Haven Rise of Luna

Clarice was thirsty. She needed to drink water, but she had difficulty holding the glass in her frail hands. She attempted again and this time she succeeded, but her hands shook uncontrollably, and the glass fell from her hands, spilling the water on her dress. The glass rolled and fell to the floor with a loud thud, sending broken glass all over the floor.

Damn! She feels hopeless and useless.

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. Why did she end up this way?

Why?

Why has she become so weak and ill?

She used to be healthy, full of energy and hailed as the most beautiful Luna in the entire East District, the envy of women far and wide. She earned everyone's respect despite the fact she was wolfless.

But things took a wrong turn six months ago when she and the other Luna went for a fun hunt in the forest, and she was bitten by an insect of unknown origin. When the hunt was over, she had a high fever for one week, got itchy rashes all over her body and her health deteriorated from that moment onward. No amount of medicine can cure her, which deeply baffles her and her husband, Alpha Bruce.

All the human doctors who checked her condition declared one thing: her body refused to accept medicine of any kind, and she couldn't be cured by any medicine made by humans or shamans alike.

Starting that day, her life was never the same again. She could not leave her room. She was bedridden and had never seen the sun for a long time. With her skin clinging to her bones, she looks like a skeleton, a shadow of her former self.

The door opened and her trusted servant, the omega named Lorey, entered the room carrying a wooden food tray.

"Luna, I brought your favorite chicken soup and bread," Lorey said cheerily, then sighed when she saw the broken glass on the floor.

She put the tray on the table, picked up the broom and dustpan from the corner and started sweeping the broken glass, dumped the shards in the dustbin in the corner and then mopped the floor dry.

"I'm sorry for the mess, Lorey," Clarice apologized, misty-eyed, feeling so hopeless.

Lorey glanced at the dying Luna pitiably. "No need to apologize, Luna. It's my job. It's my responsibility to serve you," she replied warmly, moving to the closet to get a set of clothes for the bedridden woman.

"Where is my husband? Where is Alpha Bruce?" Clarice asked. "He never visits me in my room anymore," she asked sorrowfully. Her voice was filled with sadness. It had been four months since she last saw her husband.

Lorey bit her lower lip. She doesn't have the heart to inform the dying Luna that tonight, Alpha Bruce will marry another woman and appoint his new wife as the Luna of their pack. She was deeply saddened by the turn of events, as if fate itself stripped Luna Clarice of her dignity and everything she held dear in her heart.

"I think your husband was on a business trip, Luna. I haven't seen him around the mansion for several days..." Lorey replied, feeling guilty of fabricating a lie. "Let's change your dress first before you eat breakfast," she said, changing the topic of their conversation.

"No. I'll eat first. I want to get well so I can accompany my husband on his trip across the district," Clarice said, trying to sit upright, but struggling to do so. "Please give me that bowl of soup."

Lorey sighed and glanced worriedly at the bowl of soup. She caught the shaman putting white powder on the bowl of soup last week. When she entered the kitchen, the shaman scolded her angrily for not knocking first before entering the kitchen. And when she asked about the name of the powder that he had sprinkled on the soup, the shaman explained that it was a new powerful medicine he concocted to cure the bedridden Luna.

But she saw something flashing in the shaman's eyes. He got that evil look on him. Suddenly, her heart beat rapidly in her rib cage, signaling that the shaman was up to something. A suspicion was born and sprouted rapidly in her heart.

Why is Luna Clarice's health not improving despite religiously consuming medicine created by the shaman?

What if the shaman mixed Luna's food with poison every day?

She had been thinking about that suspicion she had about the shaman, it grew stronger in her mind for a while now. But she can't tell anyone about her suspicion because she could get killed for slandering a higher official in the pack. But she couldn't take it anymore.

Lorey rushed to bed and whispered in Clarice's ears, "Luna, I think your food was poisoned by the shaman," she blurted out.

Clarice's eyes widened in shock. Her heart was beating rapidly in her rib cage. She looked at the maid, baffled by her accusation. "What are you talking about? What made you think of such a thing?" she asked in a low voice.

"Because I caught the shaman sprinkling white powder on the bowl of soup last week. When I asked him what the name of the powder was, he scolded me furiously and told me to knock on the door before I entered the kitchen. For a split second, I saw his eyes flash with murderous intent." Lorey explained in a low voice.

Clarice was stunned by her servant's revelation.

Is Lorey's suspicion right?

She never thought that someone would poison her food. She was good and fair to everyone. She treated everyone equally. She has no enemies. She is the perfect Luna that everyone respects and admires. How could someone poison her?

But why?

Could it be true?

"It's impossible," Clarice said in denial. Tears filled her eyes as a nagging suspicion began to form in her mind.

The two women fell silent, their minds were submerged in deep thoughts.

Lorey broke the uncomfortable silence between them and said, "Luna, you have already taken tons of medication, but you're not getting well no matter how hard you try. You eat healthy foods and drink your medicine religiously every day, but still no positive result. No matter what you do, you can't get well. Haven't you noticed it yet?"

Clarice nodded her head as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Indeed, despite her best efforts, she's not getting well. She kept eating healthy foods and taking daily medicine, but her health did not improve, and now she feels like she's dying. She endured six months of vomiting, lack of appetite and hallucinations at night, and now this week she feels like she's going to die. Sometimes she had difficulty breathing. She could feel the spirit of death waiting outside the door to collect her soul, waiting for her last breath.