Chapter 67
"This arrived for you this morning," Elena said, placing an elaborately decorated package on the breakfast table. She handled it with the caution of someone touching a venomous snake. "This level of formality is unusual."
I studied the package without touching it. The Blood Moon seal was stamped in red wax; the craftsmanship was exquisite, even by pack standards. "When was it delivered?"
"Just after dawn," Elena replied. "The messenger insisted it come directly to you, but our security intercepted it."
Kane entered the room, his attention immediately drawn to the suspicious delivery. "Has it been scanned?"
Elena nodded. "No explosives or obvious threats."
"But they've tried poison before," Kane finished, moving to stand protectively near me.
I broke the seal and opened the package. Inside were formal documents, including an official summons for my return as Luna. The parchment bore the signatures of the council—many clearly added with reluctance, the strokes hesitant and light.
"They've rescinded the removal petition," Elena observed, her tone wary.
The most surprising item was a handwritten note from Raymond. "I made a terrible mistake. Please return."
I stared at his words, waiting for the familiar ache that should accompany them—the pull of the mate bond, the instinctive forgiveness I'd always granted him before. Instead, I felt nothing—no longing, no hurt, only cool detachment.
"The mate bond is completely gone," I realized aloud, my fingers touching the spot on my neck where his mark had once burned so intensely.
Along with the formal papers came personal gifts—a box of my favorite raspberry truffles, a tin of specialty tea I'd always enjoyed, and several small Luna ceremonial items that had been "missing" from my quarters.
Kane immediately reached for the food items. "These need to be tested before you touch them."
"You think Raymond would poison me?" I asked, startled by his suspicion despite everything that had happened.
"Not Raymond," Kane replied grimly. "Giana. This reconciliation attempt is too convenient."
"Raymond would never knowingly harm me," I said automatically, then paused, surprised by my own defense of him. "But he's been blind to her actions before."
Kane's expression softened momentarily. "Old habits die hard," he observed, not unkindly. "You defended him for years. It becomes instinct."
Later that afternoon, Silver Lake's chemist confirmed Kane's suspicions. The elderly wolf held up a vial of extracted substance, his expression grave.
"The candies contain the same wolfsbane derivative used on Marcus," he explained, the extracted poison glowing faintly under the specialized light. "The dosage is subtle, designed to weaken gradually rather than kill outright."
Elena's expression was horrified. "They're trying to control you the same way they controlled Marcus."
The chemist nodded. "This formulation targets a werewolf's enhanced healing abilities first. The victim appears to simply be weakening from stress or illness, making it difficult to diagnose as poisoning."
I examined the poisoned gifts with clinical detachment. Where once such a discovery would have devastated me, now I felt only cold clarity. "This confirms Giana's involvement beyond doubt."
"The tea contains the same compound," the chemist added. "Though more concentrated. I suspect it was meant to be the second phase—after the candies had already compromised your system."
Kane's expression was thunderous. "This was calculated. The candies would weaken you gradually, making you susceptible to suggestion. The tea would accelerate the process once you were back under their influence."
"We should respond to the summons," Kane suggested after we left the laboratory. "But not in the way they expect."
I crafted a response accepting the invitation to the next full moon ceremony. The wording was vague about the length of my stay, stating I would "fulfill my ceremonial duties as Luna."
"I'll attend as requested," I told Elena as she read my response. "But with my own security."
Kane's objection was immediate. "It's walking into a trap. Let me handle this."
"I need to confront this directly," I countered, my voice steady with newfound determination. "I can't hide forever."
"They've already tried to kill you once," Kane argued. "The car crash wasn't an accident, and now they're sending poisoned gifts. Why give them another opportunity?"
"Because running solves nothing," I replied. "The longer I stay away, the stronger Giana's position grows."
Our disagreement escalated into the first real argument we'd had since the crash, revealing deeper feelings beneath our alliance.
"I can't lose you to her schemes," Kane finally admitted, his usual composure cracking.
His words stunned me. "You won't lose me," I promised, reaching for his hand. "We'll face this together."
He interlaced our fingers, the simple gesture communicating more than words could express. "We prepare extensively," he agreed reluctantly. "Nothing left to chance."
That evening, I examined my neck in the mirror, studying the faded mate mark. The once-vivid pattern had faded to a pale shadow. To my surprise, I noticed something new—a faint silver crescent forming beside the faded mark.
"Something's bothering you," Elena observed, finding me still staring at my reflection.
I showed her the silver crescent. "What does it mean?"
She examined it with widening eyes. "A natural mate mark forming without ritual or bonding ceremony."
"Is that even possible?" I asked, confused by her reaction.
Elena smiled gently. "It's extremely rare, but yes. The moon goddess sometimes marks true mates herself."
"But I haven't formally bonded with anyone!" I protested, though my thoughts immediately went to Kane.
"The heart knows what the mind may not yet accept," Elena said cryptically. "Some bonds form without our conscious permission."
I touched the silver crescent, feeling a subtle warmth beneath my fingertips. "How can I be forming a new mate bond when I'm still technically bound to Raymond?"
"Your bond with Raymond is nearly gone," Elena pointed out. "And if what Marcus discovered is true—if it was never a true mate bond to begin with—the Goddess might be correcting an imbalance."
Later that night, Kane sought me out, clearly intending to apologize for our earlier argument. He found me in the library, researching previous cases of mate bond dissolution.
"Aurora, about today—" he began, but stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fixed on my neck, where I'd deliberately left the collar open enough to reveal both the faded mark and the new silver crescent.
He stopped speaking, momentarily losing his composure. "Aurora, your neck..."
I instinctively covered the mark with my hand. "It's nothing."
Kane took a step closer, then visibly forced himself to stop. "That's not nothing. That's..."
He left the sentence unfinished, turning abruptly away. "We should focus on preparations for your return."
The tension between us was palpable as we both avoided acknowledging what the silver crescent might mean.
"The security team will arrive tomorrow," Kane said, his voice deliberately professional. "We'll need to review extraction protocols and establish emergency signals."
I nodded, grateful for the shift to practical matters. "How many wolves can you spare?"
"Six of my most trusted operatives," Kane replied. "Plus myself, though I'll remain less visible. The team will integrate with Blood Moon security but answer only to us."
As he outlined the security arrangements, I found myself studying him with new awareness. The silver crescent seemed to warm whenever he was near, responding to his presence in a way I couldn't ignore.
After Kane left, I stayed in the library, my research forgotten as I grappled with the implications. If Elena was right—if the Moon Goddess herself was forming a bond between Kane and me—what did that mean for my future and my position as Luna of a pack whose Alpha was mated to another?
Alone in my room later, I traced the delicate silver crescent with my fingertips. "What are you trying to tell me, Moon Goddess?" I whispered into the darkness.
Was this connection with Kane real, or simply a reaction to Raymond's betrayal? Was I trading one dependency for another, or was this something genuinely different?
The silver crescent seemed to shimmer under my touch, as if responding to my questions with an answer I wasn't yet ready to hear.
"If you're trying to guide me," I whispered, "please make the path a little clearer."
