From Exile to Rise: the Legend of the Exiled Luna

The oracle had once prophesied that the child in our mother's belly would be the fated Luna of the next Alpha King of the entire werewolf kingdom.

For eighteen years, everyone believed that it was me, Serena Mills.

Until at my coming-of-age ceremony, the Moonlight Stone found no wolf within me.

In an instant, I went from the fated Luna in the prophecy to the pack's greatest disgrace. And my sister, Elena Mills, became the fated Luna.

I was facing the mockery of my packmates and the cold indifference of our parents.

Even my intended mate, Augusta Hayes, the Crown Prince of the kingdom, took Elena's hand in front of everyone and declared, "Only the fated Luna in the prophecy can be my Luna."

I lost all my hope.

But just as Elena was about to put on the diadem that the Fated Luna was meant to wear at the coming-of-age ceremony, the wolf that had lain dormant inside me for eighteen years suddenly opened its eyes.

…

An ancient, deep howl erupted from the depths of my mind.

Immediately after, a surge of immense power burst from my body and swept across the altar.

The flames around us dimmed all at once. The nearest guards stumbled backward on instinct, and the pack members below the platform went pale.

Someone shouted, "A powerful wolf has awakened! Right there on the altar!"

Every pair of eyes in the pack turned toward Elena and me.

My heart jolted with shock, and then ecstasy shot through me.

I thought maybe the Moonlight Stone had been wrong. I did have a wolf.

But the power only lasted for a fleeting moment and dispersed.

Then a chill went down my spine.

I pressed my hand to my chest on instinct and suddenly remembered the glass of wine Elena had handed me herself before the ceremony began.

When I had taken a sip, it tasted just a little more bitter than usual.

I was about to speak when a sharp gasp came from beside me.

Elena's body went limp, and she collapsed.

"Elena!" My mother rushed up onto the altar, brushing past me, and pulled her tightly into her arms.

Elena's face was deathly pale, her forehead covered in cold sweat. "Mother, it hurts so much..."

My mother looked out at the crowd, her eyes red. "It was Elena. It was her wolf that just awakened. She has been frail since childhood, so she simply could not handle it."

The crowd below the altar, who were shocked and suspicious, quickly seemed like they had understood something.

"The Moonlight Stone chose Elena all along."

"Of course it was her."

"Her wolf is so powerful. No wonder it drained her."

I lifted my head and hurriedly protested, "It was not her. That was my wolf."

My mother whipped her head around, her expression darkening in an instant. "Enough, Serena. The Moonlight Stone found no wolf in you. Even now, you still want to deceive everyone?"

I tried to say, "I did not..."

My mother acted as though she had not heard me, with nothing but a look of reproach in her eyes. "Elena has only just awakened, and she is weak. Yet you show no concern for her, and instead you rush to claim her wolf as your own! Serena, how come I never know how selfish you truly are?"

I stared blankly at our mother.

This had been happening ever since I was a child.

If I beat Elena in training, our mother would only scold me for running too fast and making Elena unhappy.

Even when I got injured, she simply told me to clean my wounds, so Elena would not be frightened by them.

Just because I was the older sister, the moment Elena cried, I had to be the one to give in.

"Mother, please do not blame Serena." Elena gently tugged at our mother's sleeve. "She simply wanted too badly to be Crown Prince Augusta's Luna, and she cannot accept it yet."

Laughter rippled through the crowd below.

"So she just cannot bear to let go of the crown prince."

"Being the Fated Luna for eighteen years and then suddenly becoming someone with no wolf within her, of course she is bitter about it."

"But passing off her sister's wolf as her own was truly shameless."

I clenched my fists tightly.

I had never once called myself the Fated Luna.

It was these people who found that Elena was frail since childhood and fit only to be a fragile Omega, and me strong-bodied and faster than many of the male werewolves, and decided that I would become Luna one day.

Now that they had guessed wrong, they claimed I was the one who had deceived them.

"If you do not believe me, then let me touch the stone again to see if I have a wolf or not." I looked toward the oracle.

"One more try, and we will know whose wolf that was."

"There is no need." Our father's commanding voice rose from below the platform.

He walked up onto the altar step by step and stopped in front of me. "The stone has already told us. Such a test at the coming-of-age ceremony is only ever performed once. To touch the Moonlight Stone again would be to question the judgment of the oracle and the Moon Goddess."

When he finished speaking, his gaze swept past me and briefly flicked toward the seats for the royal family.

Augusta and several royal elders sat there, and the murmuring below the altar was growing louder and louder.

I hurriedly spoke up. "Father, that surge of wolf power just now..."

"Enough." He unleashed the power of an Alpha, and the power crashed down on me.

My knees buckled, and I nearly collapsed to the ground.

Our father looked down at me condescendingly. There was nothing in his eyes but the cold of a man who had already weighed all pros and cons. "Today is the day Elena has been confirmed as the fated Luna. You have already enjoyed eighteen years of glory that should have belonged to her. Do not ruin her coming-of-age ceremony."

My eyes were stung by tears, and I could not stop myself from retorting. "I entered the forest to hunt at thirteen and joined the most brutal training at fifteen. I broke three ribs during the training and still did not quit. All because you told me the future Luna could not be someone weak. And now, you're telling me I've been living her life?"

Not a single flicker of emotion crossed our father's face. "Those were all things you were meant to endure as the daughter of the Alpha of the Nightveil Pack."

With one sentence, he dismissed all my efforts in the past years.

He turned his head and ordered the guards. "Take her away."

Two guards gripped my shoulders tightly.

And despair gripped me.

And just then, a deep voice came over from the seats of the royal family. "Wait."