The Shattered Moment

Chapter Nine : The Shattered Moment

Nora’s POV

The silk of the Luna stole shimmered faintly under the golden light of the sitting room. I stood before him, my heart racing as though it would tear through my chest. Axel adjusted the fabric gently across my shoulders, his touch careful, almost reverent.

“You look…” His voice trailed off as his eyes lingered on me, deep and warm. “Like the Luna you were meant to be.”

My lips trembled, but I smiled anyway. “And you… look every bit the Alpha.”

He wore his Alpha attire tonight, a robe woven with symbols of strength and leadership. My fingers, unsure at first, lifted to straighten the clasp near his chest. His hand brushed mine, and I felt the strength of him beneath the fabric, the steady beat of his heart.

“By next week,” he said, his voice calm yet firm, “I will hold a ceremony. I will announce you as my Luna before everyone.”

The words sank into me like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. For so long, I had been unwanted, unworthy, a shadow carrying scars no one wished to see. And now… now I was standing here, beside him.

I forced myself to breathe. “I’ll be by your side,” I whispered, a promise more than a statement.

His lips curved into a rare smile, the kind that softened his sharpness. For a moment, the world outside this room didn’t exist. It was just him and me. His hand lingered against my cheek, warm, protective.

I leaned closer, soaking in the peace, the safety. For once, I wasn’t just surviving. I was… living.

And then the door opened.

The air shifted instantly.

Two figures stepped in, dressed in authority, their presence heavy enough to make my breath freeze. Axel’s parents. The Alpha King and his Luna. Their eyes swept across the room, then froze on me, on the stole draped across my shoulders.

Shock. Anger. Disbelief.

“Who is this?” his father demanded, voice sharp like a blade.

Axel stiffened beside me. His hand hovered near mine as though to steady me. He didn’t answer.

“Who is she?” his mother pressed, her eyes narrowing, her gaze burning into me. “Where is she from? Who is her father? What post does she hold in this pack?” She shouted, “Why are you in the Luna’s attire?”

The questions slammed into me like stones. My chest tightened. I felt Axel’s hand grip mine, firm, warning. Don’t speak.

But the silence was worse. It choked me. He didn’t want to talk, but I have to… I can’t

So I lifted my chin, even though my voice shook. “I… I am an omega.”

The room went still.

The word dropped like poison.

Their faces twisted with fury. His mother’s voice rose, sharp and piercing. “An omega?” She turned to Axel as if she could not believe it. “You dare clothe an omega in the Luna’s stole?”

“Mother…”Axel began, but his father cut across him.

“No!” His voice thundered, filling the room. “This is a disgrace! An omega cannot stand as Luna. It will be a shame. It will shame this pack.”

Their words hit me harder than any blow. My knees felt weak, but I forced myself to stay standing, to keep breathing.

His mother’s eyes burned with contempt. “Remove it at once! She does not belong here.”

I felt Axel’s hand tense, his body coiled with anger, but still he didn’t speak. He couldn’t. His parents’ authority weighed down like chains.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “I never—” My voice cracked. “I never asked for this. He gave it to me.”

That was when the slap came.

It landed across my cheek, hot and stinging. My vision blurred for a moment as my head whipped to the side.

“You dare speak?” his mother hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “You dare touch our son’s future? You filthy omega… you dare dream to sit as Luna? There’s Cynthia, she’s the one to be the Luna, the one who have been with him through the thick and thin, the one that will be the Luna of this pack.

Cynthia? So he has someone?

I staggered back, my hand against my cheek, heat burning against my skin. My heart pounded, not just with pain but humiliation.

Axel caught me before I could fall. His arm came around me, strong and steady, pulling me against his chest. I felt the tremor in him, the fury he was holding back.

But still, he said nothing.

His silence tore deeper than their words.

“You must send her away,” his father’s voice cut like ice. “If you do not, Axel, we will find the Luna worthy of you. And it will not be her.”

My breath caught, the words slicing through me. I looked up at Axel, my vision blurred with unshed tears. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might break, his eyes blazing with a storm he couldn’t release.

And in that silence, my heart cracked.

I thought I had found a place. A chance. A future.

But to them, I was nothing.

Only an omega.