Freda Pov
Something was wrong with the pack.
I felt it in the way the omegas looked at me now. Their eyes would slide away whenever I walked into a room. Their conversations would stop mid-sentence. They smiled, but the smiles didn't reach their eyes.
I was the Luna, but I felt like an outsider in my own pack.
"Good morning, Luna," one of the younger omegas said as I passed her in the hallway.
"Good morning," I replied with a smile.
She nodded quickly and hurried away like she couldn't wait to leave. I watched her go and felt that familiar ache in my chest. The mate bond with Urdon was still strained and painful.
He barely looked at me anymore.
I made my way to the dining hall, where breakfast was being served. The room went quiet when I entered. Not completely silent but quiet enough that I noticed.
Beta Rex was sitting at the main table with Delta Kyran. They were talking in low voices with their heads close together. When Rex saw me, he smiled, but it was cold and empty.
"Luna Freda," he said smoothly. "Join us."
I didn't want to, but refusing would look suspicious. I sat down across from them and reached for some fruit.
"Where's the Alpha?" I asked casually.
"Border patrol," Kyran answered without looking up from his plate. "He left early."
Of course he did. Urdon was avoiding me now, ever since I tried to warn him about the curse, he'd been finding reasons to be away from the pack house.
"I see," I said quietly.
Rex leaned back in his chair and studied me. "You look tired, Luna. Are you sleeping well?"
"Well enough."
"That's good." His smile widened. "We wouldn't want anything to affect your health. Especially with the mating season rites coming up."
There was something off about the way he said that. Something that made my skin crawl.
"I'm fine, Beta."
"Of course you are." He glanced at Kyran. "The Luna is always fine. Even when everything around her is falling apart."
Kyran shot him a warning look but said nothing.
I set down my fork. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Rex stood up. "Just making conversation. Excuse me, Luna. I have duties to attend to."
He left the dining hall, and I was alone with Kyran. The Delta still wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Kyran," I said softly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on."
"Don't lie to me. I can feel it. The pack is different, Rex is different. Even you're acting strange."
He finally looked up at me. His one good eye was tired. Worried.
"You should eat your breakfast, Luna," he said instead of answering my question.
"I'm not hungry."
"Then you should rest."
"I don't need rest. I need answers." I leaned forward. "Please, Kyran. If something is happening, I have a right to know."
For a moment, I thought he might tell me. His mouth opened like he was about to speak, but then he shook his head and stood up.
"I can't help you, Luna," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Then he left too, and I was sitting alone at the table surrounded by omegas who wouldn't look at me.
I spent the rest of the morning trying to act normal, but it was impossible. Everywhere I went, I felt eyes on me. Whispers followed me through the pack house.
"Did you hear about the Luna?"
"She's been acting strange lately."
"The Alpha seems unhappy with her."
"Maybe the mate bond isn't strong enough."
I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab them, shake them, and demand to know what they were saying about me, but I couldn't. I was the Luna. I had to stay calm and dignified even when my world was crumbling around me.
That afternoon, I saw Rex and Kyran together again. They were standing near the edge of the forest, talking quietly. I watched them from the window of my room.
They looked like they were planning something. The way they kept checking over their shoulders. The way they spoke was without looking at each other directly.
Whatever was happening, they were in it together.
I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to talk to Urdon. Needed to make him see what I was seeing.
I found him in his office, going through the pack reports. He didn't look up when I walked in.
"Urdon," I said.
"I'm busy, Freda."
"This is important."
He sighed and set down his papers. "What is it?"
"It's about Rex and Kyran."
His expression darkened immediately. "Not this again."
"Please just listen to me." I walked closer to his desk. "They're spending too much time together. They're always talking in secret, and the pack is acting weird around me. Something is wrong."
"The only thing wrong is your paranoia," Urdon said coldly.
"I'm not paranoid."
"Yes, you are." He stood up. "You've been obsessed with Rex and Kyran for weeks now. You watch them. You follow them, and u make up stories about them."
"I'm not making up anything. I'm trying to protect you."
"From what? My own Beta and Delta?" He laughed harshly. "Or are you trying to protect yourself?"
I stepped back. "What does that mean?"
"It means I'm starting to wonder why you care so much about Kyran." His voice got louder. "Why are you always talking about him. Why do you notice everything he does?"
My heart dropped into my stomach. "You think I have feelings for him?"
"Do you?"
"No." I felt tears burning in my eyes. "Urdon, I love you. Only you."
"Then why won't you trust me?" He moved around the desk toward me. "Why do you keep questioning my decisions? Why do you keep undermining my authority?"
"I'm not trying to undermine anything. I'm trying to help."
"I don't need your help." He was standing right in front of me now. Close enough that I could feel the mate bond pulling between us. But instead of comfort, it brought pain. "I need my Luna to support me. Not question me."
"I do support you."
"No, you don't." His eyes were hard. "You support your own fears. Your own doubts. Your own feelings for other wolves."
The accusation hit me like a slap. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it?" He leaned closer. "Are you questioning my Beta or hiding feelings you shouldn't have?"
The mate bond flared painfully between us. I gasped and grabbed my chest; it felt like something was tearing inside me.
"Urdon, please," I whispered.
"I have work to do," he said and turned away from me. "Close the door on your way out."
I stood there for a moment, trying not to cry. Then I left his office and went straight to my room.
I collapsed on the bed and let the tears come. Everything hurt: my chest, my head, my heart. The mate bond felt like it was breaking apart piece by piece.
Urdon didn't trust me anymore. The pack didn't trust me, and I had no idea how to fix any of it.
I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Then I just lay there staring at the ceiling.
Maybe Urdon was right. Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe I was seeing problems that didn't exist.
But deep down, I knew the truth.
Something was very wrong in the WolfTrail Pack. And it was only getting worse.
That night I couldn't sleep. I kept replaying the conversation with Urdon in my head. The way he looked at me. The way he accused me.
"Are you questioning my Beta or hiding feelings you shouldn't have?"
The mate bond flared painfully between them.