The Luna Finds Her Voice

"Freya." Sea's voice cut through the spiral of dark memories. "Breathe. That was the past. This is now. You can change it."

She was right.

This time would be different.

“Take them back.” I let out a heartfelt smile as I stood up.

"L-Luna, are you sure about this? What about Lady Maeve?" the maids whispered, glancing at one another. "She clearly said..."

“Tessa,” I interrupted gently, crouching down to meet her eyes, “I know omegas have been under a lot of pressure these days. It’s fine. Lady Maeve only cares about my health. And since she sent you to me… you don’t need to report every detail to her, right?”

Her eyes widened. “Luna… you remember my name?”

“Of course I do.”

I ruffled her hair gently. In my past life, she had been one of the few who stayed, even when I had nothing.

Her cheeks flushed red. “Understood. We’ll restore the lab immediately.”

As they left, a long breath slipped from my lungs.

Relief. Maybe for the first time since waking.

Whatever game Killian was playing, I wanted no part of it.

I wanted to live. I wanted freedom.

I wanted my father’s pack back.

I clenched my hand over my heart.

“This time,” I whispered, “things will be different.”

I immediately threw myself into work.

Sitting at my restored desk, I reviewed my research carefully, comparing memories from both lifetimes and correcting some of my earlier, more naive notes and assumptions.

Before I knew it, morning had passed into afternoon. I rubbed my stiff neck and stood to stretch, catching sight of myself in the small mirror mounted near my washing basin.

I froze.

This was the first time since my rebirth that I'd truly looked at myself looking so young and vibrant.

My skin looked warm and healthy, glowing with life. Gone was the sickly paleness I'd grown accustomed to. Gone were the constant breakouts and blemishes that had plagued me my entire life.

"They're gone," I whispered in disbelief, lifting my hand to touch my smooth cheek.

Was this what it felt like to have a wolf? To finally be complete?

No more mysterious illnesses. No more weakness. No more waking up exhausted despite sleeping for hours.

A rush of power pulsed through my veins as Sea's voice whispered warmly inside my mind.

"It's your alpha strength manifesting. Your body is finally what it was always meant to be."

Disbelief and wonder warred inside me.

Then, suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning.

If having a wolf had such a dramatic impact on physical health and vitality...

"Sea," I said aloud, my mind racing. "Can you hear me? I just realized something."

"Always," she replied.

"The cure I created in my past life, it failed during the first trial not because the formula was wrong, but because the wolves' bodies were too weak to sustain the treatment. Their physical condition couldn't handle the stress of fighting off Moonfire while the medicine worked."

I stared at my reflection, seeing not just my face but the bigger picture forming in my mind.

"If I want the cure to work properly this time, I need to make sure the pack is physically strong enough to handle it. I need to change their training regimen entirely! Build their stamina, their vitality, their base strength."

My hand ran through my hair as I took a steady breath, the plan crystallizing with perfect clarity.

"I need to assess their current training curriculum first. See exactly what they're doing wrong. Then implement mandatory conditioning exercises to boost overall pack vitality before Moonfire even appears."

"That's brilliant," Sea said with approval. "But be prepared. They won't accept changes easily. Especially not from you."

"I know," I murmured. "But I have to try."

Greenville's training ground buzzed with activity when I arrived.

Grunts and shouts filled the air alongside the constant thudding of boots against packed dirt. The sharp crack of wooden practice weapons meeting in mock combat. The harsh commands of senior warriors drilling younger recruits.

I stood at the edge, observing carefully.

The first time I came to the training ground, it was to see Killian and bring him lunch. He didn't even take a bite. Instead, he gave it to the guard.

Then I thought he was quite charming and selfless. Now I knew better.

He simply hadn't wanted to acknowledge my presence in front of his warriors.

"Focus," Sea reminded me gently. "You're here for information, not old wounds."

Right.

I scanned the various training groups, noting their routines, their forms, their—

"Urgh!"

My eyes narrowed toward the sound. Two wolves had a younger boy cornered against a fence, shoving him back and forth.

While the rest of them just stood there and watched.

Blood trickled from the boy's nose.

"Hey!" I shouted, striding forward. "That's enough!"

Hearing my voice, their heads turned toward me as I tore the boy away from their grip.

"It's the Luna!"

"Freya. What are you doing here?"

The voice behind me was low, warm, familiar.

I turned and saw my Gamma, Raphael, stepping through the crowd—broad shoulders cutting through the tense air, dark eyes locked on me with that quiet softness he never bothered to hide. The kind of gaze that always landed on me first before anything else.

My chest tightened.

I found Raphael at the outskirts of Oakcreek, badly wounded by rogues, and nursed him back to health. Since then, he never left my side.

He moved closer, careful. “Are you alright?” His voice lowered, “You shouldn’t be here alone.”

I shook my head. "Since when did training become so brutal? This isn't combat preparation. It's cruelty."

His jaw flexed with barely leashed anger. I knew that look well.

Before he could respond, one of the bullies, a warrior named Garrick with a reputation for violence, scoffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What's wrong with teaching the runt some strength?" he said mockingly. "Greenville has no place for weaklings. The Alpha says only the strong survive."

"The Alpha would not approve of this," I said firmly. "This isn't strength training. It's torture."

Garrick sneered. "And what would you know about strength, Luna? You can't even shift."

Murmurs rippled through the watching crowd. Some agreeable. Some uncomfortable. All watching to see what I would do.

Raphael moved instantly, his body angling protectively in front of mine, his presence alone making several warriors shift back instinctively.

I placed my hand gently on Raphael's forearm, a silent signal. It's fine. I can handle this.

He didn't look happy about it, but he held his position.

I took a deliberate step forward, meeting Garrick's mocking gaze directly.

"I don't have a wolf," I said clearly, letting my voice carry across the training ground. "Does that make me weak? Does that mean I don't deserve to be part of this pack?"

Garrick's sneer faltered slightly, but he recovered quickly. "That's different. You're the Luna. You're supposed to be useless."

Harsh laughter erupted from several warriors.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides, but I kept my voice level. "Look at what you're doing. Really look."

I gestured toward the trembling boy behind me. "Subjecting someone to constant beatings doesn't build strength. It destroys will. It crushes spirit. By the time you're done with him, he won't have any fight left in him at all."

A few wolves murmured in agreement, mostly younger ones, I noticed. The older, more established warriors crossed their arms, openly skeptical.

"The Luna has a point," a female warrior said quietly.

"Does she?" Another voice, sharp, female, and dripping with disdain, cut through the murmurs.

The crowd parted as a tall woman with sharp features and cold eyes stepped forward. Lydia. One of Killian's elite warriors and a notorious bully who'd made my life miserable in my past life.

"The Luna," Lydia said the title like an insult, "who's never trained a day in her life, thinks she can tell us how to run our training grounds?"

More laughter. Louder this time.

"You should go back to your tea parties and embroidery," Lydia continued, stepping closer with predatory grace. "Leave the real work to real wolves."

The watching crowd shifted, sensing blood in the water.

"She's right," Garrick added, emboldened. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be in your rooms trying to figure out how to give the Alpha an heir? That's your only job."

"My concerns are valid," I frowned. "This training style will weaken the pack in the long run—"

"Weaken?" Lydia laughed harshly. "The only weakness here is you. A wolfless Luna who can't even perform her basic duties. You're an embarrassment to this pack."

"That's enough!" Raphael snarled, stepping forward again.

But others were joining in now, emboldened by Lydia's cruelty.

"She's not wrong," someone called out. "What kind of Luna can't shift?"

"Three months married and still no pup—maybe she's barren."

"The Alpha should've chosen someone worthy."

"She should be grateful we tolerate her presence at all."

Each comment was a knife between my ribs. The crowd was turning into a mob, feeding off each other's cruelty.

This was exactly how it had been in my past life. Whispers that grew into open mockery. Mockery that grew into outright disrespect.

Until I'd been so broken down that I'd stopped trying to be part of the pack at all.

"You want to change our training?" Lydia stepped so close I could see the contempt burning in her eyes. "You, who've never fought a day in your life? Who hide behind your Gamma because you're too weak to defend yourself?"

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a vicious whisper meant only for me. "You're not a Luna. You're a pet the Alpha keeps around out of obligation. And we all know it."

My hand moved before I could think.

The sharp crack of my palm against Lydia's face echoed across the suddenly silent training ground.

She staggered back, clutching her cheek, her eyes wide with shock.

The entire ground went deathly quiet.

Then Lydia's shock transformed into murderous anger. "You dare—"

She lunged at me, claws extending.

And something inside me roared.

"KNEEL!"

The command tore from my throat like thunder, carrying a weight that pressed down on every wolf present.

My Luna voice—amplified by Sea's Alpha aura—rolled across the training ground like a physical force.

And everyone dropped to their knees as if gravity itself had doubled.

Garrick. Lydia. The bullies. The onlookers. Even Raphael, though he fought it with visible strain, eventually succumbed.

Their heads bowed. Their bodies locked in submission.

Complete, absolute silence blanketed the grounds.