Thalia's POV
I gasped for air, but nothing was coming into my lungs.
It was as if someone was snatching all of it before I could breathe it in.
In a panic, I looked around to see if I could get some kind of help, but no one seemed to be noticing my distress.
Everyone was engulfed in the fact that Alpha Kade had finally gotten his Luna, but no one had their eyes on me.
They were all looking at him as he walked to the stage where the announcement was made.
Seconds that passed seemed to be hours as I watched Kade start to address the thousands of people in attendance.
All this while, I was still struggling to find my breath.
My knees were on the verge of buckling, but I held on with every ounce of strength that I still had in my body to keep standing upright.
I couldn't fall to the ground in that crucial moment.
All eyes were on Kade, and I knew how it would look and go if I dared to snatch that attention by falling to the ground.
I was yet to even absorb the reality that I had been picked as the winner of the Luna Contest, but I knew such an act would be considered weakness in front of everyone's eyes.
I was already marked as a weakling throughout the entire competition for not having a wolf.
Embarrassing myself by falling just when I had been announced as the winner would cement the views of the people.
And not to forget, a Luna was the reflection of her Alpha.
As I struggled to stand there, devoid of any breath, I was a reflection of none other than Alpha Kade Prime, the most powerful and feared Alpha across all the lands.
Just when I was about to give up all hope as my strength faltered, something unexpected happened.
I suddenly felt someone's towering presence hovering over me.
That's when the person came into view and I immediately knew who it was.
It was Kade's Beta, Cassian.
I had seen him a couple of times during my stay as the competition was going on, but I had never interacted with him.
In fact, I don't think I recall if he ever interacted with anyone during that entire time.
So, seeing him in front of me was somewhat unexpected.
The first thought that came to mind was that he was there to reiterate what Kade had made perfectly clear.
However, as he stepped in front of me and looked into my eyes, I noticed something odd.
His face was soft and his eyes carried some kind of worry. It was as if he felt pity for me.
By that time, I was certain that I was just a couple of seconds away from passing out since it had been over a minute since I couldn't properly breath.
Cassian however, was quick to tell me, "You're having a panic attack. Take deep breaths and you should be fine."
At first, I didn't even know what he had asked me to do.
I was focused on the first sentence and concerned about how it wasn't a repetition of what Kade had told me.
"Take in deep breaths," he repeated, this time placing his hands on my shoulders.
It seems like that was the trigger that snapped me out of the spiral that I was going into.
I gasped, and took in a deep breath.
Surprisingly, Cassian guided me as he himself did the breathing with me and I copied him.
In just a few seconds, my body was back to normal and I was breathing just fine.
Anyone touching me or even grazing me would have been enough to have me jumping or shuddering immediately.
But that's not what happened when Cassian placed his hands on my shoulders.
For the first time in a very long time, I didn't feel uncomfortable.
I looked at my sides, at his hands, and then back to him.
He did the same, but looked around as if he was looking whether people were watching.
He then immediately dropped his hands, you'd think that I burnt them.
I was okay, and breathing just fine.
My head was recollecting my thoughts and I was just getting to realize just how silent the people had gone.
In the distance, I could hear Kade's voice as he addressed the people.
When I turned to look back at Cassian, the only person that had actually treated me like a person, his face had gone cold in an instant.
I wanted to thank him, and a mean face was not going to stop me from saying it.
"Thank you for...."
Before I could complete the statement, he cut me off and said,
"You do not realize the weight that has just been placed on your shoulders.
Alpha Kade is the head, and as the Luna, you are the spine that connects him to the body, that being the entire pack.
I'm his Beta, his second in command and therefore nothing more than you.
You'll be under so much pressure that you'll hate being announced as his Luna.
And before you forget, if you crack under pressure and implode, it'll send a message to everyone that Alpha Kade Prime's Luna is nothing more than a weakling.
Imagine how Kade would feel about that."
With that, he proceeded to walk off as if he had not just shaken me to the core with a reality check that had me questioning whether Elias losing his life for me to enter the Luna Contest was worth it.
'He didn't die in vain. He had vowed to help you escape my torment and he did. It would be a disgrace if he is watching me and sees that I'm ready to give up just when I've managed to finally escape that monster.' I said to myself as I stood there and thought about it.
Cassian had already disappeared into a crowd of elders who immediately swarmed around him and I could tell what was being discussed without having to even be there.
My attention was snatched from the Beta to whatever Kade was saying to the thousands of people that had watched the climax of the contest.
"Today, you have all beared witness to history being made!
Spread the message to every pack that you come across. The Obsidian Howl Pack has undergone a Rebirth!
I announce to you, my new Luna and the Luna of the Obsidian Howl Pack.
Thalia Enisa Vale!"
And with that, Kade turned and faced me.
He held out his hand as his voice still thundered through the speakers.
The entire crowd had gone dead silent and in that moment, all eyes were on me.
They were expecting me to join him on stage, like some kind of trophy to be seen by everyone.
And it's not like I had a choice.
However, I was frozen.
This time, it wasn't a panic attack. No.
My body completely shut down on me as I was just about to move my leg and start walking towards him.
I tried to curl my toes to see if I had any sensation down there, but it's like all blood had been drained from me.
The shoes that I had worn were now starting to feel a bit too big for my feet.
It's as if my leg was shrinking.
In fact, it was as if, I was shrinking.
"Can you believe her?"
"What a waste!"
"She's supposed to be Kade's Luna?"
"What an embarrassment!"
All these were comments that were made by the final contestants and some of the pack members that were around me.
I was pushing myself so hard but my body completely failed me.
However, one of the statements that was said under the person's breath that really hit a nerve was,
"What do you expect from a disgrace like her? A wolfless disgrace!"
The statement was said with so much hate and disgust and I felt it to my core.
I was already used to the comments, but on this particular day I had somehow proven myself to a panel of judges who saw me fit to be Kade's Luna.
They overlooked every other contestant and decided on me, and that couldn't have been a mistake.
I don't know what they saw, but I was sure as hell that if they had seen a reason to hand over such a prestigious rank to a wolfless wolf, I was never going to take such an insult go unnoticed.
By some miracle, and with the rage that built up inside me like a storm about to blow in a hurricane, I finally moved.
I kept my chin up and maintained eye contact with Alpha Kade, just like we had been trained to do, as I walked up the steps and headed to where he was.
Kade didn't seem that happy with the way I had delayed to join him on stage immediately.
But, when has he ever looked happy?
We both turned and faced the crowd, and he raised my hand up, even though he immediately let go of my hand as if I had the plague.
However, as I stared down at the crowd, amidst the claps, I spotted Cassian who was stationary as he looked back at me.
And then, he gave me a nod before he disappeared into the crowd.