His Shadow Luna

Chapter 1: When Things Go South-1

Elene tried to hold her breath, ignoring her racing heart.

Anything to make them not notice her. Although, for a werewolf and a Lycan, the couple in question was surprisingly oblivious to their surroundings.

“Gideon! Not here—” Riannon gasped when her mate pushed her onto the little settee near the entrance of this dark room in the Eastern palace.

Slowly, Elene moved her hand over her mouth to prevent her scent from spreading further.

That’s impossible, and you know it. Bia, her wolf, noted, unimpressed. She didn’t like the situation they were stuck in, either.

“I missed you!” Gideon growled, and a golden glow briefly illuminated the room.

For some reason, it still stung her he couldn’t control his wolf near his wife. They’d been married for over two years, but the passion was still clearly there.

Peeking from behind the curtain, Elene hoped there was a way for her to escape all this.

The Lycan King of the West was kneeling before his wife, one of his hands sliding up her thigh and causing his Queen to arch her back in delight. When he leaned down and left a trail of kisses over her inner thigh, she let out a soft whimper and bit her lip to suppress another.

“Eyes on me, Ria,” Gideon smirked and the woman tried to take her emotions under control.

Elene was glad she had time to hide behind the curtain. When she saw them kissing in the corridor, she escaped here quickly, not wishing to meet them or even let them see her.

Elene loved the Lycan King of the Western Kingdom for years. Purely and with all her heart. Once, she was ready to do anything for him, but he rejected her over and over, telling her he was waiting for his mate.

Luckily for him, he was right because he found her, and she was perfect. More than anyAlpha could wish for.

Now Riannon was his queen. She also had his name and his child, which only made Gideon love her more. Everyone admired their perfect family.

Elene wished them well too. She really did.

Only why did her heart clench so painfully every time she saw them together? Just like now.

And how unlucky was she to be stuck here to unwillingly witness their outburst of passion?

The wise thing would have been to let them know she was here, and they were not alone, but she couldn’t imagine this kind of humiliation. They might think she stalked them because, of course, her feelings were known to everyone. Back when she was younger, she didn’t know how to conceal her emotions. Every guest of today’s coronation probably knew she used to love Gideon. Many believed she still did.

No, she braced herself to stick to this stupid plan until the end, hoping they would never notice her. Hopefully, they would be quick, and so infatuated with each other that they would leave before picking up her scent.

“Goddess, Ria—you are so—” Gideon snarled, and she could swear she heard a chuckle.

A male chuckle rumbled through the room once more, this time more pronounced. Every fibre of her tensed in response.

Did someone walk in here?

“Excuse me,” the intruder said, “I am pretty sure this room is designated for the Southern Lycan Republic delegation.”

“And you could have been a gentleman and pretended you didn’t notice us,” Gideon seethed. Of course, he was angry to be interrupted even though technically he was the one in the wrong. As an Alpha, he was very protective of his wife and naturally didn’t want anyone to witness their intimate moments.

“My apologies, King Stormhold,” the man sounded anything but apologetic, which piqued Elene’s curiosity. She could count people this daring on the fingers of one hand.

“I have to make a few important private calls here. It’s very urgent. I am afraid I have to ask you to leave,” the Southerner stated, then after a brief pause added, “Now!”

“You must be kidding me!” Gideon was ready for a confrontation. Even without looking at him Elene knew how he probably clenched his fists now and how he clenched his jaw.

“My love,” Riannon tried to soothe him, and Elene knew that just these words alone would make her husband calmer. She always had this effect on him. “Forgive our intrusion, General Romero. We got—carried away. We’ll be on our way. We have a room too, after all.”

The Queen of the West giggled, dissipating the tension in the room, and Elene heard a closing door. Elene breathed out in relief.

Okay, this was better.

Or was it?

Did she say General Romero?

The princess of the Northern Lycan Kingdom slowly lowered her hand from her face and inhaled the air as deep as she could without giving herself away, realising that the man was still there. His scent of peppermint and grapefruit lingered around her.

Shoot. What was she to do now?

Of course, it was better than watching the man she had loved all her life, having s*x with the woman he chose over her, but the Southerner was not leaving, which was making the situation more and more awkward each minute she didn’t walk out from behind the curtain.

Just knock him out. Her wolf, Bia suggested.

You are helpful, as always. Elene rolled her eyes, but still took a peek to decide if it would be possible.

“I know you are there,” the male’s voice sounded as if he was mocking her. “How long are you planning to hide behind that curtain?”

Elene’s breathing hitched as she realised there was no choice anymore. She moved the thick fabric and gracefully walked from behind it to face Alpha Forrest Romero, the man who was here to negotiate the failure of her deal with the Eastern Kingdom.

They would be at war if she failed, and he succeeded. After all, his country accused her kingdom of despicable things. This alone was making them enemies, but the mocking look he gave her was irking her even more.

“General Romero,” she gave him a curt nod.

“Princess Elene.” His grin widened. “What a surprise. Never in a million years would I have imagined that you— Never mind.”

“What are you implying?” She raised her brow questioningly, offering him her most innocent gaze.

“I never suspected that a northern royal may be interested in spying after other people’s intimate moments. Or maybe it’s some tradition I never heard of? I have heard you have quite a few that others may find odd.”

“I wasn’t—” She almost lost it there and then, but remembered in time that he was simply provoking her. “I was standing at the window when they barged in. I hoped they would leave, and by the time I realised they had no plans to stop what they were doing, it was too late.”

“So you stayed there to — what was your plan exactly?”

“I was about to walk out when you arrived!” Elene narrowed her eyes.

“Of course you were,” he was clearly teasing her. “There is no shame in voye.urism, you know? We all have kinks.”

“I heard you are single, General Romero. Now I see why,” she countered, ready to end this conversation, but Forrest stood in her way, looking like a predator ready to pounce at his prey.

“You were studying information about me.” A half-smile tugged on his lips and deep inside, she had to admit that the man was devilishly handsome. “I am flattered. And yes, I am single, but I am not looking for a commitment.”

“Thanks to all the gods,” Elene huffed. “Now, why don’t you—"

“I am open to casual — relations,” Forrest added lazily, scanning her with his eyes, “so maybe I can help you with your little problem. Especially since you chose to ‘study’ me.”

“I only checked your file because I find you especially suspicious.” She blurted. She shouldn’t have said that. In fact, she should have left minutes ago, but his annoyingly arrogant attitude kept her there longer than it should have.

“You probably meant intriguing.” The corners of the general’s lips quivered.

“No, I mean shady.” She insisted, holding his gaze. She was ready to stand there for days if it meant he would look away first.

“How so? I am an open book!” He gave up first and walked towards a massive wooden desk, hopping on top of it, which annoyed her even more. They were not close friends for him to feel that much at ease with her. He was so frivolous simply because he had caught her here.

“Are you?” She moved closer, stopping before him with her chin raised defiantly, her icy blue gown rustling as she walked. “Someone blew up a bomb in the middle of your capital. Two members of your Alpha Convocation disappeared a day later. Coincidentally, both these men are dead now.”

“Disappeared,” he corrected her. “Both these men have disappeared. Unless you know something I don’t know, Princess?”