Chapter 180
+25 Points
I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. Beside me, Astor was deep asleep. He was breathing softly. He looked peaceful.
I slipped out of bed very quietly. I didn’t want to wake him up..
I put on my working clothes and I tied my hair back in a tight ponytail and looked in the mirror. I looked ready for business.
I left the house and walked straight to the Pack House. The air was a bit chilly in the early morning,
but I didn’t care.
When I walked inside, the huge house was silent. Most of the pack was still sleeping. Only the Omegas were awake. They were in the kitchen, starting to clean.
“Luna?” one of them asked. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I said loudly. “But somethings need to change.”
I walked into the main living room and looked around. The furniture was arranged differently than
before I left.
There were new curtains I hated. There were ugly vases I didn’t buy. The whole place smelled like lavender which I know most people were in the pack hate the smell of.
“I want everything moved. I want this place to look exactly how it looked six months ago. Every chair, every table, every painting. Put it back.”
They started to work, but it wasn’t fast enough. I wanted this done before breakfast.
I closed my eyes and opened the pack mind–link. I spoke to everyone in the pack who was awake.
“This is your Luna, I need everyone at the Pack House immediately. We are doing a deep cleaning. If you are awake, get your butt down here.”
Within ten minutes, the house was full of people. It was chaos. People were dragging tables across the floor. Dust was flying everywhere. I was shouting orders like a general in a war.
“scrub the floors!” I yelled. “Wash the walls! Open the windows!”
About an hour later, the front door slammed open.
Astor stood there. He was wearing sweatpants and a t–shirt. His hair was messy. He looked confused and very annoyed.
“What on earth is going on?” he shouted over the noise of a vacuum cleaner.
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He walked over to me. I was standing in the middle of the room, holding a clipboard.
“Why is everyone screaming?” he asked. “Why is the living room upside down?”
I smiled at him. “We are cleaning, Astor. We are putting things back to where they belong.”
“At 6:00 in the morning?” he snapped.
“Stop this. Tell them to stop.”
“No,” I said calmly.
“Faith,” he warned. “I don’t have time for games. Stop whatever you are doing.”
I stepped closer to him. I looked him right in the eye.
+25 Points
“I will not stop,” I said. “If I don’t like the way a chair is sitting, it will have to move. If I don’t like the
smell, I will scrub it out.”
Astor looked like he wanted to argue, but he stopped. He looked over my shoulder and
I turned my head slightly. Standing on the staircase was Annabella. She was wearing a silk robe. She was watching us. Her eyes were narrowed. She looked like she wanted to kill me from a
distance.
I turned back to Astor and grinned. I decided to put on a show.
“Oh, Astor, honey!” I said in a loud, sugary voice.
I grabbed his arm and hugged it tight against my chest.
“I Don’t be a grump.” Astor stiffened. He tried to pull his arm away. “Faith, what are you doing? Let
go.”
“No,” I said. I reached up and pinched his cheek. “You are so cute when you are mad.”
The warriors nearby stopped moving furniture. They were watching us, trying not to laugh.
Astor’s face turned red. “Faith, stop it. People are watching.”
“Let them watch,” I said. I rested my head on his shoulder. “He tried to pry my fingers off his arm, but I held on tight. It was a funny wrestling match. He was strong, but I was stubborn.
“Get off me,” he hissed.
“I will,” I whispered in his ear. “But only if you agree to come with me somewhere. Right now.”
“I am not going anywhere with you,” he said.
“Okay,” I said loudly. “Then I guess you’re disturbing me because they still a lot to be done because
after this I’m coming to deal with your office.
Astor panicked. “Fine! Fine! I will come with you!”
I let go of him immediately. “Great! Let’s go.”
I grabbed his hand and dragged him out the back door. Annabella was still glaring at the top of the
stairs, but I didn’t even look at her.
We walked into the woods behind the pack house. The noise of the cleaning faded away. It
became quiet.
Astor was walking behind me, grumbling. “Where are you taking me? This is ridiculous.”
“Just follow me,” I said.
We walked for about ten minutes until we reached a small clearing. It was a circle of grass
surrounded by tall pine trees.
“This place hasn’t changed in six months,” I said, looking around. “It is peaceful.”
Astor crossed his arms. “Okay, we are here. Now tell me what you are doing.”
I didn’t answer him with words. Instead, I closed my eyes.
I focused on my energy. I imagined a big, invisible bubble around us. I pushed my power out. I felt
the air shimmer.
A shield formed around the clearing. It was a privacy shield.
I opened my eyes. “There. Now nobody can see us. Nobody can hear us. Even if they are standing right outside the trees, they won’t know we’re here.”
Astor looked impressed. He looked around, sensing the magic.
“Your powers have become a lot more controlled,” he admitted.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I learned a lot while I was gone. Now give me your hands,” I said.
“Why?” He asked
“Just do it, Astor.”
He hesitated, then he held out his hands. I took them in mine. His hands were warm.
I closed my eyes again. I started an internal chant. It wasn’t a spell to hurt him. It was a cleansing
spell. I wanted to remove the dark magic.
I sent my white magic into his body. I searched his heart. I searched his mind.
I searched for a long time but I found… nothing.
There was no curse. There was no mind control. There was no dark magic clouding his brain. His energy was clear. His mind was his own.
My eyes flew open. I dropped his hands like they were hot.
I looked at his face. I looked at the ‘cold‘ expression he always wore.
Suddenly, I understood.
“There is nothing there,” I whispered.
“What?”
“There is no magic on you,” I said, my voice getting louder. “Annabella didn’t spell you. You are not
cursed.”
Astor went very still.
“You have been pretending,” I accused him.
I pointed a finger at his chest.
“You are not a ghost,” I said angrily. “You are not a zombie. You are doing this on purpose! You are acting cold because you want to!”
I felt betrayed. I thought he was a victim. I thought I needed to save him. But he was just lying to
- me.
“Why?” I demanded. “Why are you pretending? What’s going on? Tell me the truth, Astor! Right
now!”
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