The morning sun filtered through the trees as I made my way to the forest glade for Damon's monthly check-in. My steps were deliberately slow, my shoulders hunched—the perfect picture of a broken Luna. Inside, Lyra's warmth pulsed steadily, our secret giving me strength even as I crafted my mask of weakness.
I spotted Damon before he saw me. He stood tall among the pack elders, his powerful frame commanding attention. Maeve, the venerable head elder, nodded respectfully as he spoke. The sight of him—the man who had held me as I cried over the loss of my wolf while sharing his bed with the very woman who caused that loss—made bile rise in my throat.
"Breathe," Lyra whispered within me. "Remember the plan."
I forced my features into a practiced expression of fragile hope tinged with resignation as I approached the group.
"Ah, Luna Celeste," Maeve greeted me, her ancient eyes kind but evaluating. "You've joined us. How fortuitous."
Damon turned, and I caught the momentary flash of annoyance that crossed his face before his mask of concern slipped into place. "Celeste, you should have waited at the cabin. I would have come to you after the meeting."
His voice carried the gentle condescension he'd perfected over the past year—the tone one might use with a beloved but burdensome child.
"I needed the air," I replied, making my voice tremble just enough. "The walls... they close in sometimes."
"As you can see," Damon addressed the elders, placing a possessive hand on my shoulder that once would have comforted me but now made my skin crawl, "my mate's condition remains unchanged. The healers report no progress in reconnecting with her wolf."
Maeve's gaze lingered on me. "And how do you feel, Luna? Any... sensations of your wolf?"
For a heartbeat, I wondered if the wise old wolf could somehow sense Lyra's presence. I lowered my eyes, letting my lip quiver. "Sometimes I think I feel something, but... it's just echoes. Memories." I looked up at Damon, infusing my voice with desperation. "I'm beginning to think she's truly gone forever."
The relief in his eyes was unmistakable—a flash so quick anyone else might have missed it. But I was looking for it now. Counting on it.
"We must continue to have faith in the Moon Goddess," he said, squeezing my shoulder. "But it has been a year..."
The implication hung in the air. A year was long enough to hope. Long enough to wait. Long enough to justify moving on.
"The pack needs a functioning Luna," one of the younger elders said, not unkindly.
"Yes," I whispered, playing my part perfectly. "The pack deserves better than what I can offer now."
Damon's hand tightened on my shoulder—not in comfort, but in warning. He didn't want me bringing up rejection. Not yet. Not until he had secured his promotion to Regional Alpha. He needed my territory, my bloodline's standing, until then.
"We should get you back to rest," he said firmly. "Elders, if you'll excuse us."
As he guided me away, I caught Maeve watching us with narrowed eyes. Something told me the old wolf suspected more than she let on.
Back at my cabin, I waited until Damon left before summoning Elara, the senior healer. Her loyalty to my bloodline ran deeper than any allegiance to the current Alpha.
"The treatments are working," I told her once we were alone, letting Lyra's presence shine briefly in my eyes. "But no one can know. Not yet."
Elara's weathered face broke into a smile of pure joy before settling into determined lines. "What do you need of me, true Luna?"
"Continue sending reports of my wolfless state. Let them believe I remain broken."
She nodded, understanding in her eyes. "And the Alpha's... companion?"
"Seraphina Vale," I said, the name bitter on my tongue. "The rogue who led the attack that separated me from Lyra."
"The pack whispers," Elara admitted. "Many are uncomfortable with her presence, but none dare speak against the Alpha."
That night, after Elara left, I slipped into the pack mind-link—a connection I had avoided for a year, ostensibly because it was too painful without my wolf. In truth, I had feared what I might discover.
The voices of the pack flowed around me, unaware of my presence. I filtered through them until I found what I sought.
"Poor Luna," a Beta's voice echoed. "A year without her wolf..."
"The Alpha needs a strong mate," came a Gamma's reply. "Seraphina may be unconventional, but she's fierce. Good for the pack."
"Good for his bed, you mean," another snickered. "Have you seen how she parades around the pack house like she already wears the Luna's crown?"
I withdrew from the link, my hands clenched into fists. The betrayal ran deeper than I had imagined. It wasn't just Damon and my son. The entire pack had accepted this usurper in my place.
"They will regret their disloyalty," Lyra growled within me. "All of them."
I stared out the window at the moon, feeling its power flow through me, strengthening the bond with my returned wolf. "Yes," I whispered. "They will learn what happens when they betray their true Luna."
But first, I needed to understand exactly how far this betrayal reached—and who might still be worthy of salvation when my vengeance was complete.
