His Missing Luna

Chapter Eighteen

Amelia's Point of View

"You can't be serious?" I screeched at the top of my voice. Inside, Vae was howling in utter disbelief. "How does anyone live through someone like that?"

Raya shook her head. "He's been a mess, ever since. After your mother healed him, he came back to the territory determined to fight his father for the pack."

"They were supposed to have fought in the morning," Finn continued. "But Peyton was blindfolded and dragged from his bed. The plan was to make it look like rogues had killed him in the forest." He swallowed loudly. "They left him for dead."

I could see from the look in Finn's eyes that this haunted him. I wondered if he blamed himself. Maybe because he was his Beta? I really needed lessons on how that worked.

Raya squeezed her mate's hand. "It's no one's fault but Andras's my darling." Finn looked at her with total adoration before nodding in agreement. Wow, they really were deeply in love.

"When Peyton showed back up here, all hell was breaking loose. We had been out to recover his body, but it was nowhere to be found. We knew then that something wasn't right and so did Luna Stephanie. She was enraged with grief and attacked Andras. Nathan was with her and did his best but they were out numbered by warriors. They threw Nathan in the dungeons and tortured him with silver."

Bile rose in my throat. How could anyone be so cruel?

"It took six fighters to hold Peyton down. He fought against them the entire time to get to his Mom. When Andras removed his belt and wrapped it around her neck, they started to become uneasy. Killing your mate, especially a Luna, goes against everything a wolf stands for. Peyton used their distraction to break free. He killed his father in less than a minute. He was brutal with him and continued to break his bones long after he was dead. As for his Mom, it was too late."

The compassion I felt for Peyton was overwhelming. Losing my Mom was agony and, being that it was only six months ago, it was still incredibly raw. But if I'd had to witness her being beaten first, screaming in pain and begging for mercy, and then watch as she was killed? There was no way I'd survive that. I would have crawled away and died myself.

"That's what all the howling was about." Finn had recovered enough to carry on. "Peyton is a good man and a great Alpha. He doesn't deserve to suffer like this. Having his mate nearby will bring him some peace.

"But I-"

"Look, I get it's complicated. I know what you think happened. But if you knew Peyton, even just a little, you would know there was no way he could murder your Mom."

"You think that?" Raya squawked. Her eyes hardened and glittered dangerously. "Our Alpha is not a killer!"

"Raya," Finn warned her in a low voice.

But Raya wasn't finished. "If you knew what he's going through, what he does..."

"RAYA!!"

Peyton was standing at the side of the room. I wasn't sure when he had reappeared and how much he had heard. His teeth were bared and his claws were out. My blood ran cold. When Peyton looked like that, it was very easy to believe that he could kill someone.

Raya's head snapped forward as she bared her neck in forced submission. Peyton didn't let up. Eventually, she started to whimper.

"Peyton?" I called. His eyes flickered to me for a second. They were black and filled with anger.

'What's his wolf's name?' I hissed at Vae.

'Why?' She asked petulantly.

'Now is not the time to be difficult Vae, just tell me!"

'Dice'

"Dice." I repeated out loud.

His head swung towards me, slowly, and he eyed me suspiciously.

"Dice." I repeated. "You're really hurting Raya."

Dice answered me through gritted teeth. "She disrespected you. She disrespected Peyton's orders. She needs to learn her place."

"Well she's not going to be able to do that if you break her neck!" I told him angrily.

I heard someone suck in a deep breath. Raya had lost the ability to take on oxygen, so I could only assume it was Finn.

"What did you just say to me?" Dice snapped his teeth together.

I took a step forward and he growled in warning.

"Careful Amelia." Finn's voice was nothing but a scared cry.

"I said. You are going to break Raya's neck if you don't let go." I took another step forward, then another, until I was merely inches away.

"Please Dice. Let her go." I searched his eyes, looking for any signs of mercy. What I found was a tiny dot of ice blue.

I heard a gigantic thud come from directly behind me, immediately followed by some coughing.

"Take her outside for some air." I barked in command at Finn.

"Yes, Luna." Finn replied.

Dice was still staring at me. "I wouldn't have killed her." He told me matter-of-factly. "Raya's wolf is fierce."

"There are some injuries not even a wolf can heal from." I said softly.

"Like your mother's?" He asked.

"Like your mother's," I replied.

Dice's eyes started to fade in color. Light blue began to swirl through the blackness until eventually I knew I had Peyton back in the room.

"Is this what you mean when you say you've not been at your best?" I asked him. All my hostility towards this man had vanished for the moment. We had been through our greatest losses at exactly the same time. We had been grieving under the same stars.

"I don't control my temper as well as I used to." I noted the use of the word 'don't' rather than 'can't'.

"You frightened me." I told him honestly.

"Yes." He knew what he'd done and he sounded disappointed in himself. He gazed at me, trying to communicate something through the look in his eyes.

Trudy chose this exact moment to saunter down the stairs. I watched impatiently as she took the slowest steps I'd ever seen.

"Luna. When you're ready I'll show you to your room."

I turned to Peyton. I didn't want to go anywhere until we'd talked further. But he was already half-way out of the door.