The Broken Wolfless Luna

Rael's Pov

The night began in silence.

The kind of silence that made my wolf restless beneath my skin, like she was pacing, her claws dragging along the inside of my chest as though warning me. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the flicker of the candlelight on the walls, listening to the low peaceful hum of the crickets outside.

My husband had left earlier that day to attend a meeting with the Silver Fang Pack, and though he had kissed my forehead and promised to return soon, I still could not rid myself of the unease that had gnawed at me since I watched him leave.

I told myself that it was nothing... it was just that the silence of the house was what unsettled me, that the absence of his commanding presence was what made me feel so.. exposed.

My wolf-Lyric was disturbed as she kept clawing and trying to get out.

"Do you hear that?" the guard at my door called out to someone with alarm.

Then I heard it... The words barely left his mouth before the first war-cry split loud into the night.

"We're under attack!"

Then came the clash of steel, the guttural snarls of wolves mid-shift, and the sickening crunch of bodies colliding. My heart slammed against my ribs, my wolf surged to the surface, restless and wild.

I immediately shot to my feet as I rushed to the window. That was when I saw it... Shadows darted across the courtyard, warriors collided with figures that were too fast, too chaotic to belong to any trained pack.

These were.. Rogues. Dozens of them.

"No..." I whispered, my fingers trembling against the glass.

The cries grew louder, closer.. the sound of my pack, my people, drowning in utter chaos. Then, footsteps thundered down the hall. Too many. Too heavy.

I staggered backwards, my chest heaving, and my hand immediately found its way to my stomach in a desperate gesture of protection. The ache I'd been ignoring all day sharpened, and it twisted low in my abdomen, it felt hot and wrong. Not now. Please, not now.

Suddenly.. the door to my chamber burst open.

Four figures stormed in, their eyes glowing with the feral light of rogues. The stench of blood and iron clung to them like a second skin, it dripped from their claws, and it was smeared across their torn clothes.

I instinctively reached for the dagger by my bedside, but the nearest rogue lunged before my hand even touched the hilt. The weight of him slammed me back against the bed, the impact made my skull rattle for a moment. My vision sparked white, my breath shattered in my throat.

"Get off me!" I screamed, my wolf clawing inside, desperate to surface, but then all of a sudden the searing burn of silver that was pressed against my side stopped her cold.

The leader sneered, leaning close. "Tsk.. Tsk.. Tsk.. The great Luna, helpless in her own chamber. Where's your mighty Alpha now?"

"Let me go!" I screamed again.

He laughed. "We will but trust me.. You'll wish you were dead before this is all over."

Another figure approached the bed, holding a blade. My stomach immediately dropped as he dragged the edge across my arm.. shallow enough not to kill, but deep enough for blood to gush out freely.

"No.. stop!" I jerked against their grip, but they forced my arm down, smearing the blood across the white linen in slow deliberate strokes.

My heart stuttered as realization struck.

They weren't just here to take me. They were.. they were staging something.

"They'll think you died here," one of them hissed, pressing a hand against my chest to keep me still. His claws dug into my skin, pricking through the thin fabric of my nightgown.. I tried to fight and resist but the force that hit me made my resolve weak.

I shook my head violently, tears blurring my vision. "He'll find you! My mate.. he will kill you all!"

One of them sneered, clawing at the wall, leaving deep gashes like signs of a desperate struggle. "Your precious Alpha isn't here to save you. He left you today of all days. Convenient timing, don't you think?"

The words pierced me deeper than their claws.

He left. He wasn't here.

Why had he gone tonight, of all nights?

"No..." I whispered, but the doubt had already lodged in my chest, sharp and poisonous.

They forcefully dragged me off the bed, my heels scraped hard against the floor.. my knees hitting the stool by my bed. "Get her to the window," one of them ordered.

I kicked out wildly, catching one in the shin. He snarled and struck me hard across the face. Pain exploded along my jaw, and blood seeped from my mouth.

"You'll pay for that," he spat.

They yanked me forward, silver flashing in the dark with a blade pressed against my ribs, the searing burn made me gasp as my dear wolf recoiled with a pained howl inside me.

The leader growled. "Try shifting and you'll beg us to kill you."

I clenched my teeth hard, and swallowed my sob. My wolf whimpered, trapped beneath the searing pain.

Another one smashed the lantern, throwing the room into shadow. I caught glimpses of their faces, scarred and merciless, but I recognized none of them. They didn't look like Rogues.. No! These were mercenaries..

"Who sent you?" I demanded, my voice hoarse but steady.

The leader leaned close, his hot breath against my ear. "Well my dear Luna.. you won't live long to know. That's the beauty of it."

They shoved me toward the window, but I clawed at the wooden frame, nails splintering against it, leaving frantic marks. My chest heaved, my lungs burning with rage and terror.

"Corvin!" I screamed, my mate's name tearing not just from my throat but from my wolf herself. "Corvin!"

One of them struck me again, snapping my head to the side. "He can't hear you, Luna," he said with a cruel grin. "And even if he could.. what makes you think he'd actually come?"

Lyric clawed at me to fight, to endure, but the silver's burn was already eating through my strength.

Through the window, I saw the bed one last time. The crimson sheets, the claw marks, the wreckage. My chamber, my home, transformed into a scene of slaughter.

A bloodied bed.. A well staged proof of death without a corpse.

The perfect lie.

As they dragged me into the shadows, my voice broke out one last time. "He'll come for me.. He'll make you pay.."

But even as I said it, doubt laced my words.

They only laughed. "Believe that if it helps you sleep, Luna. It's over."

My strength ebbed. My vision blurred. And as the night swallowed me, my last thought was not of survival, but of betrayal.

Had he known?

Had my mate actually sent me to this fate?

As I was forcefully thrown into the stone cold cell, doubt poisoned me as surely as the silver in my veins and then I felt it..

Warmth.. Followed by a gush of fluid I felt, more than I saw, it was slick and hot between my thighs, and the pressure made my knees tremble as realization hit me..

"NO!!" I screamed as pain rushed through me, raw and merciless, until I could not even scream anymore.

My wolf screamed and cried harder than me..

My voice broke against the stone walls, and echoed back to me. Blood pooled under me and with it went the fragile heartbeat I had held onto as my last light in the dark.

I pressed my trembling hands to my belly, as though I could force the life back into me, as though my sheer will could hold it inside. But the emptiness I felt, told me the truth..

My child was gone.

And with it something inside me broke. I thought death would come for me then. I prayed for it.. I begged for it.

But death never came.

What remained now was something else.. something born from loss, rage, betrayal and survival.

"Corvin will bleed"

Rael's Pov

"Home at last" I coldly whispered, as the gates of my pack rose before me like the walls of a stranger's fortress.

I could hear my bones grinding against one another as I pushed forward using what seemed like my last effort to cling to life.

I thought I was finished the day they captured me and was under constant torture until I no longer knew if I was woman or beast. My screams became the only language I had left as days bled into nights without light and without hope.

I had held out hope that I was wrong and that Corvin was not behind it, and would come and find me but days turned into months and months to years.

Silver chains carved into my wrists and ankles until my scars refused to heal. I got used to the sound of my bones breaking, the rhythm of the whip on my back became one with the beating of my heart.

My wolf, Lyric, had raged at first, tried to break free but the more she howled the more the silver weakened her until she became quiet and lost.

I had lost Lyric- the one thing that kept me sane and now I became hollowed and lost.

The years stripped me off every emotions I had. I stopped screaming or weeping and stayed in silence as I became numb to any feelings.

Then one night, the chains slipped somehow-- perhaps the Moon goddess heard my prayers or the guards were careless-- that I will never know but I saw an opening and I took it. I crawled through the filth and into the dark, half starved and half dead but I was free.

From then on, I was a shadow, a vengeful spirit.. hiding in strange packs, stealing food, and fighting for every breath I took while I plotted my little payback. Each day I survived was proof that I could not be killed, no matter how deeply he had tried to bury me.

I staggered forward, breathing in the world like a starving creature as my knees shook but I saw it.

Eyes followed me the moment I stepped past the threshold. Warriors stiffened, their jaws slack. An omega carrying a basket of laundry dropped it, linens spilling across the dirt as she clapped her hands over her mouth. Gasps rippled down the streets like a wave, followed by the first trembling voice.

"L... Luna?"

"Luna.. she's alive."

Alive.

The word clung to me like a curse. Oh! If only they had seen the things I had endured..

"Pathetic" I coldly whispered to myself.

Still, their whispers rose, louder..

"Our Luna has returned."

Their voices carried disbelief, awe, joy, and fear all at once. I saw tears in some eyes, reverence in others. Yet beneath it all was confusion, because they all knew who now wore that title.

And so did I.

Then I saw him.

He stood at the top of the steps to the pack house, framed by the sunlight. For an instant, time collapsed in on itself, and all I saw was the man I had loved.. his broad shoulders, his dark hair, those storm-grey eyes that once made me feel safe even in the darkest night.

"Rael..." His voice broke like glass shattering on stone.

He descended the steps two at a time, his composure unraveling. His eyes searched me, frantic, as though afraid I would vanish if he blinked. The crowd parted around him.

He stopped just in front of me, trembling. "It's you. Goddess, it's really you.. I searched..." His hand rose, with an aching to touch my face.

I took a step back.

And his hand froze midair. The anguish that flickered across his features might have broken me once. Now, it only hardened me and made me smirk within me.

"Alpha..." someone murmured, but the title sounded distant, meaningless.

I kept my expression still, though my heart thundered in my chest. For years, I had lived only for this moment. For years, his memory had been the flame that lit my darkness with the urge for vengeance.

If he had searched for me, why had no rescue come?

If he had loved me, why had I roamed around in pain all alone?

Before I could speak, a soft, lilting voice called out.

"Corvin love?" My blood ran cold.

From the doorway of the pack house, she emerged. It was my dearest cousin- Nyra and she was in my dress.

Her beauty had always been delicate, but now it glowed with the fullness of pregnancy. Her hands rested protectively on the swell of her stomach, her eyes wide with innocence as she went straight to him.

"Are you all right? What's happening?" she asked, but her gaze flickered briefly to me. A quick assessment. A spark of something sharp before her face softened again.

The murmurs in the crowd began again..

"What happens now.."

"what happens to our Luna.. The new Luna is with child..."

Corvin's jaw tightened. He glanced between us.. me, the ghost of the woman he had tried to kill, and her, the wife who carried his heir.

Something inside me cracked.

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat. "Corvin Love?" I said quietly, my gaze locking on his.

The words silenced everything. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Corvin flinched as though I had struck him. "Rael, I.. " His voice broke again. "It's not what you think. When you were gone, when I thought.." he took in a sharp sniff like he was holding back tears. "I looked for you every day. Damn I offered offerings to the Goddess everyday.."

But before he could finish.. "Rael," she said softly, her voice dripping with sympathy. "We never thought we'd see you again. If we had known..."

I stared at her. At the way her fingers drifted to her belly, stroking the curve of life within her.

That life inside of her should have been mine.

The child I had once carried was stolen from me by blood, betrayal and chains. And here she stood, flaunting her victory with the ease of a queen who thought herself untouchable.

I bit down on the scream rising in my throat.

He reached for me again, desperation etched in every line of his face. "Rael, please. Let me explain.."

"There is nothing to explain, Alpha." My voice was calm yet steady and sharp enough to cut him especially as I called him Alpha instead of the nickname I had given him.

Gasps rippled through the crowd, but I did not wait to see their faces. I turned on my heel, the weight of a hundred eyes burning into my back.

Every step away from him was agony, but I forced myself forward. I would not let them see me break.

Not him.

Not her.

Not anyone.

I was alone when I was taken.

I was alone when I was broken.

I was alone when I hardened.

This was no longer my home.

He was no longer.. My vision blurred, and a hollow sound rang in my ears.

The murmurs around me sharpened into cries.

A hand reached for me, but I swayed, letting the world tilt.

"Rael!" Corvin's voice thundered through the haze.

The last thing I saw was his face, stricken with terror..

Nyra's POV

The courtyard was a beautiful yet annoying form of chaos. Voices rose in alarm, warriors barked orders, and Corvin's command cutting through them all.

"Clear the way! Get her inside!"

Her.

Always her.

I smoothed my expression into one of practiced concern as I trailed after the cluster of pack members carrying Rael's limp body into the pack house.

My fingers curled protectively over my belly, the swell beneath my palm a perfect shield for the mask I wore.

"She looked so pale," I murmured to the nearest servant, my voice trembling just enough. "Please, make sure she's comfortable and always inform me of her health ."

The young woman bobbed her head . "Yes, Luna Nyra."

Luna Nyra- the title sent a small thrill down my spine. It had been hard won, carved from shadows, tears and blood, and I would not let it slip from my grasp now.

Not even for her.

Especially not for her.

I followed them only far enough to be seen before lingering near the stairs, out of the way. From here, I could watch Corvin... watch how he hovered desperately over Rael, barking orders as though the woman he loved had not just reappeared from the grave.

My lips ached with the effort not to say a curse word but I did, "Bloody hell"

So that was it. That was the ghost who had haunted him, the shadow in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking. I had wondered, in darker moments, whether my memory of her beauty had grown exaggerated with time.

But no. She was still breathtaking, despite being broken, even with years of torment hollowing her eyes.

And yet, he looked at her as if she were the sun returned after endless winter.

I dug my nails into my palm, hard enough that it formed crescent shapes.

How dare she..

How dare she come back when I had spent years weaving my place here, burying her memory under my touch, my smiles, my soft words to him in the night.

How dare she walk into my home, into my title, and claim the hearts I had bent and bound.

I had been so careful. So meticulous.

Then slowly the memory surfaced.. the hushed meeting in the shadows, the coins pressed into greedy palms, the scent of iron when the mercenaries swore they would make it look like slaughter.

The bloody sheets had been my idea. Nothing more final, nothing more convincing than the stain of death left behind.

And it had worked.

Corvin had frantically returned that same night saying she called out to him only to find his mate gone, his bed drenched in blood. His howl had shaken the mountains that night, carrying across the valleys like a desperate cry for help.

I had been there, watching from the shadows, my own tears hot and real. Not for her.. never for her.. but for the man I loved.

The man who had never once looked at me the way he looked at her.

Until she was gone.

I had given him 2 years to break..To shatter.. To bleed his sweet soul dry on her grave. I had offered comfort slowly, carefully, never pressing too soon. An ear to listen. A shoulder to cry on. A gentle hand when he could no longer hold himself upright.

I had offered her grief-ridden parents my time as well, so they had no problems with me getting close to their daughter's mate while they battled grief and death..

And when he finally caved.. when he took me to his bed in his drunken state, desperate for warmth in the endless cold of his grief.. I knew I had finally won.

I had taken what was hers and made it mine.

Now, watching him hover over her with that same raw devotion in his eyes, I felt fury coil in my gut like a snake.

"Pathetic" I sighed out loud.

He had mourned her for years. And still... still, the moment she reappeared, she held his heart in her trembling hands.

I stroked my belly slowly, calming myself with the steady rhythm. No. He would not leave me. Not now. Not when I carried his heir. The future of this pack rested beneath my heart, and no ghost, no scarred little survivor, could strip that from me.

I tilted my head, letting my mask slip just enough..

"You should have stayed dead, Rael," I whispered to myself, so low no one else could hear. "I gave you a merciful end. I gave you release. But you just had to crawl back."

A bitter laugh bubbled in my chest, though I swallowed it before it reached my lips. She had escaped, then. Somehow she had survived what I had arranged. It almost impressed me, though the thought curdled quickly.

She looked broken, quieter, and shaken from that fateful night five years ago. The years had carved deep hollows into her. She might have the sympathy of the people.. but I had the power. The title. The bond of marriage. The child.

And Corvin?

I tightened my grip on his name in my mind like a chain.

He was mine. He had lain in my bed, taken me as his wife. Whatever bond drew him towards her, it no longer mattered. He belonged to me in every way that counted.

Still, the sight of him holding her, the anguish etched into his face, made bile rise in my throat.

"How dare he look at her like that when I stood only steps away." I murmured.

How dare she return to ruin what I had worked for.

I pressed a hand to my lips, feigning worry when a passing guard glanced my way. "Is my cousin stable?" I asked softly, letting my eyes glisten.

He bowed quickly. "Yes, Luna Nyra. The Alpha is seeing to her now."

The Alpha...

My Alpha....

I smiled faintly, nodding, letting the guard hurry on. But inside, my wolf snapped her teeth, restless and furious.

This was my territory. My crown. My victory.

And if Rael thought she could come back from the dead and take it from me...

She was gravely mistaken.

I tilted my head, stroking my belly once more. "You won't take him. You won't take this," I murmured under my breath, venom lacing every word. "Not the pack. Not the child. Not the man."

Let them whisper Luna all they liked.

Let her wear her scars like armor.

Let him ache for her in silence.

None of it mattered.

Because I had destroyed her once.

And if I had to, I would do it again.

"Corvin is mine.. this is my home not hers"