Chapter 192
Chapter 192:
Ryder’s sudden silence wasn’t helping. The tears in my eyes had dried, leaving a hollow emptiness behind. My mouth hung partly open, words caught in my throat. The angered rise and fall of my chest was evident with each breath.
Never in my life had I wished to strike anyone more than I did in that moment. Theodore’s statement stung deep. He spoke as if I were invisible, with no regard for me. I was a Luna, for God’s sake! Lycan or not!
I gripped the fabric of my dress tightly until my fingers dug into my palm, my gaze seething with anger as I directed it toward him. If he knew I was annoyed, he didn’t bother sparing me a glance.
The sound of something landing on the floor reminded me of Ryder’s presence. His chair was overturned, a few inches away, and the cold look in his eyes made them appear several shades darker. His palms were flat against the floor before they slowly curled into fists.
The elders lowered their gazes, all except Theodore, who tilted his chin high, a defiant gesture that made me want to wring his neck.
“It’s my Luna you’re speaking to, and you’ll speak to her with respect. Since you’re so familiar with our traditions, you should at least have the decency to follow every one of them. This meeting is over!” Ryder hissed, irritation and anger coating each word.
Finally, I was only too glad to leave. The toxicity of the situation had left me feeling weak. It was only after they left that I realized I’d been holding my breath.
“Ryder,” I sobbed. His warm body was firm against mine as I wrapped my arms around his back, my face pressed against his chest while tears trickled down my cheeks. His voice was drowned out by the air, and the only thing I was attuned to was my thoughts and the gentle strokes he made on my head.
“I’m so sorry for all of this,” I whispered. Yes, I was sorry. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have had this conversation with the elders or needed to carry out the coronation without their consent. He wouldn’t need to fight for a weak werewolf who felt more like a liability than an actual Luna. Shit.
Anna’s POV
We listen, and we observe—it’s one of the things I’d learned over the years. It worked easily. But how do you observe and listen when you’re far away? That was the case with Violet. Her absence rendered my plans useless, but the Moon Goddess was giving me a second chance—a chance to put all the scattered pieces together.
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My years of careful planning and plotting weren’t in vain after all. The only unplanned thing that happened was her getting her wolf. It wasn’t part of the script. She didn’t tell me, for whatever reason she had, but I could sense it—the way a smile curved the side of her lips into a smirk when she was quiet, or when she rolled her eyes out of the blue. Her wolf was speaking to her in those moments. How beautiful.
The absence of veil root in her diet for over half a year was enough for her wolf to emerge. Luckily for me, I had the upper hand. As I always say, ignorance is weakness, and so was her case. Jasmine really had no idea how powerful she was, and I was determined to keep it that way until I was ready to execute my plan. Speaking of werewolves being weaker—if only those Lycan elders knew they were a piece of cake compared to her.
I stretched my legs forward. The golden rays of the sun filtered into the room, bringing with them their subtle, warm radiance. It was a welcome break from the chilly cold that announced the arrival of winter.
Speaking of winter, I had only a few days to spend before leaving for my pack. It upset me that Ryder had the audacity to make my stay as brief as possible. I knew he had his suspicions about the veil root, but he was too blinded by love to tell his precious Luna. Common human psychology—he was scared she’d resent him for saying such horrid things about her.
I needed someone within the pack to carry out my plan. My first thought was Seraphina, but her loyalty to her Alpha and Luna disqualified her. No one else had come to mind—a possible ally and enemy of Jasmine, or even Ryder, was all I needed: an ear and eye while I was away… and perhaps a hand.
I had a subtle feeling that Jasmine was withholding certain things from me—the way she opened her mouth as if to speak and then immediately shut it, the way she shrugged her shoulders casually when I asked her questions. If I weren’t her mother, I’d have loved to shake those words out of her mouth, but no, I had to restrain myself. If she wasn’t going to speak, someone else would.