When Emotions Collide

"My Lad—"

Elena stopped the moment she saw me dragging myself into the office. The file in her hand slipped unto the table as she hurried over.

"What happened? she asked, searching my face. "You look exhausted ."

I admit it.

I hadn't slept a wink last night. I was awake the entire night thinking about what Elena had said.

"I think I know what happened to your mother."

Those words were what I had been waiting to hear for the past three years.

"I'm fine." I reached for my coffee and took a slow sip. "See? Still alive. Now tell me, what happened to my mother?"

Elena sighed and walked back to the table, picking up the file she'd almost dropped.

"My lady..." she began softly. "You should be taking care of yourself. The Luna selection is coming soon. You can't be looking like this and expect to be chosen," she said bitterly, as if she was the one getting married.

I raised a brow.

"What if I don't want to be chosen? I asked. "Since when did we start living for men's approval?"

She didn't reply. Instead, she handed me the file.

I opened it.

The words on the first page made my blood run cold.

Moonbind curse.

My eyes stopped running.

"My source was certain." she said. "Your mother was cursed with the ancient Moonbind Curse."

I looked up at her.

"Moonbind...?"

"It's an ancient curse," she explained. "It slowly steals it host's life force, clouds their mind, and leaves them trapped inside their own body. By the time anyone notices it. It usually too late.

The coffee cup slipped from my fingers and shattered across the floor.

I barely heard it.

For three years my mom had been suffering while everybody called it an illness.

My vision blurred.

For a moment, I felt all my strength leave my body. My face turned pale, and tears escaped my eyes freely, as if they had been waiting for the right moment to break me.

"No!" I whispered, shaking my head. "Not my mother.

My voice cracked.

She never hurt nobody. Why would someone want her dead?"

Elena looked torn. For the first time, she sat beside me and pulled me into her embrace.

That alone broke my heart even more.

Elena wasn't someone who cried. She grew up as an orphan, bullied by the very people who should have protected her. I had seen her sign the papers for her father's cremation without shedding a single tear.

Yet today, she was crying for my mother.

I held unto her as if she was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

After a long moment, I forced myself to speak

"Who did this?" I asked in a whisper.

I was already exhausted from the sleepless night, and now I had to face this.

Whoever did this better pray they were already dead, because if they weren't, no one would be able to pull them out of the hell I was about to create for them.

"Still searching," she said. " But I'm very close," she said reassuringly.

I lifted my head and wiped my tears.

"Find that person," My hands curled into fists. "I don't care what it cost." I took a shaky breath." I need you to find them."

I paused, my hands tightening.

"Each one of those monsters who did this to my mother, will never get away with it."

My phone lit up. Kael's name flashed across the screen.

Kael

Of all times, why did he have to call now?

I stared at the screen, anger and uneasiness washing over me.

"Aren't you going to pick up?" Elena asked quietly.

I almost declined.

But I answered anyway.

"What the fuck do you want, Kael?"

He chuckled.

The anger I was trying to hold back threatened to explode. I inhaled sharply.

"What's so funny?"

"I was wondering how long you'd make me wait before answering."

I closed my eyes.

I was fast losing my patience. If he wanted to play games, today wasn't the day.

"I'm hanging up."

"Wait!"

My thumb froze above the red button.

"If you're wasting my time, I swear..."

"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

I went completely silent.

For a second, all I could hear was my heartbeat pounding against my chest.

My grip tightened around the phone.

"...Where are you?"

I grabbed my car keys and headed for the door.

"Meet me at Eclipse 88 Lounge. Don't be late," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up!"

I ended the call and walked straight out.

"My Lady, what happened?"

"I'll be back soon."

Without waiting for another question, I left.

A few minutes later, I was speeding down the road toward the direction.

Eclipse Lounge 88 looked exactly like the kind of place I would describe in one of my novels.

Dark, mysterious, and filled with people who probably had more secrets than I had unfinished drafts.

The moment I stepped inside, the soft golden lights, expensive cologne, and quiet conversations surrounded me. Everything about the place screamed luxury, from the polished marble floors to the guests dressed like they had walked out of a magazine.

Normally, I would have stopped to admire the details. A writer's instinct was to find inspiration everywhere.

But tonight, I wasn't here for inspiration.

I wasn't here to have fun.

My mother's curse was still heavy on my mind, and the only reason I walked through those doors was because I needed answers.

Just as I lifted my gaze toward the quiet corner of the lounge, I saw him.

Kael.

Dressed like he wasn't the same man who had been dragged through humiliation the night before.

He sat comfortably in the private section, one arm resting on the chair while he swirled the drink in his glass. His expression was calm, almost arrogant, like being punished by the Lycan King hadn't touched him at all.

For a moment, I simply watched him.

The man who once thought he had me figured out.

The man who thought I would always stay where he left me.

Apparently, some things never changed.

I walked toward him, ignoring the curious glances from the people around us. When I reached his table, I pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.

His lips curved into a knowing smile.

"You're here." His gaze moved over me briefly. "What will you drink?"

I ignored the amusement in his voice.

"Kael, I'm not here for drinks. Tell me what you know."

He smiled, resting his back against the chair.

"You don't seem ready to know."

"I swear to the Moon Goddess..."

"Do you know you need me? I know things you have no idea are happening around you."

I shifted my weight in frustration.

"I want you to know one thing for sure. I don't need any man. Talk."

"Then how were you so confident in front of Alpha Alaric? Was it because I was there with you?"

Was he being sarcastic?

I rolled my eyes so hard I felt it in my brain.

"Stop flattering yourself," I said coldly.

He reached for the drinks menu and held it up. "Then let me buy you a drink. Maybe it'll loosen that stubborn tongue of yours."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"My mother is lying in bed, barely holding on, and you think I came here for a drink?"

His smile faltered.

"I came here for answers. If you have them, talk. If not, stop wasting my time."

"I never said I had answers, I said I knew things you didn't."

I stared at him unbelievably.

He leaned forward, his hot breath brushing against my face.

"How could you have left just like that yesterday? You are my fiancée."

That was the moment something inside me turned cold.

I was furious.

"You called me here just to complain?" I stared at him. "Why did you think I would wait after finding you in such a disgusting situation with my own stepsister?"

His jaw tightened.

"Oh, please. I am your Alpha. What more do you want?"

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"So much confidence from a man who was just humiliated in front of his entire pack."

His expression darkened instantly.

I didn't care.

"Say that again, Aria Ashford."

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

To me, his so-called authority was nothing more than a performance. A throne built for his own ego and his little plaything to admire.

"You will do nothing."

His hand curled into a fist. His glowing eyes burned with restrained anger.

"You are testing my patience, Aria."

I slowly rose from my seat, refusing to let him see even a hint of fear.

"Maybe your patience was never as strong as you thought."

His gaze softened as he stared at my cold expression. He stood up and drained the rest of his wine.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice until only I could hear him. The stench of alcohol hit my nose, dragging back memories I wished I could forget.

"If you don't act fast, what remains of your mother will become nothing but a pathetic memory."

He scoffed.

My face burned with rage.

"You ass—"

I swallowed the words.

Cursing at him wouldn't change anything. I needed to prove him wrong.

I looked up, and our gazes collided.

For a brief moment, silence filled the room.

"I'll make sure you don't forget my name anytime soon."

Something flashed across his face before it turned cold again.

He straightened his back and walked away.

I watched him leave, each step carrying the arrogance of a man who believed he had already won.

But he didn't know...

He had just given me another reason to destroy everything he thought he owned.