Chapter 282 – Luna of The Mighty Alpha

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

“Joran,” Astrea repeated, confident this time as their eyes locked. She was a professional, after all.

“See, it wasn’t as hard, was it?” the Dragon God let out a laugh, not taking his eyes off her. “This is the evolution of our relationship, Astrea. So many great things are ahead.”

Gods, she really hoped it wasn’t the case.

***

He allowed her to return to her old room, and the moment she was there, she felt like she needed to do something. All the while knowing that, at the same time, she couldn’t do much.

She looked at herself in the mirror, panting and seeing the snake collar on her neck. Astrea hated collars, and now she was a proud owner of a permanent one. Or… was she the one being owned?

Her gaze fell on her long white silver locks, and Joran’s words echoed in her mind, “Like liquid stars.”

He sure loved playing with her hair, and right now, it was the only thing she could deprive him of.

So, Astrea took the scissors and cut the first strand of hair off before she could change her mind. The snake on her neck curled angrily, and the sensation made her continue. Snip. The pain returned, but it only fuelled her anger. Snip. She could hear the sounds of footsteps. Snip. The last locks pooled at her feet, and the door burst open.

“What the hell is this?” Joran gritted his teeth as his gaze fell on the shining silver on the floor.

A vicious smile reached her lips. At least she took that bit of control back.

***

The day Astrea had to leave for the East approached quickly. Not that she minded that. She couldn’t wait to escape this place.

Joran met her at the helicopter, which also reminded her of the past. He always used to send her off when she left and greet her when she returned. The privilege he only extended to her. The only time he didn’t do it was when they dragged her to that pit…

“Do it quick and come back home,” he said, hands in the pockets of his trousers.

“I will come back for my freedom,” she reminded him of the main reason she would be returning, and his jaw twitched. At the same time, the snake on her neck wriggled slightly. She was never getting used to that.

“A deal is a deal,” the Serpent smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “As long as the mission is done and you come back safely, I am happy. I have a surprise for you, by the way.”

The last words made Astrea tense, but then she saw Niki walking out of the nearest building in her black battle training uniform, and her lips parted.

“I knew you would like it.” Joran leaned down to her and whispered, lips almost brushing over her earlobe. “You have one minute. Her Ascension is today, and she is kind of in a hurry.”

Niki ran into her arms, and finally, Astrea could hug her ward, air whipping their hair as they allowed themselves a moment of weakness. However, she also had to be aware of time. So many things had to be said, but they had to be extra careful not to create new troubles.

“I am so glad you are alright!” Niki mumbled through tears, knowing they couldn’t speak louder. “And your hair is shorter! Looks so cool!”

“Listen to me very carefully,” Astrea whispered. “You need to survive the Ascension, and when you do that, wait for me to come back. When I do, we are both going to leave this wretched place. I promise.”

She could feel Niki’s body go stiff in her arms and noticed her eyes widening slightly.

“Stay safe and trust no one,” she added, and it was exactly the time when Joran cleared his throat, which meant that they had to part again.

“Good luck on your mission,” Niki offered a weak smile. It was probably the worst time to mess with her head, but there were no better options.

The helicopter’s blades started spinning. It was officially time to go.

“We will wait for you right here,” Joran placed a hand on Niki’s shoulder, and it made Astrea’s stomach churn. He knew exactly what he was doing – ensuring she did come back.

However, there was nothing she could do about it now. Her mission was waiting, and with that came the risks to her own life.

“Mission first,” Nova reminded her via their mind link, her voice was soothing and reassuring. “We deal with one problem at a time.”

“As always,” Astrea took her seat in the helicopter and put her headphones on as she prepared for a long flight. There were ways to make her work in the East short and successful, and she was mentally going through them on her way there. Nova had finally recovered from everything now and could advise her properly again.

“We are almost there!” the pilot told her dryly through headphones, and she recognised one of the werebears who had captured her during her escape attempt. This wasn’t a good sign, but she tried not to show her displeasure.

Yes, she probably killed his friends during her runaway attempt. However, that could probably be said about many others, too. Other than Niki, she had no friends there.

To distract herself, she decided to look down and saw the Eastern border that was easily recognisable by the forest she once fought in and the desert that kissed it softly with its golden sands, a mix hard to find anywhere else in the world.

Astrea remembered how she saw a magnificent black creature somewhere around here. Now it was hard to know for sure if it wasn’t just the product of her imagination or something that really existed. Just the memory of it made her heart beat faster.

The scenery changed again, and the first thing that drew Astrea’s attention were the abandoned towns. There were so many of them… Life and happiness left this kingdom a while ago. This was something that made it so attractive to the rogues now – there were no packs here, no Alphas to serve or fear.

No one wanted these lands, and the rogues were the ones to claim them.

Soon they reached another city, but this one had signs of life in it. Not too impressive, not like the buzzing polished cities of the Republic. Not like the comfortable West or cosy old-fashioned North. Astrea noticed people on the streets, shops were open, and old cars travelled the worn roads.

Gods, was this what she had to work with? The Republic would laugh at them when they saw them.

They landed next to a very spacious long mansion that was nestled in the middle of a dry mountain, the building probably serving as some kind of a fortress for protection. From here, you could see the city below and would know in advance if it was attacked.

Whoever lived here tried to preserve it the best they could, but it clearly had seen some life and needed a lot of work. The light columns and arches looked slightly shabby, which, in Astrea’s opinion, only gave them more charm.

A small delegation of four people was waiting for her at the designated landing spot. The rogues were eager to meet the Southern Lycan Republic representative, and Astrea straightened her silk midi dress, preparing to make the first impression. She knew very well that those counted the most. It would be especially crucial with rogues as they would have to test her since they clearly had assumptions about her.

When the blades stopped spinning, a massive man with long black hair in dreads and a large scar crossing the brown skin on his cheek opened the door, eyes widening when he saw her.

“A girl?” he didn’t even try to hide his lack of excitement and the disappointment in his bright blue eyes. “The Republic has sent us a girl?”

“As an adult, I am referred to as a woman,” Astrea tilted her head, giving him a small but friendly smile. “You were in desperate need of an advisor and PR professional, and…well, here I am. You will not find anyone better.”

“He won’t be happy about this,” the guy muttered, but she ignored it and got out on her own since it didn’t look like he was going to offer her his hand.

“Who is he?” she asked bluntly as the guy scratched the back of his neck, watching her intently.

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