Scarred Luna

Kieran’s POV

I ran my fingers over my hair, as I stood in front of my mirror. I’d been standing in front of the mirror for the past hour now and was I tired? Hell no. If anything, I was more proud of myself than anything else.

I let out a low giggle as I tilted my head to the side. Dangling from the side of my head were a couple of braids I’d made in the past hour and if I was being honest, I had done a pretty neat job.

After I’d angrily fallen asleep last night, I decided to do something worthwhile with my time, instead of brooding over alpha Xander and how he had broken my trust. I wasn’t even sure he was thinking about it as much as I was, and here I was beating myself over it.

No. No more of that nonsense.

When I got up this morning, I decided to make good use of my time. A memory replayed itself in my mind and I decided I had to act fast. If I really wanted to become independent and not totally depend on Alpha Xander and the supplies in the mansion, I had to take my job hunting seriously. I’d spent a total of thirty minutes just deciding where I wanted to venture into, and after a million and one back and forths, I settled on being a stylist.

To further convince myself that I had made the right choice, I decided to make a few braids into my hair, and right now I was beyond impressed. For a beginner, I was sure I could take up a client and they would be more than impressed.

With a huge smile on my face, I headed down the stairs. I’d originally wanted to take them out, but I thought, how would Sabrina believe I was a good stylist if I didn’t have any proof? I took the stairs two at a time. My body thrummed with excitement and I had a hard time keeping my emotions to myself.

I had barely stopped on the last step when something reached my ears. It was low and if I could hear correctly, it was coming from beyond the living room.

What the hell was going on?

Slowly, I tiptoed towards the direction of the sound. From what I could hear, it sounded like harps and a mix of piano rhythms. Was Sabrina having a party? And without telling me too? This didn’t make any sense.

I made my way to the living room, without a thought in mind. I had no idea what was going on because Sabrina hadn’t told me anything. Why would she throw a party and not tell me about it?

The rest of my thoughts came to a halt the moment I got to the living room. Just in front of me were two people I never imagined together.

My breath hitched in my throat as I watched Xander and Sabrina, dancing under the huge chandelier in the living room. I wasn’t exactly close to them, but from my spot over here, I had a good view of everything going on, and as time passed, I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about it.

My chest tightened as my gaze landed on Xander’s hands wrapped so tightly around Sabrina’s waist. For a moment, I felt my vision blur, just to be replaced with red spots.

The low hum of the melodic song reached my ears, but for the life of me, I couldn’t bring myself to focus on it. The only thing worthy of my attention was the intimate moment Sabrina and Xander seemed to be enjoying.

A ripple of laughter cut through my thoughts and I blinked back, just to realize who had laughed; Sabrina. If the wide grin she wore on her face meant anything, she was happy. No, scratch that. She was ecstatic, almost as if she’d been waiting for this moment her entire life.

I clenched my fists by my side as Xander twirled her around. Under the chandelier, they looked like the perfect couple in one of my favorite childhood stories, and the mere thought of it was more than enough to send a searing pain through my heart.

My heart thundered violently in my chest, and if I didn’t find a solution to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if I burst into flames, right here on this spot.

“Not like that, silly.” Sabrina cooed, and I snapped back to the present. Apparently, Xander had attempted to twirl her around and had messed it up. Even with the little mistake I’d just made, I could bet a million dollars that she would relive that moment again, if given the chance to.

“You have to spin me the other way around.” she explained to him.

“Of course.” Xander’s laughter enveloped the place. All my life, since I had known him, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him laugh so heartily as he did at that very moment and instead of calming the rage steadily building up inside me, all it did was stoke the fire.

“You do know better after all.” he said.

I winced as the music reached a high pitched crescendo. I wasn’t particularly skilled in dancing, but you could say I was versatile enough to know the next steps, or what was expected of the dancers when a certain note hits. Time seemed to crawl to a halt as Xander spun Sabrina one last time, before pulling her flush against him.

The moon goddess must have hated me at this point, because at this point, the rest of the world blurred out, before focusing on the dancing duo. My pulse raced as Sabrina tilted her head closer to Xander’s face. I held my breath as I literally counted down to what was going to happen next.

No, I couldn’t take this. Not anymore.

With a steely resolve, I turned to leave the living room. I had almost made it out of the room, when my hand collided with a vase just perked up against the wall.

“Oh my!” Sabrina shrieked, jerking out of Xander’s hold. Her wide eyes searched the room for a moment, before settling on me.

“Kieran? I didn’t see you there.” she said

“Of course you didn’t.” I muttered underneath my breath. I held her gaze before sliding it over to Xander’s face. He didn’t look too surprised, but I could tell he wasn’t expecting me here at all.

“You were busy, dancing.” I said, my voice holding no emotion.

“I know right.” Sabrina cheered, oblivious to the emphasis I’d laid on the last words.

“Dancing is so much fun, right Xander?” she said and he hummed in response.

“Right.” Alpha Xander mouthed almost wordlessly. With his eyes still trained on me, I wondered just exactly what was going through his mind.

“Definitely.” he said absentmindedly.

I didn’t understand him anymore. One moment he was telling me how he wouldn’t hurt me, and the next, he would literally rip my heart into two by his actions. I had barely gotten over the incident with Alice, and now this?

Was there something going on between them? I knew they both went way back, but dancing under the chandelier on a Saturday morning wasn’t exactly a friendly activity to do.

“Kieran?” I snapped back into the present at the sound of my name. It took a while, but I realized it was Xander who had called out to me and a mix of emotions rushed at me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Are you fine dear?” It was Sabrina’s turn to speak up now.

“You hit your hand very hard. Are you sure it’s not bleeding?” she asked, genuinely looking worried.

“No.” I lied through my teeth, my fists clenching by my side. I could already feel the tear in my hand spreading pain throughout my body, but was I going to utter a single word? Not a chance.

The couple were having the time of their life and here I was interrupting it.

“I think I should go.” I stuttered out of the blue.

“I actually came here to talk to you about something, but it looks like you’re busy. I’ll just come back later.” I said.

“Nonsense.” A ray of hope struck me in the chest as she finally got out of Xander’s grip, before walking towards me.

“Come on in. We were just about rounding up, right Xander?” she asked and he hummed in response.

“Hmm, hmm.” Xander nodded twice. “We were just rounding up.” he said.

“Yes, it was so much fun.” she said and I kid you not, there was no difference between Sabrina and a child who had just been given her favorite candy right now. She looked so ecstatic to have shared that intimate moment with my mate. My fucking mate.

“And Xander is an excellent dancer too. He has definitely gotten even better since after the last ceremony.”

“Ceremony?” I mouthed. “What ceremony?” I asked, my curiosity piquing.

“It’s the biggest ceremony in the entire kingdom.” Sabrina beamed as she walked up to me. Without my consent, she took my hand in hers before pulling me towards the spot she and Xander once occupied.

“The mating ceremony. It’s an annual ceremony where every werewolf comes to find their mate, and then a grand ball comes up right after to celebrate it. The dancing is usually the most exciting part.” she explained.

So they were practicing for the dance. But still.

Even with the explanation Sabrina had just given, it didn’t sit right with me, so I did the only thing I thought was best at the time.

“That’s nice.” I quipped, releasing myself from her grip.

“But I have to go now. Enjoy your practice.” I said.

And without so much as another glance or a word from me to them, I made my way out of the living room, well aware of Xander’s gaze, burning into my back and following my every step till I was out of his sight.