Chapter 7
I blinked slowly. He blinked, mirroring me.
“Val.”
The room flickers away and I am back into the void. But I’m not done yet. I’m not at
peace.
I need justice.
When I flicker back into reality days have. passed, even though for me it feels like seconds. I guess time ceases to have a hold on you once you‘ ve died.
“It needs to be a grand affair, bigger than any party this pack has ever thrown,” Max throws his hands wide as he explains the plans of my funeral to Dex. “Not just a day of mourning for our entire pack, but a celebration of life.” His hands move slowly to his sides as he adds. “She was our most precious jewel. Everyone inthe
pack needs to know what a treasure we lost when our luna was killed.”
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“Sir,” Dex nods solemnly, “We have already begun the preparations. There is only one problem. We will need a few photos of her to display. Something to remind the pack of the beautiful Luna that she was,” he pauses. “I’ve tried looking but I can’t find anything. It seems she didn’t like having her photo taken,” he smiles as he looks at his alpha. “Do you have anything in your collection that might work?”
Surprised, Max shakes his head in
confusion. “But there should be dozens of photos. She’s been Luna for 5 years.
Dex shrugs and says he’ll look again, but I know he won’t find any.
I shredded them all.
Things started falling apart between Max and me a couple of years into our marriage. Together, working side by side, we had
turned the Golden Eclipse Pack into a force worth envying.
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At first, I was more of a help mate. We spent a lot of time together. We always assumed that I’d soon be so busy with pups that I wouldn’t have time to do more than be his companion and support him.
But when years passed and the babies didn’t come, I needed something to do. I have always been athletic, and before finding my mate, had been training with my father, a powerful Gamma from the
River Moon Pack.
It wasn’t long before the soldiers respected me and I earned my place in pack security.
But Max didn’t like the changes he saw.
“You used to be soft, now you are so hard,” he’d complain. “What happened to my beautiful Luna?”
Over time his words grew harsher, more twisted and cruel. No matter what I tried I was never good enough.
On our last anniversary, I tried to make
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myself beautiful for him. But when he saw my efforts, his lip curled in disgust.
“I can’t even get hard,” he snapped. “You look like a man.”
The pain I felt as he fell into Phoebe’s bed that night broke me. When I woke, I found a picture of myself and burned it as my body seized with the pain of their lovemaking.
That was the first time.
Every time after one of his liaisons, I‘ d burn another photo. Eventually, all that was left was the photo from our wedding.
The photo he tore into pieces the night I died.
He never knew. I didn’t want him to
know.
“Damn it! I know there has to be one
around here somewhere.”
Our room is a mess. Papers are strewn everywhere as he digs through every
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drawer and cupboard, looking for a single, lovely image of me.
On the table, the photo from our wedding that he tore to shreds lays wrinkled and poorly taped with several pieces missing.
Plopping down on the bed, he holds his head in his hands. “There has to be
something.”
He sighs and then perks up, remembering something. Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he shuffles papers and cards. around until a small, wrinkled corner catches his attention. Gently pulling, he retrieves an old snapshot.
It was from the day he proposed to me. He still had that photo after all this time.
“There you are,” he smiles, talking to my image.
“Max,” a small voice calls as she pushes open the door. “Alpha, I was looking all over for you.” She places a hand on his shoulder. “The Council wants to talk to
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Chapter 7
you about picking your new Luna. They saw my mark and…”
With alpha speed Max raises to his feet, grabs Phoebe by the throat, and slams her into the wall of our bedroom.
“I told you to never show your face to me again, you whore!” he growls as she scratches his hand, trying to break free.
“You are nothing compared to Valerie, do you hear me!”
He hits her head against the wall again and again.
“You will never be my Luna! You can never be her, you will never be her.”
I as she gasps for breath, her eyes rolling back as footsteps sound down the hall.
“Alpha, what are you doing?!”
