His Rogue Luna

"Why did you do that?" He asked, breaking the silence. I blinked up at him, wondering what he was referring to. "Why did you let them escape?" He repeated, stepping forward. I had a hard time not focusing on his chiseled chest as I answered.

"Because they all deserve freedom and a second chance," I replied, furrowing my brow at how obvious my answer was. Why else would I do it?

"They were my prisoners and they all deserved the punishments they got," he growled.

"They deserved it? They deserved rotting in there for years without getting any fresh air and being denied their basic right of shifting?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes! Because just like you they were filthy rogues trespassing on my land," I scoffed loudly at his words, feeling that familiar hot pressure build in my chest.

"I don't care what you think about me, call me all the worst names you can think of, I don't f*****g care," I began with a growl of my own.

"What you did to those wolves was completely unfair and cruel. You didn't even give them a chance to explain and instead gave them the false hope of a trial which was never happening!

You even imprisoned your own pack member based on some questionable gossip! What kind of alpha are you?" I yelled.

"How I rule my pack and govern my people is not the business of a stranger like you. You have embarrassed me in front of them pulling that stunt of yours and now they know you're my mate. I have a lot to sort out because of you!" He yelled back.

"I was ready to accept you but this changes things as my pack thinks their Luna is a traitor," the disgust in his voice should have hurt me but my anger prevented me from feeling anything else.

"The feeling is mutual. I'm ashamed to call someone as unfair and as cruel as you my mate. At least I was doing a good job hiding the mate bond," I snapped. He masked his hurt quickly and rage filled his eyes instantly. My own eyes glowed with the promise of my wolf and I quickly realised where this was going.

I took a quick breath, letting the cool air calm me. I let the feeling of snow between my bare toes distract me from my anger.

"Like you said, you have a lot of things you need to sort out and I'm sure your pack is waiting for you," I spoke coolly.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. Once he had collected himself, he looked at me with his usual stony mask of indifference.

He grabbed my upper arm in his hand and began pulling me with him as he walked. Every protest and tug I made only tightened his grip on me further. It would no doubt leave a hand sized bruise on my skin.

Needless to say, the walk back to the pack house was silent and painful and my mind drifted over to my new friends to distract itself. I found myself trying to mindlink them.

'Artemis are you okay?' His voice was quiet, no doubt from the distance but I managed to pick it up.

'I'm fine. What about you guys, where are you?' I asked. Instead of answering, Conan showed me what he was seeing. They were still running in their wolf forms, but at a much more leisurely pace.

'You're near the Rocky Mountains now. You'll get there in about three days,' I spoke. 'There's only two smaller packs near you right now but they are pretty friendly. You can take your time,'

'Okay. I wish you were with us, we can't thank you enough,' he replied. I felt a small smile tug on my lips.

'I will be with you guys soon, I just have things I need to sort out over here,' I paused my mind link to catch my surroundings and realised we had arrived at the pack house.

People were whispering and staring at us, at me specifically as we passed and only when Aurelius growled did they scurry away. He led me down the familiar steps and the smell of death and decay greeted me once again like an old friend.

I was shoved into the cell in the farthest corner, the space darker and smaller than the others. Aurelius stood over me, two guards now flanking him as he stared me down.

I stared back at him, letting him see my defiance and refusal to submit in my eyes. I didn't wince as the guards pulled me up to stand and forced my hands into tight silver cuffs. The inner side of them had spikes which I realised was covered in wolfsbane. They dug into my flesh, piercing them deep enough to be painful but not enough to be life threatening. I already felt some of my blood trickle from my wrist and down my arms.

They stood back and locked the door while I had a stare down with their alpha through the bars.

His face was blank and his jaw was clenched. He assessed me for a minute before turning and stomping away.

"Don't let her out until I say so," he barked to the guards.

"Yes Alpha," they responded. I heard the door slam shut and I closed my eyes, returning to my conversation with Conan. 'Artemis, are you there?"

'Yes I'm here, it's going to rain and it might be difficult for some to travel. Find some shelter for the night and eat,' I ordered. 'Yes Artemis, he responded. I fought a smile.

'Tell me when you're settled. I'll speak to the rest then,'

'Yes Artemis,' I smiled fully this time at his tone as I waited. I watched the world from his eyes, seeing as he sniffed at the ground and looked for a place with a good vantage point. I heard the howls he heard as he followed the sound to the bottom of a hill. There Erica's patchy wolf stood at the mouth of a small cave under the grass. I smiled, happy for them.

I spent the rest of my day watching them all and talking to each of them to pass the time and distract me from the pain. I let their happiness wash over me and give me the strength I needed.

I knew from the beginning that this wouldn't be an ordinary mate bond but I had no idea how painful it would be. The ache in my chest only grew until it was the only pain I felt. My mate was hurt and was carrying a heavy burden. I could see the ghosts and demons in his eyes. His actions were hurting me and others around him.

But I had made a choice to stay and I would take it. I would stand by my choice and accept everything thrown my way, even if it was covered in wolfsbane. There was simply no going back.