003: the Luna they couldn’t silence

Selene’s POV

“Selene, please,” Damon said, hIs voIce tight with unease.

He stood between me and hIs mother like a shield that couldn’t decIde which sIde to protect.

It almost made me laugh.

Almost.

“This is madness,” 1 said, the laugh finally slipping out sharp, wild, broken. It wasn’t soft or graceful. It was the kInd of laugh that made the aIr tremble.

Diana flinched near the door.

Lyra shrank Into her seat, clutching her pups close.

And Ivana’s perfect smile Cracked, just slightly.

“I won’t agree to thIs,” I saId, my voIce steady, cutting through the charged silence.

For the first tIme, Ivana looked truly startled — as though the Idea of anyone defying her was inconceIvable. She’d expected the obedient Luna, the one who bowed, smiled, and played her role besIde her precious heIr.

She had forgotten who I was.

“She’s not staying In my den,” I said, every word laced wIth steel. “And I will not stand before the pack and bless bastards born of betrayal.”

The silence split open.

Then Ivana’s hand whipped across my face.

The slap cracked through the aIr like lightning.

1 dIdn’t flinch.

I met her gaze, head high, cheek burning but pride unbroken.

She was lucky I still respected my elders. Barely.

“Mother, please—” Damon’s voIce was taut, desperate. “Selene—”

“Shut up, Damon.”

My tone sliced through the room, cold and commandIng.

He froze.

“How would you feel,” I asked, my voice rising, “if I took another male to my bed and asked you to smile and accept his pups as your own? To parade them through the halls of the Crescent Fortress while you stood by and called it duty?”

Rage flickered in his eyes — that Alpha possessiveness he’d once wielded to make me feel wanted. Now it only disgusted me.

Good.

Let him feel what betrayal tasted like.

“You have no say in this,” Ivana snapped.

“Perfect,” I said, smiling like a wolf about to bite. “Then don’t expect me to be your puppet. Try to force me, and I’ll make sure every pack under the moon knows exactly what kind of Alpha King you’ve raised.”

A flicker of fear crossed her gaze — brief but real.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed.

“Oh, but I would.”

I stepped closer, letting my aura flare — the power of my bloodline, the ancient mark of the Moon Mother thrumming beneath my skin. “And you of all people should know what a scorned Luna can do.”

I turned to Damon, my words cutting deeper than any claw.

“You betrayed me. Lied to me. Built a secret family while I was bleeding and praying to the Moon Mother for a child. And now you expect me to bless your lie? To smile and pretend it’s destiny?”

He winced but still tried to reason. “It wasn’t an affair. It was the Goddess’s will. The healer said my line needed—”

“Don’t you dare,” I snarled. “Don’t you dare hide behind divine will to justify your weakness. While I was breaking under your expectations, you were building your future behind my back.”

Lyra’s eyes shimmered with guilt — or maybe pride.

The pups clung to her legs, unaware of the storm they’d been born into.

I turned on her, my voice sharp as frost.

“You let yourself be used by a mated man. What did they promise you? A title? A place in the Crescent Palace? You’ll never be Luna, no matter how many pups you bear. And your children…” I looked at Ivana, my tone low and final. “They will never sit on the throne.”

Ivana’s composure cracked. “That’s not true,” she snapped.

“Oh, it is,” I said softly. “Even the Goddess doesn’t bless deceit. You think the packs will kneel to a line born of treachery? Damon won’t last a moon cycle.”

“Selene—” Damon’s voice broke. “I did what I had to do. A leader without an heir is weak. I only wanted to protect you, to end your suffering.”

I laughed again — hollow, sharp, dangerous.

“And her?” I nodded at Lyra.

“She signed a blood pact,” he stammered. “She’s only the vessel. Nothing more.”

I stared at him, at the boy I’d once loved and the Alpha who’d let greed rot his heart.

“You disgust me.”

Ivana’s tone hardened. “Watch your tongue. You forget your place.”

“No,” I said, voice quiet but deadly. “You forget mine.”

Her lips thinned. “Your father no longer holds sway, Selene. The Council answers to me now. Defy us, and you lose everything—your title, your bloodline’s honor. Don’t let pride destroy what little remains.”

She stepped closer, her hand ghosting over my sleeve — mock affection laced with threat.

“Tomorrow you’ll stand beside Damon before the Council and the packs. You’ll welcome Lyra and the children as kin. You’ll do it with grace.”

Her perfume clung to the aIr sickly sweet, suffocating.

And then she turned to leave, Lyra following behind, the twIns clutching her gown.

Damon lingered a moment longer, shame flickering In his eyes before he followed them out.

The door shut.

Silence pressed In.

Diana’s voice broke softly. “My Luna…”

“Don’t,” I whispered, cutting her off. “Not a word.”

Because I knew exactly what I had to do.

Ivana wanted obedience.

Damon wanted silence.

The Council wanted submission.

But I was done being quiet.

They thought they’d broken me.

But they’d only woken something far more dangerous

A Luna with nothing left to lose.