Moon Of Misfortunes

Chapter Nineteen: Work

Rosia's words replayed in my head viciously, as if I was painstakingly observing a murder of my own sanity. I was overwhelmed by her declaration of my involvement in the Council. Was she proud that I was almost murdered for a crime that she had committed? Was she proud that the Council had used me as a source of old world entertainment? Why the fuck would I want to be on a Council that nearly took my life for the sake of retaining a powerful image? I proceeded to grapple with my inner turmoils. I waited for hours as Rosia continued to lecture about her grande vision for the new leadership in Kingdom.

The meeting was dismissed after countless debates and applications for various positions. Once the crowd dissipated, I stood up abruptly and began to approach Rosia. Rubio immediately trailed behind me, knowing that I was going to confront Rosia about my nomination. She shifted her attention to us and smiled. We halted before her. Rubio gently touched my lower back, silently encouraging me to confront Rosia.

"I don't want to go back to that shithole," I spit out, disgusted at Rosia's disrespect.

She grinned at my outburst and spoke, "So, you are angry that I assigned you to lead the High Council of Lycans. Most would consider it an extreme honor to land such a position."

"Well, I don't. I refuse to go back there."

Rosia sighed at my comment as she turned her back to me and walked towards a seemingly ancient drink trolley. She leaned down and seized a decanter filled with tanned liquid. She carefully unscrewed the glass top and poured its contents into three glasses. She placed the decanter back in its rightful location. She spun on the heels of her feet while clutching two of the glasses in either hand and extended it forward to Rubio and I. I cautiously took the glass. She rotated back to the trolley to take her drink before renewing her focus on us.

"It is a Macallan Fine And Rare Single Malt Scotch from 1937," she paused, "it was a 40,000 dollar bottle that the Royals had. You'd be a fool to not enjoy it. Goddess knows that the Royal family will never drink it."

I sipped the liquor, tasting the richness of the sour and deep honey flavor. It was an acquired taste, for sure. Rubio seemed quick pleased by the scotch and continued to sip.

"Stop stalling, Rosia. I don't want to go back to the palace. I suffered there. I almost died there."

"Stop being melodramatic, you were never in any real danger."

"Never in any real danger," I snorted, "I lost my pups in that house! They hung me for fuck's sake! Do you not care about my life?"

"This is pathetic, Adaline. I know what happened within the walls of that palace. My men were everywhere within the Council, especially within their security. You need to get over this idea that I don't care; if I didn't care, you would've been burned alive and beheaded. Is that what you wanted instead," she questioned, "I thought you would have been alright to oversee the new High Council. You could ensure that no one would experience the unfair treatment that you received while being tried. I guess you are not strong enough to be a leader."

I was totally enraged by her insults. I began to speak, suppressing my urge to verbally snap at Rosia's transgression.

"I am strong enough for leadership-"

"Then it's settled, you and Rubio will oversee the Council. Now, if you will excuse me, I have more important business to attend to."

Rosia suddenly exited the room, dodging my attempts to challenge her demands. I set my scotch glass down on a table and started to charge after her, but was softly tugged back by Rubio.

"Let go of me," I growled out.

Rubio twirled me around and pulled me into his chest, hugging me. I struggled against him, desperate to defy Rosia and get out of this punishment. His arms remained around me, refusing to budge, for minutes until I settled down.

"Maybe this is for the best, Adaline," he sighed, "I am not the most thrilled about having to go back, but at least we can make sure that they do not wrongly punish other wolves. Think about it, we can make a difference in the Council."

"I'm scared, Rubio."

He tore away from the embrace and stared down at me. I avoided his gaze, not wanting to be met with his displaced pity. He tenderly lifted my chin with his curled index finger, forcing me to lock eyes with him. He leaned down and softly kissed me for a second.

"We will be together in this, Adaline. You will not be alone. Hell, I'm worried about returning, but we owe it to ourselves to right the wrongs we have endured."

I remained in his embrace until someone cleared their windpipe, causing us to peel away from each other. I glanced over to the origin of the noise and observed a rather uncomfortable looking Theodore leaning against the wall. I rolled my eyes at his presence.

"We have to head back to the palace per Rosia's orders."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I began to exit the room, but not without I shoved past Theodore, colliding with his broad shoulders on my way out. Rubio mumbled an apology to his old friend on my behalf before jogging up to me. I forced myself through the labyrinth of the castle until I arrived outside, just a foot from the SUV we had ridden in earlier.

The chilly wind nipped my skin, causing me to lightly shiver, as I waited for Theodore and Rubio to catch up with me. I stared up at the moon as I had done on countless occasions, except this time I was convinced that the Moon Goddess couldn't hear me or, at the very least, she had abandoned her children on this Earth. We were all doomed to some fucked up fate, I thought. The moon is filled with misfortunes opposed to the compassion from the Moon Goddess herself.

Eventually, Theodore and Rubio caught up to me, which peeled me away from nihilistic thoughts. Rubio stepped ahead of me and opened the back door for me. I climbed in, ignoring both of the men in front of me. Rubio sighed as he shut me in the vehicle. After a few seconds, their doors swung open and they, too, took their seats.

"I guess Rosia can bark orders, but can't see her own sister out. Ridiculous," I muttered.

That caught the disapproving attention of both Theodore and Rubio. I could feel Rubio burning holes in the back of my head, but I refused to acknowledge it. I yawned and proceeded to stare at the slow-moving forest as we drove away from the castle. My eyelids started to feel heavy and I shut my eyes, slowly drifting into a well-deserved slumber.

***

I awoke to Rubio gently shaking my knee. Lazily, I observed the environment around me. I was still in the SUV, but we had halted our movement. The rays of the rising sun beamed inside of the cabin. I squinted at the brightness, continuing to study my surroundings the best that I could. Much to my distaste, the palace was clearly in view beside the vehicle. I sighed. Too bad I wasn't hallucinating that meeting, I thought.

Rubio stared at me, analyzing me for any form of emotions. I remained stoic, much to his distaste. I jostled my door open and poured myself out of the confinement of the backseat. Once I was fully outside, watched a group of large wolves run around the green hedges and line up in front of the palace. The momentarily bowed at our presence before resuming their training. Rubio appeared behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"We have work to do," I said emotionlessly, shrugging his hand off.