The Luna Who was Spoiled Chapter 07

The Luna Who was Spoiled Chapter 07

My father looked at me, his face darkening. I took a slow breath, my hands clenching then relaxing again. “Father, let me handle this.”

He looked as if he wanted to argue, yet nodded at last and sank back down. He sank back into his chair, his body tense and poised to intervene at any sign of trouble.

The door flew open. Liam burst in first. He was far thinner than I remembered, his face marred by new scars. He froze when he saw me. Finn and Caleb edged past his motionless form, their faces etched with both hope and dread.

The four of us stood in silence. Finn had changed the most. The gentle, laughing man I remembered was gone, replaced by a gaunt figure with dark circles under his eyes, as if the life had been leeched out of him. Caleb’s temples had started to gray too.

Finn spoke first, his voice low and hoarse. “…Zoe? Is it really you?”

I didn’t answer, only staring at them calmly. Three years on the island, cherished by Nereus, had changed me completely. Motherhood had lent me a calm and graceful composure. The woman standing before them was both familiar and strange.

I forced a polite smile, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, only to accidentally reveal the distinct mark on my neck, which was one Nereus had left out of possessiveness and worry before I left. Realizing my slip, I hurried to cover it, but it was too late. The three men were staring at my neck, their breaths coming in ragged bursts. The secret was out.

I cleared my throat. “Long time no see. I’m just back to visit Father. I’ll be leaving again soon.

“Leaving?!” Liam’s face instantly paled. “You’re going back to that place? Zoe, we were wrong! We…”

I cut him short, my expression turning steely “I live with the merman now. That’s my home. Why wouldn’t I go back?”

They fell silent under my steady gaze. I turned my back on them.

“Father, I think there’s a stream behind my old cottage, isn’t there? Once Nereus and Oscar have eaten and rested, I’ll take them there to stay for a while. I want to spend more time with you.”

“You… you’re going to stay in that old cottage?” Caleb’s voice was rough. That house held too many of our memories. And now I was going to take a stranger there.

I glanced at their exhausted faces, the question rising in my lips again. But in the end, none of it mattered. I checked the position of the sun. Oscar would be crying for me soon. After a quick goodbye to Father, I walked past the three of them without a second glance.

I was almost at the gate when I spun around. “How long are you going to follow me?”

If Nereus saw them following me, trouble would follow.

Liam stepped forward in a hurry. “Zoe, please, give us a chance to explain…”

“Explain?” I was tired of all this. “Fine. Explain this. If you were so happy with Evelyn, why do you all look like this now?”

They froze. In the suffocating silence, Finn was the first to speak up.

“We were never with Evelyn. It’s not what you think.”

I frowned. “You left me for her. You said she was better than me in every way. Did you grow tired of her? Or…” I let out a cold laugh. “Is she not as good as you thought she’d be?”

“It’s nothing like that!” Caleb snapped. “We thought you were too spoiled! We just wanted you to know what it felt like to lose us, to teach you to cherish what you had! So we made a deal with Evelyn. We pretended to be her lovers. In exchange, we tested her herbs.”

The truth was so absurd it stole my breath.

It had all been a show.

They hadn’t cared at all about how I felt.

After a long moment, I lifted my head and said in a cold voice, “I’m warning you, don’t follow me. My mate… he’s very possessive. He doesn’t like other males near his partner. Don’t bring trouble upon the pack.”

I turned and left without a backward glance. Only when I was gone did Caleb’s head rise slowly, his eyes bloodshot, his expression darkly threatening.

“I heard… if the Luna loses her mate… then she’ll need a new Alpha.” He didn’t finish the thought. Liam and Finn stared at him in horror. Finn slowly turned his head to meet their gazes. His once gentle eyes now churned with a terrifying darkness.