Never Getting The Luna Ritual Chapter 04

Never Getting The Luna Ritual Chapter 04

It was half past nine the next morning.

I closed the last suitcase and glanced around the room.

In the closet, Forrest’s clothes hung neat and orderly. My side was empty, stripped bare.

Quarter to ten.

Fifteen minutes remained until the time Forrest had set for the Luna Ritual.

Serena spoke up suddenly, “What if we head to the Moon Altar just to check? It would be pitiful if he waits there only for us never to show up.”

“Serena, why do you keep falling for the same trick over and over?” I said softly.

Serena let out a long howl, “I am the very core of your soul. Deep down, you still hold hope for your Alpha.”

I fell silent, stunned by her words.

Serena pressed on, “Do you want to go to the Moon Altar or not?”

I sat in the silence for a long moment. “I will go to the Moon Altar,” I said aloud, the decision solidifying as the words left my lips.

“Then it’s you who keeps walking into the same trap, not me,” Serena purred triumphantly, as if she’d won our little argument.

A laugh escaped me, bitter and wet with tears. “You fool. Have you forgotten? A Warden must also go to the Moon Altar. To sever her bond with the forest she leaves behind.”

I slipped into my black warden’s robes, fastened my necklace strung with desert wolf fangs, grabbed my luggage, and headed for the Moon Altar.

The grounds were lined with moon lilies, spreading like a silvery river beneath the moonlight, breathtakingly beautiful.

Yet Forrest was nowhere to be seen at the altar.

The Elder stepped out from the shadows, looking at me with awkward regret, “I’m truly sorry, Luna, the Alpha…”

“Don’t call me Luna,” I cut him off.

“But you have given so much to the pack,” the Elder insisted. “You’ve guarded the forest’s peace and safety. In all our hearts, you are already our Luna, marked ritual or not.”

Memories drifted back to the first time Forrest and I met.

He’d stared, pure astonishment on his face. “Who in the Goddess’s name still wears a bear-fur scarf? And those fangs on your necklace—stars, they’re huge! No forest wolf left those. Hey. Who are you? What are you doing in our woods?”

He’d tried to step closer, but sharp wariness made me twist his arm and pin him to the ground. “Where is your Alpha?”

“You’re breathtaking,” Forrest had murmured, gazing at me dazedly, “Will you be my Luna?”

I’d tilted my head in confusion back then, “With strength like yours, how did you even become an Alpha?”

Little by little, Forrest had woven himself into every part of my life.

Now, he failed to show up at the Moon Altar.

Instead, he reached for me through the mind link.

Darling, Lila got accidentally cut by a silver dagger. I’m rushing her to the pack healer now. I’m afraid I can’t make it to the Luna Ritual today.

I have no idea where the silver dagger even came from.

Once you return from your trip, I’ll come fetch you myself from the forest. We’ll head straight to the Moon Altar right away—this time nothing will delay us.

I read his words, feeling nothing at all inside.

This was the eighteenth time he’d put it off.

A faint, final smile touched my lips. I knelt, scooped a handful of dark soil from the foot of the altar, and smeared it in twin streaks down my cheeks.

At the same time, I replied to him through the mind link.

There’s no need, Forrest. I’ve chosen to resume my duties as a forest warden. We need not contact each other ever again.

What? Wait a second!

Forrest’s voice exploded chaotically inside my mind, rambling in panic and desperation.

I drew a dagger and sliced open my palm. Blood welled up and dripped onto the soil. A soft breeze stirred, making the moon lilies sway gently.

I spoke in a quiet, steady tone.

I, Meredith Hale, reject you, Forrest Voss, as my destined mate.

From this night onward, I shall return to guard the forest’s dark hours, journey to the next woodland realm, and uphold my oath as a warden.

May the Moon Goddess watch over you.

The moment my words faded, Forrest’s voice vanished completely.

He could no longer reach me through the mind link.

The mate bond between us was broken forever.