CHAPTER 158: LUNA

• ELOISE •

On our way, I noticed how different things looked; the landscape had strangely changed, and there was an ongoing renovation.

What happened for the last two months while I was asleep?

There were many questions, but I didn’t want to burden myself with curiosity. I was heavily concentrated on meeting the Fates.

They knew what I was. Yet I was goddess chosen? Hopefully, I got my answer to clear any doubts.

We stepped into the hall, the candles lit, flaring from the small wind that got in. The Fates stood at the end, waiting, faces covered, unlike that day when they came and I saw the blind woman when others didn’t.

So this was what they really look like? Mysterious as well as eerie. The Elders who spoke on behalf of the moon goddess.

They bowed and spoke as one. "Welcome, Alpha, Luna."

Luna? It was the same title they gave me that day when they proclaimed I was goddess chosen.

"We are glad you have made a full recovery, Luna."

"Luna? What is that?"

"When there is an Alpha, there is a Luna." They replied.

I didn’t fully understand what they meant, but I had an idea it had something to do with tittles.

"Why did the goddess choose me? A snowblood, a mortal enemy of the Lycans?" I asked, getting down to business.

"You’re not just a snowblood, are you? Nor did you grow up as one; you’re something more, Luna. You were chosen just as the Alpha was. Your potential to bring about a new era to Valkanor and secure the future for all Lycans."

My hand instinctively tightened on Drevon’s hand.

"You are the balance that is needed, not just to the empire but to the Alpha. Your bond is sacred, unbreakable, and eternal."

I looked at Drevon, and he already had his eyes on me.

"Drevon Balthar was chosen by strength and his ability to lead our people differently. Eloise Balthar was chosen by the goddess, and together, it’s a divine balance of power and destiny."

The Fates turned their backs, and when they faced us, they held moonflowers. "Stretch out your hands."

Drevon and I did, with my hand on his. They placed the moonflower.

"In the presence of the moon goddess, your union is blessed and eternal."

~•~

My coronation was in two days. Two days! I have never been more nervous in my entire life. It was like everything was moving too fast, and I couldn’t keep up. It felt like yesterday I was burdened that my life was falling apart, and the thought of losing Drevon forever.

"Your coronation will also be your first official appearance in court. The entire noble houses will be present, and I mean all of them." Diana explained, sipping her tea.

"Sounds like you’re trying to make me terrified."

"Hehe, are you terrified?"

I sighed. "More like exhausted. Drevon told me not to worry that he has everything under control."

"But you’re still worried," she said with certainty.

"Of course I am. I’m scared that Sloane will come back and throw something at my face or that the Dowager will try to plot my demise."

And Damon.

I haven’t seen or heard from him. What if the devil decides to emerge and take everything away from me?

Diana laughed.

"What’s so funny? Am I wrong to panic? Or think that something will go wrong?"

"No, you’re not." She chuckled. "You still don’t understand the gravity of being goddess chosen, do you? The Dowager can no longer intervene, and neither can Sloane. You’re to be Drevon’s queen, and nothing will stop this coronation from happening, not even the noble houses."

"Diana?"

"Hmm?"

"Damon. What happened to him?"

Her smile slowly faded. "I figured you would ask."

"Did something happen?"

"Did you notice the changed landscapes?"

"Yes, there’s a renovation being done," I said, smiling, recalling when Drevon asked my input about the changes.

"It is a renovation, but that much change was caused because Alphas shifted. You should have seen it two months ago, half of the castle was in ruins, and the forest lands were reshaped, animals died, and there was a heat in the air even though we’re in winter. It was a pure disaster."

"Wh-What?" I murmured in shock.

"Drevon went on a rampage after what Damon did and tried to kill him. But the Fates said their blood was needed to restart your heart."

A chill grasped my entire body.

"I thought I wouldn’t be able to stop Drevon." Her fist clenched tightly against her lap as her body trembled too.

She looked frightened as she relived that memory, and I regretted asking.

"Since that day, Damon hasn’t set a foot out of his wing, the doors are locked, and the servants have been dismissed. He has also stepped down from the position of crown prince. His court has abandoned him, too."

"I see..." I muttered.

"During the months you were asleep and needed blood to keep recovering, he leaves a goblet full of it out the door, but he doesn’t come out."

I rubbed my neck. For some reason, there was a strange pulse, not the usual one when Drevon was near. This was cold, like a ghostly feel of an imprint.

"Eloise?"

"Yes?"

"I have been saying your name for two minutes now. Where did you go?"

I stopped rubbing my neck. "Nowhere, just in shock hearing the news. Who would have thought that someone like Damon would go into self-confinement?"

"The only reason he’s still alive is because he’s your blood servant."

I knew that much. To change the gloomy mood, I said. "You know, after the first snow, a week from that was meant to be my birthday."

"Oh... too bad you spent it unconscious," she sneered.

"I never liked my birthday, but I did get a present."

"What present?"

"I woke up, I saw you, and I saw Drevon."

"Tch!" Diana rolled her eyes, but her cheeks were coloured red, and I was forced to giggle.

But then my eyes turned sad. That loneliness, that self-loathing, and despair I felt a day ago. Why did I get the feeling that those emotions didn’t belong to Drevon?