Chapter 279 – Luna of The Mighty Alpha

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

“Then stop pretending that I have a choice!” Astrea was losing her patience fast.

“You do have a choice,” he corrected. “It’s just that it’s not unlimited.”

“What’s the deal then?” She decided not to beat around the bush.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Joran let out a celebratory laugh, and when she did not react, his grin widened. “Anyway, nothing too difficult this time. Not for you, at least.”

She did not buy it. He wouldn’t be asking it of her if it was easy. There had to be a catch somewhere.

“I’m listening.” Astrea wanted to be done with this conversation quickly.

“You already know that, thanks to you, my previous plan failed, and we did not conquer the Northern Lycan Kingdom,” he informed her, and she frowned, secretly happy. In truth, she wanted to grin at him but knew better. A display of emotions could cost her. “So, now I need you to fix your mistake.”

“You want me to conquer a Kingdom?” she snorted loudly. This was ridiculous.

“I want you to help me finish what I started,” Joran looked as serious as ever. “Moreover, I will give you what you so desperately desire.”

“Freedom?” she taunted, getting braver by the minute. He was not going to kill her, and she felt like being a brat to him. This was the only bit of joy she still had, trapped in his clutches again.

“I will give you your freedom if you succeed,” he taunted back, and her arrogance faded.

“You’re joking!” Astrea was sure it couldn’t be true.

“I am not,” he assured her, a smirk spreading over his face slowly. “Interested now?”

“Me and Niki,” she said at once. It wasn’t like she had a lot to lose. She could try to save her ward too.

“No,” Joran replied firmly. “What do you think this is? A charity auction? This deal is for you and you alone.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to calm herself. The adrenaline was coursing through her. She could think of saving Niki another time. If she got out and then caught Niki on one of her future missions, she could help her ward flee.

“Don’t tell me it’s going to be a problem for you,” her Teacher was enjoying this. “You’ve already left her behind once. What’s the problem with doing it again? You abandoned us pretty easily.”

Us. Not just her.

“There was nothing easy about it,” Astrea locked her eyes with him, seeing an ocean of emotions in this usually cold man.

“Oh?” he tilted his head, watching her intently. “I am pleased to know that.”

“When I couldn’t follow your order, I knew I was doomed,” she confessed honestly. “I just took the last chance I had to survive.”

“You could have come to me,” he interrupted, but a laugh escaped her when she heard it. He gave her a glare, and she bit her tongue. It wasn’t the time to make him angry.

“What was the mission again?” she decided to return to the original topic, avoiding dangerous grounds.

“I want you to go to the East,” he replied dryly. “That’s where you were headed, weren’t you? Well, there you go. Your wish is granted.”

“Why would you need me there? That kingdom is long gone. There is nothing to conquer, nothing to gain. Only rogues live there–” She stopped talking when the realisation hit her, eyes darting at her mentor in shock.

“I see you are already on the correct path of thinking,” Joran nodded at her with the corner of his lips tugging upwards. “I want to use the rogues in the upcoming war. They should fight on the side of our Southern Lycan Republic.”

She stared at him in shock, speechless.

“Come on, Astrea, even you have to admit it. The plan is perfect. Rogues are expendable. They will be our perfect warriors. There is only one problem.”

“What is it?” She didn’t like this mission already.

“Their King is too secretive, and I want you to discover all his secrets. After all, I need to know who I am working with.”

“What will they think I am doing there?” She wondered.

“Oh, that’s easy. The second part of your task is to prepare those rogues to meet the Alpha Convocation in a few months. They need to know what to say and, most importantly, what not to do for us to be able to form an official alliance with them. Not every Southern Alpha agrees to this project, and I want to persuade them all.”

“You want me to give etiquette lessons and play dress up with rogues?” She knitted her brows. All this still felt like a joke.

“After your experience at The Luna Trials, I think you will be perfect for the task,” he taunted. “Any more questions?”

Astrea took a sip of her wine. Suddenly it felt like she needed it.

“Will you really let me go?” Their eyes locked in a silent resistance against each other.

“Once this alliance is made, I will grant you your freedom. If you would still want it, of course.” Joran’s lips curled.

“Why wouldn’t I want it?” She finished her glass and placed it back on the table.

“Anything can happen.” He looked smug for some reason, but she couldn’t quite decipher him yet.

She would have never agreed to a deal with him if it was a choice. However, right now, she had to be wise. This was a game of survival, and she was still in. As long as she was alive, it wasn’t over yet. And who knew, maybe Teacher would keep his word. He never broke a single promise he gave her as of yet. She had to give him that.

Not to mention that escaping from the Eastern Perished Kingdom would be easier than from this island. So, if everything went wrong, she had other options.

“Will there be any killings involved?” she wanted to clarify.

“That will depend on the kind of information you bring me,” Joran smirked. “Is that a problem for you?”

“No,” she replied without delay. It really wasn’t. She could kill rogues if necessary. For her freedom and potentially for Niki.

“Glad we are on the same page,” Joran stood up. “And now, to the important part. Your tattoo.”

Astrea shivered at the thought. The people who got on the island trained for years in the camp, and then they had to undergo the ceremony of Ascension. On the auspicious date of the year, they were sent to the woods filled with deadly magical beasts and traps, and only those who came out alive were then called Firstborn and granted a special gift by Joran. This was also when they could stop calling him Master and started calling him Teacher. It was part of the privilege they shared.

The said gift was a tattoo filled with divine magic. It multiplied whatever powers they had tenfold, and it could only work on the first child of shifter parents. This was the reason Joran was only interested in those. The perfect way to build the strongest army, and since he took them away from their families quite young, they were devoted to him.

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