The Forgotten Luna (Adessa)
Chapter 79

LADESSA.

"Will you tell the truth for all my questions, or do I have to use my command on you again?" He began.

"I will not lie, my King," I responded.

"Good." He then motioned with his hand, directing me to the couches. "Take your seat. Is it Savannah or Adessa?"

With my head down, I headed for the nearby single couch and sat there. I tilted my head and found him looking at me, still standing where he was earlier.

"Adessa. My name is Adessa Quijeros." I replied, doing my best for my voice not to crack. "I killed two people from the Knight's Stone Pack, but if you would let me explain..."

He raised his hand, and it made me stop talking.

"Enough." That was all he said, and cold sweat formed everywhere on my body. He turned around and walked toward the table where a vintage telephone sat.

Is he going to call someone to arrest me?

I stood up abruptly. "My King!" This time, I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.

He placed a finger on his lips after he pressed a number, and I held my breath, but my heart was racing against my chest. There was no way I could outrun his men. I looked at the big window nearby, checking if I could push or draw it open.

I might need to use the heat power to get away from them, but what if they fire bullets or throw spears at me?

"Get me all the information about Adessa Quijeros of the Iron Crest Pack." I heard him tell someone from the other line, and my head snapped back to look at him. He didn't even wait a few seconds after he talked; he just immediately dropped the call and faced me again. "Sit down, Adessa." He ordered me.

I slowly lowered myself to the couch, my hand gripping the armrest tightly. I didn't dare blink, keeping my eyes focused on him and the door.

"Relax, my child. No one will take you under my presence."

I could not stop myself from letting out a breath of relief that my whole body jolted forward as tears trickled down my face. "I didn't want to kill them, but they were planning to rape me, my King. They talked about how they would abuse me while I could hear them. No woman, no one, should feel that kind of torture. I have to save myself. I thought then, it's either me or them. I don't want to die."

I tilted my head and looked at him while saying the last sentence. Despite my blurry sight, I saw his hands on his side coiled into fists.

"I just want a fair trial, my King. To protect my rights and to say my pleas." I continued, and the tears kept rolling down my cheeks. "I can ask forgiveness from their families too. I will do slave labor if I must, but I want to protect my dignity. It's the only thing I have. I have nothing. Nothing."

"They took you out of your free will." He stated as he approached me, handing me a white handkerchief embossed with the palace seal.

I hesitated and looked at him again, wanting to be sure I was allowed to take it.

"Take it."

"Thank you, Alpha King," I mumbled as I took it from him.

"Luna Miranda sold me to Alpha Draco." I began when he remained silent and just looked at me as I wiped my tears.

I would not hesitate to name Miranda anymore. If this were the old me, I would have shut my mouth, but as long as she kept doing what she did, I would never be free. "What do you mean?"

"After my divorce from Alpha Kael, I was told Luna Miranda sold me to Alpha Draco. To be one of his harem."

"He divorced you. And he allowed this to happen? Yet he showed up here as if he wanted to protect you."

"You got it wrong, King Essak. He was not aware." I wanted to tell him about Kael's memory loss, but it might not be a good idea as it could jeopardize his right to rule over his pack in that condition. "When he found out someone took me, he looked for me. But then, I already killed the men that were supposed to bring me to Alpha Draco."

"Your mother, where is she in all of this?"

"I never met her." I dropped my gaze and fiddled with the hanky in my hands as I continued. I wondered why he only asked about my mother and not my parents in general. "I was raised in an orphanage. I was left by the door one winter night with nothing but my clothes and a regular blanket wrapped around me. And a paper where the name Adessa was

written."

I tilted my head to look at him and saw his eyes water.

"The headmistress of the orphanage added her last name to mine so I could be registered. My birthday was when they took me in, as they assumed I was only weeks old then." I continued.

"They tried to look for any trace or

track of the person who left me. There were no car tires, horse marks, or even a track on foot. I told them maybe it was because it was snowing. They said snow was all around, but it had stopped snowing for many hours before they found me. They wondered how was able to get there without any

"Or she wiped out her tracks." He added.

tracks."

I smiled at his joke. I remembered how I also innocently saw this part when I was seven, and I asked how I came to the orphanage. "I told them it's magic. That a Stork dropped me." But then the smile faded almost immediately as my tears came again. "Because even my own family doesn't want me."

I had no idea why I was telling him this. I had never told anyone about this part and how I felt. Not even to Kael. This part was the last confirmation that even as a child, I was never wanted. I was never loved.

My body shook from my cries, and I had to look down because I didn't want to see the pity in his eyes. "You see, my King. I have nothing except my dignity. And I will fight with my life so I can keep it."

There was silence between us, and I had no idea how long I had been crying. It felt good to cry, but it hurt to remember all of this.

"I've been looking for you for twenty years." He finally spoke, and it took a while before his words sank in.