Chapter 8: Watch out, Barren Luna.

Tracy’s pov.

Five years ago, I believed victory was mine.

I had given Alpha Coren of the Silvercrest pack a son, his heir, and I was so close to becoming his Luna.

I was so close to replacing that silly, useless Destiny.

But I had gotten it all wrong.

............ Council room, Silvercrest Packhouse.

"I think the mother of the Alpha's child is the one who has the right to be the Luna."

My father's voice is clear as it rings through the room.

Exactly as I told him to do, he steps forward, the line of his lips set and his shoulders squared as he pushes the words I fed him earlier today, "I mean, c'mon, Simon. What use is it keeping Destiny as the Luna when she's barely been able to do what she was meant to do?"

I press closer behind the hidden wall in the council room, the stone cold under my fingertips as the air vents carry every word in the council room to me.

Simon’s sigh makes me sneer. He's so infuriating, and the anger in me only builds as I hear his response, "Bob, Destiny has done nothing wrong.

She hasn't failed Coren in her duties as Luna or brought disgrace to the pack. Her only problem is she hasn't conceived yet, but that's no ground for her to be stripped of her title."

My stomach twists in annoyance. Of course he'll defend her.

Everyone knows he's always had a soft spot for weak things.

My father's voice rings through the room again as he pushes harder, "Well, Tracy has done what Destiny couldn't do. She gave this pack an heir.

Doesn't she deserve to be Luna because of that?"

Good Papa. Don't you dare back down.

The room soon erupts in argument. Even though I wish my father would threaten Simon outright, he can’t.

Simon is Coren's father and even if he's not the current Alpha, that doesn't change the amount of power he holds in the pack. I need him on my side if I ever want to become Luna.

They argue for long minutes until Simon's voice turns final, "The decision is left with Coren.

As the Alpha, only he can decide if something like this is enough for him to replace his Luna."

For a moment, the room is in silence, then Coren's voice, the voice I've been waiting to hear all along, rises, but instead of delivering my victory,

"I'm not going to abandon Destiny."

A cold shock whips through me violently as I blink in disbelief. What?

Coren's voice is low and heavy as he continues, "My wolf hasn't been the same since she tried to reject me. He's been growing weaker every day.

If Destiny leaves me, I don't know what that will do to me or the pack. Being Luna is the only way I can keep her by my side."

The silence that fills the room is thick and final. I grip the wall so hard my nails dig into the stone.

So that's it.

Barren Destiny will continue to be his Luna even though I'm the one who gave him a son, who waited for years for just the right moment to get into bed with him just to give this pack an heir.

I can't hear my father's voice anymore because even to him, the welfare of the pack is more important than the ambitions of his daughter.

Heat spreads in my chest and a firm decision plants itself in my heart.

Fine.

If they want to cling to Destiny so much, then I'll simply remove her myself.

................ Silvercrest Packhouse. Destiny's room.

"Get a hold of yourself, Tracy. Don't ruin your future over this.

You know what the consequences for attacking the Luna of the pack are."

Tristan's arms lock around me, dragging me back before I can rip that bitch's smirking face apart. Her stupid smirk makes white-hot rage bloom behind my eyes and I feel my claws itching.

"Walk it off."

As much as it infuriates me, I obey Tristan's command and storm outside. 

I'm still burning over what's just happened when I see her.

Barren Destiny. Running into the woods like she can't escape fast enough.

A slow and wicked feeling of satisfaction curls through me. Yes. Disappear, you bitch!

I'm still smiling when a thought slashes through my mind.

What if Coren goes to look for her? What if he finds her and brings her back?

He's always been a lovesick dog when it comes to her, and I can't risk that. NO. I won't.

I grab a dagger from my car as I get up and follow her into the trees, the determination to kill beating in my heart like the very blood that pumps through it.

Destiny has never seen the front lines of a battlefield in her life, and dispatching someone like her will be child's play.

The thing is, though, I never reach her.

The moment I step into the forest, a hand shoots out of the dark woods and presses a cloth against my mouth.

Everything goes black and the world disappears.

.........

Five years later, I stand outside the rotting cabin that served as my prison and take my first whiff of fresh air.

I can still hear the choking sound he made as the poisoned dagger slid through his throat.

Five years trapped in a rotting cabin with nothing but darkness, the stench of damp wood, and the raspy voice of a man who delights in my fear. The masked bastard who took me thought I was weak.

Men always underestimate women, but five years in a cell hasn't dulled any of my instincts.

So what if it took me five years to kill him with the poisoned dagger I meant for Destiny? I'm out now, and that's what matters.

Finding my way back to the Silvercrest pack is hard, but not impossible. As soon as I return, I learn a few things very quickly.

Destiny was accused of killing me.

The thought almost makes me laugh, but it still satisfies me. Good. Let the pathetic bitch be glared at and called a monster.

I expected to hear she had taken her life too, but no.

Destiny is still the Luna, and even worse,

"DON'T TOUCH MY MUM!"

The sight of my child calling her his mother does something worse in me than the five years in captivity did.

The video is circulating around the pack, and as I watch it, I realize something.

If I walk in now and reveal I'm alive, the pack will realize Destiny didn't kill me.

They'll realize they've been blaming her unfairly all these years, even when she took care of my son to the point he calls her mother.

She'll become a saint and I'll lose everything I ever fought for.

I look once at the door to my parents' house and turn away from it, going back the way I came.

I've spent five years perfecting different ways to make Destiny's life a living hell, and I have the perfect plan for a situation like this.

Watch out, Barren Luna. 

Your time is up.