Chapter 3

Donna’s POV

I could only hear bits of words.

“You are Luna in name only and you have brought me nothing but pain. Remember this, Donna– being my wife does not place you above the law.” His alpha aura pressing against my chest made it hard to breathe.

I could feel my heart tearing apart as more power pressed against it. Cold sobs escaped as my lips moved, barely forming the words. “I didn't…i didn't” but no one cared to listen and the black swallowed me. 

___

I heard different voices speaking all at once, some were angry, some were pitiful, some just didn't want to belong. All my body couldn't move and I forced myself to open my eyes and I met hundreds of faces staring at me intensely.

The sun is burning down on my exposed, bloody body. I was tied up with other criminals– some slaves that were captured together. My hands were bound tightly and were bleeding because of too much tightness. 

One of the oldest elders cleared his throat and stood up, his clothes were loosely beneath his waist, his hair filled with white and his little body trembled as if he wanted to break in the screeching sun.

“We present the case before the people of Ironclad, Luna of Ironclad, killed our very own! Plucked from his eyes, he died before he could be saved. She is charged with murder” 

The elder’s words cracked through the air, but my mind drifted, pulling me backward.

I remembered the war—smoke choking the skies, wolves falling like shadows against fire. And then Lucien: bloodied, staggering, collapsing at our borders. 

The elders wanted to leave him. A trap, they said. But my mother’s voice cut through the fear, commanding that he be healed.

I was eighteen. My wolf was still silent, my spirit restless. Night after night, I sat beside his broken body, pressing cool clothes to his fevered skin. 

His eyes would flutter open sometimes, brown burning even through pain, and I swore the goddess herself was watching us.

Weeks burned into months. He healed. And with every story he told—of kingdoms, battles, and the stars above his homeland—I felt something bloom in me. 

He laughed, and my chest ached with joy. He taught me how to listen for my wolf, how to coax it from silence until at last I shifted, bones cracking into freedom under his gaze.

When he was strong again, my father held a feast. Lanterns swayed, music rose, and under the moon’s cruel mercy our bond snapped into place. Mate. My heart had never known such fire.

We married too quickly, I see that now. My father warned, but I begged. We crossed miles of earth to reach his kingdom, and I thought myself the luckiest girl alive.

Until she appeared. A girl my age, running into his arms with a laugh too intimate to be innocent. I told myself she was family. 

Foolish, naive. For when Lucien introduced me as his wife, her eyes cut into me sharper than claws.

From that moment on, Selene’s shadow stretched over everything. Her words, her schemes, her cruel little games—always dismissed by him. “She will grow out of it,” he said. But she never did.

“She should be sentenced by hanging” A voice from the crowd shouted, disrupting my thoughts. I turned to see that it was my special maid, Angel. 

The familiar voice that cut through the crowd made my heart shattered. 

Angel. My maid, my personal shadow. The girl who brushed my hair and whispered prayers with me to the moon goddess after I lost my first child. 

She stepped forward with a small vial clutched in her hands. She reached where Lucien was.

“My Lord, after Luna Donna went into labor, I went to gather a few of her belongings so as to meet her there but while doing so, I came across this vial that was hidden in her bag. My Lord, it is abortion pill!” She announced and everybody's face turned pale.

I shifted my gaze to meet Lucien but his expression was cold, I could see his jaw setting. I wanted to speak but my mouth was tied with cloth so I could only murmur as tears welled in my eyes. 

She continued. “I noticed Luna Donna always taking this drug every day before she goes to bed. I didn't understand at first until I heard the news of her third child dying” she said bowing down slightly, her eyes flickered to mine– and then she didn't look again and went back into the crowd. 

People started shouting and others threw tomatoes at me, I couldn't dodge, and the speed at which it came, left a dent on my body. 

“With this new discovery. It shows that Our Luna had been the one killing her children and causing pain to this clan. That makes her a double offender” the elder acknowledged. 

Raised voices again but was silenced as Lucien stood up. His dominance stretches and silences everybody. 

Selene was sitting on what used to be my seat, her smile faltering as her eyes burned in his body. 

“I did everything for our Luna. She didn't lack nor want. She didn't work or fight but not only has she shamed me– she killed our children.” He spat. 

“I couldn't believe that a girl that once saved my life would be the very one that destroys it. She killed our pack doctor after he found out the drug that was in her body that would have caused my son to die.” He paused. 

“She wanted to hide her shame but Selene here” he said pointing at Selene as she stood up. “Came to the hospital on time, even almost got killed by her but was able to restraint her from running away” 

Each word dug a dagger in my chest, my eyes swollen with more tears coming out from it. I wriggled against the stand but was silenced by the blow of the spear. It hit directly on my wound. Her muffed gasp came out from her mouth. 

“I, LUCIEN, KING AND RULER OF IRON CLAN, REJECT YOU, DONNA, QUEEN OF IRONCLAN AS MY MATE AND MY WIFE, THEREBY REMOVING MYSELF FROM YOU AND YOURSELF FROM ME”