183
Tony
The quiet hum of the evening settled around me as I sat in my study, staring at the pile of paperwork that I had neglected over the past few weeks. I was supposed to be reviewing pack matters, discussing strategies with Matt, and managing the administrative aspects that came with leading the Blue Moon Pack. Yet, my mind was preoccupied with a different kind of puzzle – a personal one that had eluded easy answers.
Matt and I had always been close. We were twins, but this distance between us recently made it feel like we were two different people entirely, and it was becoming a barrier that was growing more difficult to surmount with each passing day.
We had always been about to communicate through our mind link, but I couldn’t anymore, and I was quickly suspecting that it wasn’t because Matt was intentionally keeping me out.
It was broken. Whether that was because our relationship was so strained or not, I couldn’t say. I raked a hand through my hair, frustrated by my inability to put into words what I was feeling. I hated it even more that Matt didn’t seem to care.
Matt had always been perceptive, able to read me like an open book. While he shied away from responsibility more often than not, I could count on him to figure out situations quickly, especially when they were emotional situations. Yet now, it was as if a gulf had opened up between us, and the words I needed to bridge that gap remained stubbornly out of reach.
With a sigh, I pushed the papers aside, realizing that pack matters could wait. Did it really matter since no one in the pack really seemed to give a damn about Matt and I’s positions in the pack? Maybe I should just cash out everything I’d built since I took over, take Matt, and leave the pack to our father like they seem to want.
I shook my head and stood. These thoughts were part of the issue. I had never even considered leaving Blue Moon before. This distance between me and Matt was weighing more heavily on me than I thought.
I heard a soft knock on the door, and my head snapped up as the door creaked open. Matt stood there, his expression a mix of concern and curiosity. It was as if he could sense my internal struggle, even without the mind link.
“Tony,” he said gently, stepping into the room. “Is everything okay?”
I offered him a strained smile, my heart heavy with the weight of the unspoken words between us. “Yeah, just... trying to sort through a few things.”
He crossed the room and took a seat across from me, his eyes never leaving my face. Now was the perfect chance.
“Can we… Can we talk?”
Matt?
He narrowed his eyes and sank into the seat across from me. “About what?”
Matt?
I blinked. My chest felt tight. “You… haven’t noticed anything strange?”
He blinked. “There are a lot of strange things going on right now, Tony. You’re going to have to be specific.”
“You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? The mind link... it’s not the same as it used to be.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
Matt?
“I’m trying to talk to you right now,” I said. “And… And there’s nothing.”
His eye widened. “You are?”
Matt?
“Can’t you hear me?”
He shook his head. He looked completely unbothered by the idea too. Anger filled me.
“You don’t seem to care.”
“You’re chummy with Oren. I figure that has something to do with it.” Matt sat back. “We were once in agreement about most things, but not anymore.”
“Probably because you’ve been hiding things from me.”
He blinked again. His heart didn’t even speed up. “Like what?”
“Like the fact that you weren’t repelled by the barrier when we tried to cross into Hecate City.”
His eyes widened. Dread filled his face. The fear and tension there felt like a knife. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could form words, there was a knock at the door.
Startled, I turned my attention toward the entrance. The door swung open to reveal Cline. A few other werewolves were behind him. His expression was hard as he looked at me like no beta should ever look at an alpha they were loyal to.
“What is it, Cline?”
“These people here are from other packs and from the council.” He stepped in. “Apparently, there’s an issue that’s been circulating – rumors and questions that demand answers.”
One of them stepped forward. The werewolf cleared his throat, his gaze shifting between Matt and me. “My name is Elias, and I represent the Juniper Pack.”
What a stupid name.
“About what?” I asked.
Elias shifted uncomfortably as if unsure how to proceed. “We’ve heard rumors, rumors Lucy Graves, the young woman you mated unfairly.”
I growled. “Unfair—“
“As the Moon Goddess, you had no right to conceal her from the werewolf community.” He went on. “Every pack should have had the chance to court her, to earn her favor.”
“And what favor are you implying?” I asked. “She’s our mate.”
“Based on the pending cases with the humans and the Council, we know that to be untrue.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think you know—”
“I’ve actually come here to deliver a message,” another werewolf said, extending an envelope to me before leaving.
I tore it open and growled. This was the official registration change of the pack.
Our father was now alpha again.
I stood up and pushed through the small crowd. I followed the scent of our father through the house until I found him downstairs, lounging with a cup of alcohol in hand with our nanny. I sneered and tossed the page down at him.
“Tony—”
He sat up, silencing her with a lift of his hand. He looked down at the paper and then up at me with a feral grin. I gave him a thin smile.
“Have fun with the politics.”
He chuckled and stood. “Don’t be so hurt, son. It was always going to be this way.”
He patted my shoulder as I heard the rest of the men come downstairs.
“No matter what you think, Lucy and the rest of White Moon will be back where they belong shortly.”
I turned to see Elias looking at my father. He stared at our father as if assessing the truth of my words.
“As she is already registered with the newly formed White Moon Pack, I doubt that highly.”
“That won’t last much longer.”
“They’ve received a formal invitation to the Crescent Festival.”
My eyes bulged. I saw the tension in his shoulders. He crumbled the paper in his hand.
“What?”
Elias smiled. “It would seem that the Council is no longer bowing to you.”
He snarled and lunged forward. Before I could speak, the scent of blood filled the air. Elias couldn’t even cry out as he stumbled and wavered before collapsing to the ground, his guts spilling to the ground. Our father drew his bloody hand through his hair and took a deep breath before grabbing the still-trembling body through the halls. I felt sick as his entrails dragged along behind him. One of the others stumbled back, but in a flash, he darted forward, clawing the other two and grabbing them by their hair as well. Cline looked so proud. He was beaming.
“You all seemed to have forgotten who we are.” He said slowly, “You’ve lived among humans for so long, blending in, pretending that you’re one of them, that you’ve forgotten the primal nature of our world. Forgotten that Blue Moon bows to no one.”
He opened the door and threw the bodies out. Blood gushed down the steps of our house. The men groaned and shook, panting and gasping in terror. I could see the panic in their eyes as their entrails quivered in the air.
Our father turned back.
“Let this be a warning for anyone else who comes to challenge what I say. White Moon will return to Blue Moon in due time.” He turned from the doors and smirked. His eyebrows jumped as our gazes met. “I think I will enjoy the politics a great deal.”
He turned back to the parlor, and soon after, the door closed, and I heard the sounds of breathless gasps and his voice.
“On your knees, I know you’re out of practice…”
My stomach turned. Something moved out of the corner of my eye. Matt and I stared at each other, and maybe, just maybe, I understood. His words echoed in my mind. The weight of his words hung heavy in the air. I couldn’t deny that his approach was brutal, even ruthless, but deep down, I understood the logic behind it. I couldn’t even disagree with it.
How much trouble would we have cut through if I had just killed a few people? A few inconsequential, weak people?
Matt’s voice caught my ear as he walked past me. He paused and looked at me.
“Was this your idea of unity?” He asked. “From all that time ago? Or did you really mean tyranny?”
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