Luna’s Retribution

CHAPTER THREE

“I saw you Aiden” Tara continued “You were sleeping on her bed” she added, standing up from the bed and anticipating and answer from Aiden.

Aiden paused, he was angry that Tara had seen him in Ember’s room.

“Why would you enter Ember’s room without knocking?” Aiden asked Tara, diverting from the question she asked. He needed a way to leave that situation and the room immediately.

“Answer the question Aiden” Tara shouted at him this time, she knew he was trying to manouver his way out of answering the question.

“I don’t have time for this” Aiden said finally, as he made his way out of the room, walking out on Tara.

Tara was heartbroken. She couldn’t believe this was the same werewolf she ran away from her family and friends to marry.

Tara knew she had to confront Ember about what she did. And as for Aiden, she would try not to think about him too much. She thought of severing their mate bond and filing for a divorce but the thought alone seems disturbing to her.

It had been months since Aiden, her mate and the alpha of the pack had last touched her. What had once been an unbreakable bond now felt like a fragile thread, ready to snap at any moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt him in their shared bond, that magical connection between mates that allowed them to feel each other’s emotions. Now the bond was barely there, a shadow of what it once was.

The arrival of Ember didn’t seem to make things any better. Things have become worse very quickly. Tara’s place by Aiden’s side was gradually being overtaken by Ember. Every decision, every conversation, and every moment seemed to revolve around her now.

At first, Tara had thought it was just grief driving Aiden’s attention towards Ember. But soon, she realized that Aiden was slipping away from her entirely.

The subtle changes were the hardest to bear for Tara. The way Aiden looked at Ember, he treated Ember with a soft kindness that he no longer showed Tara. How he would stay up late talking with Ember in the balcony, while Tara sat alone in bed almost every night, waiting for her mate and husband, who never came. And there were the whispers – the members of the pack were beginning to talk behind her back. About how their Luna no longer had the alpha’s ear, how she was fading into the background.

Night came, Tara sat staring at the moon, a shiver ran down her spine, not from the cold but from the chill that had settled permanently in her bones.

The door to the her room creaked open behind her, and Tara didn’t need to turn around to know it was Aiden. She felt his presence, even though the bond between them was weak. The connection was still there, buried deep, but she wasn’t sure if that was enough anymore.

Aiden walked toward her, his footsteps heavy on the stone floor. He stopped a few inches away, and Tara felt his hesitation. He hadn’t made an attempt to talk to her alone in days, and she knew this wasn’t going to be a conversation she wanted to have.

“I didn’t see you at the meeting,” Aiden said finally, his deep voice cutting through the silence. He was talking about a meeting that was called to discuss and plan the annual pack feast that was coming up.

“I didn’t know there was one,” Tara replied, not turning around. “No one told me.”

There was a long pause, and Tara’s chest tightened with each passing second. She had known Aiden for years, and she could sense the weight of the words he was trying to say.

“I’m sorry,” he said, though the apology sounded hollow. “I’ve been…distracted.”

“Distracted?” Tara echoed, her voice trembling. She rose from the chair she was sitting in and turned to face him, her eyes blazing with a mix of hurt and anger. “Is that what you call it? You’ve been ignoring me for weeks, Aiden. Months, even.”

Aiden’s face twisted in frustration, but he didn’t meet her eyes. “Ember needs me. She’s been through a lot. I’m trying to make sure she and the baby are safe.”

“And what about me?” Tara demanded, her voice rising. “I’m your mate, Aiden. Your Luna. Or have you forgotten that?”

He flinched at her words but said nothing, his silence louder than any answer he could have given.

The air between them grew thick with unspoken tension, and Tara knew then that there was no going back. The bond they once shared had withered beyond repair, and Aiden wasn’t even trying to save it.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I can’t stay here and watch you give her everything while I get nothing. I’ve stood by you for years, Aiden, through everything. But I won’t stand by and watch you throw us away.”

Aiden finally looked at her then, his eyes dark with something that looked like guilt—but not enough of it.

“What are you saying?” he asked quietly.

“I’m saying I’m leaving,” Tara replied, the words tasting like ash in her mouth.