Chapter 286 – Luna of The Mighty Alpha

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

Astrea leapt nimbly from roof to roof, which, thankfully, were all too close to each other. This building was an odd one indeed. So different from the other parts of the former Moonrise Kingdom that was now broken into four parts – the Western Lycan Kingdom, the Northern Lycan Kingdom, the South Lycan Republic and … the Perished Eastern Kingdom. The one that ceased to exist after an ongoing war between the four Lycan clans. Now it was a no man’s land, and rogues from the whole continent ran here for safety. And now they wanted to create a kingdom of their own, making that infuriating Fenrir their king.

She noticed the fire in the central inner courtyard laid with white tiles and stopped, hiding behind a dome decoration. It was too dark here, and she was sure they couldn’t see her.

“Her a.ss is all right,” someone said below, and she tried to see their faces. A group of rogues sat around a fire pit with bottles of alcohol in their hands. Homemade alcohol, so it appeared.

She did not know the one talking but recognised Dreads and Bastian beside him. Devoss was there too, and so was the woman from earlier.

“This was exactly their plan,” she rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her mug. She was the only one without a bottle. “Make you id.iots look at her as.s.”

“Her t.its are also nice if that’s any consolation to you, Kara,” Dreads told her, and Astrea was surprised that he had noticed at all. He gave the impression of being repelled by her mere presence.

“Shut up!” Kara replied, not impressed by his remark at all.

“Why are you all so negative?” Devoss chuckled, leaning back in his seat and placing one of his ankles over his knee. “It’s going to be fun! Finally, something interesting is happening here!”

“Yeah, a Southern spy! How fun!” Bash splashed the rest of his drink into the fire, making the hungry flame rise in a fury.

They all got quiet, and for a moment there, Astrea wasn’t sure why. Only then did she see a tall, dark shadow moving toward the group. A few rogues stood up at once; only the four she already knew remained in their respective places, unbothered by Fenrir’s appearance. Which meant that they were his trusted inner circle.

He was still wearing the same dark shirt, finally buttoned adequately. The light of the flames drew his features, adding sharpness to his already majestic look. Once again, she had to admit that this man was impressive, and she grew up with a deity training her and an army of Firstborn shifters at hand. Yet… there was something about Fenrir that made her breathing hitch without her realising.

“So, we are really doing this,” Dreads asked, not looking at his king. “Did the girl change your mind?”

“The girl has nothing to do with it,” he responded, accepting a bottle from someone and opening it with a flick of his finger. “We continue with our plan.”

“You wanted to throw her out first,” Bash reminded him.

“And should have,” Kara interjected. “I don’t like her.”

“You don’t like anyone,” Devoss’ laughter rumbled through the courtyard.

“And for good reason!” The woman seemed annoyed. “She reminds me of someone–”

Now, that was interesting.

“Enough!” Fenrir growled, making everyone go silent. “The South wants to use us, and we want to use the South. It’s all there is, and the girl is just a bridge between us. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“If you say so, my King!” Kara filled the last word with venom, and Astrea wondered if there was another kind of relationship between the two.

However, Fenrir sat far away from her, and she seemed fine with it. This was something for Astrea to explore in the future.

She had to go back. It was getting too dangerous.

Aware of the dangers of being noticed, she got to another rooftop, but Fenrir’s words were not leaving her mind for some reason.

He was right, of course. She was here to use him, and obviously, they wanted to use her connections to the South to their advantage. It was normal, and she couldn’t understand why it bothered her.

Oh, no, Astrea, Nova sounded worried in her mind. Return to our room. Enough for today.

But it was too late because Astrea suddenly realised Fenrir was busy. He wasn’t in his suite. He was drinking outside with his friends, and that gave her an opportunity she wasn’t sure she would have again.

Return. To. Our. Room. You are not prepared! Nova insisted, and Astrea had to shut it down.

I’ll just take one little peek, she assured her wolf, changing direction.

It was her luck that most of the windows in this fortress were open despite the low night temperatures. The window at the top of Fenrir’s tower wasn’t an exception, and after a bit of climbing, she was able to reach it. She carefully opened the unlocked shutters and closed them when she got in, finding herself in a different room from the one she visited earlier today. It was the Rogue King’s bedroom.

How unfortunate, Nova hissed. Now, let’s go back.

The massive old-fashioned bed had a transparent canopy, and the sheets were colourful, with a distinctive masculine pattern.

Just one more minute, Astrea found a desk with piles and piles of papers.

She wondered what those could be? Rogues didn’t have a government in the traditional sense of the word. What were all these documents for?

She had to be careful not to touch anything to avoid leaving any traces around, but she noticed a few odd maps at the top of the pile. A letter written in a language she didn’t recognise made her furrow her brows.

Strange… All of this was so strange! She tried to memorise what she could, but she knew she’d have to get back here with a camera and be better prepared next time.

The sound of footsteps approaching the door alerted her, surprising her at the same time. Was Fenrir back so soon? She thought that he would drink for longer. Or was she the one who lost track of time?

Astrea charged for the window, thankful she had no shoes on. That made her movements soundless.

Her fingers reached the wooden shutters carved with intricate ancient eastern patterns, which was when a real shock hit her. The shutters were locked!

She tried them again and again, but nothing worked, and panic started to flood her brain. He was almost at the door!

This couldn’t be real! They were open when she got here! What happened?

She could break the damn shutters, of course, but this would alert the rogue and give her away.

Cornered, Astrea did the only thing that came to her mind now and slid behind a heavy curtain.

Great, Nova scoffed. Now you are invisible, my dear!

Shut up! Astrea bit her lip, almost drawing blood. In no way was this a good hiding place. Maybe she should have gone to the bathroom.

On the other hand, he would definitely go there sooner or later, and who knew if it had any windows to try and escape through.

This is why you should have stayed in your room! Nova really wasn’t helpful now.

The door burst open, and Fenrir walked in, running one hand through his shiny dark hair. Astrea only saw a glimpse of him through the slit of the curtains, trying not to breathe and to mask her scent. The technique she was taught by the Teacher personally. It worked like a charm in the past, and she prayed for it not to fail her today.

The rogue still had a bottle in his hand, and he brought it to his lips, taking a few greedy gulps and then throwing it to the fireplace. He then went to it, leaning over the mantelpiece as if he was extremely tired. Flames appeared out of nowhere, a crackling fire suddenly burst out of the wood, illuminating the room with dancing shadows.

Did he have matches there? Astrea wondered.

Like that is our biggest problem now! Nova returned her to reality. The reality where she was trapped with the King of Rogues after her very unwise attempt to spy on him.

Astrea tried to think calmly. At least he looked drunk. His senses should be blunted. Maybe he would fall asleep fast or go to his bathroom and she could run in the meantime. She still couldn’t believe the stupid shutters malfunctioned.

“How long are you going to stand there, Astrea?” Fenrir asked, his eyes still on the wildfire in front of him.6. Just A Dream

Astrea cursed herself inwardly. He knew she was here the whole time! He was already onto her.

She needed an entirely new plan but, sadly, couldn’t come up with anything in the spur of the moment. However, there was no time to think, and confidence was the key to everything.

Fenrir still stood by the fire, hands locked behind his back, his whole body a picture of strength and power. He was waiting for her next move.

And she decided not to disappoint. Astrea swiftly opened the curtains with both her hands, the fabric flowing around her, revealing her frame covered with a sheer expensive negligee and holding her chin high as if she wasn’t caught red-handed. Fenrir slowly turned on his heels to face her, and she could swear his bright eyes got darker as he swore under his breath, jaw tightening at the same time as he took her in. The slip she had on barely hid anything from his gaze that was becoming more and more feral by the minute. The same way as the room temperature seemed to rise.

“You must be kidding me!” he growled, and the corner of her lips tugged upward slightly.

“My King,” she curtsied, and he was next to her in the blink of an eye, chest heaving, but to her surprise, he didn’t try to touch her.

One could say that when a woman walked into a man’s bedroom late at night dressed like this, there could be only one thing she wanted. He had to assume it. Anyone would assume it.

“What do you think you are doing?” he snarled, his body emitting heat.

“What does it look like I am doing?” She gave him the most seductive smile from her arsenal. She was relatively good at flirting. Her Teacher made sure she excelled at that, but this was how far her missions went. Usually, nothing more was required. Even when she was sent to the Luna Trials, her task wasn’t to seduce the Northern King. She had to stay as long as possible and report what was happening in the castle that wasn’t common knowledge.

However, today she was cornered in the worst of ways. Trapped with no way out.

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