The Luna who rose from the flames

Thalia

I felt the watchful gaze of the park members as I stepped forward. The air shimmered with anticipation as the full moon rose over Greenwood Park.

The central clearing, normally used for council meetings and celebrations, had been transformed for the annual Mating Ceremony. This year I've been picked by the Moon goddess to meet my fated mate. My wolf growled happily just at the thought of him. Lanterns floated on invisible strings, golden petals danced in the air, and every unmated wolf stood in formation under the watchful gaze of the Moon Goddess wishing it was their mating ceremony.

I stood at the edge of the crowd. As always, alone.

Hidden behind the elite warriors, my sister seraphina, and the beautifully adorned she-wolves in silks and gemstones.

I wore nothing but patched linen, my feet were bare, and my auburn curls tangled. I had prepared a very beautiful gown for this special event. I wanted to meet my mate dressed in red flowing silk made by my hand. I was shocked to find it torn to shreds this morning so I had no other choice but to put on my rags I called clothing.

I didn't belong here, but i had to be here. I was the alpha first daughter after all and an omega, or should I say, slave.

I turned twenty today. I have waited all my life for this moment. The year the Moon Goddess would reveal my mate.

The fated bond. Hope flickered quietly in my chest, small and desperate. Maybe this is my moment. My chance to escape the title I was born into; the Omega. The one blamed for her mother's death. The cursed one. The forgotten one.

Please, i whispered silently, eyes fixed on the moon. Please give me someone. Just one person who won't see me as a stain on this pack. Just one person that would be proud of me and love me instead of treating me like a mere slave.

The High Priestess stepped forward, arms raised to the sky.

"The Moon shines on us tonight," she proclaimed. "Let Her light reveal what fate has woven."

A hush swept across the crowd.

Wolves began to shift, hearts racing, eyes glowing. The pull of the mating bond stirred. My wolf jumped up inside me, pacing, alert.

Then suddenly, it hit me. A sweet smell of wood and honey caught my nose. It was the nicest thing I had ever smelt. Addictive even. A jolt of electricity shot through my spine, heat bloomed in my chest.

Angel stood still. Watching, waiting. She could smell it.

He is here.

My gaze swept the crowd until it landed on one figure at the front, tall, broad-shouldered, with tousled dark blond hair and sharp emerald eyes.

Cane. The future Alpha of Greenwood Park. My father's prodigy. He was the council head son and my sister's longtime obsession.

He stared directly at me and my heart skipped. The connection was undeniable. I could feel it down to my bones, the bond tugging at me, calling me forward.

The crowd began to murmur. I stepped forward, trembling. My knees could barely hold my weight as I crossed the space to meet him, eyes locked with his.

For the first time in years, people actually noticed me. They parted, staring in shock. And there I was standing before him. The moment held like glass. I could only whisper, trying not to ruin the moment.

"You feel it,"

Cane's jaw clenched. His hands fisted at his sides. "No."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I said no," he growled, louder now. "I reject you, Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, as my mate."

The clearing fell into stunned silence. His words sliced through me like a knife In my gut. My wolf whimpered, recoiled, and howled in agony inside her mind. I stumbled back, my vision blurring with tears.

"But....we're mates. The bond...."

"I would rather die than be tied to you," Cane's spat, loud enough for the entire pack to hear. "You're a disgrace. Cursed. A pathetic excuse for a she-wolf."

Laughter rang out. I bit my lower lip bitterly. He shared their views. He couldn't defend me. I have been rejected. The reality hit me like a wave. I had no safe haven. I was their subject of mockery.

"Is this a joke?" someone sneered.

"The Moon Goddess must be losing Her mind."

"She actually thought she was worthy of an Alpha?"

My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, the pain of the rejection crashing over me like a tidal wave. My chest felt like it was being ripped open.

Then, the final blow-

Seraphina stepped forward. My sister. Beautiful, smug, and shining in crimson silk. She sauntered past me like she was stepping over dirt and wrapped her arms around Cane's arm.

"She might be your fated mate," Seraphina purred, "But you can agree that I am better for you."

Cane smiled and kissed Seraphina in front of everyone. The crowd roared with approval. I curled into myself, nausea rising in my throat. My lungs screamed for air. No one helped me. My father, stood proudly beside Seraphina. The elders, whispered that I was cursed. The pack, always wanted me gone.

I was alone, as always. My wolf was silent. She was curled up in one corner in agony. When I finally found the strength to move, my hands were scraped and bleeding. My eyes stung but I didn't cry. I walked, slowly, deliberately out of the clearing.

No one stopped me. No one called my name. I had never mattered to them. I made it to the river before my knees gave way. The cold night air tore into my skin, but I barely noticed. By the river, my reflection stared back. Faded green eyes, gaunt cheeks, a faint scar just above my right brow. The scar i earned the day my mother died to protect me.

I was just a child when the ambush happened. I was just sixteen. My training wasn't enough. I screamed, clawed, begged the masked men to leave my mother alone. They didn't. I ran only because my mother made me. Only because I made her a promise to survive. I promised to avenge her death. But right now I was nothing. i have given the Moon Goddess everything I had. My faith, my patience, my heart and still, the bond had been thrown back in my face like garbage.

I Looked up at the dark sky and screamed.

"I'm done!"

"You hear me? I'm done waiting. Done begging. Done hoping."

The wind stirred, brushing my skin like a caress. My mind was made up. I'm done being treated like trash.

⚜️

Later that night, while the rest of the pack celebrated Cane and Seraphina's pairing, I sat in my cold room, packing what little I had into a torn satchel.

"Thalia!" My father's voice boomed from the hall. I could hear it quite clearly because I lived in the servant quarters just beside the hall. "Yes father?" i replied as I stood up to meet him

"We have guests, serve them" He commanded but I just stood still at my spot. Defying his instructions in the presence of the whole park.

Seraphina frowned. "Are you deaf?" she asked but I just went over to where she was seated at the dinning table and gave her a dirty slap. Everyone gasped.

"That's for stealing my mate!"

I landed another one before she could recover

"That's for turning me to your slave"

I gave her the final slap

"This is a warning to everyone, not to ever cross paths with me".

"Thalia!" My father screamed. My mate growled. I Ignored them and walked away from the hall.

"Lock her up" he commanded the guards.

I went back to my room at the servants quarters and picked my things. I tried to leave but I was arrested by the guards and put in chains. This isn't going to be over as fast as I thought.

Seraphina

The Mating Ceremony was always my favorite time of year. The night when the Moon Goddess unveiled fates and sealed power through bloodlines. But this year, it wasn't just about tradition or romance.

It was about my love. About ensuring I finally got what should've always been mine.

Cane.

The future Alpha. My destined match, whether the Moon Goddess agreed or not. Cane was the most esteemed bachelor in our entire park. He was of noble blood suited only for the best she-wolf in our park. That's me. Not Thalia. she doesn't deserve royalty let alone deserves to be a Luna.

I stood wrapped in crimson silk, each jewel carefully placed to reflect the moonlight. My hair flowed down my back in waves, my lips painted the soft shade Cane once said reminds him of rose petals. I had been preparing for this night for years.

And tonight, I'd finally destroy my sister, Thalia.

Even her name made me gag. She had prepared a very pretty handmade gown for this event. trying to make it a bit special. But my duty to my late mother and to myself is to make sure I ruin it for her.

Thalia had no choice but to show up in her rags. She looked pitiful. That pitiful, barefoot shadow trailed behind me since we lost mother. Her fate was sealed the day the Luna died. She became cursed, a disappointment, a disgrace. An Omega by blood, yes, but worse, an Omega by heart.

She never fought her place. Just accepted it. I always hated her for that.

Our father tried to hide it, but I saw it in his eyes. The shame. The guilt. That his firstborn turned out weak and useless. The fact that she looked like Mother only made it worse. Sometimes I think he wished she had died with her.

I would've preferred that too.

I and cane has been lovers since forever. He was royalty, he was Noble. He was the next alpha of our park, my father's protegy and I was a befitting Luna. I was born to rule. It was just right that we meet each other and fall in love.

Cane came to me one day, shortly after she'd turned eighteen. He said he could smell her scent. He said his wolf only wanted her and longed for her all day. That could only mean one thing. She was his fated mate.

The Goddess had matched her with Cane, my Cane.

It wasn't just a slap to my face. It was war.

I called my father. We had to do something I told him in tears. He smiled at me, assuring me that he would handle it. Years past. and she never found out that she had a mate. We lied. Now she was twenty. The plan was that when it was time she will be rejected and he will choose me as his mate. Father often marveled at me. I was so young yet so brilliant. Yet so brave.

That night, I made a vow. She may have been blessed by fate, but I had the ambition to tear fate apart. And that's exactly what I did.

One week before the ceremony, I met Cane under the training sheds at midnight. He was training alone, shirtless and sweaty, frustrated as ever.

"The time has come," I said casually, twirling a dagger in my fingers

He didn't turn. "Yes it has."

Cane's fist cracked against a wooden post. Splinters scattered across the floor.

"I will never accept her," he growled. "That thing is not my mate."

I walked up to him and placed my hand on his chest, feeling the thunder of his heartbeat. "Your wolf doesn't know that. Reject her. Claim me instead, then your wolf wouldn't have a choice."

His eyes darkened, uncertain for a moment. "You know I can't....."

"Yes, you can," I interrupted. "Fate doesn't rule us. Power does. And if you want to be Alpha of this pack, you can't let a cursed Omega be your Luna."

He paused. I leaned closer.

"Think about it. She's weak. She's hated. But me? I've trained beside you since we were pups. I understand politics. I know how to lead. And I love you."

He looked down at me, jaw tense.

"I'll help you," I whispered. "We'll humiliate her. In front of the entire pack. She'll be so crushed, she'll leave on her own."

And that was it.

The deal was sealed with a kiss.

Now, as I stood behind the elite warriors, watching Thalia shuffle through the crowd in her pathetic rags, I could barely hold in my laughter.

She really believed it.

That the Moon Goddess had gifted her a mate. That she was finally going to matter. That she could claw her way out of the dirt she was born in.

Pitiful.

I pretended to look surprised when Cane locked eyes with her, pretended to gasp when she stepped forward. I saw the crowd shift, heard their whispers.

The Omega?

The Alpha's disgraced daughter?

Yes. Let them hope. Let them believe.

And then,

The rejection.

Cane's words sliced her apart in front of everyone, just as we planned.

"I reject you, Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, as my mate."

The silence that fell across the crowd was divine. Her expression. Eyes wide, lips trembling, tears threatening to spill. It was everything I'd fantasized about for weeks.

It was better than I imagined.

Cane didn't stop. He twisted the knife deeper with every cruel word.

"You're a disgrace. Cursed. A pathetic excuse for a she-wolf."

I almost applauded.

And when the moment was just right, I stepped forward, hips swaying, every eye drawn to me. My silk gown shimmered as I looped my arm around Cane's. He didn't resist. He never did.

"She might be your fated mate," I purred, loud enough for the crowd to hear, "but you can agree I'm better for you."

He smiled.

And then he kissed me. He claimed me In front of everyone.

The crowd erupted.

I watched Thalia crumple to the ground like a broken doll. Her face pale, her hands shaking. Her wolf must've been screaming, and I relished every second of it.

She deserved this. All of it.

After everything, stealing our father's attention before she ruined our family. After being pitied for years, after getting a mate like Cane handed to her on a silver platter.

She needed to be reminded where she belonged.

In the dirt.

Later that night, the dining hall glowed with golden candles and laughter echoed through the corridors. Our father toasted to my pairing with Cane. Elders clapped my back and whispered that I had always been the stronger daughter.

I sipped my wine and smiled sweetly at them all. The perfect picture of grace.

Until she walked in. Still dirty, her curls a mess, but eyes... burning.

I heard father command her to serve our guests. But for the first time in her life she defied him. I frowned. "Are you deaf?"

She did something unexpected immediately I said that. She marched straight to me and before I could react,

SLAP.

The room went silent.

My head whipped to the side, my cheek burning. I blinked. She'd slapped me?

She slapped me!

"That's for stealing my mate," she said, voice low, trembling but sharp.

Then another slap.

"That's for turning me into your slave."

And the final blow.

"This is a warning to everyone. Not to ever cross paths with me."

The room exploded into chaos.

Cane growled. Father roared. Guests gasped. But Thalia didn't flinch. She turned her back and walked out.

I saw something in her eyes, something dangerous. She wasn't broken anymore. For the first time in years, I felt it... a chill.

But then Father barked orders, and the guards seized her before she could reach the door. Shackles clinked as they dragged her down.

I stood there, my palm still stinging from her slap, eyes locked on her retreating form.

You're not getting away, Thalia. You don't just hit me and walk away.

🍁

"Father what are you going to do to Thalia" I called after father after he dismissed the crowd. Cane stood behind me, giving me his full support.

"She would be punished accordingly, my precious stone" My father said, trying to soothe me.

"No father. What would her punishment be? I want her dead!" I declared. Pronouncing judgment on her.

"If that's what you want my queen. How should it be done?"

"By the flames" I said as I gave an evil smile. I could feel Cane go stiff behind me, but I couldn't care one bit. She sealed her fate the moment she laid her hands on me. I would not stand and watch her go defiant and powerful. I would always rule over her. I wasn't going to give her a chance. She'll be long dead before she can assume power. I smiled again. This time in victory.

Thalia

The cold stone floor of the dungeon tore into my hard knees as I knelt in chains, my wrists were raw and bruised. I could feel the dampness in my bones as I sat there In the dark. Tiny rays of Moonlight filtered through a small barred window high above me, casting shadows across the walls. I was not new to the cold as I slept on the bare floor of the servant quarters and my hands have been constantly torn and bruised.

I had spent the night in silence. No tears, no screams just the endless ringing of Cane's words in my head.

"I reject you, Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, as my mate."

Again and again, like the pulse of a wound that refused to close. I tried to shut those words out but I just couldn't no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't believe that he would reject his fated mate all because of my sister. Our bond was meant to be sacred but it meant nothing to him.

The cell door creaked open and i looked up. Two guards stepped inside without a word and grabbed my arm. I was yanked up and dragged to the great hall. I didn't resist. What was the point?

They led me out into the blinding light of day, dragging my broken body up and throwing me at the foot of my father. I was treated like a prisoner or even worse. I was treated with contempt. Just as my father was about to speak cane cleared his voice. My father looked at him expectantly, urging him to speak.

"I wish to formally sever the mating bond between myself and Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, and maybe seraphina my chosen mate" he declared.

"Very well then. The ceremony would take place at full moon. Take her back to the cell." My father commanded and once again I was thrown into the cell and locked behind bars, waiting for my fate to be sealed and to be officially severed from the fated bond between me and my mate.

At dusk, the entire park had gathered. Again. Not to celebrate me. Never for that. They had come to witness my final shame.

A platform had been erected in the center of the clearing. The high-ranking warriors stood to the left, the council members to the right. My father sat on his stone throne in the center, flanked by Seraphina and Cane now dressed in matching ceremonial robes of crimson and gold, the colors of royalty.

She looked radiant, triumphant. He looked cold. Distant.

But I still felt it. The bond.

It pulled at me like a thread tied to my chest, frayed and bleeding, but not yet severed. I hated it. Hated that it still existed, that no matter what he'd done to me, some part of me still wanted to believe it meant something. My wolf looked up at me. I could see the sadness in her eyes. I could see that she loved him and wanted to be with him, but... he rejected her. He rejected us.

The guards forced me to kneel in the middle of the circle, chains clinking loudly in the Silence.

The High Priestess stepped forward, her robes flowing like liquid moonlight. She looked down at me, her expression unreadable.

"State your request Cane" she said calling him forward.

Cane stepped forward, his jaw tight, his hands clasped behind his back like a true Alpha. He didn't look at me. Not once. His eyes were on the Priestess, on the crowd, on everything but me.

"I wish to formally sever the mating bond between myself and Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park," he declared. "And in the sight of the Moon Goddess and this pack, I wish to choose Seraphina as my mate."

The crowd gasped. Some murmured. Others smiled. The same pack that had watched me fall now waited to watch me break.

The Priestess nodded solemnly. "Then let the ritual begin."

She turned to me. Even her voice had softened, as if she already knew the pain that was to come.

"Thalia, do you accept the rejection from your fated mate? Do you accept that your bond is severed by the Moon Goddess?"

My heart thudded in my chest. My wolf stirred weakly, her ears pinned back, her breath shallow. This would be the final nail. No more invisible string. No more pain-filled dreams. No more false hope. "I'm sorry" I apologized to my wolf through my mind-link. I had to do this. I had to put an end to this. If I wouldn't be chosen, I wasn't going to be the victim. I raised my chin, eyes burning with defiance.

"I accept."

Silence fell again, heavy and final. The Priestess raised her arms to the sky, chanting in the ancient tongue. A silver glow began to rise from the stone beneath my knees, encircling my body like mist. My breath caught in my throat.

Suddenly, I felt pain. A kind I had never felt before. It tore through my body like fire beneath my skin. My spine arched, and a scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it. It felt like claws digging into my soul, ripping something vital from deep inside.

The bond. It wasn't just a connection. It was a living part of me and now it was being ripped away. I collapsed onto the stone, my palms scraping against the harsh surface. My vision blurred. My mouth opened in a silent cry as wave after wave of agony rolled over me. The Moon Goddess wasn't fair. She had chosen him for me. And yet I was the one left in pieces.

He stood untouched beside the she-wolf who had stolen him from me. I could see him shiver a little as I groaned and winced then he stood still. Stiff even. Did he really not care for me even for a bit?Seraphina's lips curved in a satisfied smile. She had won.

She had everything now. The crowd watched in silence as the ritual was completed. A silver flame sparked in the air. A confirmation from the Goddess that the bond had been broken.

"Make your declaration" The high priestess screamed. Pointing at Cane. Cane and Seraphina stepped forward.

"In the eyes of the Moon goddess and every living mankind, I declare that Seraphina, daughter of the Alpha king of Greenwood park is my chosen mate. I chose her this day. She is mine and I am hers." cane stated.

Seraphina bowed slightly as Cane kissed her forehead, signifying that she chose him too. The Priestess anointed their foreheads with moonstone oil and whispered the final words.

"In the eyes of the Moon Goddess, you are now bonded. Nothing shall hinder your bond. Your two souls have been made one."

Cane kissed her. Not a kiss of passion, but a claim. The ritual was complete. It was over. I felt nothing.

I barely had time to rise to my knees when my father stood, his voice echoing across the grounds.

"Now that the formalities are done, let judgment be passed."

I turned my eyes toward him. For a split second, I searched his face for even a flicker of mercy.

There was none, his mind was made up.

"You dared defy the Alpha of your park and your king," he said coldly. "You struck your sister, the future Luna of this pack. You humiliated this family, this court, and this sacred ceremony. You are nothing but a disgrace and from this day you are no longer my daughter."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to silence me. He stood tall, voice booming over the gathering.

"Your sentence is death."

Gasps filled the air.

"You are to be burnt alive. Death through the fire is the only punishment fit for one who has betrayed her king and cursed her own blood. By the fire you shall be purged of your sins and forgiven for your crimes."

I couldn't breathe.

I looked around. No one objected. Not even Cane. Not even Seraphina. Not even the High Priestess.

My legs gave out completely, my heart thudding in horror.

I refused to be a servant anymore. I refused to serve and I slapped my sister and for that my punishment is fire? They were going to burn me alive. For defending myself. For standing up for myself once in my miserable life. For not staying in the dirt where they thought I belonged.

The guards seized me again, but this time, I fought back. My wolf growled, weak but desperate.

"No," I hissed. "You can't....."

"You committed a crime, Thalia," my father said. "The judgement shall be carried out immediately."

They dragged me from the sacred circle to the stake. The crowd watched in silence. No one looked away. No one cried for me.

"Father!" I screamed desperately. But he just turned his back and went back to his seat.

I met Seraphina's eyes one last time. She smiled. She was going to smile and watch them burn me alive. A girl I cared for like my blood. A girl my mother rescued from her dying mother and saved as a baby. I closed my eyes in surrender. This is the highest i can take. I'd rather die than continue like this.