The Alpha God’s Luna by Marissa Gilbert
Chapter 57. Luna Rising
Fenrir walked out of the portal with Astrea in his arms, Joran following them into his penthouse, not surprised to find everyone already there. Years had passed, but no one had acquired manners.
“Finally!” Kara ran towards them, eyes on Astrea. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Then, she awarded the Serpent with a withering glare, which he ignored. He did not question how and why they were here. Nothing mattered anymore.
“I’ll live,” Astrea replied as a smile curled onto her lips. It was nice to know her new friends were worried about her. Warg and Bash exchanged glances with her and Fenrir, not saying much as usual, but she noticed relief on their faces, which warmed her chest. When she said goodbye to them last time, she wasn’t sure they’d ever see each other again. However, reuniting with these people now made her happy.
“Astrea!” Nikki pushed through the men and got to her mentor, grasping and squeezing her hand so tight she almost broke the bones in her wrist. “I was so worried! Who was it? How—”
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“Let her get some rest!” Joran grunted, and the woman froze.
“Your tattoo—” Nikki noticed her empty neck, and Astrea smiled at her.
“I am free now,” she whispered.
Her ward gave her an awkward smile, not knowing if it was appropriate to congratulate her in front of their teacher. Luckily, she was saved by the elevator doors opening, and Forrest, who seemed confused to see this kind of crowd here, walked out.
He did not look lost for long, though, finding the man he came looking for.
“Jordan, what the hell? I couldn’t reach you! Where were you again?” He furrowed his brows, glaring at the Serpent.
“None of your business,” the dragon muttered, but the Southerner grasped his shoulder to make him face his annoyed expression.
“Do you have any idea what is going on lately?” he demanded. “No, but you are about to tell me!” Joran rolled his eyes, and Forrest exhaled sharply, running his hand through his rich brown hair.
“Vincent wanted to gather the Alpha Convocation while you were gone!” the man announced, expecting a loud reaction that did not follow, stunning him.
Joran felt empty. Just a few hours ago, that would have made him furious. Vidar probably wanted to push his own agenda and min his plans, but now — Now all his plans had been already mined, and he felt so empty inside he could barely shrug his shoulders in response.
“Let him,” he said, and Forrest’s lips parted as he let go of his old frenemy.
“Let him?” The Alpha seethed. “Let him?! Nathair, we are lucky that this Southern clown entered the scene and distracted everyone with the help of the Western royal couple. But I don’t know how long they can go on like this. Not to mention they probably have their own agenda.”
“Devoss?” Fenrir arched a questioning brow, and Bash nodded.
“We have only one man for the job,” his son smirked.
“And the army?”
“Ready when needed on the border,” Bash whispered, but Forrest still heard him.
“I hope you are talking about the Eastern border! And whatever you call an army better stay there!” he warned them, making Fenrir chuckle.
“That would solely depend on the actions of the South,” the King replied.
“Is that a threat?” The Alpha clenched his fists.
“Not at all,” Fenrir shook his head. “It’s a fact that I hope you take into account while making decisions.”
“Enough,” Joran stepped between them. “Believe me or not, but you two are not the problem here. Only Vi—Vincent is. So why don’t we go there and listen to what he has to say?”
They quietly agreed.
“Astrea, go and get some rest. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Fenrir turned his attention to the woman next to him, and she was slightly disappointed they were separating so soon after their reunion. But she knew him. Now she really knew him and was aware that he wouldn’t leave her if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
So, she nodded and watched the men walk out of the room, leaving her alone with Nikki and Bjorn.
The white bear shifter stood right by the window again. As if he could see what was outside.
“Come.” Nikki touched her gently and smiled. “I will help you take a bath. You are hurt.”
“It’s fine.” She shrugged, not knowing what that feeling inside her was.
Something was off, something important.
They were almost to her bedroom when she heard that damn bear saying.
“Free my a.ss.”
She froze, and Nikki glared at the man on her behalf.
“Don’t be mean,” her ward hissed, fingers clenching tighter around her. They were always this defensive of each other.
“How is stating the facts mean?” He didn’t turn to them. “She said she was free, yet she had just taken an order without so much as questioning it.”
“He wasn’t exactly — ordering,” Nikki argued, and Astrea realised what that odd feeling inside her was.
She was furious.
Furious to get left behind.
Her Firstborn upbringing taught her not to question such things, not to take the lead. She rebelled against that, of course, but only in extreme situations. And right now, she was confident Fenrir could handle everything without her.
But it was Vidar who was waiting for him in that Alpha Convocation conference hall right now. It was Vidar who was clearly plotting against them.
Vidar was the current ruler of Asgard, and he was the man who broke them apart time after time. She had to be there. She had to oppose him, and she had to fight him with all she had.
She had to be a part of this.
“He is right,” she said, and her ward knitted her brows together. “Don’t listen to him!” she said through clenched teeth. “He is just being an a.ss.hole.”
Astrea glanced at herself in the decorative mirror on the wall. Her dress was dirty and torn, her hair a mess, and dried blood was where she had wounds before. She really needed that bath.
“Excuse me!” She straightened her back. “There is an urgent matter to attend to!”
She sauntered into the elevator and pressed the button.
“See what you have done?” Nikki snarled and bit her lips when she realised what she said.
A little smile curled on Bjorn’s lips, as he did not comment on that.
The elevator doors opened, and Astrea rushed inside, leaving them alone.
“Sometimes we need to hear what we do not want to,” Bjorn added and finally turned towards where he thought Nikki stood. “I learned that lesson the hard way.”
“What the hell is she going to do there?” the Firstborn sighed, finding herself already close to him.
“Nikiah,” Bjorn stretched his hand, searching for her face, and she let him find it, blush tinting her cheeks. “Your friend is the key to everything. Don’t you get it?”
“In my humble opinion, the further she is away from all that, the better.” Nikki hummed sarcastically and felt his thumb stroking her cheek. “That’s something I want for you,” he confessed. “Freedom, far away from this place and these people. It’s the only way for you to stay safe.”
She was stunned by his words.
“You know it’s not going to happen, Darius.” She lowered her eyes and was happy he couldn’t see how ashamed she was right now by her response. Unfortunately, she knew too well how dangerous conversations like these were.
“On the contrary.” Bjorn shook his head. “I think it’s happening this very moment.”
***
Warg pushed the doors open for them. Fenrir, Joran and Forrest walked inside the Alpha Convocation conference room, a strong Eastern fragrance hitting their nostrils at once.
Everyone important in the South was present, and two special seats were prepared for King Gideon and Queen Riannon, who eyed the newcomers curiously.
Devoss stood in the center of the room with a thin metal stick in one hand and what looked like a brass lid in the other.
“Ah, more guests for the incense ceremony!” he grinned at them, and Fenrir noted how annoyed almost every single Alpha in the room was. That sly fox knew how to evoke this emotion in people.
“How long—” someone tried to ask, but Devoss was next to him in seconds.
“Shh,” he touched his lips and shook his head like a teacher scolding his naughty student. “We don’t talk during the incense ceremony. Unless you guess what incense is burned. But we have burned none yet, right?”
With these words, he hit the metal stick over the lid, creating a bell-like sound with the most serious expression.
“This is a vital tradition in our Eastern Kingdom. No important meeting is done without it.”
Lie.
“If you break the ritual, misfortunes will follow everyone involved, and according to our laws, we have to kill the one at fault to prevent this from happening.”
Another lie.
It worked, though, because after the fire show they pulled, no one wanted to provoke them.
Fenrir took a seat at the head of the table, ignoring the one next to Gideon and Riannon, clearly designated for him.
“This seat is meant for the High Chancellor,” a female Alpha in her fifties whispered to him.
“Well, you don’t have one yet, do you?” He raised a brow at her. “In the East, we give the best seat to the guests.”
“This is—” One of the older Alphas wanted to protest, but Devoss was next to him in the blink of an eye, hitting the stick over the lid again right next to his ear, creating another loud sound. A pure torture for any shifter, considering their hearing.
“So,” the fox could finally speed up the process. “We levelled the ash and used the seal for the incense. Now, all that is left is to light up its edge. All I need is to get some fire and—”
Fenrir clicked his fingers, and the powder sparkled, starting the burning process and helping him to remind everyone in the room what kind of power he held. They would have to listen to him.
Devoss closed the little incense burner, watching a thin stream of smoke rise to the ceiling.
“At the end of the ceremony, guess the scent,” he grinned at his exhausted audience.
“Cherry blossom and white sage.” Astrea’s voice made all eyes dart in her direction as she stood before them in her destroyed dress. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. I am late.”
“Dear, are you all right?” One female Alpha asked, eyes assessing her look.
“It was a long night!” Astrea shrugged and raised her chin.
“You can’t be here,” a man with silver hair rolled his eyes. “This is the Alpha Convocation, for crying out loud! We let the Kings and the Queen in. but you—”
“She is here as a Luna,” Riannon Stormhold tried to suppress a smile, but for the first time ever, she was failing. Her husband laced his fingers with hers, watching the show.
“Nathair,” one of the men glared at Joran, who had already taken his usual seat. “How about you tell your fiancée to wait outside with the other Lunas—”
Fenrir cleared his throat loudly and smirked.
“She is here as my Luna.”
While everyone else in the room was in awe, he stood up and offered her his chair. “I warmed it up for you, my love.”
Astrea walked towards him, finally feeling like she was in the right place.
Joran and Vidar traced each movement with their eyes.
She sat down, and Fenrir remained standing next to her, his hand resting on her bare shoulder.
“The dress from last night, all in blood and with a new Alpha by her side?” one of the younger men scoffed. “It was a long night indeed!”
A group of Alphas next to him exchanged knowing smiles.
Warg growled loudly, making them all flinch.
“Excuse my friend,” Devoss sneered at the offenders. “In the East, remarks like this get people killed. But we will try to restrain him.”
He punctuated the word try.
“Okay, I think it’s safe to say we are done with introductions.” Vidar took the word, not sparing another glance at Astrea. “Obviously, we have guests here today, and maybe they will share their perspective on the situation we found ourselves in. The South has nothing to hide. We are a very transparent nation.”
Fenrir did not like how confident that prick was.
“And what is this situation again?” Forrest asked, tapping his fingers over the cold surface of the long table.
“The Northern army is on our border,” Vidar announced, making everyone gasp. “I just received a report an hour ago.”
Gasps, whispers and growls filled the room as a wave of first reactions rippled through it. Astrea stiffened in her seat. Knowing King Kai and Queen Savannah, that didn’t sound right.
“Moreover,” Vidar continued. “They say they are led by a witch from the East.”
Once again, all eyes were on them.