Chapter 6: I Don't Know How to Grant Fertility

I spent the whole day in bed after the engagement dinner. It was like my nerves had hit an all-time overload. Despite attraction and fear warring against each other, fear came out triumphant, and the battle of nerves left me tired...and hungry.

I barely ate the potatoes I was served and didn’t dare touch a knife. Mordecai ate his whole plate, seemingly calm, but I knew better. He was beyond angry to have me as his Luna. Although he didn’t say it and made it seem like he was calm about it, no one breaks a knife at their engagement dinner.

Wendy didn’t ask why I was moping and forced me to eat my three daily meals. When dinner rolled around, she didn’t bother asking before tearing off my covers and shoving a fork of venison, which I don’t like, in my mouth. I disguised my disgust with discomfort the best I could.

Since I had much more freedom than I was first informed, I went to the grand courtyard and sat by the fountain. Wendy was nearby in case I needed anything, but she was keeping her distance.

Two days left until my wedding.

What sucked most about this was how wrong Melania was. She seemed so smart and put together when we first met in the tavern on the outskirts of where I lived.

Melania St. Belmont was the most beautiful female shifter I ever met. Her milky skin shined, her red curls were majestic, and her golden eyes captured senses. I watched the way a bartender couldn’t take his eyes off her. His fangs were peaking through his mouth, showing how much he craved her.

Melania had as much brain as she did beauty. She was so smart when she stopped Edwin, one of my father’s gambling “friends” from forcing me to “service” a regular. My father lost a lot of money to him, so to lessen it, he made me work in Edwin’s tavern. Little did I know what I would be made to do.

I put up a fight. My wolf isn’t strong, but I survived in the Mulberry house for twenty-odd years. When Melania found me, I was losing and about to get overpowered, but she stopped it all by tossing a bag of money on the floor.

“Give me her,” she said pointing at me, “and you can take the money.” Edwin didn’t think twice, and while it wasn’t his place to sell me off, Melania said she never intended to buy me but help me. She only needed me to help her in exchange.

I spent too little time with her to understand it all, but after spending a whole day in bed, I’d come to question why. Why did Melania choose me? Why didn’t she tell me accurate information about being the Luna of Nox? Why does it feel like if this all explodes in my face that I’ll be the only one punished?

When I thought of these questions, my mood went sour again. I placed a hand in the fountain and let the icy water pass through my fingers.

As much as I blamed Melania, I am the one who agreed to take her place. This is my life as “Melania St. Belmont,” but I didn’t know anymore. Should I really stay?

“Lady St. Belmont?” I whipped my head up and saw a portly old woman crossing the courtyard. She wore a dull brown gown and had her silver hair tied up in a high bun. Surprisingly, Wendy curtsied towards the woman, who looked like a servant herself to me.

“That’s me. Um, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”

The woman smiled at me, revealing a set of crooked teeth, and sat down next to me.

“My name is of no importance to the future Luna. I am simply one of Nox’s Elders.” I blinked rapidly at the word. An Elder! They were the oldest members of Nox and gained wisdom and magic through their years of remaining alive. Their wisdom is said to be life-changing.

Elders are considered extremely hard to have an audience with, but one sat right down next to me.

“What can I do for you, Elder?” I asked with a straightened back. She smiled at me and began to observe the courtyard as if it were a new addition to the pack.

“Simply here to tell you your duties as Luna.”

I wished the stone wolf above us could’ve fallen on my head.

Duties? What duties!?

“Please tell me,” I asked, but my heart was hammering against my rib cage, and I worried the Elder could hear it too.

“As Luna of Nox, it is your job to create balance,” the Elder began and breathed in the air with her eyes closed. “The Alpha leads. He provides his shifters with power and order. The Luna nurtures. She provides her shifters with peace and prosperity.

“The Alpha and Luna work as a unit, and they are both vital for the survival and stabilization of Nox. As the Luna, you must do what Mordecai cannot.” She begins to hum to herself while I collect my thoughts. Balance? Nurturing?

“I understand, but is my presence really that necessary?” The Elder stopped humming and stared at me, making my skin prickle. “I-I mean, there must be things Mordecai is able to do without a Luna. I shouldn’t take over so much power in his pack.”

“What nonsense,” the Elder huffed. “How could a male shifter grant females fertility?”

My brain halted.

What…did she just say?

“What did you just say?” I asked aloud. She looked over at me and smiled.

“Why, granting fertility? It’s a duty only a Luna can do for her pack. She must bless her Inner members fertility pheromones to help them bear children. It’s a vital task.”

Bless members with fertility pheromones. I have never in my entire life, though it be short and sheltered in a very horrible household, have heard of a such a thing! When did female shifters of high status need their Luna to help them get pregnant? Was this a secret only the inner pack should know?

Gosh. Fertility pheromones? Like wolf magic pheromones? Unbelievable.

I sat there miserably as she went on about other duties. Making sure the pack members are healthy. Keeping the castle in good spirits. Resolving any conflicts in the most peaceful way.

There’s no way I can do all this.

“There’s also taking care of the Pup Nursery. As Luna, you must have a connection with all the pups. Oh!” The Elder clapped her hands and sprang from her seat.

“Speaking of pups, the Luna’s main job is to help sire an heir for the Alpha.” I felt my mouth drop, throwing the Elder into a fit of giggles. “Oh, don’t be like that. You already knew, and hopefully after your wedding, the Alpha will have heirs.”

The Elder began humming to herself again and left without so much as a goodbye. Wendy, who went inside based on the tray of steaming mugs of cider in her hands, pointed at the Elder before looking at me.

“You’re done talking already?” Even when she was concerned, she came off as mean.

I nodded my head, once again not trusting my voice, and started to walk away. When Wendy tried to follow, I held up a hand and gestured that I wanted to be left alone.

I crossed through the overgrown gardens and felt ribbons of fear and guilt breach my chest. I couldn’t cry. If I make a scene, Mordecai will know and things between use will only get worse. I rushed deeper into the gardens untill I found a corner I could sit down in.

I slid to the floor and rested my hands against my knees.

Everything the Elder asked for was beyond impossible for me to do because I had no wolf powers. I wasn’t born with any. I only had a wolf to shift into.

No powers. A fake identity. I’m doomed.

This meant there’s only one way for me to survive, and that meant leaving Alpha Mordecai on the altar.