The Rise of Venus

The Sacrifice

Song: you broke my heart without even knowing it playlist by chill street

"Who is he?"

Pride rolled his eyes at Leo once more, sending him a halfhearted shrug and a discontent sigh to go with it. "I don't know. I didn't know ten minutes ago, and I still don't know who he is now."

Leo frowned, pushing me further behind his body. He and Flora acted like a makeshift shield, protecting me from the man's harsh gaze. I was flattered before. But now? I was starting to get a little annoyed.

I was a Luna-to-be for fuck's sake. Not some porcelain doll that'd crack if you looked at it wrong.

Then again, it wasn't like Flora and Leo could see that.

I huffed, pressing against Leo's broad back to put some space between us.

Stop it.

He's just looking at me.

Yeah?

Well, I don't like the
way he's looking.

Now, stay put.

I grit my teeth, balling my sweaty hands into tight fists. My protests died in my throat and I pushed myself against the rough bark to ground myself. Biting Leo's head off right now wasn't going to do any of us any good. So I reigned in my emotions and kept myself in check.

It was extremely difficult to say the very least.

"One of us is gonna have to go talk to him," I said. "We can't just stand around here and stare at him for the rest of the day."

"I can go," Reign offered. His beady eyes glanced at me, half smirking at the position Leo and I were in. "Ease up, man. You're pissing her off."

Reign shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the cats towards the rundown cabin. I focused on his blue jeans until he was gone from my sight, courtesy of Leo's big shoulders. Leo shook his head and trailed after. When I tried to follow them Flora's strong grip grasped my wrist tightly, preventing me from moving.

"Don't." She shared a look with Pride, ignoring my words of protest. My rising annoyance bubbled over and I yanked my wrist free with a growl.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" I hissed. "Why are you being so weird?"

Flora bit her bottom lip, turning away to watch Leo and Reign. "For once in your damn life don't question things. Just, stay put."

My mouth fell open in shock. The bluntness of her icy words speared my heart, making it hard to breathe for a moment. I knew that grief changed people. I knew she was in the thick of emotional trauma as well as recovering from Rowena's abuse. Even so, this coldness was something I never thought I'd see from Flora. Nor did I ever think I'd be on the receiving end.

Pride shifted uncomfortably, giving me a half smile when he saw just how broken my heart truly was.

Don't take it personally.

She's just upset over Sky-

This is more than that.

Narrowing my eyes, I pushed against my shared Pack bond with Pride and forced him to hold my stare.

What's going on here?

There was a flicker of worry within the depths of his green eyes. I knew then that he was aware of whatever it was Flora was hiding from me. Betrayal, maybe even a little bit of anger, flared within me and I took another step back. The rough bark poked through my thin shirt. I didn't mind the little pricking of pain skating up and down my scarred back.