The Luna Queen - Chapter 54: Chapter 54

_Kayden's POV_
The morning light spilled through the windows, but I had been awake long before the sun rose. Sleep had come in fits, restless and broken. Every time I closed my eyes, she appeared....Leah.
I dreamed of her again. Her golden eyes, the way she had looked at me with so much pain and fury before she vanished. I saw her running through the woods. Her hair was wild in the wind. Her voice was calling out to me. But every time I tried to reach her, she disappeared into the shadows.
Leo stirred inside me. He was restless. She is out there. We should be searching.
“I know,” I muttered aloud while running a hand through my hair. I sat on the edge of my bed for a while, trying to shake the feeling that clung to me like a second skin. Leah was haunting me. The way she had escaped still gnawed at me. Someone had helped her.
I stood up and got dressed quickly. I needed to clear my head. Maybe a quiet breakfast would help me think.
As I descended the stairs, the smell of baked bread and warm tea drifted through the halls. It should have comforted me, but instead, I felt a growing sense of irritation building in my chest. I wasn’t in the mood to see anyone. Especially not her.
But there she was.
Selena was already seated at the breakfast table. She was dressed in a silky blue gown. Her hair was perfectly curled. She smiled brightly when she saw me, as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong.
“Good morning, Kayden,” she said in a sing‑song voice.
I grunted a half‑hearted response and walked over to the table. She didn’t seem to notice my mood.....or maybe she did and just didn’t care.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked cheerfully.
“No,” I replied curtly. I took a seat at the far end of the table. My head was pounding, and my thoughts were a mess. I wanted silence, not conversation.
“I thought we could have breakfast together,” she said while pouring herself a cup of tea.
I didn’t answer. I picked up a slice of bread and began spreading butter on it. My stomach churned. I wasn’t even hungry.
Selena leaned closer. She was smiling again. “Let me make you some tea. You’ll feel better.”
“No,” I said sharply. “I’m fine.”
But she was already standing. “It’s no trouble. You always say that, but you still drink it. Let me.”
I sighed. I was not in the mood to argue. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”
She walked over to the tea cart and began mixing the ingredients. I yawned and stretched, trying to shake the heavy fog in my head. My thoughts were cloudy. Maybe I really did need that tea. Or maybe I just needed some air.
Selena returned with a delicate porcelain cup. The tea was steaming and fragrant.
“Here you go,” she said sweetly and handed it to me.
I was about to take the cup when a loud crash rang through the room.
The maid had tripped. Plates of fresh croissants clattered to the floor, and in the process, she bumped into me.
The tea spilled from my hand and shattered on the floor, staining the white tiles with brown liquid.
“What have you done?” I growled and stood up quickly.
The maid fell to her knees. “I’m so sorry, Alpha,” she said, trembling. “I didn’t mean to...”
“It’s fine,” I said, waving a hand. “It’s just tea.”
Selena, on the other hand, was not fine. Her face turned red, and she hissed, “You clumsy idiot! How dare you ruin our breakfast? Do you know how expensive that set was?!”
The maid flinched. Her eyes were wide. “I didn’t mean to, Luna‑to‑be. It was an accident.”
“Accident or not, you should be more careful!” Selena snapped. “Useless little....”
“That’s enough!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls.
Selena turned toward me, shocked. “Kayden, she...."
“I said it’s just tea. Leave her alone.”
“She ruined..."
“Selena,” I said, my voice low and cold, “Get out. Now.”
She froze for a moment, then her face twisted with fury. “Fine,” she spat. “Maybe next time, don’t let your mutt instincts cloud your judgment.”
I clenched my fists, but I said nothing.
Selena stormed out of the room. Her heels were clicking loudly as she disappeared around the corner.
I let out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. The silence returned. It was heavy and suffocating.
The maid remained on her knees and cleaned up the broken pieces. I looked down at her.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Mira, Alpha.”
She looked up at me. She seemed to be hesitant.
“You wanted to say something?”
She hesitated again, then nodded slowly. “Yes, Alpha. I... I think there’s something you should know.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“It’s about your tea,” she said softly.
A chill crept down my spine.
“What about it?”
“I’ve seen Lady Selena... She puts something in your tea. Every morning.”
I stared at her. My heart was thudding. “What do you mean?”
“She... she mixes in a second vial. It’s small and dark blue. She always hides it in her sleeve. I noticed because I serve the food every day. She only adds it when you’re not looking.”
Leo growled deep in my chest. She has been drugging us.
My blood turned to ice. “Why are you telling me this now?”
Mira lowered her gaze. “Because today... when I saw her give you the tea again... I just couldn’t let you drink it. I didn’t know what else to do. I had to stop you. That’s why I dropped the plates.”
“You did it on purpose?”
She nodded, trembling. “Yes, Alpha. I had to. I was scared. But I couldn’t keep silent anymore.”
I sat down heavily, the weight of her words pressing on my chest.
Selena. She had been slipping something into my tea. Every single day.
Leo snarled furiously. She is manipulating us. Fogging our thoughts. It’s why we haven’t been ourselves.
My hands curled into fists. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, Alpha. I swear it. I’ve seen her do it many times.”
I stood slowly. “You’ve done the right thing by telling me, Mira. This... this stays between us for now.”
She nodded quickly. “Yes, Alpha.”
I turned away. My mind was reeling. How long had this been going on? Since Leah? Since before that?
Everything made sense now; the fog in my head, the numbness and the confusion. The blind rage I had felt when I imprisoned Leah. The way I had ignored my instincts.
She had been drugging me.
Leo?
I want to rip her apart, he growled. She will pay for what she has done.
“She will,” I said aloud. My voice was a low promise.
I didn’t know how far this went, or what Selena’s true intentions were, but one thing was now clear:
She had been controlling me.
And I had let her.
The teacup lay shattered on the floor. The tea was seeping into the cracks of the tiles like poison.
I looked down at it, and my voice came out in a whisper.
“She has been poisoning the Alpha. This is such a big crime.”