chapter 2

Rael's Pov

"Home at last" I coldly whispered, as the gates of my pack rose before me like the walls of a stranger's fortress.

I could hear my bones grinding against one another as I pushed forward using what seemed like my last effort to cling to life.

I thought I was finished the day they captured me and was under constant torture until I no longer knew if I was woman or beast. My screams became the only language I had left as days bled into nights without light and without hope.

I had held out hope that I was wrong and that Corvin was not behind it, and would come and find me but days turned into months and months to years.

Silver chains carved into my wrists and ankles until my scars refused to heal. I got used to the sound of my bones breaking, the rhythm of the whip on my back became one with the beating of my heart.

My wolf, Lyric, had raged at first, tried to break free but the more she howled the more the silver weakened her until she became quiet and lost.

I had lost Lyric- the one thing that kept me sane and now I became hollowed and lost.

The years stripped me off every emotions I had. I stopped screaming or weeping and stayed in silence as I became numb to any feelings.

Then one night, the chains slipped somehow-- perhaps the Moon goddess heard my prayers or the guards were careless-- that I will never know but I saw an opening and I took it. I crawled through the filth and into the dark, half starved and half dead but I was free.

From then on, I was a shadow, a vengeful spirit.. hiding in strange packs, stealing food, and fighting for every breath I took while I plotted my little payback. Each day I survived was proof that I could not be killed, no matter how deeply he had tried to bury me.

I staggered forward, breathing in the world like a starving creature as my knees shook but I saw it.

Eyes followed me the moment I stepped past the threshold. Warriors stiffened, their jaws slack. An omega carrying a basket of laundry dropped it, linens spilling across the dirt as she clapped her hands over her mouth. Gasps rippled down the streets like a wave, followed by the first trembling voice.

"L... Luna?"

"Luna.. she's alive."

Alive.

The word clung to me like a curse. Oh! If only they had seen the things I had endured..

"Pathetic" I coldly whispered to myself.

Still, their whispers rose, louder..

"Our Luna has returned."

Their voices carried disbelief, awe, joy, and fear all at once. I saw tears in some eyes, reverence in others. Yet beneath it all was confusion, because they all knew who now wore that title.

And so did I.

Then I saw him.

He stood at the top of the steps to the pack house, framed by the sunlight. For an instant, time collapsed in on itself, and all I saw was the man I had loved.. his broad shoulders, his dark hair, those storm-grey eyes that once made me feel safe even in the darkest night.

"Rael..." His voice broke like glass shattering on stone.

He descended the steps two at a time, his composure unraveling. His eyes searched me, frantic, as though afraid I would vanish if he blinked. The crowd parted around him.

He stopped just in front of me, trembling. "It's you. Goddess, it's really you.. I searched..." His hand rose, with an aching to touch my face.

I took a step back.

And his hand froze midair. The anguish that flickered across his features might have broken me once. Now, it only hardened me and made me smirk within me.

"Alpha..." someone murmured, but the title sounded distant, meaningless.

I kept my expression still, though my heart thundered in my chest. For years, I had lived only for this moment. For years, his memory had been the flame that lit my darkness with the urge for vengeance.

If he had searched for me, why had no rescue come?

If he had loved me, why had I roamed around in pain all alone?

Before I could speak, a soft, lilting voice called out.

"Corvin love?" My blood ran cold.

From the doorway of the pack house, she emerged. It was my dearest cousin- Nyra and she was in my dress.

Her beauty had always been delicate, but now it glowed with the fullness of pregnancy. Her hands rested protectively on the swell of her stomach, her eyes wide with innocence as she went straight to him.

"Are you all right? What's happening?" she asked, but her gaze flickered briefly to me. A quick assessment. A spark of something sharp before her face softened again.

The murmurs in the crowd began again..

"What happens now.."

"what happens to our Luna.. The new Luna is with child..."

Corvin's jaw tightened. He glanced between us.. me, the ghost of the woman he had tried to kill, and her, the wife who carried his heir.

Something inside me cracked.

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat. "Corvin Love?" I said quietly, my gaze locking on his.

The words silenced everything. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Corvin flinched as though I had struck him. "Rael, I.. " His voice broke again. "It's not what you think. When you were gone, when I thought.." he took in a sharp sniff like he was holding back tears. "I looked for you every day. Damn I offered offerings to the Goddess everyday.."

But before he could finish.. "Rael," she said softly, her voice dripping with sympathy. "We never thought we'd see you again. If we had known..."

I stared at her. At the way her fingers drifted to her belly, stroking the curve of life within her.

That life inside of her should have been mine.

The child I had once carried was stolen from me by blood, betrayal and chains. And here she stood, flaunting her victory with the ease of a queen who thought herself untouchable.

I bit down on the scream rising in my throat.

He reached for me again, desperation etched in every line of his face. "Rael, please. Let me explain.."

"There is nothing to explain, Alpha." My voice was calm yet steady and sharp enough to cut him especially as I called him Alpha instead of the nickname I had given him.

Gasps rippled through the crowd, but I did not wait to see their faces. I turned on my heel, the weight of a hundred eyes burning into my back.

Every step away from him was agony, but I forced myself forward. I would not let them see me break.

Not him.

Not her.

Not anyone.

I was alone when I was taken.

I was alone when I was broken.

I was alone when I hardened.

This was no longer my home.

He was no longer.. My vision blurred, and a hollow sound rang in my ears.

The murmurs around me sharpened into cries.

A hand reached for me, but I swayed, letting the world tilt.

"Rael!" Corvin's voice thundered through the haze.

The last thing I saw was his face, stricken with terror..