The rejected life of Luna Madison

Shifting interest part 2

Madison POV

It began with small changes.

Changes that Madison could have attributed to coincidence.

First, she noticed a change in Nathan’s demeanor. He had trouble focusing on things. His work, the pack, her.

Madison knew that he had a lot on his mind, and attributed his inability to focus on anything to that. Whenever she would ask him about it, he would snap out of his thoughts and would try to reduce her anxiety with soothing words.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so absentminded lately, Maddie,” Nathan stated with a sigh. Madison sat at her vanity in their bedroom, cleansing her face of the makeup she had put on that morning.

“It’s harder than you thought it would be, isn’t it?” Madison asked the question that had been playing on repeat in her mind nonstop for the last three days. Though she was afraid of the answer she would receive from him. She looked at him through her reflection in the mirror.

“No, it’s not that.” Nathan denied, shaking his head.

“It’s just… it’s just a lot. My father has been on my case. Lauren has been nagging me.”

“You’ve been talking to Lauren?” Madison asked, trying to sound casual.

They had both been trying to ignore Lauren’s presence the best they could.

“She’s been trying to schedule a meeting with me for a few days now. I’ve been avoiding it. I’ve made it clear where I stand, but she is very persuasive.” Nathan ran his hand through his black hair.

Jealousy started bubbling in her chest, but she quickly pushed it down, trying to be understanding of the situation. What would she have done if she was in the position that Nathan was now in? She was starting to worry though. Her twenty-first birthday was coming up soon, and she wanted to make sure she was marked and mated before that, so she didn’t have to go through this trying ordeal.

“Thank you,” Madison whispered, looking at Nathan in the mirror.

“For what?” He asked. Madison turned around to face him.

“For keeping your promise. I know this can’t be easy for you. I can’t imagine what you must be going through, and yet, here you are, trying to soothe my fears. I love you, Nathan.”

“I love you.” He dipped his head low and captured her lips, soothing her once again.

The second change started taking place gradually over the following days. Whenever Lauren was in their proximity, Madison would catch Nathan throwing not-so-subtle glances at her.

Madison assumed that Nathan’s wolf, Nyko, was curious about his mate and that that was the reason for this sudden change in his attitude.

Once again, she tried pushing her own feelings to the side, trying to be understanding. But it was getting harder and harder.

Especially when she caught Nathan smelling one of Lauren’s sweaters that she had left behind after dinner one night.

“Nathan, what are you doing?! “ Madison hissed, glancing around to make sure that no one saw what he had been doing. Madison still had the pack's respect as their future Luna, and she wanted to keep it that way. If the pack started doubting their relationship, they would look weak in the eyes of their enemies, and that was very dangerous.

His unit was staring at him, just as confused as Madison.

“Dude, what are you doing?” His beta, Robert, asked him. Madison could clearly hear the worry in his voice, and that scared her. If his unit was starting to worry, did that mean he was losing the fight against the bond?

Nathan seemed to snap out of his trance and quickly discarded the sweater as though it burned his skin. His eyes snapped to Madison’s, who, for the first time, was having trouble hiding her fear and jealousy.

“Maddie, I…” Nathan began, but before he could say anything else, Madison stormed out of the dining room. She needed a moment to recollect herself.

For the first time, her resolve was starting to c***k. Was Nathan losing his fight?

Madison ran into their suite and locked herself in the bathroom. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

It hurt. It hurt so much. What would she do if she lost Nathan? She would rather just get up and leave. Leave him before he chose Lauren over her. That would make it all the more painful.

“Maddie…” She heard Nathan’s voice on the other side of the door as he gently knocked.

“Maddie, I’m sorry, please, let me in.” He pleaded.

Madison slowly unlocked the door and opened it.

One look from Nathan had her leaping into his arms. The pain and regret she saw there were so genuine, she couldn’t fault him for his actions.

“I’m so sorry, Madison. I’m so sorry. I’m having some trouble controlling my wolf.” He whispered in her hair.

This, too, hurt Madison. She thought his wolf liked her and her wolf. But the mate bond must be stronger.

“How much longer?” Madison asked as small hiccups escaped her.

“I’m hoping to have her gone by the end of this week,” Nathan whispered, running his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner. Madison closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

“Okay. We just have to hold on a little longer.” Madison whispered as she heard Nathan sighing in relief.

“Thank you for understanding, Maddie. I’m so afraid of losing you. You can’t leave, I need you like I need air to breathe.

They just had to fight it for a bit longer. Then everything would go back to normal.

The biggest change happened five days later.

The end of the week had come and gone, but Lauren was still in the pack, and little by little, she seemed to be winning over its members. She had nothing to do but wander around the pack all day, making small talk with the pack members and helping them where she could.

If it weren’t for her fear of losing Nathan, Madison would have applauded Lauren’s efforts. It was nice of her to help where she could. But Madison started noticing that the pack members that had once treated her with respect, seemed to be questioning her ability to be the Luna.

But they seemed to be forgetting that Madison had a full-time job where Lauren had none.

It was Sunday morning, and Madison walked up to the training ground, ready to help train the warriors of the pack as usual.

She had woken up to find Nathan already gone. That in itself was uncanny, but when she arrived at the training field, what she saw made her freeze in her tracks.

Lauren was standing next to Nathan, talking to him while laughing and twirling a strand of her hair around one of her fingers. But what surprised her the most, was Nathan. He was chuckling along with her, while her hand lay on his shoulder.

He would have pushed her away just a few days ago. What was going on?

Madison felt a presence next to her and looked up to see Robert standing by her side. His face turned towards her, and what Madison saw in his eyes had her stomach turning.

Pity.

Madison felt as though her whole world was crumbling around her. Nathan was changing. She had tried ignoring it, but the evidence was all around her. The evidence was in Robert’s eyes.

Madison turned away and stormed back inside the packhouse. She reached the toilet just in time as her breakfast reappeared.

Just a few days ago, she would have found Nathan behind her, holding back her hair and making sure she was okay, but not now. Madison was all alone.

She dropped to the floor next to the toilet and felt mentally and emotionally drained. Maybe she should go see the pack doctor to prescribe her something for the stress.

Yes. Madison pulled herself up and headed to the hospital. That was exactly what she was going to do.

And after that, she would confront Nathan.