Chapter 276 – Luna of The Mighty Alpha

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

“Or we can kill you and the traitor and then pretend we caught you trying to kill her.” One of the Firstborn suggested. “No one will ever know what actually happened. Not to mention that my ward will have less competition at Ascension if you are out.”

“It’s a win-win.” The three women were circling around Niki , and Astrea couldn’t see everything from where she was laying, her every muscle tense now.

The sounds of a fight reached her ears, and she knew that, although Niki was a great fighter, her chances against three fully ascended Firstborn warriors were slim. They were getting special powers and strength after Ascension. And Niki was still just a trainee.

Seconds ago Astrea wished for nothing more than a quick death, yet now she had a different purpose.

Niki was like a little sister to her. She was family, and she had a whole life ahead of her. She wasn’t supposed to die defending her, and Astrea knew she would do anything in her power to stop this.

Her whole body shivered as she stood up for the first time in a while, leaning against the silver wall that burned her skin. Adrenaline rushed through her bloodstream, and she didn’t feel pain anymore. She had a goal now.

This was probably the last thing she would do in this life, but if she could give Niki a chance, it would be so worth it.

Astrea’s eyes fixated on a pulley system they used to lower her food. She’d thought about this trick quite a few times in the past few months but never found herself strong enough to actually try it.

Today she had no choice as she could smell the blood. Niki’s blood. Two women were holding her ward while the third one was battering her.

Astrea jumped as high as she could, using her legs to push off one side of the pit and then another, swinging the long part of the chain in hopes of grasping the metallic part of the pulley with it and using it to pull herself out. An extremely unrealistic plan, but what was she to do when Niki was up there risking her life for her?

That kid should have walked away and saved herself the trouble.

The first attempt failed, and Astrea fell, hurting herself even more in the process. The bones in her ankle made an unpleasant cracking sound.

Still, the adrenaline coursed through her, so she stood up and repeated everything with a fierce growl of her wolf Nova escaping her as the chain finally wrapped itself over the metal track.

Astrea used her arm muscles to pull her body up, and soon, her palm reached the top of the pit. Right where three ascended Firstborn assassins were beating the cr*p out of Nikki.

Not wasting time, With strength and dumb luck still on her side, Astrea grabbed the foot of the woman closest to her and threw her down the pit, watching her fall at an awkward angle with her head first, a pool of blood immediately forming around her.

That brought the attention of the remaining two to her. Nikki winced, blood trickling down her face. One of the assassins holding her let go, moving towards Astrea.

“Look at this,” she sneered. “She came to us herself—”

The woman was about to kick her when something mighty and dark swept past, grabbing her and carrying her into the dark sky. It happened so fast that none of them had time to react.

The last assailant released Niki, knowing the young girl was the last thing to worry about now. Astrea’s ward fell to the ground, panting desperately.

The dark force returned, taking the last Firstborn with it as Astrea only felt the wind from the impact. Such speed… she knew only one creature capable of that.

Her Teacher.

The one who put her here.

After all, there was only one unbreakable rule on the island. Always obey the Teacher. And those three just tried breaking it.

Her eyes locked with Niki’s, and her ward tried to crawl to her to give her a hand.

Silly girl… what was she thinking?

Before Niki could do something stupid and be the third one to be killed by the Teacher, Astrea let go, falling freely back to the bottom of the pit.

She hit the silver bottom hard, and this time it really felt like it would be the end. She welcomed it, too tired to fight.

It would be for the best for everyone. Especially Niki, who was now calling her name from the top as Astrea succumbed to darkness.

She was awakened by a loud thump next to her. Her eyes fluttered open and shut, having a hard time seeing the face of the man towering over her, but she recognised the tall figure with broad, muscular shoulders at once.

Joran Nathair, her Teacher and the holder of her fate, knelt beside her and gently brushed his fingers over her cheek.

She couldn’t move, each bone in her body aching, her throat so dry, not a sound could leave it.

“Dragonfly,” her Teacher sighed, scooping her up in his arms, “Just what do I do with you?”

As the first rays of sunlight gently streamed through the delicate curtains, Astrea stirred from her slumber and stretched in the soft satin sheets, her eyes flickering open to take in her surroundings.

For a few seconds, she was sure it was a dream, a cruel hallucination she had while slowly dying at the bottom of the silver pit.

There was no way she would be back in her old room in Teacher’s mansion. However, goosebumps rushed through her skin when she sat up, and her bare feet touched the familiar soft fur rug.

It was real.

Since she was around ten years old, she used to call this place home. It was as if the last few months didn’t happen, and only the sore bruises on her skin reminded her of what she had gone through.

I guess we are back, Nova pointed out sceptically at the back of her mind, and she didn’t find a good response to that. Her wolf was one of a kind, adding a pinch of salt to everything. Sometimes it made life more flavourful, and sometimes… it was extra.

Astrea quickly scanned the room, and a beautiful black dress with a note attached to it hanging from the expensive crystal chandelier grabbed her attention at once. She was used to this. The Teacher loved surprising her with things like this. Things she could never reject.

She walked towards the gown on slightly shaking feet, surprised she could walk at all. A diamond-studded snake necklace collar was curling around a golden hanger and holding together a few pieces of black silk fabric that flowed freely to the floor, leaving the back bare.

She opened the note with only one sentence: The dinner is at 8pm.

There was no doubt that the dress was for her to wear. He had always done that. Wear this, do that with your hair, use this dagger for that mission… The Teacher loved to control everything.

But she was too tired to object. He was probably still going to kill her in the end. Nothing changed. She could at least look nice and have some dignity.

Only now, Astrea realised that a soft white towel was wrapped around her body that had no open wounds anymore. She walked towards a tall mirror with a golden frame and took a proper look at herself. Her silvery-white hair cascaded in soft waves down her shoulders as if she didn’t spend months in a dirty hole. Her skin, however, still had red marks from where the silver chains had touched her. Those would take a while to heal. Her usually bright sky-blue eyes seemed duller now, as if there was no life in her left.

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