After He Stripped Me of Luna Duties, I Took His Power

The hospital corridor stretched before me like a tunnel of dread. I could hear raised voices from the entrance—Diana's strong, protective tone and Lexi's venomous replies. My heart hammered against my ribs as I quickened my pace, my father's silver pendant clutched tightly in my hand.

"You will not enter this hospital," Diana commanded, her voice carrying the weight of her former Luna status. "Not today. Not ever."

I turned the corner just as Lexi's laughter sliced through the air—high and brittle, like breaking glass.

"Your son's mate?" she sneered, her perfect features twisting into something monstrous. "That pathetic little wolf who can't even keep Lorenzo's attention?"

Something in her eyes changed then—a flicker of madness that made my blood run cold. I'd seen that look before, in the eyes of rogues who'd lost their grip on reality.

"Diana, step away!" I shouted, but my warning came too late.

Lexi's body contorted violently, bones cracking and reforming with a sickening sound. Her shift wasn't fluid like a normal werewolf's—it was jagged, wrong. Fur erupted from her skin in patchy clumps, her face elongating into a snout that seemed too large for her skull.

"What is she?" someone screamed from the hospital reception.

Diana stood her ground, her back straight despite the horror unfolding before her. "Valentina, run!"

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't tear my eyes away from the nightmare Lexi had become.

Her wolf form lunged forward with unnatural speed, jaws snapping for Diana's throat. The former Luna raised her arms defensively, but she was no match for the feral creature before her.

Blood sprayed across the pristine hospital walls. Diana's body crumpled to the floor, her eyes wide with shock, her throat torn out in a single brutal strike.

"No!" I screamed, rushing forward as Lexi's wolf stood over Diana's body, blood dripping from yellowed fangs.

I dropped to my knees beside Diana, pressing my hands against the wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Her blood was warm and slick between my fingers.

"Valentina," she whispered, her eyes finding mine. "Be strong... for the pack..."

Her final breath escaped her lips, and I felt something inside me break.

The hospital staff scattered, screaming. Security guards appeared at the far end of the corridor, their faces pale with shock.

I rose slowly to my feet, Diana's blood staining my hands and clothes. Lexi's wolf circled us, leaving bloody pawprints on the sterile floor.

"By the Ancient Law of the Moon Goddess," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the rage and grief tearing through me, "I demand a Blood Tribunal."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. A Blood Tribunal was immediate—an execution for the murder of a pack member. Especially one of Diana's standing.

The warriors hesitated, looking uncertainly between me and the still-shifted Lexi, who had begun to pace like a caged animal.

"Seize her," I commanded, pointing at Lexi's wolf form. "She has murdered the former Luna in cold blood."

The guards moved forward cautiously, silver-tipped nets ready in their hands.

"That's enough!"

Lorenzo's voice cut through the chaos like a whip. He strode through the hospital doors, his face a mask of cold fury.

"Stand down," he ordered, positioning himself between Lexi's blood-soaked wolf and the advancing guards.

I stared at him in disbelief. "She killed your mother, Lorenzo. In front of witnesses."

His eyes met mine briefly before dropping to his mother's body. Something flickered in their depths—grief, perhaps, or guilt—but it vanished so quickly I might have imagined it.

"Lexi is suffering from Rogue Madness," he announced, his voice taking on the unmistakable resonance of an Alpha command. "She is not mentally competent to stand trial."

The guards froze, caught between my demand for justice and their Alpha's orders.

"Rogue Madness?" I echoed incredulously. "She's been back for days! This was calculated murder!"

Lorenzo's eyes flashed dangerously. "Enough, Valentina. You will not speak of this again."

He turned to the guards. "Take Lexi to my private quarters. She needs rest and care."

"Your quarters?" I whispered, horror washing over me. "Not the cells?"

Lorenzo stepped closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "If you know what's good for your father, you'll drop this now."

My blood turned to ice. My father lay helpless in the ICU, his life hanging by a thread—a thread Lorenzo could cut at any moment.

"The pack needs stability," Lorenzo continued, his voice carrying to the others. "Not hysteria. My mother's death is a tragedy, but we must be rational."

As the guards led Lexi away—not in chains but with gentle hands—I stood frozen in a pool of Diana's blood, my hands still stained red with her life.

Lorenzo's eyes met mine one final time. "Clean yourself up," he ordered coldly. "And remember your place."

He turned away, following Lexi and the guards toward his private wing of the pack house.

I remained on my knees beside Diana's body, my white dress soaked crimson, my heart hardening into something I no longer recognized.