Chapter 5: The Gathering Begins

The third day passed slowly. Each hour felt like an eternity.

No one brought me food. No one checked if I was still alive. I existed in that locked room like a ghost, forgotten by everyone except Sarah, who managed to slip me a small apple and more water when the guards changed shifts.

I was grateful, but I barely needed it anymore. My wolf was sustaining me in ways I did not understand. The hunger was still there, but it felt distant. Manageable.

As the sun began to set, I heard activity throughout the packhouse. Wolves were preparing for the full moon gathering. Music drifted up from below. Laughter. Celebration.

They were celebrating my destruction.

I stood at my window and watched pack members arriving in the clearing behind the packhouse. A massive bonfire was being built in the centre. Chairs and benches were arranged in a circle around it. This was where all important pack business was conducted under the full moon.

This was where Damien would reject me.

I saw Elena moving through the crowd in a stunning white dress. She looked like a bride. She probably thought of tonight as her wedding, in a way. The night she would officially replace me.

Damien stood near the bonfire, greeting pack members. He wore ceremonial robes that marked him as Alpha. He looked powerful and confident.

He had no idea what was coming.

As darkness fell completely, my door unlocked. Beta Marcus entered with two large guards.

“Time to go, Omega,” he said with a cruel smile. “Your big moment has arrived.”

I kept my eyes down, my shoulders hunched. I made myself look as weak and defeated as possible.

“Please,” I whispered. “Do not make me do this.”

“Begging now?” Marcus laughed. “Too late for that. Come on. The Alpha is waiting.”

The guards grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. I let my legs tremble, as if I could barely stand after three days without proper food.

They dragged me through the packhouse and out the back entrance. The moment we stepped outside, every conversation stopped. Hundreds of eyes turned to stare at me.

I looked terrible, and I knew it. My dress was dirty and torn. My hair was matted. I had dark circles under my eyes. I looked exactly like what they expected to see. A broken, defeated omega.

Perfect.

They led me to the centre of the circle, right in front of the bonfire. The heat from the flames washed over me, but I barely felt it. My wolf was too focused on every person in the crowd. Memorising faces. Marking those who laughed. Those who looked away in shame. Those who watched with cruel satisfaction.

Damien stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent.

“Members of the Silver Crest Pack,” he announced, his voice carrying across the clearing. “We are gathered here under the full moon to witness an important moment in our pack’s history.”

I kept my head down, but I could feel his eyes on me.

“Five years ago, the Moon Goddess bound me to this omega,” he continued. “At the time, I accepted her will. I took Aria Moonstone as my mate and Luna, believing she would grow into the role.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“But some wolves are not meant for greatness,” Damien said. “Some are too weak. Too broken. Too useless to fulfil their duties.”

Each word was designed to hurt me. Once, they would have. Now, they only fed the rage burning in my chest.

“For five years, I have watched her fail at every task. For five years, I have endured the shame of having a mate who cannot even shift properly. For five years, I have carried a burden that has weakened our entire pack.”

Lies. All lies. But the crowd believed him. I saw wolves nodding in agreement.

“Tonight, I correct this mistake,” Damien declared. “Tonight, I sever the bond that should never have been made. And tonight, I claim my true mate.”

He gestured, and Elena stepped forward to stand beside him. She placed her hand on his arm and looked down at me with triumph in her eyes.

“This is my true mate,” Damien said. “Elena Moonstone. Strong where her sister is weak. Beautiful where her sister is plain. Fertile where her sister is barren.”

That last word stabbed deep. I had never been able to conceive. I had thought it was my weakness. Now I knew it was the wolfsbane, preventing my body from creating life.

“Elena carries my heir,” Damien announced, and the crowd gasped in delight. “She will give our pack the strong bloodline it deserves. She will be a Luna worthy of the title.”

He turned to me then, his eyes cold.

“Aria Moonstone, I, Damien Silvercrest, Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack, reject you as my mate and Luna. I sever our bond. I cast you from my side. You are nothing to me. You are nothing to this pack. You are nothing.”

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

I was supposed to accept the rejection now. To speak the words that would complete the bond breaking.

Instead, I lifted my head and looked directly at him for the first time.

“No,” I said quietly.

Confusion flickered across his face. “What?”

“I said no.” Louder this time. My voice is steady and clear.

“You do not have a choice!” Damien snarled. “I am rejecting you. Accept it!”

“A rejection requires acceptance from both parties,” I said, repeating the old pack law. “You may wish to sever our bond, but I do not accept your rejection.”

Shock rippled through the crowd. This was unheard of. Omegas did not refuse rejections from Alphas.

“You cannot refuse,” Elena hissed. “You are nobody. Nothing. You have no power here!”

“I am still your Luna,” I said calmly, even as my heart raced. “Until I accept the rejection, the bond remains. The title remains. And by pack law, you cannot take a second mate while the first bond still exists.”

Damien’s face turned purple with rage. “You dare defy me?”

“I dare claim what is mine,” I said. “You may have betrayed me. You may have humiliated me. You may have tried to break me. But I am still the Luna of this pack, bound to you by the Moon Goddess herself. And I will not make this easy for you.”

The crowd was in an uproar now. Some wolves were shouting at me to accept. Others were arguing about the pack law. Chaos was spreading.

Damien grabbed me by the throat, just like he had three nights ago. But this time, I did not choke. This time, my wolf rose to protect me, and I felt strength flood my limbs.

“Accept the rejection,” Damien hissed in my face. “Or I will kill you where you stand.”

“Then kill me,” I whispered back. “Because I will never accept.”

Something in my eyes must have warned him, because he released me and stepped back.

“Fine,” he said, his voice shaking with fury. “If you will not accept willingly, then I will force you. Guards! Take her to the punishment posts. We will see how long her defiance lasts.”

The punishment posts. Where wolves were tied and whipped for crimes against the pack. I had seen it done once, to a rogue who had trespassed. The wolf had screamed for hours.

The guards moved toward me, but before they could grab me, a voice rang out across the clearing.

“Stop!”

Everyone turned. Alpha Bloodmoon stepped out of the crowd, flanked by his warriors. I had not known he was here. Had not known he had stayed after his visit days ago.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “You would punish your Luna for exercising her rights under pack law?”

“This does not concern you, Bloodmoon,” Damien snapped.

“Does it not? I am a witness to this gathering. And what I am witnessing is an Alpha who seeks to break sacred laws to suit his own desires.” Alpha Bloodmoon walked into the circle, his presence commanding. “The female speaks truth. She has the right to refuse the rejection. And you have no right to punish her for it.”

“She is my mate! My problem to deal with!” Damien shouted.

“She is a Luna,” Alpha Bloodmoon corrected. “And as such, she is protected by laws older than your pack. Laws that I, as a visiting Alpha, have the duty to uphold.”

The two Alphas faced each other, and the air crackled with tension. This could turn into a challenge. A fight between Alphas that would end in death.

Elena grabbed Damien’s arm. “Do not,” she whispered urgently. “He is too strong. You will lose.”

Damien’s jaw clenched, but he stepped back. “Fine. No punishment. Yet.” He turned to address the crowd. “But let it be known that Aria Moonstone is no longer welcome in this packhouse. She will be moved to the omega quarters. She will have no privileges. No protection. And when she finally comes to her senses and accepts this rejection, she will be banished from Silver Crest territory forever.”

The crowd murmured approval.

“Until then,” Damien continued, pointing at Elena, “Elena Moonstone will serve as acting Luna. She will have all the authority and respect that comes with the title. Aria is Luna in name only. A ghost. A memory. Treat her as such.”

He had found a way around the problem. Legally, I was still Luna. But practically, I had no power.

“This gathering is over,” Damien announced. “Take her to the omega quarters.”

The guards grabbed me again, rougher this time. As they dragged me away, I caught Alpha Bloodmoon’s eye. He nodded slightly, a message I understood.

He had helped me. If I ever needed to escape, his offer of sanctuary still stood.

But I was not ready to run. Not yet.

The omega quarters were in the basement of the packhouse. Damp, dark, and crowded with the lowest-ranking wolves. They shoved me into a small cell with a dirt floor and a single thin blanket.

“Sweet dreams, Luna,” one guard mocked before slamming the door.

I heard them lock it and walk away laughing.

I stood in the darkness, breathing slowly, letting my wolf settle.

Everything had gone according to plan. Well, the plan I had formed in the last few hours. Refusing the rejection had bought me time. Kept me in the pack where I could watch them. Learn their weaknesses. Plan my revenge properly.

Damien thought he had won. He had his new Luna. He had humiliated me publicly. He had reduced me to nothing.

He had no idea that nothing was exactly where I needed to be. In the shadows. Underestimated. Invisible.

The perfect position for a predator to strike.

I sat down on the cold floor and closed my eyes. My wolf stirred inside me, stronger than ever. The transformation was almost complete. I could feel power thrumming just beneath my skin, waiting to be unleashed.

But not yet. Not until the time was right.

Footsteps approached my cell. I tensed, ready to defend myself if needed.

The door opened. Sarah slipped inside quickly, carrying a bundle.

“I only have a moment,” she whispered. “I brought you some food and a clean dress. I am so sorry, Aria. What they did to you tonight was cruel.”

“It was necessary,” I said quietly, taking the bundle. “Thank you, Sarah. You have been the only kindness in this place.”

“Why did you refuse the rejection?” she asked. “Everyone thought you would just accept it and leave.”

“Because leaving would be too easy,” I said. “And I am done making things easy for them.”

Sarah studied my face in the dim light, and something like recognition flickered in her eyes. “You are different. Since they locked you up. You are… different.”

“Am I?” I smiled slightly. “Or am I finally becoming who I was always meant to be?”

Before Sarah could answer, we heard footsteps above. She grabbed my hand quickly.

“Be careful, Aria. Damien and Elena are planning something. I heard them talking. They want you gone, and they will do whatever it takes. Even if it means…” She trailed off, unable to say the words.

“Even if it means killing me,” I finished for her. “I know.”

“Then why stay? Why not run?”

“Because running is what the old Aria would do. The weak, frightened omega who believed she deserved all the pain they gave her.” I met her eyes. “But I am not her anymore.”

Sarah nodded slowly. “I should go. But Aria? Whatever you are planning, whatever you are becoming, some of us will help if we can. Not everyone agrees with what is happening.”

She slipped out, locking the door behind her to avoid suspicion.

I changed into the clean dress and ate the food slowly, savouring each bite. My body was growing stronger by the hour. By tomorrow, the transformation would be complete.

I lay down on the thin blanket and stared at the ceiling.

Above me, I could hear the pack celebrating. Music and laughter and joy. They were so happy to be rid of me. So relieved that their shameful Luna was finally gone.

Let them celebrate. Let them believe they had won.

Because when I finally revealed what I had become, their celebrations would turn to screams.

I closed my eyes and reached for the bond that still connected me to Damien. It was there, thin and strained, but unbroken. Through it, I could feel his emotions. Relief. Satisfaction. Lust as he held Elena.

It should have hurt. Once, it would have destroyed me.

Now, it only made me smile.

Because he had no idea that by refusing to complete the rejection, I had kept a link to him. A link that worked both ways. He could feel my emotions too, when they were strong enough.

And soon, very soon, I would flood that bond with so much rage and power that it would choke him.

I drifted into sleep, and my dreams were dark and full of vengeance.

When I woke, it was still night. The packhouse was quiet. Everyone had gone to bed after the gathering.

I sat up slowly and froze.

I was not alone in the cell.

The shadow figure stood in the corner, silver eyes glowing in the darkness.

“Well done, child,” it said softly. “You played your part perfectly.”

“They think I am broken,” I said.

“Good. Let them think it. Let them believe you refused the rejection out of desperation, not strategy.” The figure moved closer. “Your transformation is almost complete. By dawn, you will have full access to your power.”

“And then?”

“Then you begin phase two of your revenge. You cannot strike openly. Not yet. You are still too weak compared to a full Alpha, and Damien has the entire pack’s support. You need allies. You need resources. You need to become someone they cannot ignore or destroy.”

“How?” I asked.

The figure smiled that terrible smile. “You leave. Tomorrow night. And you go somewhere they will never think to look for you. Somewhere you can grow stronger in secret. Build power. Create a new identity.”

“But you just said I should stay close to them.”

“You will stay close. Closer than they know. But not as Aria the weak omega.” The figure reached out and touched my forehead with one cold finger. “Sleep now. When you wake, you will know what to do. I will show you the path.”

Power flooded through me at the touch, and my vision went white.

When I could see again, the figure was gone.

But I was not alone.

Standing in the open doorway of my cell was Beta Marcus.

And from the expression on his face, he had heard everything.