Rejected Luna's Vengeance

My only friend was a traveler from another world. She once told me that her mission in this world was to save me. She believed in me, protected me, and even helped my mate secure his position as the Alpha. At the end of the story, she found someone who loved her deeply. She said this world made her feel warm, and she wanted to stay here. But later, I rushed back from the borderlands, only to find her pale, frail body lying alone in a crystal casket, as cold as ice. Beside the coffin, her mate stood frozen, silent. Her young son whispered in relief, "Good, I never wanted such a crazy mother." I glanced at the woman standing beside them, pretending to wipe away tears. I thought, I didn’t need to pretend anymore. After today, they would learn what it truly meant to be insane.

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When Aylani Jackson slit her wrist, she didn’t hesitate for a moment. The healer who tended to her wounds said the cuts were so deep that only someone with a firm resolve to die could inflict such harm. Especially for someone like Aylani, who was usually so afraid of pain. She’d often come to me with tears in her eyes over the smallest scrape, just to coax some honey cakes out of me. But as I stood over her crystal casket, she looked as if she were merely asleep, her face pale but otherwise unchanged. Her beloved mate stood beside the coffin, a delicate girl in a pink dress at his side, holding the hand of a young boy who bore a striking resemblance to Aylani. I studied her from head to toe and finally understood why Aylani had lost all desire to stay.

The girl stepped forward and curtsied gracefully. "May the Luna Queen live in peace and prosperity." I stared at her coldly, refusing to acknowledge her greeting, my eyes fixed on her slightly bent knees. A guard quickly stepped forward and pushed the back of her knees, sending her crashing to the floor with a sharp thud. Only then did the tension in my brow ease slightly.

"Auntie Lilah!" Two voices cried out in alarm. Paxton Lee moved to help her up but hesitated when he saw my expression. Ali Lee, however, remained fixated on the casket, as if oblivious to everything around him. Meanwhile, Lilah Pierce didn’t make a sound, only bowed her head deeply. "May the Luna Queen live a thousand years. This lowly one did not know her place. Please forgive my offense."

I narrowed my eyes. Lilah was clever. She knew I was furious and that no one could calm me down, especially not the Lee family. Their presence only fueled my anger. By humbling herself, she was trying to outmaneuver me. Aylani would have never stood a chance against her.

I took two steps forward, my heels crushing the delicate fabric of her dress. A chair was quickly brought for me. I lifted Lilah’s wrist, where a silver bracelet rested. It wasn’t particularly valuable, but I knew it was the prize Paxton had won at the pack’s training camp. He had vowed in front of all the young wolves that he would win it for his mother. I had instructed the trainer to give it to him. Yet here it was, on Lilah’s wrist.

I grabbed the bracelet and yanked it off her hand. "My hand slipped. I hope you don’t mind." Two red marks immediately appeared on her pale skin, stark and ugly.

"This lowly one dares not complain," Lilah said, biting her lip. She looked as pitiful as her name suggested. Aylani would have fallen for it every time. Whenever she was mad at me, I only had to put on this act, and she’d soften, eventually giving me whatever I wanted. But what was Lilah to me?

I reached out and touched her earlobe, where a pair of large diamond earrings hung. They were the marking gift I had given Aylani. I tore them off without hesitation, and blood streamed down Lilah’s ear. Paxton could no longer control himself and knelt beside her. "The diamonds were a gift from Auntie Lilah! Mother approved of it! Please, Queen Luna, don’t blame her!"

I twirled the blood-stained diamonds in my fingers, my expression indifferent. "And what if I insist on blaming her?" Without Aylani, Paxton was nothing more than a pile of filth to me. I rarely spoke to him in such a cold tone. He grabbed the hem of my robe, trying to act sweet as he always did. My eyes narrowed, and a guard immediately stepped forward, raising his claws to threaten Paxton’s arm. "What kind of lowly creature dares to cling to the Queen Luna?"

I ignored Paxton, now pale with fear, and gestured for Aylani’s casket to be taken away. Ali Lee suddenly snapped out of his daze and drew his claws, blocking the path. "I won’t let anyone take Aylani away!"

Ali was, after all, a high-ranking Beta in the pack and had close ties to Josue Williams, the Alpha. The guards hesitated to act against him. But it didn’t matter. I would handle him myself. I lunged at him with my claws, not a trace of hesitation in my movements. The moment my claws touched his body, something heavy struck the back of my neck, and I was plunged into darkness.