The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert Read Online
Bonus Chapter 2 (Ash + Petra. Part 2)
Petra woke up to an empty bed beside her, worried that Ash still hadn’t returned from his rogue patrol. However, then she noticed a note from him that explained he didn’t want to wake her up and had to deal with the repercussions of the previous night’s attack.
Sighing, she had to accept that this was the reality of being an Alpha’s Luna. Even the brightest of plans could be ruined at any moment because of events like this. This was why they chose not to have a big wedding and opted for a small private ceremony next weekend instead.
Luckily, Petra was used to this because she grew up as Alpha’s daughter. None of this was new to her.
She was aware that she had work to do as well. It was important to establish herself as the Luna, make new friends, and find out as much as possible about other pack members. Not to mention, a lot of preparations were still to be made.
Originally, Evelynn was supposed to be with her during all this, but her life-long mentor, who had been like a mother to her, found love and was now the chosen mate of the Gamma of the North. Petra was happy for her despite missing her terribly. Regardless of her emotions, Lyn trained her well, and she was ready for anything.
Petra was finishing her make-up, dressed in a hot pink chiffon jumpsuit with long flared trousers and a top with elegant ruffles, when an Omega walked in to ask if she was going to have breakfast in this room.
It was tempting, but Petra knew something like that would be considered a weakness. She was ready for this and didn’t need Ash at her side at all times. She tried a more sophisticated look today but did not want to lie and change herself for it, so her favourite colours still prevailed.
The Omega with short red hair was leading her to the dining room when they heard the sounds of a group of women laughing.
“What is this?” Petra asked, pointing at a ma*s*sive wooden door from where the sounds came. The servant girl next to her lowered her head in submission.
“It’s technically the Luna Office,” she mumbled and stopped talking, which gave Petra an idea of what could be happening there now. Did Harper encroach on that too?
“By the way, did my things arrive?” She asked, and the girl nodded, not offering her more information.
Petra inhaled and exhaled sharply. The pack wasn’t giving her the welcome she’d hoped for, and now she had to turn it around alone.
“Hailey, right?” She started by surprising the Omega by remembering her name. Lunas only bothered with that if they were their personal omegas.
“Yes, Luna,” the girl smiled timidly.
“Did Harper take my office as well? Who is with her there now?”
Hailey turned pale but Petra didn’t budge. This wasn’t some game like the Luna Trials where she didn’t care about winning after noticing Kai’s infatuation with Savvy. This was her life now, and her future depended on everything she was about to do.
“We didn’t have a Luna, so Miss Harper took over some of the responsibilities. And it made sense for her to take over the office, too–”
“I see,” Petra sighed and then remembered something. “So, where are my things now?”
Once again, Kailey offered her a sheepish look.
“In the Luna office,” she confessed and looked away, giving Petra the answer.
More laughs erupted from the office, and now Petra knew they were laughing at her expense.
Harper’s voice was the loudest, of course.
“Would you just look at that?” she snorted loudly. “And this is our future Luna’s wedding dress? It’s pink, for the Moon Goddess’s sake! Who in their right mind would wear so much pink?”
“A Barbie!” someone commented, and another burst of laughter followed.
“Or a marshmallow!” another woman chimed in. They seemed to be having a lot of fun in there.
Petra frowned. It was a gorgeous gown by one of the best Northern designers. It was sophisticated, just as her new position required, but it was her. Her personality was in it.
Blush pink in colour, the gown was made of the finest Northern silk, its bodice adorned with tiny natural crystals from the mountain caves next to her old pack, and the elegant skirt flowed down to the ground with a tasteful slit at the front. Evelynn was proud of her choice, Savvy and Riannon approved of it when she saw them briefly last time. Who the hell was Harper to laugh about it?
It was time to demonstrate to this pack who the real Luna here was.
Petra pushed the door and entered, all heads snapped in her direction and the laugh died down. Harper stood next to a wooden desk in the centre of the office with a few women sitting and standing in different corners of the room. She didn’t spare them a single glance.
“What are you, five?” Petra raised her brow at Harper and stretched her hand to get her dress back. The she-wolf didn’t move, her hands digging into the fabric as if she wanted to tear it to pieces.
This made Petra angry and for the first time ever, she decided to wield her new power in public. She wriggled her fingers and the dress left Harper’s hands, flying all over the room to its rightful owner and leaving everyone stunned.
There were rumours after the Avalanche Battle that some of the shifters acquired special abilities, but most of them preferred to hide them. Petra chose differently.
“Who gave you permission to touch your Luna’s things?” she demanded sternly, checking her dress for any damage but finding none, to her relief.
“Technically, you aren’t my Luna yet,” Harper still didn’t lose her co.ckiness, although Petra could tell she was shocked.
“I am your Alpha’s mate, and you dared to touch my dress for our mating ceremony. Who do you think you are?”
Everyone was silent.
“I was just commenting on–”
“Its colour,” Petra interjected. “I heard. Do you think that a grown woman cannot wear pink? Is that how you a*s*sess someone’s qualities? By the colour of their clothes? Because that seems foolish to me.”
Harper clenched her lips tight, but it was obvious that she had no intention of losing this stand-off.
“My apologies,” she offered a sly smile. “Here in the Western Lycan Kingdom, we usually stop dressing like pretty dolls after we come of age.”
“You are forgiven,” Petra said graciously and handed her dress to the omega, who stood by her side. “You see, in the North, we prove that we are adults by fighting in a battle. I proved myself in the Avalanche battle, fighting alongside Alpha Ash, King Gideon, King Kai and Queen Savannah. Where have you been during this time, by the way? We needed every warrior available, but I don’t remember any of your faces.”
Silence filled the room once again. Until Harper cleared her throat.
“I wasn’t fit to fight that week!” she said proudly.
“Neither was Queen Riannon!” Petra retorted. “But she was still there, tending to the wounded after everything was over.”
Yes, Petra already guessed that Harper had to hate Riannon. Ash told her everything about his first mate and about his love for his ex-Luna of many years. She knew that mentioning that name would hurt, but Petra wasn’t here to take prisoners. Harper asked for this.
“I was performing the Luna’s duties!” the blonde gritted her teeth defensively. Petra knew she had already won the argument.
“I hope you were decent,” she shrugged her shoulders as she walked past her so-called rival to sit at the desk. “I heard the pack’s finances are in a bad state. I will need all your reports and expenses on this desk by tomorrow. It’s up to me now to see where you made mistakes.”
Someone gasped, but Petra kept her chin up high, observing the women in front of her.
“I a*s*sume you were tracking your expenses since you insist that you perform the Luna’s duties?” Petra tilted her head with the corners of her lips tugged upwards.
“I–” Harper didn’t know what to say.
“And also, it’s so convenient that you gathered so many people here” the pink-haired Luna tapped her fingers over the desktop. “Now they can go with you to the Luna Suite and help you move all of your belongings to your Grandmother’s cottage.”
Harper’s eyes threw daggers at her.
“Ash said that I could take the guest suite,” the woman was visibly shaking with anger now, but Petra already knew that this one barked, but did not bite.
“That was yesterday, and you didn’t take it,” the new Luna smiled. “I’m going to give it to Hailey. She is my personal Omega from now on and I need her close.”
“But–”
“Thank you for trying to act as a Luna while the pack didn’t have one, Harper,” Petra chose every word to hit the goal. “That will be all for today. I don’t want to keep you here too long. You still have a lot of packing to do.”
She waved her fingers again, and the door to the office opened, startling everyone once again. A few whispers sounded here and there as the women were standing up and leaving the office. None of them wanted to test her, and for the first time ever, Petra felt how satisfying it was to stand up for herself without anyone’s support. This victory was hers.
She sent Hailey to hide the mating ceremony dress in her new room, and the Omega was happy to oblige.
The moment the doors closed, Petra breathed out and sank into the chair.
Being a Luna was demanding and exhausting. And that’s after just a few hours.
However, she wouldn’t change it for anything!
The door opened without permission, and she was about to scold whoever dared to disturb her when saw the intruder.
Ash looked dazzling in a blue shirt and jeans, with his hazel eyes on her.
“That was very impressive,” he commented as he strolled inside. “But I didn’t expect anything less from you. I got myself one beautiful, clever and feisty mate.”
“Oh, you heard?” she blushed slightly, although secretly, she loved that he witnessed everything.
“Just the ending,” he chuckled. “You know, I was worried about how you would settle in here. But not anymore. You will fit right in as my Luna.”
“But I am not exactly your Luna– yet,” Petra taunted him with a smile playing on her lips. “For now, I am unmarked and unclaimed, remember?”
Ash’s eyes darkened and he walked closer, moving her chair with her still in it.
“Not for long.” A deep growl left his chest.
“I hope not, ,” Petra brushed her pink locks off of her neck and traced the curve with her fingers. “My neck is aching for a mark.”
“Then I shall give it to you tonight,” Ash lowered himself and closed his large palm around her neck gently, not hurting her in the slightest. His thumb brushed over her lips to make them part. “Or maybe now.”
“Now we are talking!” Petra giggled.
“Tell me what you want,” he teased, and she thought about it for a moment. Harper came to her mind at once to her displeasure. However, that helped her with her answer.
“I want you to make me scream your name so loud that no one in this pack doubts what you are doing to me,” she said. “I want you to pierce my neck with your canines and leave a mark on it so that no one ever doubts who I belong to.”
“I like it,” Ash smirked in delight.
“I want you to make love to me so much that I forget my own name,” she went on, desire circling through her veins already. “And when we are both at the highest peak, I want to mark you too, so that no she-wolf ever imagines again that she can have you!”
“You wish is my command!” Ash snarled and scooped her up.
Petra gasped but wrapped her arms around his neck at once as he walked with her like that around the whole pack house, making the heads of their packmates turn.
She noticed pink rose petals on the way to the Alpha Suite and giggled.
“Did you do this?”
“Of course, I did,” he said. “I told you that you deserve the best, and I am going to give you just that, Petra. Starting today and until the day I die.”