Chapter 97
The ‘hours that came after consisted mostly of sitting around in handcuffs, surrounded by several guards whilst they forged the silver collar for me. Since I had no idea what the silver process involved, the hours seemed to drag excruciatingly slow as I had no indication of how long it would take.
At some point during the wait, I realised Bash would have made it over the border and would be on his way home already. Was he thinking of me? His last memory of us was going to be in that meeting hall, fighting for his life as he was almost killed by my pack under false charges.
A part of me hoped he did hate me. At least it would make things easier to think that. I hoped that he would return home and continue on with his life… I hoped that he would be happy. Because if all of this had taught me anything, it was that the best thing I could do for the safety of myself, as well as others, was to try and forget about Bash… even if it broke me little to even consider that.
The Goddess had said that she couldn’t change my mate, that the destiny of Benjamin and I was set in stone. It was starting to feel as though the more I tried to stray from that path, the more damage it was leaving in its wake. How in depth was the radius around that fate? Did it mean I was meant to return and play the role of Luna as well? Be the docile, quiet girl I’d been in the past? Don’t ask questions, be obedient, act only in the interest of the pack and your Alpha, never yourself. Serve your mate to the best of your ability. What exactly was I meant to be changing if not the entire circumstances that
lead to my original demise?
I suddenly felt exhausted, now tired of fighting for the future. Couldn’t someone else take over? Isabella would be banned from the pack within the next few days and I couldn’t see Benjamin falling for her any time soon. Maybe that would be enough… enough to stop whatever it was Selene wanted me to prevent.
The Elders finally arrived then, the collar in hand, and they began the process of fastening it around my neck. I could feel the very mild burn sensation it caused to my skin but it was no worse than the cuffs that had been on my wrists only
moments earlier. I was sure that soon I wouldn’t even notice it at all once it became the new norm.
“I wouldn’t recommend trying to remove it,” Elder Nathaniel said, eyeing me off as I gently felt around the contraption. “It’s been enforced with the strongest metal we could find so you’ll only hurt yourself if you try anything. The only way to remove it is with the key and I believe Alpha Leo said he will be keeping that on his person at all times.”
‘Brilliant,’ I thought miserably to myself.
The only thing I wanted to do now was go home and sleep. Maybe never go outside again. This abomination around my neck was an eyesore and not exactly discreet. The thought of the pack seeing me contained like this was degrading and humiliating enough.
In a daze, I followed as they escorted me out of the meeting hall and into a car. Several warriors followed and I assumed that was always going to be the case from now on. They might have stripped me of all my abilities but they hadn’t
technically tied me down here yet. A mark would have caused me pain had I strayed too far from Benjamin for an extended period of time, thereby tethering me here. But a collar wouldn’t do that. They would need to keep an eye on me still.
“Time to get out,” a voice said from the driver’s seat, cutting through my thoughts.
I looked up and exited the car without paying too much attention… only to realise we weren’t at my home.
“W-why did you bring me here?” I asked nervously. “I thought you were taking me home?”
“We did,” one of the warriors replied. “Our instructions were to take you to where you’ll be residing from now on. The Alpha has advised that you’re to be moved to the packhouse immediately in order to ensure, not only your own safety, but also to allow an easier transition for when you’ll become Luna one day!”
Lies. They just wanted to keep an eye on me, confine me to an area that would be harder for me to escape from. I knew from previous experience in the past just how difficult it was to run away under the eyes of the packhouse… and that was before I had a collar on me.
“Come along,” a different warrior said, guiding me with a hand to my elbow.
Without hesitating, I quickly snatched my arm away from their grip. “I can walk by myself, thank you.”
I followed behind as they led me forward, all the while
wondering which of the spare rooms they’d be having me stay
in until Benjamin became Alpha. I vaguely remembered
Vouchers someone once telling me about a smaller room on the second floor that had nice sun in the morning. Maybe I’d be lucky enough to have somewhere like that to wait out the time until my eighteenth birthday.
But as they led me through the familiar hallways and stairs, a pit of uneasiness began to grow in my stomach.
…Because they weren’t taking me to a spare room.
They were taking me to my old room. The Luna quarters.
The very place I’d suffered abuse for years.
