Page 27 of Chasing Luna
I look at my grandmother’s cold, vicious, and deadly demeanor. I glance at the men and women behind her, trembling in fear, some looking at me and others looking at their Queen. I smile back at her. “You heard your Queen,” I declare to the girl below me, launching combos at her, stopping only when she ceases to move. By the time I was done, my own blood had mixed in with hers. “I don’t think she’s going to be able to move for a while,” I bellow.
My grandmother walks over to me and examines my face. “And not a scratch on you, impressive.” I bow my head graciously.
“Look at your princess,” my grandmother’s voice echoes in the still night. “This is the face of someone who is a natural-born killer. A demon.” She turns to face Gregory, who is flinching on the grass. “This is someone who is going to killyouif you’re not careful.” And just like that, I freeze.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Is this why she didn’t stop me? She wanted Gregory to watch?
“Now child,” she caresses my face, a lone finger taps on my chin, “it’s time for you to come to bed. You need to rest.” I reel back, unfamiliar with the gentleness in her touch.
“I want to fight more.” I make it a point to flicker my eyes at Gregory, hoping she gets the message.
“I see. Take him inside then. It’s too cold for you to be doing this outside.” And with that, she leaves.
I, on the other hand, instruct two of my bodyguards. “Bring her to the Omega’s house. I don’t need a weakling amongst the ranks of my warriors.” They bow and carry her back to where she belongs. Some other guards haul Gregory’s tired and bloodied body back into the house, up the stairs and chain him to the floorboards of the empty landing earlier. “Leave us,” I command and this time, they obey almost immediately. Once alone, I carry Gregory’s head in my lap. “Hey, Gregory. Can you hear me?” He groans and I put a hand over his mouth. “Shh! Not so loud. Can you move?” He shakes his head.
“You scared me back there,” he says. I take my hand away in response. “I thought you were going to kill her.”
My brows furrow at the thought. “I would’ve, to be honest. I wanted to break every bone in her body first.”
He exhales sharply. “You have a tendency to be… cruel, don’t you?”
“I’m an Esperanza. I was born to be evil, I guess.”
He laughs at that, before groaning again. “Fuck, those whips really hurt,” he whispers.
“Oh, you’re not into that kind of stuff?” I jokingly say.
“Maybe if I’m the one doing the whipping,” he replies, finding enough strength to give me a pinch on the cheek. I pull his arm away and fold it on his chest.
“Why did you come all the way here?” I ask quietly. His hazel eyes look up at mine.
“You need an ally inside this house. After all, it’s easier to break out of prison when there are two of you inside.” He grins.
“I’m serious, Gregory.”
“Well, I am, too. Your grandmother needs to believe that my pack is weak and stays under the radar. And for that to happen, their Alpha needs to leave.” He shifts uncomfortably from where he lay on my lap. “Otherwise, the whole ‘ambushed by the hired help’ plan might not work at all if she so much as sniffs an ounce of Dark Moon pack blood on me.”
“So, you faked an amnesia?” I snort.
“It was the only thing I could think of earlier. I didn’t plan on getting caught, I thought I could hide somewhere in the estate.” I flick his forehead.
“You idiot. You smell like an Alpha. You think she wouldn’t notice?”
“Yeah, I admit I didn’t think this plan all the way through. But now, I’m here.” He shoots a toothy grin at me and I grimace at the blood splatters all over his face.
“She could’ve beheaded you earlier too, you know?” I say, lightly wiping off the grime.
“Yeah, I think you have that responsibility now.”
“I am not going to kill you.” I slap him on his arm lightly.
“What she said earlier, what was that about?” He tries to sit up, but I stop him.
“You need to lie down and rest.”
He complies. “Okay. Answer my question, though.”