Chapter 3 Is Exactly What You Did Today

What if I didn't let him go?

What if I fought?

My fingers brushed the mark on my neck, Darius's mark. Still there. Still binding me, even if he refused to acknowledge it. And for the first time in six months, I smiled.

I couldn't face Selene. Not yet. I could still see the way Darius's eyes softened when he looked at her, the way they never softened for me. So instead of going back to the dining room, I drifted to the only place in this massive pack house that ever felt remotely mine: the library.

It sat tucked away in the west wing, three floors of dust, quiet, and the smell of leather and old paper. Most wolves preferred the training grounds, the communal halls, or the woods. But I'd spent countless hours here, hiding between shelves, pretending I wasn't slowly falling apart.

I sank into my usual chair by the window overlooking the forest and finally let the tears come.

What the hell had I just done?

Three months. I'd demanded three months to play at being his wife when he'd already made it clear he didn't want me. What was I hoping for? That he'd wake up one morning and see me differently? That he'd remember what it meant to love me?

Pathetic. I pressed my palms to my eyes, swallowing a sob. Pathetic, Vera. Again.

"You know," a voice rasped from the doorway, "for someone who just backed an Alpha into a corner, you don't look very triumphant."

I jolted. An elderly woman stood there, leaning on a gnarled walking stick. Elder Moira. I'd only seen her a handful of times, she rarely left her cottage at the edge of the territory.

"I... I didn't mean to intrude," I stammered, wiping my face.

"Oh, hush." She waved her hand. "This is pack territory, child. You're Luna. You don't apologize for existing in your own home."

Luna. The word landed heavy and ironic.

Moira settled across from me with a grunt, her sharp blue eyes assessing me. "I heard what happened. The whole pack's buzzing about it. News travels fast when it involves the Alpha."

"Wonderful," I muttered. "I'm sure they're all laughing about the pathetic Luna who threw a tantrum."

"Laughing?" Moira cackled. "Half the females are ready to throw you a parade. Do you know how long we've waited for you to grow a spine?"

I blinked. "What?"

"For six months you've been walking around like a ghost," she said. "Letting that fool Alpha ignore you while he sniffs after your sister like a lovesick pup. Today was the first time you acted like a Luna instead of a shadow."

Her words stung because they were true.

"I wasn't trying to make a scene," I whispered.

"Maybe not. But you finally reminded him you exist." Moira's tone softened. "What Darius has done is cruel, child. But you've let him. You've hidden here, made yourself small, hoping he'd notice your silence. That's not how you tame a wolf."

My throat ached. "Then what was I supposed to do?"

"What you did today, fight." She leaned forward and took my hand. "That boy needs someone who challenges him. His father made him an Alpha but forgot to make him a man."

"He doesn't want me to challenge him," I said bitterly. "He wants Selene."

"Does he?" Moira's eyes gleamed. "Or does he want the one thing he can't have? Alphas crave resistance. Your sister pushes him. You've been too accommodating. Which of you do you think intrigues him more?"

I looked away. "Even if you're right... he still loves her."

"Love," Moira scoffed. "He confuses love with obsession. He doesn't know what it means to choose someone through silence and storms." Her grip tightened. "You have three months. Use them to find your power, not his affection."

"I don't even know where to start."

Moira's lips curved into a predatory smile. "That's why the Moon sent me. Come, if you're going to be a Luna, you'll need training."

"Training?" I echoed.

"Did you think being Luna meant smiling prettily beside your Alpha?" Her eyes glittered. "Oh, sweet child... you've no idea what power lies in your position."

By the time I left the library two hours later, my head was spinning.

Moira had unraveled everything I'd ignored for months, pack politics, alliances, territory management, the Luna's influence. "The females look to you for guidance," she'd said. "The pack needs your strength when the Alpha's judgment falters. You've been chasing one man and forgetting the two hundred wolves who depend on you."

She was right. I'd been drowning in heartbreak while my pack drifted without a Luna.

That ended now.

When I reached the training grounds, the late sun was already bleeding into the horizon. Female warriors sparred in human form, graceful, brutal, alive. I recognized Kara, the head female warrior; Maya, the young wolf who always smiled when she saw me; and at the edge, arms crossed, watching me like a ghost from another life, Selene.

She straightened as I approached. "Vera..."

"I'm here to train," I said, loud enough for every wolf to hear. "Elder Moira says all Lunas should. I've been negligent in my duties."

Silence swept the field. A few warriors exchanged glances. Selene's lips parted, something unreadable flickering in her gaze.

Then a slow clap echoed from behind.

I turned. Darius stood at the edge of the clearing, his expression unreadable, his eyes darker than the dusk around us.

"Then let's see," he said softly, his voice carrying across the field, "if the Luna can still fight."