Madelineâs POV
âOh, I am so excited about tonight!â Luna Alice exclaimed. âDo you know who is working with whom?â
I smiled and shook my head.
âI believe they will decide that once the challenge starts,â I said. âThatâs a part of it actually. They need to figure out how to work together to find the object hidden in the forest.â
Luna Alice nodded. âOh, so exciting. I canât wait to see who will win.â
âI am sure that everyone will want Alpha Theodoreâs warrior on their team,â Luna Maria chuckled as she took another sip of her drink.â
Luna Alice nodded. âoh, definitely. âIt will be so interesting to see how they will decide.â
I smiled at them and glanced at Dimitri. He was only a few steps away from me. He was talking to Alphas Theodore and Lincoln. I couldnât hear what they were talking about, but Dimitri was smiling and I relaxed a little. He was too tense ever since we came to the throne room. He refused to let go of me for the first half an hour. I barely managed to convince him to let me step away so I could talk to the Lunas.
âI am so happy for you, honey,â Luna Maria said as she wrapped an arm around Aliâs shoulders. âBeta Will seems like an amazing man.â
Ali blushed a little and nodded. âHe is. I am so incredibly happy I get to call him my mate.â
Will marked Ali last night and I was over the moon happy for both of them. Will was an incredible man and he deserved the best mate and Ali was surely the best. I was convinced that Ali was perfect for him. I was convinced that Will was perfect for Ali. The Goddess really made a perfect match by bonding them together.
âAnd he is happy he gets to call you his mate,â I said, making Ali look at me. âYou are his perfect match. He is incredibly lucky he has you in his life.â
Ali smiled and shook her head.
âHow do you know all that?â she asked.
âWe talk,â I said, smiling brightly. âThe administrative stuff sometimes gets boring and Will loves to share.â
Ali and the Lunas laughed.
âOh, the only part of being a Luna I hate is the administration,â Luna Laura said, shaking her head. âIf I could just pass that along to someone else, I would be so happy.â
âWell, you will get to do that soon, wonât you?â Luna Alice asked, smiling. âHow old is your boy now?â
âHe is 17,â she said, smiling proudly. âXavier started training him a year ago. He will take over as soon as he turns 18.â
âLetâs hope he will find his mate soon,â Luna Alice chuckled. âYou will get a well-deserved break then.â
Luna Laura smiled and nodded. âI canât wait, trust me.â
I glanced at Luna Jennifer and saw her staring at her mate with an unreadable expression on her face. I wished that I could read her mind, but Dimitri was here and I couldnât hear anything.
âWhere is your friend, my Queen?â Luna Alice asked, making me look back at them. âEllie, right?â She is your Betaâs sister?â
I smiled and nodded.
âYes, she is,â I said. âShe is helping with the challenge tonight. She is in charge of the hidden object.â
âI heard that she is an amazing warrior,â Luna Laura said. âShe completed Michaelâs elite warrior program, didnât she?â
âShe did,â Ali said and I could hear how proud she was. âShe really is amazing.â
âAnd where is Michael tonight?â Luna Alice said, looking around. âI havenât seen him yet.â
âHe is also helping out,â I said, giving her a small smile. âHe is out in the forest with our warriors. They will make sure that the contestants follow every rule.â
âOh,â Luna Alice said, nodding her head. âYou thought of everything, didnât you.â
I smiled and she was just about to say something else when a couple of loud growls interrupted us.
My heart raced and I looked at Dimitri. He was already standing next to me. Everyone moved at the same time.
âWhat happened?â I asked as he picked me up and rushed out of the throne room.
I watched as Will did the same with Ali. Everyone in the throne room started panicking.
âThe rogues are attacking at the border,â Dimitri growled. âThere are hundreds of them.â
My heart stopped beating. I wasnât even aware that we were already in our room. Dimitri put me down and cupped my cheeks.
âYou will lock those doors and you wonât let anyone inside,â he said. âDo you understand me, Maddie?â
I grabbed his wrists tightly.
âEllie is out there,â Will mumbled angrily as he ran inside the room, holding Ali in his arms. âFuck. We canât leave them alone.â
Dimitri tightened his jaw and looked at him.
âWe donât have any other choice,â he said. âEveryone we trust is out there.â
âI will keep her safe,â Ali said, hugging Will tightly. âDonât worry. We will be okay.â
Dimitri looked back at me and gulped.
âDid you understand, Maddie?â he asked. âYou will open those doors for me or for Will. No one else.â
I nodded and tightened my hold on him. I wanted to tell him to stay, but I knew he had to go. He had to defend his pack. He had to defend his Kingdom.
âCome back to me,â I mumbled as I felt tears fall down my cheeks.
Dimitri smiled and wiped the tears from my face.
âAlways, my princess,â he said softly. âI will always come back to you.â
He leaned in and kissed me softly.
âYou are my home,â he said quietly.
You and our pup are my home. He added through the mind-link as he kissed me again. Nothing will stop me from coming back to you.
âI love you,â I told him, my voice trembling.
He smiled and kissed my forehead. I thought that my heart would give out when he moved his hands from my face. I barely managed to force myself to let go of his wrists.
âWill,â he said as he rushed to the door. âWe need to hurry.â
Will kissed Ali one more time before he ran out behind Dimitri. Ali took a deep breath as she approached the door. She closed and locked it before turning around to look at me.
âEverything will be okay, Maddie,â she said quietly. âThey will be okay.â
I couldnât stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.
âOh, Mads,â Ali mumbled as she approached me and pulled me into a hug.
I wrapped my arms around her and buried my nose into her neck. I sobbed quietly and she rubbed my back.
âHe will come back to you, Maddie,â Ali said softly. âHe is the King. Rogues have nothing on him.â
I knew that. My mate was strong. He was a great warrior. I knew that he would come back home to me. I knew that he would be okay. He had to be okay.
But I just couldnât stop the tears. They just kept coming against my will. I forced myself to take a deep breath. I released it slowly and gulped.
âI am sorry, Ali,â I mumbled as I let her go. âI donât know what came over me.â
She sighed and took my hand in hers.
âWhy are you apologizing?â she asked, chuckling a little. âFriends are meant to comfort each other. I am always here for you, Mads. You know that.â
I smiled and another tear fell on my cheek. Ali wiped it away.
I took another deep breath and I was just about to tell Ali how grateful I am to have her when a knock on the door made me freeze.
Ali tensed up and looked at the door.
âMaddie?â Luna Mariaâs voice made me sigh in relief. âAre you in here?â
I looked at Ali and she bit her lower lip.
âItâs Luna Maria,â I said quietly. âWe know her.â
Ali furrowed her brows and looked at the door again.
âDimitri said not to let anyone in,â she reminded me.
âMaddie?â Luna Maria called me again.
I sighed and shook my head a little.
âWe canât leave her out there,â I mumbled as I approached the door and unlocked it.
âOh, you are okay,â she sighed in relief as I opened the door.
I glanced behind her and saw that she was alone.
âI was so worried that something happened,â she said. âAll the Alphas just ran out screaming something about a rogue attack at the border.â
I opened the door a bit more and stepped aside so she could walk in.
âWhere are the other Lunas?â I asked as I closed the door.
I heard a loud thump behind me. I turned around in time to see Ali falling to the floor. I didnât have time to react before I felt something pinch my neck and everything went dark.