A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 98

I slouched a little in my chair, trying not to make it obvious that I was fighting the urge to yawn. These elders could talk about absolutely nothing for hours and still manage to make it sound like the fate of the world depended on it.

I didn’t even know why I was here. They’d woken me up from the best nap I’d had in days, telling me that I needed to represent Alexander in an “urgent council session.”

Urgent, my foot.

I glanced around the table again, letting my eyes move over each of the elders. They were debating some minor political issue I couldn’t care less about–something that could have easily waited until tomorrow’s regular council meeting. That was how it had always been done since I arrived here. Morning sessions, structured, predictable. Never this kind of ambush in the middle of the afternoon.

Alexander hadn’t even bothered to warn me. Again. I’d woken up to just a knock at my door telling me the elders were waiting. The irony wasn’t lost on me–he wanted me to act like a

Luna when it suited him, but he couldn’t be bothered to tell me where he ran off to half the

time.

I sat there, purse resting on my lap, trying to remind myself that I didn’t need to let his absence or the elders‘ pretentiousness get under my skin. I just needed to endure this, smile, nod, and get out.

My eyes flicked toward Gerald, who wI stayed standing in Alexander’s room even after the call with my mother ended, the silence thick between us. My phone screen had already gone dark, but I still stared at it for a moment as though I could disappear into the reflection.

I had lied. Boldly lied.

Technically, it wasn’t a lie–at least not in the way lies are usually defined. I told my mother that everything was alright with me. And in some sense, it was true. I was alive. I was breathing. I wasn’t bleeding out or being torn apart by the fever that nearly knocked me down. By that standard, yes, I was alright.

But it wasn’t the full truth. The words I didn’t say hung heavy on my tongue. I hadn’t told her about the sudden fever that had left me gasping for air. I hadn’t told her about the revelation Alexander’s mother had dropped on me like a stone in a still pond–rippling everything I thought I knew about myself.

I pressed my lips together, shifting awkwardly as I felt Alexander’s gaze on me. He had been watching me all through the phone call, silently, but his silence wasn’t light. It was heavy. Even now that I had ended the call, he still looked at me the same way, as if he were peeling back layers I didn’t want him to see.

I sighed and finally spoke. “Before you say anything…there’s a reason I didn’t tell her…about the fever. Or about what your mother said. I know she would only panic, and she’d probably assume I was dying or something dramatic like that. I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.”

Alexander didn’t even blink. He simply shrugged, as though my words barely grazed his attention. “It’s not my business whether you tell your mother the truth or not.”

I blinked, my mouth falling open slightly. Really? That was it? No lecture? No argument about responsibility or honesty?

“I just explained myself,” I muttered, half embarrassed, half annoyed. “And here I thought I was justifying why I-” I cut myself short and gave a little laugh, rolling my eyes at him. ” Never mind. Thank you for your time, Alpha,” I added, deliberately cheeky.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and I took that as my cue to leave.

I walked out of his room and down the hall, letting out a soft sigh I hadn’t realized I was holding in. By the time I reached my door, I felt lighter. Or at least I thought I did–until I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out my key.

1/3

Chapter 97

The key slid into the lock too smoothly.

Claim

My heart sank. I froze for a second before trying again, and that was when I realized the truth -I hadn’t locked my door. Again.

For the love of the moon.

I shook my head. Alexander would lecture me for the rest of the day if he had seen it. He was already on my case about security, about how careless I could be sometimes. Forgetting to lock my door was practically an open invitation for him to lecture me until my ears fell off.

“Great, Faye,” I muttered to myself. “Brilliant habit to keep repeating in a pack house full of eyes.”

I turned the knob and pushed the door open, mentally preparing to scold myself harder when my eyes fell on the figure standing inside my room.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Maya?”

The young maid startled at the sound of my voice. She had been standing near my dresser, and the way she flinched told me she hadn’t expected me to walk in at that exact moment.

“Oh–Luna Faye,” she blurted out quickly, straightening her posture. Her hands fiddled with the cloth in her grasp, her eyes darting to the floor before flicking nervously back up to me.

My brow arched instinctively. “What are you doing here?”

Maya swallowed hard, her cheeks flushing as though she’d been caught stealing. “I–I brought in your laundry, Luna. I folded everything and placed it neatly in the wardrobe. I was just about to leave.”

My eyes flicked to the wardrobe and then back to her. “Oh.”

I softened my voice, not wanting to make her more nervous than she already looked. “Thank

you, Maya.”

She bobbed her head quickly, clutching the cloth tighter. “Yes, Luna, of course. Always.” She backed away as she spoke, her movements hurried, almost clumsy. When she reached the doorway, she nearly tripped over her own foot.

“Maya-” I began, instinctively stepping forward to steady her, but she righted herself quickly, muttering something about being fine. Then, with another hurried bow, she scurried off down the hall before I could say another word.

2/3

< Chapter 97

I stood there in my room, watching her retreating figure until she disappeared around the

corner.

That… was strange.

Maya was always polite, always quiet, but this was different. She had looked rattled. Nervous. Almost guilty.

Claim

I glanced around my room slowly. Nothing seemed out of place. The bed was neatly made, the laundry folded just as she had said. The wardrobe door stood slightly ajar, but I supposed that was normal since she had just put things away.

Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was just imagining things. But the way she practically ran out of her…

My thoughts circled back to the last time Maya had been caught up in something…when Alexander had interrogated her. I remembered how pale she had looked afterward, her hands trembling as though she’d been dragged to the gallows.

Since then, she’d been different. More conscious. More timid.

Maybe this was just the aftermath of that trauma. Maybe she was still afraid of slipping up, of giving Alexander any reason to turn his piercing gaze on her again.

And it’s also his fault that I’m being paranoid now.

6

Comments

Get Bonus (Ad) >

E

815

Vote

3/3

as speaking at the moment. He wasn’t just an elder; he was a performer. Every word he uttered was coated with this oily smugness that made me want to roll my eyes so hard they’d get stuck in the back of my skull. He had that glint in his gaze again, the one that always seemed like he was waiting for someone to mess up just so he could pounce.

I hated that look.

The minutes dragged. The same points circled. By the time one of the elders suggested adjournment, I was already halfway out of my seat in my head.

Finally.

I rose when the meeting closed, relieved to be done with the endless chatter. I swung my purse strap over my shoulder–except it didn’t stay on my shoulder.

1/4

Chapter 98

Claim

Instead, there was a sharp snap, and the strap slipped completely free. My purse fell, hitting the floor with a loud, humiliating thud that echoed in the chamber.

Everything spilled. My comb, my handkerchief, a pen, a folded piece of paper, lipgloss, and my phone. I bent down quickly, embarrassed, ready to scoop them up…and then I froze.

Rolling across the floor like it had been waiting for its moment, a small silver ring. Not just any ring. I didn’t recognize it, but I didn’t need to… The expression on Gerald’s face when he picked it up, said it all.

The instant the elders‘ gasps filled the room, I knew it was something I should never have had.

Then Gerald threw it at me. “Can you explain this?”

I stared at it. The three–eyed wolf stared back at me from its engraved surface.

My blood ran cold, my body frozen in place. It was the ring Alexander had shown me–the very one he said Officer Derek had sent a picture of.

I just knelt there, staring, wishing it would vanish, wishing someone would believe me if I said I had never seen it before in my life.

But Gerald moved faster than thought.

He swept forward and picked it up again, holding it high between two fingers like he’d just unearthed proof of my darkest crime. His voice cut through the stunned silence.

“What treachery is this?” he boomed. “Our Luna, consort of the Alpha himself, carrying the emblem of the enemy?”

The chamber erupted. Voices overlapped in disbelief, in shock, in disgust. My heart pounded in my ears so loud I could hardly hear anything else. I wanted to say something…to deny it, to laugh, to scream…but my tongue felt like lead. My chest constricted until I couldn’t breathe.

It wasn’t mine. It wasn’t mine. I wanted to shout it, but no words would come. How did it get

into my bag? I had no idea.

Gerald stepped closer, eyes gleaming with triumph. “The Blood Crescent laws are clear. We do not take treason lightly. Possession of this ring is not mere suspicion. It is proof. We all have heard about this ring, haven’t we? The Luna harbors disloyalty, and perhaps worse.”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify