The Dead Luna
Chapter 39- How Wrong I Was

Chapter 39: 39- How Wrong I Was

Aurora/Phoenix:

"Are you saying that the king is planning to prolong his stay here? But why?" I watched Jai, who was standing quite close to me, busy taking those worms off my face.

"Shit! Can you stop moving this head for a little while, Phoenix?" He hissed through clenched teeth and then started dabbing a solution-dipped cotton ball on my cheeks.

Yeah. The healing didn’t work for me. It made it worse.

Thanks to Jai, as always, who kept me admitted in the hospital for three days under his strict eye, "I’m sorry,"

Coming from him, the apology was unexpected.

"And what are you apologizing for?" I asked, trying my best not to move my head.

"I shouldn’t have asked you to heal yourself. Thank, Goddess I was there on time," he closed the solution bottle and slapped my back, "Good to go, you sexy warrior!"

He turned away, and I quickly slipped on my mask.

Jai was wiping his hands with a napkin when I mumbled, "I hope Alpha Blake didn’t make a fuss."

He tossed the tissue in the bin and leaned back to the desk, crossing his arms. He tilted his head, kinda watching me like I could break any time.

"Still worried about your image, warrior?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my water bottle, for taking a quick sip after lowering my mask, "That’s not about my image, Jai. I joined this pack so that I could be useful to someone. Alpha Blake did me a favor by letting me become a warrior even when I told him that I was a slave."

Jai chuckled at that and walked towards me, "Tell me about it. But hey," he stepped closer, fixing a bit of my hair poking out near my mask, "I’d punch him in the face if he would throw tantrums just because you tried to heal yourself."

A dry laugh escaped my lips. He was right. I could lean on Jai and know that he had gotten my back.

I looked up and found him watching me intently. I opened my mouth to ask him what he would do if his mate arrived.

And that was when the door flew open.

Luna Raya marched in and halted in her steps when she saw us standing too close to each other. With an embarrassed grin, I tried tucking back my hair with a red face and gave Jai a little push to put some distance between us.

The stubborn mule didn’t move an inch.

Luna Raya’s brows shot up in mock surprise, "Well, well," she said, tilting her head with that fake smile that was part of her face, "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you two... but this..." She moved her hands in the air.

"Raya," Jai said calmly, still not moving an inch, "She is hurt, and I am here to treat her. You know that. Right?"

The way he used to confidently call them by their first names without adding their designations to it always made me hold my breath and brace for their reactions.

"Treatment?" She folded her arms on her chest, "Looks more like flirting to me."

This time, I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Jai cut in, still maintaining his cool, "Everyone in the pack knows me better, Raya. Do you have anything meaningful to say, or just here to check my private life?"

He gently let go of my hand and moved away to his desk.

"Private life? In the hospital?" she pointed out with a sarcastic grin, but I could feel her voice cracking a little. She stared hard at me, and then her face crumbled, "Goddess. I hate this..." She blinked too fast.

In the past, whenever she tried to bully me in public, Jai always stood up for me.

"Mr. Jai Chris," her arms dropped down by her side as she tried controlling her tears, "You are a shameless, two-faced, fuc*ker."

Before any of us could react, she turned and ran out before either of us could stop her. I watched the door swing shut behind her. My stomach was still in knots when I turned to Jai, not sure what to say.

How dramatic she was! Why was she even here? As the pack’s Luna, didn’t she have better things to do?

"Do you think...?" My voice shook a little, "Do you think they’ll let me stay in the pack? The Luna is obviously not happy with me."

Jai’s face softened a bit as he shook his head with a smile, "No one is kicking you out, Phoe," he pulled back a little and closed his eyes, "And if they try, then you won’t leave alone, warrior."

I shook my head, "Why? Are you deciding to send a chaperone with me?" I joked with a smirk, but now his face had gotten serious, "Why chaperone? I’ll be right behind you. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily."

For a second, I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or freaked out.

"Are you serious?" My mask suddenly felt tighter when I tried to smile. He laughed as if he were talking to the dumbest person on this planet.

"You’re part of this pack, and anyone who doesn’t get that? Well, they’ll have to deal with me."

I blinked and kept looking at his relaxed face.

Would he do that for me?

***

"The royal family will be here soon, and I want all of you to keep a watchful eye on our borders," Kiara was pacing the ground while the rest of us were standing in a semicircle around her.

As the head warrior, thankfully, she was the one supposed to accompany them. I was off the hook, and Kiara also didn’t seem eager to have me around either.

There were a few warriors who wanted nothing more than to be with the Royals in the palace. I was the only one who preferred patrol duty near the borders, or honestly, I could happily stay in my room.

Kiara was now assigning duties to everyone. Finally she came to me and smiled, "You will stay near the border, Phoenix," I took a sigh of relief when I heard that, "Stay there and let me know if you find any unusual activities," she added, flipping through the notes on her tab, "It’s a twelve hour duty so just make sure you stay sharp. Don’t zone out or nap on a rock or something."

I gave her a small nod, trying not to grin. Honestly, it was an ideal duty. Luna Tamia and that stupid Tina wouldn’t even know that I was residing here.

But, man. Oh, man. How wrong I was!