2

Fred was embarrassed at his Luna's behavior. It was as if he’d become someone else altogether when Tory clutched her mouth and ran out of the stands after making an excuse.

"You're unbelievable, Vera! What's wrong with you? Why did you do that? Are you insecure? Or jealous? Tell me, which one is it? I am totally done with you and—" Fred faded out when he noticed his son looking their way from the ground.

Alex looked disappointed on Tory's leave. He was about to start a 400m run and his eyes screamed to ask: Where did my Aunt Tory go?

"Just think about Alex. How would he feel if he heard about this? Tory didn't come here on her own. Our son insisted on her! Now go and find her. Apologize to her and bring her back before Alex starts his run."

Vera got up with a red face. And no, she didn't go to apologize, but to confront Tory about the picture she sent.

She was going towards the restroom area when she heard Tory's voice from the space under the stands, "Where are you going, Luna?"

The biting sarcasm was audible in her words. Vera went to meet her beneath the stands.

The crowd was roaring in excitement above them. The stands were shaking. Vera was a little afraid. She thought that the stands might collapse down on them. One look at Tory's face in the flashlight of her phone and her lips twisted in rage. Tory was smirking at her and that felt like she was rubbing salt in Vera's wounded heart.

"Oh, so you're not really crying. I knew that."

"But you came here to apologize, didn't you? So apologize!" Tory said with an attitude, escalating Vera's anger.

Without thinking twice, she delivered a resounding slap across her cheek.

"You bloody whóre! How dare you seduce my husband! Now I know why your husband left you with a daughter. You aren't loyal or as innocent as you look. You're a monster hiding behind a pretty face. Women like you live off rich men for comfort and a luxurious life. I'm warning you! Stay. Away. From. My. Husband. And. Son." Vera pointed a finger at her, her eyes blazing. "I don't want to see you after today. You'll leave us alone."

"I never had a husband." Tory said calmly, face still tilted by the slap. Vera was taken by surprise.

"Then the little girl you have. Who does she belong to? Did you kidnap her or adopt her from somewhere?" Vera growled angrily. "You're young yourself. Who would let you adopt a child, it's insane! But the first idea could be possible."

"I'll choose 'none of the above' to answer your multiple choice question, Professor! Molly is mine. I had her when I was sixteen."

"Are you kidding me? How can you have a daughter at sixteen? It's illegal."

"Ever heard about Teen Pregnancy, Professor?"

"It's impossible."

"Oh, but it happened." Tory said in a mock sweet voice. "My parents kicked me out when I conceived. They said I better abort it but I refused to. Who would get rid of their ticket to a rich world? My child was the key to my happy life."

Vera cringed. Only a money-minded woman would call her child a ticket to something.

"Besides, what did my parents give me other than lectures on religion and faith! They were stupid to think there was a moon goddess who controls the universe. I say you become the goddess of your own life and control it." Tory giggled. "Wait, they did give me something— This young-looking body and an innocent-looking face. I'm 21 but I look even younger. And with a 5 year old daughter, I have the perfect, tragic sob story.

"I lie to men I meet. I tell them that I was ràped and I conceived. But then I was so young that my parents didn't believe me and accused me of whóring around, which isn't wrong, if you ask me. I cry and they run to me to give me their shoulder. They whisper nice things to comfort me but my attention stays more on how their hands hold me. It's what tells me that a man is interested in me.

“When I'm convinced that they are under my spell, I play my next move— I take my daughter to meet them. They instantly take pity because of the age of my daughter and they fall in my trap. That's what happened to your husband, you know. In fact, I didn't have to do much! I just jumped in front of his car with a cleavage-revealing dress and he was smitten."

Tory batted her eyes and asked her if she wanted to know how she bagged the place of Fred's secretary.

“I've been wondering a lot about that. Mrs. Walls was a reliable employee and PA. I would definitely want to know why Fred fired her.”

Tory grinned at that and replied, “I told my sob story to Alpha Fred, but also told him that I'm about to leave my daughter in foster care because I can't afford to feed her. He was tongue-tied when he heard that. You see, my daughter looks even more innocent and pitiful. She's smaller for her size and she flinches back when she sees new men I take her to meet. The fact that she never speaks makes her look sadder and more miserable.

“Fred fell in love with my daughter and offered me a place of janitor in his office. But you see my figure and face, will I look good holding a mop or carrying those smelly trash bins? Nah! So I lied a little about how it would leave me exposed to workplace bullying and give men more chances to take advantage of me. Being a ràpe victim it'll traumatize me more.

“I swear that's all I said.” Tory pinched her throat. “But the next morning, he asked me to meet him and told me that I'll be his PA and get a good salary so I don't have to give my daughter up. What he did to his previous PA… I don't know.” She shrugged carelessly.

“You little slút!”

Indignation swirled through Vera like a hurricane. She cursed Tory and hit her again.

"Whatever! I don't care where you come from and what you want. Just leave my family alone if you love your life."

"What if I don't?" Tory spoke menacingly.

Vera slapped her again. Her face tilted again by the slap, she grinned eerily. She made Vera uncomfortable. She gave off a weird, unstable vibe like she was a psycho.

"What!"

"I said..." Tory's face came up with a dark smile. "What if I don't leave them alone? What if they want me?"

Anger clawed through Vera's guts, "You rotten whóre!"

She advanced towards her with her palm raised higher, ready to strike Tory again. However, Tory beat her to it. She kicked her in the knee, unbalancing her. Just as Vera sat down on her knees with a wince, Tory outgrew her claws.

Vera panicked. She tried to crawl away but she was held, pinned down, and struck in the stomach. Blurriness spread across her eyes as sickening pain shot up her belly. The last thing Vera heard was Tory's malicious voice.

"It's you who should leave us alone, so-called Luna Vera! Your son and husband don't want you either. Why do you think I came here? It's because they didn't want to attend this event alone with you. You make the men in your house repulsive. It's better if you die so I can take your place as Luna in Fred and Alex's lives!"

Tory grew her normal nails back and ran out crying, "Panther! Panther! There's a panther in the restroom. I saw him drag Luna Vera away! Somebody help! There's a Panther. He'll kill Luna Vera!"

Tbc...

3

Vera thanked the nurse once she was done. She drowned in her thoughts back when the nurse stopped, and came back to her.

"Luna Vera," the nurse called out to her gently. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm." Vera smiled, but the instant she saw worry in the old woman's eyes, her smile faded.

She had questions and uncertainty dancing in her gaze. It's like she had something to say. She chose to keep quiet and began to leave again.

Vera quickly called after her and asked, "What is it, ma'am? You seemed to have doubts lingering in your mind? Ask away."

The nurse whirled around with an unhinged jaw. It was clear that being called with respect was rare with her. But despite being Luna herself, Vera was treating her with such respect made her break into a small smile. Then without hesitation the woman said what she had on her mind.

"You've been here for five days, Luna. Unconscious and burning in high fever. Which I think is pretty normal given you're a human." Vera lowered her head.

It wasn't done in embarrassment because she was a human Luna to an Alpha who was becoming stronger everyday, but because she needed to hide her smile. The truth was that— Vera was the Alpha king's daughter, Verena Ellington. She had an alpha king's blood and power.

She was her father's chosen heiress for the throne, but for the sake of living a life of freedom and not one tied down by responsibility of hundreds of pack, Vera chose to walk out of her house and pack— The Silver-blood empire that ruled over and provided protection to Two-fifty packs.

Vera didn't want to be known as an Alpha king's daughter, or the queen sitting on the Alpha king's throne and maintaining peace between all the packs. She wanted to do something different. She wanted to be known for being herself. That's why she respectfully refused the throne and left the kingdom in quest of making her identity.

It's just been two months since her living alone with a new identity— Vera Ellen, an orphan— when she met her mate, Fred. They instantly fell in love due to the mate bond and decided to get married.

However, Vera hid her powers because her husband was an average Alpha ruling over a not so strong pack. She was afraid he might feel inferior to her if he realized that she was much stronger and more skilled than him.

So for her mate's happiness, she willingly drank 'Elixir of death' that put her wolf (Verity) to a long induced sleep and banned her from interacting with her or making her presence known.

Vera happily embraced the life of a human for her mate.

"You don't have a wolf and with your mortal body, healing is slow and painful. But the thing that bothered me alot... is your family." The nurse said with a hiss, making Vera's eyes jump back to her face. "They're careless. They don't deserve you. Don't get me wrong, Luna, but you've been here all alone since you're brought. I mean, I get it your husband is an Alpha and he has a developing pack to look after, it's still no excuse to not come here. And then your son... What about him? I heard other nurses talking in the changing room that your son was seen going to a mall with your husband's secretary happily like she was his mother and not you. That's not the first time! Since your admission here, he has been seen in various places with her like the kids playzone, Mcdonalds, ice-cream parlour and more."

"Luna," The old nurse heaved a nervous sigh. "Something is not right."

"I-it's nothing. I'm sure you're misunderstanding my husband and son." Vera tried to cover up even if she felt a hot pang of pain in her chest.

The old nurse's lips curled up in a mock smile, "You see my white hair here, Luna? They didn't turn white from old age... But from experience. I've seen enough home wreckers to know when one is working her way up to take someone else's place. And this cute-looking young woman... I have a feeling she doesn't have good intentions!"

The nurse covered Vera's hand on the bed beside her body. Giving it a light squeeze she resumed, "You're like a daughter to me, Luna. And you're kind. You've done things the Alpha couldn't have done alone. We've seen the pack rise like never before since you joined us. You've contributed to this pack's success and fame. It's because of your efforts and hard work that we're recognized as a rising pack. It's because of you Alpha Fred is respected by the other Alphas. Your research and development plans worked for the best of the pack. I don't like how it's paying you back." With infidelity— The nurse didn't add them but Vera heard those two words in her voice too.

She lowered her eyes and clenched her jaw tight to keep from crying. She recalled the state of the pack when she joined. It was mostly dust and bricks. She worked on it to build it into a prosperous pack. She gave the people of the pack houses, protection, assurance and what not.

It was her who motivated Fred to go and meet other Alphas to make alliances. She encouraged him to invest in agriculture and grew crops that brought insane money to their pack, with which they further developed the pack. Fred was nothing without her. She cemented the title of Alpha permanently before his name with her hard work.

Not to mention the attacks some greedy packs did on their pack to expand their territory and to instill their fear on other packs.

Fred always gave up during an attack. The strength of their army was lesser in the beginning. Who helped him? Who commanded the small army, fought with them on the war grounds, and returned victorious but still gave the credits to the Alpha? Who made strategies and strengthened his army? Who fought at the last minute during an unexpected attack and created an example for others to not try to target them ever again?

Vera. It was Vera all along.

Although disoriented and feeling heartbroken, Vera faked a smile again and tried to distract the nurse into believing that she was being paranoid.

"Luna, my own husband cheated on me with a younger girl." Vera's breathing faltered.

Tbc…

4

The old nurse was smiling as she stared aimlessly, her eyes clouding with the memories of the past.

“I'm so sorry. But how did you cope with it? Did you… Stay with him even after everything or you left him?” Vera asked.

“Both.”

“Both?”

“Mmhmm. I have two daughters, twins. They were nineteen when it happened. So for their sake I decided to stay with their father. They loved him a lot and I didn't want them to hate the man they thought was their superhero.” The nurse's lips thinned. “But my husband… He took my quiet for my submission! He brought that bítch home, not caring about our daughters. You want to know who that girl was, Luna?” Vera nodded curiously. “She was my daughter's classmate. She met my husband during a parents and teachers meeting at college.

“My daughters were traumatized when they found out. They berated me for living with a man like him. But when I told them it's for them, we cried all night while hugging each other.” She went quiet.

“Then what, ma'am?”

The nurse looked up, eyes teary but lips adorned with a peaceful smile, “We left him with that bítch. My daughters were studying product designing and software engineering respectively. They continued their studies and did part time jobs while I also continued to serve here at the hospital as a nurse. They're twenty-five now. One of them is getting married to an Alpha of a faraway located pack. He treats me like a mother and calls me mom. He's an orphan.

“I'm on my notice period, Luna. He's invited me and my other daughter to stay with him in his house after the marriage.”

Vera's body relaxed. She was glad that this nice woman here had a good ending. However, her heart beat restlessly again as she thought about her own life.

Fred cheating her for a younger girl? That was impossible. Vera was 28 and it wasn't very old, was it? It's not like she looked older or exactly as per her age. If anything, she looked younger like 23 or 24.

It could be that Tory drugged him to take those pictures! She didn't feel the pain of betrayal either.

"B-but I don't feel the pain of betrayal!" Vera exclaimed as the thought crossed her mind.

"Luna," The old nurse spoke calmly. "You're a human. Humans don't feel it when their mates cheat. It can only happen when you have a wolf because it's the wolf who has direct connection with the wolf of your partner."

Vera was breathless. Even if she didn't want to, she could make sense of the old lady's words. All this while, she never had a reason to doubt her husband because 'she couldn't feel it'.

She. Couldn't. Feel. It.

Her wolf had been inactive. Even if Fred cheated, she had no way to find it out.

Now that she was made aware of this dire situation, she grew impatient.

"What are you doing, Luna?" The nurse panicked when she saw Vera pull the pipe of the drip and try to get out.

"I need to go. M-my husband and kid... They're alone. They need me."

"They don't need you, Luna. It's you who needs their care— But they're not here." Those words stung and she went still. They stabbed and twisted into Vera's chest like a poisoned dagger. "I'm sorry for causing you stress. But I thought you needed to know."

The nurse bit her lip, clearly regretting talking about the Alpha and his betrayal. It was still a doubt, but it was so possible.

"Well," the nurse sighed nervously. "I'll be in trouble if you leave now, Luna. There's another thing that I'm not supposed to tell you but I'll tell you anyway. Erm, Alpha Fred ordered the doctors looking after you to make sure you stay under observation. When I say you’re under observation, I don’t mean it’s for a medical reason, Luna."

Vera wasn't an idiot. She knew what it meant. She was being spied on— So her husband's betrayal won't get exposed.

"So please don't do anything reckless. Please don't leave your room."

Vera nodded her head in understanding. Although her heart didn't feel like itself after the truth was told to her, she was glad it was brought to her notice. Otherwise it seemed that everyone else was just going to keep quiet and let her husband cheat on her because he was the Alpha.

The pack belonged to the Alphas. They were the leaders. It was fair for the doctors to be loyal to him. But what about her, their Luna? She didn't do anything less for them. In fact, she worked harder than the Alpha to improve the quality of their life.

She curled up in pain in realization that she had no support even though she gave her all to the pack.

Vera was glad the old woman took her chances. At least one person thought about her and recognized her efforts towards the pack. She wasn't about to put her in trouble by leaving so suddenly.

"Thank you, Luna. And I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have..." She bit her lip. "But someone had to. Alpha is not the only one we promised our loyalty to."

Vera forced a smile that shook. Tears now trickled down her cheeks. But still she gracefully held the nurse's gaze and thanked her. When the woman was ready to leave, Vera wiped her tears and called out.

"Ma'am, can you do me a favour?"

"Anything for you, Luna." The nurse's voice came before her eyes on her Luna.

"Can you arrange for a bottle of Elixir of life for me?" The nurse's eyes popped out as her face went pale.

"L-luna... I-it is used for... It is... Luna, you're not a human entirely, are you?"

Vera smiled politely, although her hurt was visible.

"Can you arrange it for me?"

The nurse composed herself and blinked her eyes, "It's not impossible but it's risky. Elixirs of both life and death are kept in a storage room backed by tech security with other important medicines. I don't have a password."

"95421... The password."

"Luna? Y-you know the password."

"I am the Luna, remember? You just confessed that I drove the pack to its success. How wouldn't I know!"

The nurse was impressed. She offered a smile and then a nod.

"I’d say you took the human healing potion because you wanted to return to your Luna duties quickly."

The nurse left, and shortly after ten minutes, she was back with a little vial holding a dark red liquid resembling blood— The elixir of life.

It did the opposite of what Elixir of death did to a wolf. Consuming a single shot of the former could revive one's dormant or comatosed wolf. Vera was going to do just the same.

She was going to let her wolf wake up from the long sleep she had put her to.

Tbc…