Zephyr knocked firmly on the door and it was opened within seconds.
"Come in, My Alpha." Alma said leading Zephyr further in to the large chamber of Luna Vilka.
The Luna was seated by the window of the inner room shielded by the light curtains as she sat on the sill watching the waxing gibbous that beautified the pale blue sky.
She inhaled deeply and released a puff of smoke of special herbs that had been given to her by Channe a moon ago.
Luna Vilka knew who it was when she heard footsteps.
Her son, Zephyr.
As she put away her rolled up herbs, she turned to him. He stepped in making sure to maintain some distance between them.
"Good evening mother." He said with a slight nod of his head.
"What a surprise, Zephyr."
"I figured we have not spoken about …her." He said.
"No, we haven't." Vilka confirmed. "But Ralph explained things clearly to me ."
Zephyr was silent, expecting his mother to say more but she didn't.
"And you have nothing to say." He concluded.
Vilka shrugged. "What can I say, Zephyr? I was left in the dark from all this."
Zephyr sensed the hurt in her tone
"How did the holy ground rejection go?" Vilka asked carelessly.
"You don't seem to care!" Zephyr said .
"It didn't work, clearly." Vilka said waving her hand over Zephyr to say that his character was still an irritable one.
Her son was usually very calm, very unreadable.
Zephyr sighed and he ran his fingers through his hair.
"What's wrong?" His mother asked swinging her legs off the Sill and uncrossing them with her eyes searching his.
Zephyr seemed unsettled.
"Alma make me some tea." Vilka ordered and Alma politely excused herself.
"What is going on Zephyr?" Vilka asked when they were alone.
Zephyr walked over to the sill and sat beside her dropping his head on his hands with a sigh.
"The lost souls," he said, his voice low and strained. "Their voices...they were silent last night. I slept. Slept, Mother."
Vilka's posture shifted with her spine straightening. "And you do know why?"
"Her scent," he ground out, his teeth clenched. "It's in my room. On my sheets. I slept, undisturbed, because of her." His body was rigid with tension.
There was a moment of silence and then he broke it.
"Tell me about mate bonds. Please ."
He knew that he had not been on his best behavior. Usually, his mother would be one of the first ones to know of something like this but he had become so ashamed when he saw that Royal Mark on Selene's arm.
"The mate bond is a lot of things…" Vilka began with a faraway look in her eyes. "The mate bond is like finding the missing piece of yourself you never knew was lost, it's a recognition, it's an irresistible bond that pulls two souls together. It makes you complete but at the same time complex, it makes you feel like home and at the same time, it burns with discomfort and anxiety….." Her eyes met his, filled with a sorrowful understanding. "I understand the agony of being mated to an enemy, the unwanted."
"You and father loved one another….. you can't possibly understand this." Zephyr said, with his voice thick with bitterness.
He rose from his seated position, "Otsanna came to see me this morning, Xander would be here in two nights."
"Give him my greetings." Vilka said.
Zephyr nodded but he didn't leave.
"How are you not irritated? How are you not going crazy with anger? How are you able to remain calm knowing that the daughter of the one who ruined our lives is in our grasp. " He asked.
Vilka sighed.
She was drained to be honest, too drained to react.
"I'm not calm, I'm weak." She said tiredly.
"I locked her away," he confessed, his voice laced with a raw, primal anger. "In the prison."
"I...understand," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
"Goodnight mother." Zephyr said walking away.
"Zephyr?" His mother called after him and he stopped without turning around.
"Your sisters are worried about you."
Zephyr grunted. He couldn't bring himself to tell them, especially Dorianna who might try to kill Selene on the spot.
He continued on with his walk towards the door and then his mother called him.
Again, he stopped without turning.
"Have you heard of the Silveren story?" She asked,
Zephyr scoffed and turned to his mother, then he turned around and left.
Unknown to him, Dorianna was just in the shadows and she had been listening .
—————————————————————————————-
On Selene's second night in the prison, she was laid weakly on her bed when she heard whispering at the door. She sat up in alert and when the door opened, she gasped in fear rising to her feet in alarm.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." A soft voice whispered, her voice laced with genuine concern.
She carried a tray, and Selene recognized her as the maid who brought her meager rations. But this was different. This was past mealtime.
The maid closed the door, her movements deliberate. "You haven't eaten all day," she said gently, crouching down and placing the tray before Selene.
Selene glanced at the tray, glanced at the maid and then glanced back at the tray.
Selene's eyes widened. Soup!.
Her mouth watered and her stomach clenched, reminding her of hunger.
She had not eaten anything because it was only meat and water that was being served to her.
Her eyes warily landed on the maid again.
"My name is Isolde, I have been helping take care of you. I assisted Channe and so I know about your likeness for Soup. It's a pity that most times I was around, you were asleep." Isolde Explained.
Selene narrowed her eyes. She had a hazy memory of seeing someone else with Channe but just as Isolde said, she had been sleeping a lot.
"When all this is over, then you will be happy you took care of yourself. Happy that you stayed strong for your loved ones. " Isolde said, her voice offering the best comfort she could give.
"I don't have anyone," Selene whispered, her voice cracking.
Isolde's heart ached at the sight of the broken woman before her.
"You don't have anyone yet," she corrected, offering a warm, encouraging smile. "I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow. Please, eat."
Isolde slipped out and Selene felt a sudden plunge of emotion but she restrained herself immediately.
She was not here to make friends or trust anyone.