His Lost Moon

Chapter 2 - Life-changing experience

Accalia POV

(Two years later)

My mind protested seeing the lifeless body of the bunny I had just caught, its eyes staring blankly at me.

It reminded me of my brother's death, his glossy eyes calling for help, and my mind raced to the images of the day I found Dustin hovering over my twin brother's dead body.

I sighed, shifted back, picked up the dead bunny, and walked to take a seat on the river bank.

The autumn sun shone warmly on me, and a smile pulled at the corners of my lips.

It's been a hard two years going rogue to find Dustin and bring my brother's murderer to justice, but the Moon Goddess has been good to me and provided me with everything I needed.

Another breath left my lips as I lowered my feet into the water. A week after the murder trial, my father and I, yet again, argued about Dean's death in his office.

Dustin was set free, and all charges were dropped against him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and I had become bitter throughout the process. Slowly but surely, I started to hate everything about the silver-eyed boy who once was my brother's best friend.

In the week that followed after the verdict, Dustin was praised as some sort of hero. Everyone looked up to him, except for me.

I saw his true colors, and because of that, I was branded as the villain of Dustin's perfect little story.

I lost all of my friends in the process and was bullied and humiliated wherever I went. School was the worst, but I kept my head up high, trying to be strong, yet the hate inside me for him grew darker and stronger.

Everyone hated me, and because of that, it fueled my insides with so much hatred that I wanted to prove that Dustin was guilty.

I just needed concrete evidence that Dustin wasn't as innocent as everyone thought, and I was dead set on proving his guilt!

I had become obsessed with finding the flaw in Dustin's perfect little world...

I have stalked and followed him everywhere I could.

I went as far as researching the royal pack.

I researched everything that I could get my hands on, even going as far as to find old blueprints of the Royal Packhouse in our local library.

In the beginning, stalking Dustin was easy.

Then, Dustin suddenly disappeared...

Everyone blamed me for his sudden disappearance, and the bullying increased.

I was constantly in fights, and my life became a living hell. It wasn't only the packs that bordered around us giving me sh*t, but even my pack that hated me.

I sighed. It was because of my trespassing into the Royal Pack territory that my father and I ended up in an argument.

I wanted to find Dustin and show everyone that he was still alive, then return to my original plan and seek concrete proof that he had killed Dean.

Entering the Royal Pack undetected was a whole different ball game... I had to sit and wait and watch everyone's movements, especially the guards' and warriors' comings and goings.

As soon as I figured out their schedule, I noticed that there was a five-minute window between the shift changes, which gave me enough time to enter the pack undetected and run off to find Dustin.

Never did I expect to be caught red-handed—and that by Queen Luna Elizabeth.

I sighed and remembered that Queen Luna Elizabeth didn't call the guards on me but was actually kind of warm towards me.

"Little one, are you lost?" she asked, with so much concern in her soft voice.

Her silver eyes reflected worry and were the same color as those of Dustin. Her long raven hair hung like a curtain around her lower back. She was dressed in a plain white blouse and a pair of blue jeans.

She knew who I was; she recognized me the second she saw me, and I suspected that she was waiting for me; she knew I would be looking for Dustin.

"I am," I lied.

I knew very well what special gifts the queen and the rest of the royal family had. Queen Luna could summon a person's wolf forward, and because I was only sixteen, I hadn't received my wolf yet, which meant that the Queen wasn't capable of asking my wolf to reveal the real reason for my visit.

"Then let's return you to your pack. It is getting late and will be dark soon." She smiled warmly at me.

I didn't argue, and I followed her. I was already planning my next visit.

Queen Luna personally drove me back home and handed me over to my father.

He was surprised to see Queen Luna at his doorstep.

"Queen Luna? This is surely a surprise." My father gasped, seeing her, and bowed his head out of respect.

"Alpha Greg, nice to see you again," the Queen greeted him warmly.

"Would you like to come in, Your Highness?" He asked, still shocked that the queen was standing before him.

"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head. "I need to go," she answered.

"By all due respect, my Queen, then why the sudden visit?" He asked.

"I am just returning something that belongs to you," she said, smiling and turning toward me.

I gave my father a smile and a wave of the hand, knowing I was going to be in heaps of sh*t, but maybe this time he would listen.

"My daughter..?" My father gasped, surprised, not believing his eyes.

I guess he didn't notice that I was standing behind Queen Luna all this time.

"Yes, I found her lost and wandering around our pack lands. It was getting late, and I didn't want her to get hurt or attacked by rogues, not after your pack had lost so much," she answered.

"Yes, yes, thank you, my Queen," my father said, bewildered, and pulled me inside.

The queen left, but my father dragged me to his office.

As soon as Father entered his office, anger and disappointment colored his face.

"Haven't I told you to stop?" He growled at me. This wasn't the first time that I had been caught...

"Yes," I answered, "you did..."

"Then why are you disobeying me?" He roared, getting angrier by the second.

"Because he is missing, and he did it, father!" I yelled at him, "He murdered Dean; I just need proof!"

"Accalia, the head of the Royal Council, just gave me a call seconds before Queen Luna delivered you to my doorstep. The council complained that you were still stalking Dustin. Now you are snooping and trespassing!" He sat back and pinned me with his gaze. "Due to your obsessiveness with Dustin, the Council has decided to send him away. They have ordered that you not look for him, or else you will be severely punished!"

"They can't do that!" I argued, "Can't you see they are hiding something? They know he did it, and everyone is just brushing it under the carpet!"

"Enough, Accalia!" my father roared.

"But father, I know he is guilty! He killed Dean; doesn't it bother you?" I complained.

For some reason, my father didn't believe he had done it.

"Accalia, there was no evidence that stated that Dustin was responsible!" he argued.

"I know what I saw, father." I hit back, rolling my eyes. "Dustin had his hands extended into claws! He must have..."

"You know it's not possible! He is fifteen!" My father said, cutting me off. My father's eyes glared over, his wolf fighting for control.

For some unknown reason, my father's wolf was always the one who would intervene, and the argument would end up with me walking out furious.

"But father..!" I whined; I just wished he would listen.

"Accalia, drop the subject! NOW!" He ordered, furious, "You are conspiring against the Royals; they will banish you if you keep this act up!" He warned, but I refused to listen.

"The hell with the Royals; they are just as human as us!" I roared. "Why does everybody suck up to the Royals? He did it! He killed Dean! Why can't you all see and believe me?" I yelled, angry tears burning behind my eyes.

The court proceedings were bullsh*t; the whole thing was manipulated to the last detail!

Now, everyone believed Dean and I were drug addicts...

The DNA samples taken from the crime scene suddenly didn't match Dustin's, which made me believe that someone must have swapped them.

"I said enough!" My father roared, lost control of his wolf, and hit me. I stepped backward and tumbled over the coffee table, hitting my head hard against the floor.

"You are insulting Queen Luna and her family!" My father's wolf roared out with anger. "Have some respect, or Mother Moon will punish you!"

I looked at my father with tears burning in my eyes. He had never before lost control over his wolf and allowed him to go this far.

"I'm sorry," my father said, his eyes widening as soon as he gained control over his wolf and took a step toward me.

"Save it!" I growled, getting to my feet.

"Accalia!" My father called behind me, yet I ignored him, feeling hurt and humiliated.

I will find some other way to prove that Dustin was guilty and get rid of that son of a b***h myself. It didn't take me long to decide what I wanted to do. I packed my things and left the pack. A heartbreaking howl echoed in the distance, indicating that my father had received news that I had left the pack.

I made sure to use the river to escape, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have a life-changing experience in search of the truth.

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