Erika
I returned to the Emerald Earth pack, but misfortune was already waiting for me. Just as I stepped into the main hall, I crossed paths with the Elders, who had just emerged from the oval room. For a moment, I considered turning around to avoid them, but a sarcastic voice halted me in my tracks.
“Well, look who was just about to scurry away. How utterly ill-mannered.”
Damn it.
I took a deep breath and turned around, only to meet Elder Ruth’s sharp gaze—one that regarded me as if I were nothing more than dirt clinging to her shoes.
“Good afternoon, Elder Ruth. How have you been?” I kept my voice steady.
“I was perfectly fine—until I had to see you, Luna Erika.”
I swallowed hard. I was used to this treatment, but the resentment inside me only grew each time she opened her mouth.
“Forgive me, but have I done something wrong?” I asked, feigning innocence. I knew for a fact that I hadn’t.
“Your only mistake, Erika, is being this pack’s Luna,” she sneered, lifting her chin high. “It should have been Madeleine standing by Alpha Rufus’s side, not you. You’re nothing but a burden with your infertility.”
I stepped forward, meeting her gaze directly. The wrinkles on her face deepened with fury, but all I wanted to do was laugh.
“I’m not the one here who is defective and without a wolf,” I whispered, leaning in close to her ear. “And for the record, I am not infertile. The real show is only just beginning.”
I felt her body stiffen, nearly collapsing, but I gripped her arm to keep her from falling. I wanted to push her further, to show everyone that the most revered Elder of the Emerald Earth pack was not as honorable as they believed.
“Let go of me, you barren Luna!” she spat, releasing her anger with a slap.
Pain.
For an old she-wolf, her strike was still powerful. I rubbed my cheek, trying to ease the sting that spread across my face.
“That’s what you get for touching me,” she scoffed. “I truly cannot fathom why this stubborn Luna insists on meddling in my and my daughter’s affairs.”
The commotion had already drawn the attention of several pack members in the hall. They whispered among themselves, watching the confrontation unfold with curiosity. Normally, I would have bowed my head and apologized.
But not this time.
I had had enough.
I turned on my heel, leaving Elder Ruth fuming in the middle of the hall. My steps felt lighter, even though my cheek still throbbed from her slap.
But my suffering was far from over.
As I neared my bedroom, strange noises began to echo from inside. I didn’t need to guess.
“Alpha Rufus, your fiery Luna is going to hear you with those moans of yours,” a sultry voice teased.
“Let her. Her time is almost up anyway. Turn around, Madeleine. I want to thrust you from behind.”
The door wasn’t fully closed, allowing me a clear view of how Alpha Rufus treated Madeleine as though she were his true Luna. That level of intimacy had never been granted to me. I could see his Alpha aura surging, the primal energy radiating from him—the Alpha seed that every werewolf needed in mating.
Inside, I wept. My heart felt as if it were being crushed.
Alpha Rufus had desecrated our bond.
I had to endure this—for just a little longer.
For a split second, my gaze met Madeleine’s, and she smirked at me, taunting. She wanted me to see, to understand that she was the one who could bring him pleasure. It was revolting.
I turned away and dragged myself towards the lake behind the packhouse—the place where I often sought solitude to vent my emotions. But this time, all I wanted was to burn something as a stand-in for them.
I let out a scream, pouring all my anguish into the open air. My fingers twitched, ready to summon flames and set the fallen log before me ablaze. But before I could, a familiar, sickly sweet voice called my name.
“Luna Erika, why are you so angry?”
I spun around, fists clenched. “What do you want?”
“Just checking in on you after witnessing our mating. How’s your heart? Does it hurt?”
“Stop talking, Madeleine. Don’t push me.”
“Oh, but I love this. Fiery Luna Erika attacking poor, helpless Madeleine—it feels almost… natural, don’t you think?”
“Shut up, Madeleine,” I growled, my claws extending, prepared for whatever she had planned.
“I’ll make it happen.”
From her hand, I saw the flicker of a lighter. Madeleine ignited a flame and pressed it to her own wrist. For a brief moment, a devilish grin twisted her features.
“Argh… Help me! Luna is attacking me!” Madeleine screamed, her voice carrying across the lake, grabbing the attention of the warriors stationed nearby.
“You…” I gasped, momentarily speechless.
Two warriors rushed towards us. One of them knelt beside Madeleine, inspecting her self-inflicted burns.
“Take Miss Holmes to Doctor Armstrong and inform Alpha Rufus of the incident.”
The shorter warrior lifted Madeleine into his arms and carried her away, while the other one turned to me.
“Luna Erika, I will escort you to your room.”
I felt like a criminal, accused of a crime I had not committed. Madeleine had set herself alight—anyone with sense would have seen it. She was insane.
When I arrived at my bedroom, the scent of what had just transpired still lingered in the air. The sheets were disheveled from their earlier betrayal. I refused to touch the bed, so I settled onto the sofa instead, waiting.
Though I wasn’t even sure what—or who—I was waiting for.
The door burst open violently. Alpha Rufus stormed in, his face twisted with rage. His eyes were glowing red as he yanked me to my feet.
“Why did you attack Madeleine?”
“For the love of the Moon Goddess, I did not attack her, Alpha. She provoked me, then set fire to her own hand.”
“Don’t twist the truth, Luna. Who else here can manipulate fire, if not you? I’m not a fool, and Madeleine is not as mad as you.”
“You trust her over your own Luna?”
“The evidence is clear. Luna Erika, you are to remain in this room until you apologize to her.”
“You’re defending her, Alpha Rufus? You’re breaking my heart.”
“She’s the daughter of an Elder. I have no intention of stirring trouble with them. So do as I say, or your punishment will be far worse.”
“Fine. I will apologize to her.”
I conceded, not because I was guilty, but because I refused to let Alpha Rufus punish me any further.
At least, for now.
They could believe they had won—but soon, I would make my move.
