LUNA: Alpha’s Soulmate from Another World

After spending more time walking around the city with Alkrevas, even longer than their first outing, Luna finally realized that the man with immense wealth, who bought her all kinds of jewelry, dresses, and shoes, was quite frugal or perhaps stingy. Yes! It was a surprising discovery. Typically, suppose someone has abundant wealth and power. In that case, one of the ways to display both is by spending money lavishly, never glancing at the bill after eating or shopping, and so on. But Alkrevas was different. He didn’t think twice about anything when it came to her, but it was a different story when it came to himself.

Whenever they went to a boutique, and Luna asked why Alkrevas didn’t buy clothes, he would reply that he could still use his current garments because they were still in good condition and not worn out. Or when Alkrevas saw the price of items displayed in expensive stores, his brow would furrow, and he would grumble about the prices when they left the store. Most surprisingly, Alkrevas was skilled at bargaining. This skill was essential for an Emperor who often engaged in negotiations, whether in business or politics. Still, Luna was embarrassed because she wasn’t good at haggling.

Essentially, all the money spent was solely for Luna and not himself. Luna commented that Alkrevas would do the same for other women, but what was his response? “No. Why would I spend my money on others? It’s very inconvenient.”

“Don’t you know the concept of treating someone?”

“They have their own money. They can pay for themselves-unless they are you or my family. I don’t care if I spend all my money on buying anything, but they are strangers whose names I wouldn’t even remember. Otherwise, I would just be taken advantage of.”

Alkrevas had a point. Luna thought to herself. “You must remember all the names of the nobles?”

“Not all. I’m already overwhelmed with state duties. I prefer to remember just the noble houses of Vasilos.”

Reflecting on this made Luna shake her head. Despite his strengths, Alkrevas also had his shortcomings. It showed that no creature in any world was perfect. “So, where do you spend your money?”

“Charity events,” he answered briefly. “Do you see up ahead? We have to walk uphill to reach the temple. Is that okay for you?” Luna noticed his red hair and green eyes, replacing his usual brown hair and eyes.

At the moment, Alkrevas was using magic to disguise himself so that no one would recognize him as Alkrevas, the Emperor of Vasilos. Even his handsome face was slightly altered. He said it would be challenging to use camouflage magic to hide his identity as they would be entering a sacred temple, where the temple people, including the Oracle, would not be affected by camouflage magic, which was essentially just a mist surrounding Alkrevas to alter people’s perception and view of him. So Alkrevas chose another option, changing his facial features.

Alkrevas mentioned that this magic still risked being detected due to his dominant Alpha aura, but it was better than camouflage magic. Luna smiled; despite the changes, he was still handsome. “I often ran around the city park every morning to keep fit. Since I’ve been in this world, I rarely exercise.”

“I saw your memories. Your world is… interesting,” Alkrevas said flatly.

Luna rolled her eyes. She then looked ahead, watching the people in front of them walking towards the temple. She gasped when she felt a grip on her hand and immediately turned to look at Alkrevas. “We should hold hands if we don’t want to get separated. The higher we go, the more crowded it gets.”

“This is your first time, isn’t it?”

“No. As a prince, I used to sneak around among the people like this.” Then, they both fell silent. Alkrevas was busy keeping Luna from being pushed or bumped by others while Luna was lost in her thoughts.

She was so surprised; just a few hours spent with Alkrevas made her feel more at ease, and the memories of last night felt like a bad dream. It should have been questioned, but Luna couldn’t shake the peaceful feeling in her heart when she was with Alkrevas. The trauma she had felt diminished, as did her doubts and fears. “Little mate, don’t daydream if you don’t want to fall.”

“Oh, sorry.” Luna then shook her head to clear the strange feelings and focused on the front. She murmured in awe as she saw the large, magnificent temple building standing not far ahead. Tall columns stood strong, painted white, with classical carvings.

Statues of Selene adorned various corners of the temple, making it look like a temple from ancient Rome. A large fountain with a wolf statue stood before the temple, pouring clear and refreshing water. Lush green trees surrounded the temple, and flags with symbols representing the temple of Selene and the imperial crest fluttered in the breeze.

If Luna was already mesmerized and amazed from the outside, it was nothing compared to when she walked through the temple gates and entered the front hall. Her astonishment never ceased. “It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen anything this stunning anywhere.”

“The Temple of Selene is indeed the best temple in Rhodes.” Alkrevas looked at Luna. “Do you like it?”

“Of course!”

They walked along a path, passing through a garden filled with nobles. Luna glanced at the garden and could see nobles gathering and chatting. Luckily, Luna wore a cloak and a head covering to hide her face.

“Are you sure you don’t want to use my magic?” Alkrevas asked again as he saw Luna tighten her head covering to hide her face. “The nobles can be quite annoying.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“No. Compared to me, they wouldn’t notice your aura?”

“The nobles there aren’t werewolves. So they won’t know. Werewolf nobles are usually in a different garden.”

“Why?”

“To pray to Selene.”

“Oh.”

Fifteen minutes later, they heard the sound of bells ringing, signaling that the offering ceremony was beginning. The holy knights who guarded the temple guided them to a room in the center of the temple. The room, which was the temple’s main hall, was filled with statues of the goddess Selene, and when Luna looked up, she saw a painting of the goddess.

She was immediately curious about the place that seemed to be the entrance to an underground prison, but Luna hesitated to ask. “In addition to the offering ceremony, there is also a closing ceremony for the festival here. So you might see Markus leading the closing ceremony and giving a speech.”

“Not Lord Savon? Isn’t he your representative?”

“Markus volunteered. He came to see me personally after the cabinet meeting was over.”

Luna nodded in understanding and was captivated as the offering ceremony began. She honestly couldn’t believe that everything she was seeing was real, not just a dream, from the melodic singing to the arrival of the oracle named Acasha, who brought a golden chalice as Acasha poured the water from the chalice onto the altar where another fountain with clear water was located. Luna blinked in disbelief as the fountain’s water turned into transparent gold mixed with the chalice water. “So beautiful,” Luna murmured, deeply touched.

Then, she heard Acasha recite an ancient phrase that Luna didn’t recognize before kneeling in front of the statue of Selene, and white light emanated from the Oracle’s body. Several temple priests then retrieved the moon flowers from the fountain pool and placed them in a box, which was carried away. After that, one by one, people put the flowers they had brought on the altar before leaving the room, and the ceremony concluded.

Luna recalled the appearance of the moonflowers she had seen as they were placed into the box. If the flowers were magical, the answer would be yes. The flowers she saw had transparent gold petals with a slightly closed center. Inside the still-budding flower, Luna saw a sparkling light like diamonds. The flower’s stem and leaves were also unique, a glowing dark blue. “I didn’t know the flowers were real.”

“You’re not the first to say that, little mate.”

“Where are we going now?”

“To the main temple grounds. The closing ceremony is held there.”

“Is Duke Veniam coming with his family?”

“No. Like me, Markus’s parents have passed away. He also hasn’t met his soulmate yet, or rather, he hasn’t found his soulmate.”

“Hasn’t found?”

“That’s not a story I should tell, but I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later,” Alkrevas spoke with a tone so mysterious. Luna furrowed her brows in confusion but didn’t ask further as she heard the sound of enthusiastic applause. When she looked ahead, she saw Markus Veniam standing behind the podium. “After this is over, I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where?”

“You’ll find out later, and don’t worry. I won’t kidnap you.”

Luna smiled. “Of course, you must return me to the palace, or someone will go wild looking for me.” Alkrevas laughed at Luna’s response.

One of Luna’s hands rose to her chest, specifically the area where her heart was beating fast. For some reason, she felt impatient and eager to leave. What kind of place did Alkrevas want to show her? Luna glanced randomly to the right, but all her excitement ended, and her breath seemed to stop when she saw a familiar face.

Ghea?

…