CH. 5

"Tell me something," Luna continued in a voice low and dangerous. "Does my sister pay you well for being her little spies? Or are you all just so desperate for scraps of attention that you'll debase yourselves for free?"

Marissa's face flushed. "How dare you..."

"How dare I?" Luna's laugh was a shard of glass. "No, sweetheart. How dare you!”

She took a step forward and despite her weakened state, her dominance was a physical force, radiating from her like heat.

The three omegas instinctively stepped back.

"Let me make something fucking clear," Luna drawled. "I may be weak. I may be broken. But I am still a Princess of the Southern Lunar Kingdom. I am still the daughter of a king."

She pinned each of them with a gaze that cut. "And you? You're nothing. Omegas who exist only because we allow it. You should be kissing the ground I walk on."

Marissa's face went red with fury. "Your bloodline means nothing here! You're just the Alpha's broken mate."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Luna’s words dripped with contempt. "To feel better about wanting an Alpha who wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole? You will never be anything more than a sad little omega with delusions of grandeur."

"You bitch..." Marissa lunged with her hand raised.

Instinct took over and Luna's hand shot out.

The slap snapped Marissa's head to the side, leaving a perfect red handprint on her cheek and sending her stumbling back into Sophia.

The room went utterly silent for several heartbeats.

Luna stood there, chest heaving and eyes blazing.

"Touch me again," she panted, "And I will remind you exactly what happens when an omega forgets her place!"

Marissa’s hand flew to her cheek. "You... you struck me!"

"And I'll do it again," Luna replied coldly. "Harder. Remember that."

Sophia helped Marissa steady herself, both staring at Luna with fear and hatred.

Claire had flattened herself against the far wall, her earlier bravado gone.

"The Alpha will hear about this," Marissa hissed.

"Then run along," Luna sneered. "Run to your Alpha like the pathetic lapdog you are. Tell him his mate finally remembered she has claws."

Marissa's eyes narrowed. "You're going to regret this."

"Get lost before I decide one slap wasn't enough," Luna spat.

"The Alpha ordered us to—"

"GET OUT!" Luna's voice rose to a shout, her aura flaring.

It was a mere flicker of her former power, but it was enough to send the omegas scrambling for the door.

Marissa shot her one last venomous look before they vanished, their footsteps hurrying down the hall.

The moment they were gone, Luna's legs gave out.

She collapsed on the vanity stool, her hands shaking violently.

The brief surge of power had cost her dearly and nausea returned with vengeance.

She barely made it to the toilet before she was retching, her body trying to expel the poison in her veins.

Soon, heavy footsteps pounded in the hallway. Multiple sets. Moving fast. Angry.

Luna gripped the sink, forcing herself to stand.

She had just enough time to rinse her mouth before her bedroom door slammed open.

Damon stood there, looking murderous.

Behind him, Marissa, Sophia, and Claire were clustered together, their expressions smug.

And behind them, of course, was Helen. Her face was a perfect portrait of concerned sympathy that didn't reach her eyes.

"Is it true?" Damon's voice was dangerously quiet. "Did you strike a member of my pack?"

Luna straightened, using the doorframe for support. "She was out of line."

"Are you mad?" His voice rose. "You assaulted an omega who was trying to help you!"

"Help?" Luna’s laugh was bitter. "They discussed your affair with my sister right in front of me, in my own fucking bedroom."

"They were stating facts," Damon said coldly.

"You're defending them?" Luna stared at him in disbelief. "They've been abusing me for years, probably on orders from that backstabbing bitch standing behind you. And you're taking their side?"

"Watch your mouth!" Damon warned.

"Or what?" Luna shot back. "You've been punishing me for three years. What's one more thing?"

"Luna, please," Helen tried again, stepping forward with her hands raised in a placating gesture. "You're not thinking clearly. The stress is all too much. Let’s help you."

Luna’s laugh edged toward hysteria. "You want to help me? Then leave. All of you. Get the fuck out of my room. Or better yet, just kill me already. Put me out of my misery. At least then you two can play house without having to pretend you give a shit about me."

"This is my pack house, my territory. You don't give orders here," Damon said coldly.

"I am a Princess of the Southern Lunar Kingdom," Luna’s voice was steel. "And you'd better remember that before you speak to me like I'm nothing!” She spat.

“When my family finds out what you've done to me, there won't be anywhere in this world you can hide."

The room went silent.

Even the omegas looked shocked.

No one spoke to Alpha Damon Treuman like that.

Damon's face went through several expressions. Shock, disbelief, and then, finally, pure rage.

"You forget yourself," he said through his teeth. "You forget that you chose this. Chose me. You made your choice three years ago, Luna. Now live with it."

"I chose wrong," Luna spat bitterly. "I chose a monster. I chose my own destruction. But can you admit that you're nothing without me? That you need my name, my bloodline, to be anything more than a mediocre Alpha with delusions of grandeur?"

Damon moved so fast Luna didn't have time to react before his hand connected with her face.

The force of the blow sent her stumbling and her vision blurring as she hit the floor hard.

The room spun.

Her cheek throbbed and her ears rang.

Through the haze, she heard Helen gasp… could feel Damon's heavy breathing as he stood over her.

"You will learn respect!" he growled. "You will learn your place. You will obey me."

Darkness crept in at the edges of Luna’s vision. But in that moment of pain, a cold, sharp clarity settled over her.

She forced herself to look up at him and smiled… a cold, bitter thing that held no warmth.

"You need me," she whispered. "That's why I'm still breathing. Because without me, without my family's name attached to yours, you're absolutely nothing. Just a small man with a big ego and no substance to back it up!"

Damon’s face contorted with fury.

Luna saw him raise his hand again, but darkness was already claiming her.

"Pathetic," she sneered as consciousness slipped away. "So fucking pathetic..."

With that, everything went dark.