hard against the ache, but a tear slipped free before I could stop it. Thankfully my scarf was covering my face, so nobody saw it.

"I'm ready too," I whispered.

My voice sounded so thin that I wasn't sure either man had heard me.

"Very well." The Oracle's gaze moved between us. “If you desire to reject the Lunareth's Bond, you must hurry to the center of Samdo forest and speak the words Vinculum Solvo at exactly midnight. Once the declaration is complete, the Moon Goddess will release you from the bond.”

My gaze drifted toward Sir Kaelen.

He looked ready.

Why, then, did my heart feel as though it were breaking?

“Rejecting Lunareth's Bond is not without its own laws.” the oracle's voice dropped eerily. “Both parties must agree to the rejection. But willingness alone does not guarantee release. Lunareth's Bond is solemn, ominous therefore an existing sacred covenant may complicate the ritual.”

"Kaelen is already bound by marriage. Remember?" Alpha Brannock cut in sharply.

The Bone Oracle regarded him without blinking. "Do you believe the Moon Goddess was unaware of his vows when she forged this bond?"

I saw the Alpha King's jaw tighten. "Then why would she bond him to another?"

"That is a question you should be more afraid to ask.” the Oracle intoned.

“If either party is bound by any other sacred covenant, the rejection may be forbidden and considered a terrible insult to the Moon Goddess, and it may carry a severe consequence.”

Silence choked the chamber. Everyone was in complete turmoil, reviewing their choices.

“Finally, the Guardian of Samdo Forest determines what must be surrendered in exchnge for the Moon Goddess's permission to sever the bond. Prepare your minds for the worst.”

“What could possibly be priceless?" Sir Kaelen rose before anybody, brushing the fur from his trousers.

His expression had settled back into its familiar indifference, but something in his voice hardened as he turned to me.

"Midnight. Samdo Forest. Don't be late.”