The moon rose crimson that night, staining the mountains with the color of blood.
I had always known that the moon could be cruel, but I never imagined it would witness the end of everything I once lived for. I stood at the heart of the pack's courtyard, the wind carrying whispers of betrayal through the ancient pines. Every eye was on me, not with respect, but with disgust. I could feel it burn against my skin the weight of their judgment, the poison of their laughter.
I had been the Luna once. The mate of the Alpha. The woman everyone bowed to. The one who was supposed to bring honor to this pack. But now, I was nothing more than a shadow of their shame.
My mate, the man I had given everything to, stood before me. His name echoed in my chest like a curse I couldn't escape. He had once held me close, once told me I was his destiny. Now, his eyes were cold and distant, as though I were a stranger trespassing on sacred ground.
He didn't even flinch when he spoke. "You are no longer my mate."
His voice carried through the night, sharp and merciless. Gasps rippled through the wolves gathered around us. Some bowed their heads in pity; others smirked, pleased to see me fall. I held my ground, though my heart cracked like thin ice beneath me.
"Please," I said softly, though my voice trembled. "Think of our child."
The words hung in the air. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes—regret, hesitation—but it vanished just as quickly. "The child will remain with me. You are unfit to raise a future heir."
The air left my lungs. My knees weakened, but I refused to fall. I had sacrificed everything for this pack, for him. I had endured their sneers, their whispers, their cruelty, all because I believed that love would one day be enough to make me belong.
It never was.
When I found him in another's arms when I saw the way he looked at her, the way he once looked at me it felt as if the moon itself had turned its face away from me. And now, before our pack, before the sacred fire, he ended it all. My bond. My title. My life as I knew it.
The council elder stepped forward, his white hair gleaming beneath the moonlight. "By the decree of the Alpha and the council of the pack, the Luna is stripped of her title. She is banished from these lands until the goddess herself grants her forgiveness."
Banished. The word struck harder than claws.
I wanted to scream, to beg, to fight but pride held me silent. If I were to fall, I would fall standing. The child in my womb deserved that much.
As I turned away, the pack parted, watching as if I were already dead. I could feel the gaze of my mate on my back, heavy and uncertain. I wanted him to stop me. I wanted him to say that this was all a lie, that he still loved me. But no words came.
Only silence.
I walked until the cold air bit through my cloak, until the forest swallowed the lights of the pack lands. My bare feet sank into the snow, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. Behind me was betrayal; before me, only the unknown. Every step hurt, but each one carried me farther away from the cage that had once been called love.
By the time I reached the river, the contractions had begun. The child I had begged him to remember was ready to come into this cruel world. Alone, with no midwife, no warmth, no comfort, I sank to my knees by the frozen water. The pain ripped through me, raw and wild, but I refused to cry out. No one would hear me. No one would come.
Hours passed. The moon faded to silver. And then he cried.
My son's first sound was weak but alive. I held him close, my trembling fingers brushing over his tiny face. He had his father's eyes, and that realization tore something deep inside me. I pressed my lips to his forehead and whispered, "You will never need to beg for love the way I did."
The forest was silent except for the sound of my baby's breathing. I looked to the stars, wondering if the goddess still watched me. Maybe she pitied me. Maybe she didn't. But that night, as the wind howled through the trees, I made a vow beneath the ancient moon.
"I will not die here. I will rise again. And when I return, they will remember who I am."